There was room in the wall around her heart for a few more stones.
It had stood Time, the most powerful thing of all.
Instead of being chipped away at, the barrier began to go back to being built. Not that it mattered to her. She wondered why she even tried to take down that protective shield.
Then again, she didn't even know why she tried hoping in the first place.
Damn, it wasn't like she expected anything good to happen. Just the past repeating itself over and over again.
But the past didn't quite hurt as much.
A glance at the clock told her it was hours past decent sleep. Not that it mattered. For her whole life sleep didn't come easy anyway.
She tried, she really did. No wall was built perfectly, and hers had flaws too. Squeezing in through the cracks, she had tried to reach out and was instantly shot down.
And after it crumbled her heart, she vowed that it wouldn't ever happen again.
The first time should have been warning enough. It had set off alarms in her head, louder than those of her bedside clock.
She only wished that she hadn't ignored them like she ignored those that woke her in the afternoon.
He had been a distraction, but she had figured out that he was using her as a distraction. Life played a cruel hand, it seemed.
A six-inch scar lay across her neck, the only visible wound that anybody could see. When the blood had begun to trickle down her skin, she realized that she was indeed mortal. The pale cream of the bone that had glinted in the glaring sterile light was all too real.
But it hurt a lot less than the emotional injuries she had endured.
If her existence meant nothing but bleary nights and dead eyes, she was all-too-happy to be an actual person.
People said that sticks and stones break bones, and that words wouldn't hurt. Didn't mean anything.
But after all, what was the dictionary for if those same words didn't stand for something?
Tears finally did roll off her cheeks. And like everything else, she didn't know why it happened. Just that it did.
The setting sun will come to wake her mockingly, if she did fall asleep, as the clock ticked slowly toward the future.
The only thing holding her back was a set of loving, warm arms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
He saw her, the vulnerability and misery shining through her eyes.
Taking her hand in his, he understood what her mind refused to convey.
After all, he was mortal too.
Time had proven that, even though he had already believed.
It may have been less searing if it had been in black and white.
Yellow and red burned brighter than the stars. Yellow from the intense heat, red from the blood and one element that had threatened to kill him. It was harder to forget.
But if he forgot, he wouldn't be where he was now and certainly wouldn't be who he was now.
The hour hands were moving fast. One day, they would stop and he wouldn't be able to see that day.
Just as well, there was no point in living forever when you could live now.
Sighing, he held her close. He was lucky.
There was no need to cry anything out. No, he was blessed to not have plummet to the ground like his two closest friends.
So high up and they had fallen the hardest.
No, his memories were not filled with what theirs were made of. The barrel of a gun, the early loss of innocence, the unhappy past.
Yes, he was lucky.
Lucky enough to be able to show her he cared and that yes, she might be hurt but he was here to stitch it together.
The clock ticked methodically beside him, its hands moving to gesture how much time had passed. It was late, but he was not moving until she had finally gone to rest.
He hoped their future was something to look forward too.
He would never let go.