Fate Isn't Some Middle-aged Man

The Soldier Had Stamped My Passport Family In Heavy Black Capital Letters And I Checked It Now For Reassurance And Because I Liked How Fierce The Word Looked

At The Time, I Didn't Have The Insight To Wonder At The Transient Nature Of Despair, But Now That I'm Older I've Seen How Little It Takes To Turn A Person's Life Around For Better Or Worse. An Event Will Do, Or An Idea. Another Person. An Idea Of A Person.

It Was Not A Big Smile, Not Particularly Bold Or Polite Or Ironic Or Glib, Not Asking For Anything Or Offering Anything, Not Stringy Or Careless, Not, In Short, Like Any Smile I Had Ever Experienced Before. But Such A Smile! You Could Burn A Hole In The World With That Smile.

I Felt A Momentary Urge To Leap Into The Sea And Swim Free Of The Present.

When You Read A Book, The Neurons In Your Brain Fire Overtime, Deciding What The Characters Are Wearing, How They're Standing, And What It Feels Like The First Time They Kiss. No One Shows You. The Words Make Suggestions. Your Brain Paints The Pictures.