Just look down. He will go away. He has to go away.

"Sally?"

Just keep looking down. He will go away. He has to go away. He always goes away.

He says hello. I say hello. And then we...uh...hello. And then he is gone. No kiss goodbye. No you look beautiful in the morning. No do you want to grab breakfast. No I will leave her. No I only love you.

"Sally?"

"Oh, hello," I say, looking up, but still feel down.

"Hello," he smiles in a way that makes me wish I didn't get out of bed this morning,...

She closed her eyes and disappeared. The notes swallowed her, refusing to let her go. The beat aligned with her heart beat, giving her the illusion of impossible strength. The music grew louder until it was an explosion--as if thousands of butterflies instantly fluttered. She wished she too could fly away. Fly like the waves of the sound. Fly like the butterflies.

But instead, she was bound like the hair on her head. Bound by responsibily. Bound by expectation. Bound by fear of the unknown.

She wanted to hear the whispers in the next room, but the pleading to her ears were also unheard. She stretched up onto her toes as if height would give her hearing a greater advantage.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Go away!" she frantacilly whispered, ushering her little brother out of the room with her eyes.

She suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and she pressed her small frame against the wall as to not to be seen. The red drapes of the gown following like an obedient shadow.

"If that is what she wants, that is how it will be."

The...