B SUSINDRA REDDY

I love you,’ he whispered, and kissed my brow. ‘Thorns and all.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

Life is the farce we are all forced to endure.

In the end, the end of a life only matters to friends, family, and other folks you used to know. For everyone else, it's just another end.

I didn’t know. I feel sometimes like…there are all these rules. Just to be a person. You know? You’re supposed to carry a shoulder bag, not a backpack. You’re supposed to wear headbands, or you’re not supposed to wear headbands. It’s okay to describe yourself as likeable, but it’s not okay to describe yourself as eloquent. You can sit in the front of the school bus, but you can’t sit in the middle. You’re not supposed to be with a boy, even when he wants you to. I didn’t know that. There are so many rules, and they don’t make any sense, and I just can’t learn them all