I've had it pointed out to me that this could really do with a disclaimer. So, voila.
Anything that you recognise is not mine-the lyrics are REM, the characters are Meg Cabot. Satisfied?
When the day is long and the night,
The night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life,
Well hang on.
The lyrics burst through into her depressed mind. She'd listened to this song a thousand times before, but only now did a true meaning seep into her, filling her with an incredible sadness.
Don't let yourself go,
Everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes.
She listened to the lyrics, feeling them, succumbing to the power of wordplay. She allowed herself to cry, to think about Michael Moscovitz. He left her, alone, depressed. He expected her to survive, didn't realise how much she was hurting when he told her he was leaving. Japan, for goodness sakes! More thousands of miles than Mia cared to think about. Sometimes everything is wrong.
Now its time to sing along.
When your day is night alone,
Hold on, hold onIf you feel like letting go, hold on
When you think you've had too much of this life,
Well hang on.
Her life hadn't seemed worth living, but now, suddenly, it did. These words spoke of knowledge, spoke of someone who'd been through this, knew what she felt like and wanted her to stay, to be loved again. She glanced over to where her mirror stood, and was almost startled to see herself, barely recognizable. Her cheeks were black with days-old, well-run mascara. Her face was pale, her hair greasier than it had been since she'd had no shampoo for a week, seven or eight years ago. She was skeletally thin, hadn't eaten in days.
Everybody hurts.
Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts.
Don't throw your hand.
Oh, no, don't throw your hand.
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone
And she knew, with those lyrics, that she was not alone. Never had been, never would be. Her mom wanted to be there for her, and thus far, Mia had pushed her away. She could see now that that had been a really bad idea.If you're on your own in this life,
The days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on.
Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries.
And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes.
So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
She nodded at the last few words of the song. She was going to hold on. She had to stay strong, because he would come back! Yes, she was hurting, had cried more tears than she would have ever thought possible, but that hadn't been the solution, but she was out the other end. She somehow understood herself now, it was almost as though the ice had been broken. She could see clearly now. She laughed as that thought passed through her mind. A shaky laugh, but a smile came with it, a face changing. She moved toward her bathroom to shower, and once in there, began to sing. It was new to her, but felt right, you could get so much more emotion through a song, but much better hidden.
"I can see clearly now the rain has gone," she sang, quietly, to herself, scrubbing away the tears.