Within You Or Without You Novels & Stories

Something is happening. Roman says that teenagers go missing all the time and not to worry, but something doesn't sit right with me. Why would someone like to go missing? I get up and head to the kitchen to put the plate and glass in the sink, but my mind can't seem to get out the image of the girl. It was like she imprinted herself in my brain, and all I can see is her face. I returned once again to the couch as I covered myself completely with the blanket.

One way or the other. ~

There was no anger and no heartbreak, just the quiet relief of something finally settling into place. I opened the chat with Nola and typed two words: [Perfect match.] Then, I held down the power button and turned my phone off completely. I pulled out the SIM card I had been using for years and dropped it into the trash. The boarding announcement echoed through the terminal speakers. I stood, took hold of my suitcase, and walked toward the security checkpoint. Outside, the world was loud with celebration, and in here, there was only the stillness of leaving alone. However, that was alright. From now on, my world belonged to no one but me.

Only this. The body sits. The body stands. The body lies down. All within this. None apart from this. The sitting is this. The standing is this. The lying is this. No separation. The heart beats. The lungs expand. The blood flows. All within this. None apart from this. The beating is this. The expanding is this. The flowing is this. No separation. The emotion rises. Joy surges. Sorrow wells. Anger flashes. All within this. None apart from this.

My hands tremble, not from fear, but from realization. They are already changing. And they don’t even know it yet. I straighten, lifting my chin as I move toward the window. The war outside these walls is far from over. Enemies circle. Threats remain. But inside this palace, inside this bond, I am no longer powerless. Influence does not require commands. It only requires presence. And I am very present.

Anything. Nothing.

"NEED" "YOU"

"Not everything in this world is black and white. You chose marriage and disappointed me in the process, but it doesn't mean you did wrong. It's just a decision you made in your life. It's not something we can dictate." Without affection, all decisions made in this world are selfish. No one path is absolutely or definitively right or wrong.

I was going to help rescue animals—creatures who couldn't cry out for help the way humans could. Maybe we'd been apart too long. Tony and I no longer belonged to the same world. "Tony," I said, "I've applied to join an animal protection branch of Doctors Without Borders. I might not come back." He looked stunned, his eyes flickering with both regret and longing. "I really am grateful for everything you've done," I continued. "But I think you can already feel it—we can't go back. We're like two lines that crossed once, only to move farther apart with every step."

You have to be there. Of course.