TePID
There's a hole
burrowing
spiraling
digging away
at my heart
There's sound vibrating
against teeth
can it be heard
outside my skull
the buzzing meat
through pial,
arachnoid,
dural space
echoing the words
empty
digging
spiraling out
vessels fit to burst
walls breathing
lights dimming
empty
empty
empty
wither, bloat
There's a light
I looked up from my book, startled by the pounding at the front door. I turned to Freyja automatically. We were the only ones home. Her blue eyes met mine before returning to her own book, unconcerned, as I hopped up. The pounding repeated, prompting me to call out, “Coming!”
“Is Lea in there?” Ann's voice barely carried through the door, but she had to be screaming for it to have done so. I rushed to the door and opened it.
“No,” I said while Ann hurried past me into the house. “It's just Freyja and me.”
“Have you seen her?” Ann spun helplessly, and I stepped forward to catch her arms.
“Not today or yesterday,” I answered, picking up on her fear immediately.
“I haven't, either!” she cried, pushing away to run back out the front door. I followed as far as the doorway and stopped. I turned back inside.
“Freyja, have you seen Lea?”
“Not since she left here the other day,” Freyja said, staring at the open door while chewing her lip, her book forgotten on the floor. I wanted to follow Ann, but I couldn't just leave Freyja, so I gestured at her to come to me and knelt down so she could climb onto my back. Ann was already in the woods, calling for Lea. I ran up and caught her arm.
“She isn't going to hear you,” I pointed out. Ann jerked her arm away and balled her hands into angry fists. “I don't smell her out here, and I don't feel any humans close by except you and Freyja. Can I check your house out to see if she's hiding in there?”
“Why does this have to happen when everyone's gone?” she cried instead of answering me. Still, she made a beeline back to her house, and I followed closely behind. I really hoped that this was just a teenage angst episode and not a real emergency.
“Everyone but me being gone on a Sunday is weird enough on its own,” I said. “You've already made sure she's not with her papà, right?”
“I... No, I didn't want him to worry,” she said, pulling out her phone as we reached the stairs. I bounced Freyja higher up as I went inside the house and then ran from room to room as she clung tightly. The finches stopped beeping when I ran, but as soon as I stopped in the living room, they resumed. It felt pointed, like they were chewing me out for scaring them, and I apologized to them. Their cat, Boots, rubbed against my legs as she came out from under the bird cage to greet me. I leaned down to rub her head before I hurried back out of the empty house.
“Any luck?” I asked, knowing there wasn't from the loud Italian blasting out of her phone. Tony was scared and angry, and the memory of him coming home during the child abductions forever ago popped into my head. Ann still shook her head at me. I stepped close to her, raised my voice, and called to him in Italian, “I'm here and helping to look. Stay calm. Use our resources to find out if anyone in the city has seen her.”
His reply wasn't polite, but I ignored it. I wasn't the friendliest when my kids had gone missing, so I wasn't offended. I'd rather he railed at me than the guards. Ann started crying hard enough that she looked in danger of dropping the phone, and I realized that she didn't need to hear his bullshit, so I plucked it out of her hand with the arm not balancing Freyja and then hugged her with that arm, pressing the phone against her back. I could still hear, but she couldn't now.
Finally, the phone went quiet, and I lifted it up to talk into it. “I hope you have that out of your system, because that is the opposite of what Ann needs right now. Call back if you find anything.”
I hit the end call icon before he could reply and slipped the phone back into her pocket. It took a few minutes for her to cry herself out, and it was hard for me not to get antsy and try to hurry her along.
“Did you already call her siblings and River?”
“Called them all first,” Ann rasped. I nodded. “How could I not notice she hadn't been around all weekend? What the fuck is wrong with me?”
“When was the last weekend since she and River started dating that she was home on a Saturday?” I pointed out. Ann shrugged. “We'll find her.”
“I didn't get ahold of River,” Ann said. “Aiden said she'd been holed up in her room, blasting awful music since Lea left on Friday. That was the last day anyone saw her. She never made it home that I know of. I've called all of her friends, and no one has seen her.”
“I...” I didn't know what to say. A chill ran up my spine, and I tried to dismiss it. I needed to stay calm and objective for Ann, but goddammit, I loved all of those kids, and the thought of anything happening to any of them...
“You're growling, Daddy,” Freyja whispered, making me stop. I had pushed back the fear fast enough, but the ensuing anger was harder. I knew how to fight. But I didn't know how to track.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered back as I let go of Ann and stepped back to tap my watch. “Call Garret.”
“Calling Garret,” my ear clip chirped at me. I had a vampire model that didn't go into my ear canal and, thus, didn't block my hearing.
“Hey, marra,” he greeted me.
“You busy?”
“Just about to go into a bar for food, why?”
“Lea's missing. Haven't seen her since Friday,” I explained.
“I'll be there in two minutes.” The call ended. I tapped my watch again.
“Call Bonnie.”
“Calling Bonnie.”
“Hola,” she greeted me.
“Have you seen Lea?” I asked.
“Uh, no? Is she not with River?”
“She left River's on Friday and hasn't been seen since,” I answered. The call end sound played, and I turned to find Bonnie standing next to me, as I expected. Ann yelped, clearly not having expected it.
“Dammit!” Ann swore.
“Sorry!” Bonnie hopped from foot to foot, her face apologetic. “I didn't want to waste time.”
“No, I appreciate it,” Ann said, shaking her head.
“I'm going to fly from here to Aiden's and back,” Bonnie said.
“Garret's on his way if you want to wait for him,” I said. She shook her head.
“It's better if we aren't flying together. We'd just distract each other's senses,” she pointed out before flying off down the road.
“I'm going to call my stepbrother and let him know what's going on,” I told Ann. She nodded, and I gave my watch the command.
“Hey, Zack.”
“Aiden, can you please ask River if Lea was upset when she left?”
“Sure. What's going on, though?” he asked.
“She never made it home.”
“What?” he shouted. Thankfully, my clip had a feature that kept the volume the same no matter how quiet or loud the other person was. I could still hear the emotion behind it—and the sudden stomping of his feet as he ran up stairs. “River!”
“Dad! You can't just barge into my room—”
“Was Lea upset when she left?” I couldn't understand River's reply. “I'm not—I'm trying to find out why she never made it home.”
“What?” River's voice was as loud as her dad's for a moment. “You're not serious!”
“Why would I joke about this? Was she upset?” The line was quiet for what felt like a small eternity before River answered.
“No, yeah, she was. I mean, we'd just broke up.”
“River says they broke up,” I told Ann.
“I forget how good your hearing is,” Aiden said quietly while Ann asked why. “Sorry for shouting in your ear.”
“It's fine, my clip moderates volume. Can you ask River why they broke up?” I waited while he did, and the answer was as bad as I was afraid it would be, given that this was River. I closed my eyes and repeated her to Ann. “River was bored and wanted to move on. She said Lea was too clingy.”
“I'm so sorry,” Aiden said, and I heard what sounded like a door shutting. “If I'd known, I'd have offered to drive her home instead of letting her take the bus.”
“It's not your fault. You know how teenagers are about this shit,” I said, staring down the road as though I could see the bus stop next to the VU station.
“Indeed I do. Kaylee wasn't this dramatic,” Aiden said, his voice tense.
“I'll let you know when we find her,” I promised.
“Thanks. Tell Ann I'm sorry.”
“I will. Talk to you later.”
“Bye,” he said. I tapped my watch to end the call.
“He says he's sorry. Hey, did you already check the bus stop for her bike?” I asked.
“No...” Ann looked down the street like I had a minute before, and I looked up in time to see Garret falling from the sky. Ann looked up and squinted, but it only took a couple seconds for him to land. It was long past the days when it startled me.
“Okay, Ann, you take Freyja for me. Garret, you do a fly over around the neighborhood? I'm going to run down to the bus stop and see if Lea's bike is still chained up. While I'm there, I'll ask the VUTs if anyone's seen her.” I swung Freyja off my back and into Ann's arms as I spoke.
“Gotcha,” Ann said, hugging Freyja to her a little desperately. Freyja, always happy to cuddle, nuzzled her head against Ann's shoulder and hugged her back tightly. Ann buried her face in Freyja's red hair.
“It'll take me maybe four minutes,” Garret said. He gave me a quick kiss and patted Freyja's back and Ann's shoulder before taking off into the sky.
I ran down the street as fast as I could. It didn't take long for me to reach the station and pass it. I could see Lea's yellow bike chained to the bike rack and didn't need to go any further. I continued around to the front of the station and into the open bay. Immediately, VUTs were hopping up, waving and calling out to me.
“Is there an emergency?” Feng asked, his expression neutral. He was the chief of this station, and he knew me better than anyone else, given that we'd worked together the longest—and were friends. Once I'd gotten over myself and the incident with Tybalt/Leonard, I'd apologized and worked to repair the damage I'd done to that friendship.
“I hope not. Have any of you seen Leandra St. John since Friday?”
“Wait, she didn't go home today?” Michaels asked. She frowned and jogged over to the nearest patient room. “Lea!”
“Lea!” I echoed, running to Michaels' side. Lea was curled into a miserable ball in the corner of the bed, crying. Her brown eyes met mine, and that anger shot back through me. “No, I don't care how upset you are, do you have any clue how scared everyone is, trying to find you—and you're just... I...”
I walked myself back to the bay entrance, taking slow, deep breaths. I pulled out my phone and texted Ann, Bonnie, Tony and Garret that I'd found her. I then shot off a quick text to my stepbrother that she was safe and found. My watch and phone started vibrating immediately, and I frowned at Tony's name.
“Sorry, Henderson. I didn't realize she was still in there.” Michaels' voice drew my attention away from the call I was debating on ignoring. She had Lea by the upper arm, and the teenager was wiping her face on her sleeve.
Finally, the anger drained away, and I held out my arm to her. Her face crumpled, and she ran to cry against my chest. I hugged her to me. Then I handed her my phone, swiping the green circle to answer the call just before it would have gone to voicemail.
“Hello?” Her voice was totally wrecked.
“Leandra! Are you hurt? Where are you? What is going on?” Tony's voice was so thick with worry that I was terrified of what he was going to do when he found out she'd been hiding at the VU up the street.
“Papà,” she cried into the phone, and I led her toward the bus stop so we could get her bike and bring it home with her.
“Yes? What is it, Tesorina?”
“I'm—s-so sorry I—s-scared everyone,” she hiccuped.
“Are you safe?”
“Si. Uncle Zack is here. He has me.”
“Where are you, Tesorina? What happened?”
“R-River...” was all she got out. She dropped my phone, but I caught it before it hit the ground. I tapped the button to switch over to my clip.
“River broke up with her,” I explained, tensing for the enraged swearing I expected to follow. “She was at the VU at the top of the street, hiding in a patient room.”
“Her heart is broken?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I answered, surprised at his tone.
“Thank you for finding her. Thank you so much, my brother,” Tony said. His voice was strange, and I realized that it was thick with emotion. Was he crying? Holy shit. He was.
“Prego. I was worried, too,” I assured him.
“I will be home very soon,” he said. “Tell her I love her, please.”
“Here,” I said, and switched the conversation back to my phone. I held it up to her ear. “She can hear you.”
“Ti amo, Tesorina. Papà will be home soon,” he said. “I'll bring your favorite ice cream.”
“Ti amo, Papà. Grazi,” she replied. I was thrown by the entirely unexpected response. I had a feeling that Ann wasn't going to be as sympathetic, so I was glad she had Tony on her side at least.
“Thank you again, Zack,” he said, and I switched back to my clip.
“Prego,” I repeated.
“I am so sorry for how I spoke to you earlier,” he continued. I raised my eyebrow in surprise.
“You were upset. I get it,” I assured him. “I'm just glad she's safe.”
“I must apologize to Ann as well,” he said.
“Yes. Yes, you must,” I agreed, and he chuckled. I laughed with him, relief spreading through me as Lea unlocked her bike. “See you later.”
The call ended, and I helped Lea with the bike chain when she dropped it. I put one hand in the middle of the handlebars and my other arm around her shoulders to help her home. She hugged me with one arm.
“I'm sorry, Uncle Zack. Thank you for helping.”
“I'm just glad you're safe,” I repeated. “I'm sorry about River.”
“Me, too,” she whispered. We walked a ways in silence before she decided she was okay to ride, and I jogged alongside her the rest of the way home. Teenage heartbreak was hard, even when it wasn't my kid. In the end, I was glad that I was the one who found her. It was further validated that everyone else was just as happy she was home safe.
I was relieved and full of love for all my family.
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| art by rinmaru |
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| This image was created with Picrew’s “[BAYDEWS' avatar maker!!] V2“!! https://picrew.me/share?cd=ZfxCNuQksZ |
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| This image was created with Picrew’s “character maker pt 2“!! https://picrew.me/share?cd=kQFx5IAM6w |
Sleepy
I want to close my eyes
If I lift my body
from the ground
it'll be quiet
It takes a hundred tries
but I just sink
until I'm found
by the mushrooms
growing up
from my fingers
to taste the air
I don't remember
nothing lingers
except me
Lost Humanity Short Story
This story is provided for free by H.S. Kallinger as part of the Lost Humanity universe.
Timing: during World of Lost Souls the summer after Eva's 13th birthday
Content Warnings: none. this is fluff
“I don't know if I've ever thanked you guys for the opportunities you give to Eva,” I said to Paula. Eva was finishing up her rounds, having chosen to celebrate finally kicking the crud that had hit everyone on Julian's birthday and then hers by visiting San Francisco. As soon as she was done, we were headed home so we could rest while Sarah and Jamie prepared for their wedding ceremony next weekend. “I know Lukas did, but I wanted you to know that we all appreciate it.”
“And as my husband said, it is good to be friends,” Paula replied with a smile. “Evangeline is such a delightful girl. I do not know that I shall ever tire of having her here.”
“I believed that when she was ten. I'm not sure I believe that about thirteen-year-old Eva,” I said, making everyone laugh. Emidio shook his head.
“Paula was a wonderful thirteen-year-old,” Emidio said, reaching his hand out to take his wife's. She shook her head and laughed derisively.
“My father disagreed,” she said, catching my interest. I hadn't heard either of them talk much about their lives as humans. “Particularly as that was the year that I met you, love.”
“I was a terrible influence; it's true,” Emidio said, his eyes growing sad. “I am uncertain if your father was right to hate me so, though. Had I not been there, you would have been denied centuries of life.”
“Ah, but he would have been foolish enough to believe that this was not 'life,'” she said.
“And so, had I not been there, you would have married that awful senator, borne him children, and lived long enough to perhaps see your sons die in the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy. But it would have been in the east, with far more than I could have offered,” he continued.
“You do realize that you are going to give us the story, right?” Sarah prompted when Paula murmured something in Latin to Emidio. They turned to us, and Emidio chuckled.
“I was the same class as she and her father, but he had secured a better marriage for her when she was a baby to the son of a man who had loved her mother but was forbidden from marrying her by his own father,” Emidio said. “She would have been swept away to Constantinople, which was another world from Rome. We were under constant attack, our people starving, wasting time building only to have it struck down in another invasion. He was near the emperor and surrounded by security and food and wealth. Even still, I couldn't let him have her. I fell in love with her the day we met.”
“And I with him,” Paula agreed. “My father wasn't home that day, I remember. We didn't live near any of the ugliness of the war, and we ourselves were not starving. I was outside, enjoying the sun when the most beautiful boy I'd seen in my life came running over the hill and tripped over his own feet.”
Emidio laughed heartily. “I had just seen you! I was trying to stop to stare, but my feet betrayed me. They were at the end of legs too long for the rest of my body, and I cannot imagine anyone thinking that I was anything but lanky and awkward. But my Paula—the sun was glinting off her hair as though there were threads of gold woven into it. I could just see her eyes, the color of the ocean in places calmer than my new home in Rome. Her beauty was unquestionable.”
“My mother's beauty was the reason I was promised to the senator,” Paula said softly. “I ran to Emidio right away, worried that he was hurt. He stared at me with his mouth hanging open, and I think a bug flew in.”
“It did not!” he protested, and we all laughed. “It did dry out terribly, though.”
“I helped him stand and had to stop myself from reaching out to touch his curls. They were the prettiest shade of white-gold. I had seldom seen hair stay so bright after infancy, and I was entranced. His eyes were the color of the sky, and for a moment, I thought perhaps he was an angel fallen to the earth who had never walked before.”
“I, too, thought I had found an angel when she held her hand out to pull me to my traitorous feet,” he said. He kissed her hands, and they rested their foreheads against each other. “We were just children, still, and we played as children. Her father tried to chase me off, but he spent most of his time in his dormus, while his wife and daughters lived in their villa, close enough to my family's that I only lost access to her in town.”
“So, your family was wealthy, too?” Sarah asked. Emidio nodded.
“Yes. My father was an equestrian, and he expected me to follow in his footsteps eventually. It's what lead to my death. A Persian vampire caught me unaware with his blade. I didn't really understand that I'd been killed, even looking at the bloody weapon and his cold eyes. I remember vividly how they changed as I touched my chest, confused about the pain and why I suddenly couldn't move. I believe I saw regret. He put his blood on my lips.
“The next thing I knew, I was alone in an abandoned tent, my pain was gone, and it was just after sunset. I was frightened. I remembered that we weren't far from Paula's villa, so I went looking for her first, rather than my unit.”
“Oh no,” I said softly. I knew this part. Emidio nodded.
“I had heard from his mother that he'd been slain,” Paula said softly. “When I saw him, I thought for a moment that there had been a mistake. I ran to him, already making plans to rush to show his mother that he was still alive.”
“I ran to her even faster,” Emidio said. He touched her face gently. “In the last steps, I... I'm still not certain. I lost my mind, and when it returned, she was soft, too soft. I couldn't feel heat from her body, though I was burning. Her beautiful eyes were closed and wouldn't look at me. A slave found us, and I'm afraid I killed the poor man before he could sound an alarm. It was too much, and I threw up his blood all over him. I remember thinking how I hated men who ate until they vomited.”
“I had a breakdown because I fought my mentors to try to have sex with my first donor,” I said. “I was so upset at the thought that I'd try to rape someone...”
“One small favor I was granted was that my beloved and I were already secret lovers,” Emidio said. “When I came to visit at sixteen, though she was still fifteen, always two months behind me. It was the same that night. I had just turned twenty.”
“I—I knew you looked young, but I didn't think you were that young,” I said.
“You were just kids,” Sarah said at the same time. Paula smiled at her.
“You still are,” she teased. I laughed.
“I awoke to my darling lover's sobbing,” Paula said. “I sat up and took his hand to bid him tell me what was wrong. The last thing I remembered was his lips and body and feeling so alive and wonderful as we were reunited.”
“I was mad and believed her a hallucination. Yes, I'd put my blood to her lips, as the Persian soldier had done for me, but she didn't wake up. I had no idea three nights had passed, and I didn't know much about vampires anyway. I carried her body with me, hoping to die, forced to keep my wretched self alive, and when she asked me what was wrong, I simply answered, 'I have killed you, and I wish only to join you, my love.'”
“I was quite alive and assumed that he'd had a nightmare. I kissed him and told him that he was wrong, look at how alive I was!” Paula ran her fingers through his hair. “He cried like a child and told me all he knew of what had happened. Unlike him, I knew many stories of vampires, so I knew what we were.”
“She had the brilliant plan to find enemy encampments and hunt together, and so we survived until we could better control ourselves. We eventually found a priest to marry us, even without our parents' blessings, and we have never parted since,” Emidio said. “Years became decades became centuries. Rome burned and fell around us, but we persisted. The Kingdom of Italy rose, and we became Italians. We traveled some, but we generally favored home. I particularly liked feeding on priests of the Inquisition.”
“And I liked feeding on those who hunted other humans at night—or worse, in the day, falsely accusing innocents of sins to hide their own,” Paula said. Emidio stared at her with adoration. I found myself smiling, too. That sounded like what I'd have preferred to do in times when killing was a necessary evil. I'd have been to terrified of going to Hell to ever feed on a priest. It fascinated me that Emidio had essentially made the opposite choice to my husband. Lukas spared holy leaders.
“So, you've never been apart in seventeen hundred years?” Sarah asked. They shook their heads.
“Not when we could help it. The first day we spent apart, I thought I would go mad again,” Emidio said.
“I wept. I couldn't believe we had truly been kept from one another,” Paula said.
“Did you ever wish you could have a family?” Sarah asked. Paula looked at her and cocked her head to the side.
“You've met our family,” she said.
“Oh, I'm sorry, I—”
“To be entirely honest, I was always afraid of childbirth,” Paula said. “I had to terminate two pregnancies while I was alive, and I had no regrets. My greatest fear was dying to give that senator his legacy. I have never in my life regretted not being able to carry a child, no. We have always taken in those who need a family and looked after them. Usually they're already grown, but there have been children and even once a baby.”
“Our little Diana,” Emidio said. They smiled together, their eyes sparkling. “She was such a precious little jewel. So clever and talented.”
“She lived a good, long life, and left us with grandchildren who we watched grow and go out into the world,” Paula said.
“So, the neighborhood is your family?” I mused.
“Indeed. Each child here is ours. Even Eva. I would destroy any fool that dared try to harm her while she is among our people. Then I would bring them back to destroy them again,” Emidio said darkly. Paula chastised him in Latin. He didn't look at all chastened. He took her hands and smiled smugly while he replied. We couldn't follow whatever they said.
“You two are so inspiring and hopeful,” Sarah said quietly. They stopped and turned to her. “It's wonderful to know that it's possible to enjoy someone's company for thousands of years.”
“We have our tiffs, like any couple, but we resolve them as quickly as we can. I can't bear for her to be angry at me,” Emidio said. Paula nodded.
“Even if we ultimately don't agree, we find a way to hear one another and accept the disagreement,” she said. “Sometimes it will resolve later. Sometimes it never does. But we do not dwell on them, and we don't rehash them unless we're interested in changing our own views. Never each other's.”
“And we never miss an opportunity to remind each other that we still are in love,” Emidio said.
“And we find plenty of things to entertain us so we don't drive each other up the wall,” Paula added playfully. They both laughed. Paula leaned against Emidio and smiled at us. “Building family is essential. Love them with all your heart while you have them. Carry their stories and spirits with you forever.”
“In sharing, amplify all good things,” Emidio said.
“And diminish the bad,” Paula added. “Bear it together, and the more who help carry it, the lighter the load.”
“Which now includes you and your little one, dear friends,” Emidio said. My heart swelled.
“Mom, Dad! I'm ready to go!” Eva called from the front door. I held my arm out, and she walked over to accept a side hug and return it. She spoke to Emidio and Paula in Italian for a moment, and then we all bid each other good night.
And a good night it was.
why am I listening
like this
when I have this
and the dark on my side
through your thickening
abyss
so hit-or-miss
finding its way inside
inside you
inside me
taking over you
devouring me
it's just another wave
crashing over
this wall
it's just another way
it's over
for us all
(cry out]
(give in)
it's just another thing
pushing over
your soul
another way to sing
give over
your control
(cry out)
(give up)
(now it's) inside you
(now it's) inside me
taking over you
devouring me
can you still fall apart
like this
when you have this
and the cold on your side
give a brokenhearted
kiss
things dangerous
will find their way inside
inside you (cry out)
inside me (give in)
taking over you (screaming)
devouring me (give in)
it's just another wave
crashing over
this wall
it's just another way
it's over
for us all
Notes: This series deals with cycles of abuse and domestic violence. There is on page 'dubcon' (coerced) assault, but no on page rape. There is the psychological fallout from it. Healthy BDSM (RACK model) is included and contrasted against unhealthy/toxic (also on page) sadomasochism. Vampires in this series produce an euphoric chemical in their saliva that can lead to physical addiction.
Book specific extra CNs: pregnancy loss in Pet and Bridges. On page sexual assault in Hotel of Lost Souls and Castles. On page judicial flogging in Castles and World of Lost Souls.
Hope is dead
she licked the salt
running down the wood
what's in your head
is not her fault
She'd go if she could
this rope's tight
around her wrists
is it supposed to hurt?
her head's light
can't feel her fists
she said it's in the dirt
blackened nails
chipped, peeling paint
her body's so soft
singing whales
a last refrain
you finally got off
It wasn't an accident.
I saw what you did when you thought no one was looking, and I followed you down that alley. I admit that I didn't expect the little door hidden in the shadows. You hadn't noticed me, so I listened to how you secured entry and waited a few minutes to repeat you.
Once inside, it didn't take very long to find you again. You seemed to know everyone there. I had never been in a literal hole in the wall before, but you know how much I love an adventure. Nearly as much as I love pursuing a mystery to find an Interesting Person.
Since you knew everyone--or appeared to--I stood out. Not one to leave a stranger lurking in the corner, clearly lost, you greeted me cheerfully. I told the truth: I was new. You were delighted to show me around this place into which I hadn't technically been invited.
Neither of us knew how important that meeting would be. The world will never know the things we've done together, but I do believe it's finally time to confess that I was an intruder in your world, drawn in by such an unexpected act.
Don't worry. I'll never tell anyone what it was, of course.
Just as I know you'll never tell them what I am.
---
This was written in response to one of those "Tell everyone how we met, only lie" memes on Facebook that got away from me.
