Thirty-Five
My chest was stabbed with a thousand knives, and air cut off from my lungs.
We marched through the dark forest while birds sang, preparing for dawn. It was a physical reaction inside of me, a sensation of pain, excruciating, hurting beyond reason. Caleb was dead. As it happened, I knew it with such clarity that it pierced my heart, as if I had seen it. But I could not explain the knowledge. I had to prevent myself from hyperventilating and even stopped for a short moment to catch my breath.
Caleb is dead.
I knew that his body was burned with the strength of an enormous explosion. He was dead instantly, but he had seen it coming several seconds before. I had been there with him. Pain spread inside of me. It was not unexpected. As if I had said my goodbyes when he had left me
