Suddenly she needed a cigarette to calm her nerves. She had felt ridiculous about the bad habit before, then comforted by the way smoke stilled the shaking in her hands.She climbed the narrow fire escape to the roof, the sun was shining, yes, but she could tell the moon was there anyway, waiting for its turn to shine.For a moment, the city's noise fell away, and she fumbled in her pockets and lit a cigarette on a borrowed lighter. "Hi, moon," she whispered."I can't see you right now, but I bet you can see me. Look at me, selling myself to the devil, one day at a time."She laughed and dragged in the smoke, letting it fill her lungs, then let the smoke go to watch it disappear. "You always loved it," Ben said behind her, voice small. He'd followed her, crouching a careful distance away on the top landing. "You said the moon was the only thing that never changed.""It never did," she said. "As a kid, you think it's following you everywhere, and I know you're supposed to grow out of
Last Updated : 2025-09-17 Read more