Wake up, she whispers.
Wake up! she insists.
I screw my eyes shut all the tighter—I don't want to let this instant slide by—it's too precious, too perfect, too savoury—I can't let it go - won't. This is too worth protecting, too worth denying. I will not apologize for this, I will fight and combat and do everything I can to delay this inevitable closure, this swallowing of ourselves.
Open your eyes, she instructs me.
So I do.
-M