I Did A Lot Of

She Told Her Therapist It Reminded Her Of Coming Home The Summer After Her Freshman Year At Rutgers, Stepping Back Into The Warm Bath Of Family And Friends, Loving It For A Week Or Two, And Then Feeling Trapped, Dying To Return To School, Missing Her Roommates And Her Cute New Boyfriend, The Classes And The Parties And The Giggly Talks Before Bed, Understanding For The First Time That That Was Her Real Life Now, That This, Despite Everything She'd Ever Loved About It, Was Finished For Good.

It's Like The Human Race Has Been Programmed For Misery.

Apparently Even The Most Awful Tragedies, And The People They'd Ruined, Got A Little Stale After A While.

Jill Felt An Emptiness Open Inside Of Her As She Lifted Her Arm, A Sense That Something Vital Was Being Subtracted From Her Life. It Was Always Like That When Somebody You Cared About Went Away, Even When You Knew It Was Inevitable, And It Probably Wasn't Your Fault.

They Both Seemed To Understand That Describing It Was Beyond Their Powers, The Gratitude That Spreads Through Your Body When A Burden Gets Lifted, And The Sense Of Homecoming That Follows, When You Suddenly Remember What It Feels Like To Be Yourself.