Her fingers lingered over the papers. The beautiful prose that had captured her heart now felt like a lie. A terrible pang of sadness shot through her. An empty silence choked her. An ache overtook everything and she felt like crumpling to the floor. Shaking, she grasped the banister, hoping, to no avail, to stop herself from trembling. The quake had begun and there was no stopping it. Reaching up, she brushed several locks of chestnut hair away from her eyes. The gray streaks were slowly becoming more visible as she got older. Fine lines danced along her face. She still had this angelic quality about her though. She held a sort of grace that never changed. Grasping at what little resistance she had left she finally let herself begin to cry. A tear for every word that he had given her, Eliza thought. The letters Eliza had accumulated from Alexander over the years lay scattered across the wooden table. The fat droplets rained down upon the letters. Choking down sobs, Eliza delicately selected a letter from the many piles. Alexander had written, "I have told you, and I told you truly that I love you too much. You engross my thoughts too entirely to allow me to think of anything else - you not only employ my mind all day; but you intrude upon my sleep. I meet you in every dream - and when I wake I cannot close my eyes again for ruminating on your sweetness." The letter's words seeped into Eliza and captivated her just the way they had 16 years before. She let the horrid betrayal spin inside her until it ignited a spark. That spark turned into a flame. Bitterly, she slammed her fist down on the table, letting the tears blur her vision. Grabbing handfuls of letters she thrusted them into the bright orange flames within the fireplace. Clenching her hands until her knuckles turned white, a livid animosity overtaking her. Alexander and his words. He never knew when to stop. Slowly, the tendrils engulfed the many sheets of paper. Eliza's rage subsided and she fell onto her knees. She covered her face in her hands and then looked up whispering quietly.

"Why do you write every second you're alive?" Few letters remain in the fireplace. The final letters are turning black around the edges and shriveling up.

"You said you were mine… I thought you were mine." Eliza's blue eyes glow a sunset orange as she watches the final letter burn.