Love was indeed a big responsibility. One must use the word judiciously. One cannot love one day and take away love the next day. It is total caring.

He is no longer mine to lose, but the grief is there, a gnawing sense of disbelief.

When you have something this good, you keep it. Forever. And that’s all the magic there is to it.

Pressing my head to his heart, I listened hard, straining to hear any gurgle or murmur of life. Hearing nothing, I felt the shock settle into my mind, slowing it down and then turning it...