“Please, Kori, if you are thinking of me, help me find the strength to shelve my grief long enough to bask in the sunlight, to bask in the love and joy of my family.”

“Soon, I’ll have to journey south. I dread the trip. I dread what awaits me there.”

“Would you like to know which of my scars he ripped open?”

“Tomorrow I shall see what it holds.”

“My love has been sharpened into anguish and misery. My rage dissolves into tears before it could ever leave my throat.”

“Oh, Kori, I tire of this façade. Of pretending my heart has not been cleaved in two.”

“There is nothing out there that would have kept you from me.”

“I tried to imagine the sound of your voice, of your laughter, and for a moment, I couldn’t recall it.”

“Had I loved you less, would the wound be less severe?”

“Mother asked about the letters, and I told her they were nothing of real import.”

“Please think of me wherever you are.”

“I keep hoping you’ll write.”

“You were all the best parts.”

“I try to find you in the sunlight.”

“They’ve become such a rarity these days.”

“I looked to the north and saw the large shadow of one of those fearsome beasts. I couldn’t bear to look south.”