“My cape caught fire. I dived to the sand and rolled on the ground to snuff the flames. So much for my grand entrance.”

“ Honestly, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing this. It's like there are seven candles lit in my stomach. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seven candles burning and smoking - lit - seven flames of doubt, fear, sorrow, pain, waste, hopelessness, despair. They turn my insides black with soot and ash. There is something at the back of my eyes- a pressure building, building, building - hot like the flames of seven candles, which no amount of breath can extinguish. I imagine drinking glasses of water. One, two, three four, five, six, seven. I dive into the clearest pool. I drown myself in the coarse, dry sand. I swallow handfuls of crushed white salt, but the flames burn still - brighter, hotter, deeper. Sweat runs in delicate patterns down my back, over my crooked spine and jutting hips. I scratch at the wounds these last weeks have left, but I can't break free of them. The flies gather and vultures circle overhead. The fire eats away my flesh. The fire spreads. The fire runs through my veins. The fire courses beneath my muscles - my tendons - the marrow of my bones. I sit rocking on the street corner. No, I can't keep doing this. I just can't.”

“I thanked him and he asked me if my cape got caught on stuff when I was running and jumping, and I said, "Sometimes.”

“Crimson flames tied through my earsRollin' high and mighty trapsPounced with fire on flaming roadsUsing ideas as my maps"We'll meet on edges, soon," said IProud 'neath heated brow.Ah, but I was so much older then,I'm younger than that now.Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth"Rip down all hate," I screamedLies that life is black and whiteSpoke from my skull. I dreamedRomantic facts of musketeersFoundationed deep, somehow.Ah, but I was so much older then,I'm younger than that now.”

“Baby, I wish I could tell you how much I love you, how much you mean to me."He nuzzled my cheek and continued down my neck, setting a fire across my skin, churning coals that burst into flames deep within my soul. "Show me.”

“Now then, thought I, unconsciously rolling up the sleeve of my frock, here goes for a cool, collected dive at death and destruction, and the devil fetch the hindmost.”