She shouldn't be here. He knows this.

Not with him. He is alone in the world, and selfish. And she is so very, very young.

She plunges into danger to help people, not because it is the only way to live. She adventures to find herself; she does not flee. She wanders to new places to create memories, not to forget.

Hers is a hope not tinged by desperation, her pure laughter untainted by hysteria. She reminds him of joyous beginnings, and journeys that end in warm suppers and soft beds, while he knows only the cold, lonely road.

She is freedom, not exile.

She is courage, and he—

He is a coward, for while she stays with him, he cannot send her away.