Tales Told Twice

"he is half of my soul, as the poets say. " - song of achilles

"write me a letter telling me how to live the rest of my life without you." - how to make friends with the dark

"they were my birthday presents." - shatter me

"she had realized that she had forgotten the precise blue of his eyes and the depth of his laugh." - clockwork princess

"my name is sam cortland... and i will not be afraid." - assassin's blade

"you chose me four years ago. would you choose me still?" - these violent delights

"we were all supposed to make it." - crooked kingdom

"i remember everything." - the invisible life of addie larue

"come home and shout at me. come home and fight with me. come home and break my heart, if you must. just come home." - cruel prince

"i wasted all those yesterdays and am completely out of tomorrows." - they both die at the end

"you hated the idea of me." - the final gambit

"bob says hello." - house of hades

"abuse can feel like love. starving people will eat anything." - nightfall

"i missed you only with an ocean between us. but if death was separating us... i would find you." - queen of shadows

"i loved him. i love him. as best i could." - we were liars

"i'm the villain, even in my own story. but you were supposed to play a different role." - finale

"i will find you again in the next world—the next life. and we will have that time. i promise." - a court of wings and ruin

It's never throwing away that bracelet she gave you. It's much too small for you now but to bin it would be a betrayal to what it meant.

It's remembering how time felt like it wouldn't move in childhood. It's remembering how you and her felt like forever. The bounce of the trampoline, the pleats in the hair, the wind in your face while you played. You could swear you were still with her.

It's the sleepovers, the long nights making dances, staying up late for the first time. It's holding in your laughter, so her parents don't hear. It's the 'she told me not to tell anyone but, of course, l'm going to tell you'.

It's knowing her better than you know yourself. It's wanting to see each other as much as you can. It's the melding together, the struggle to tell where you begin, and she ends.

It's the first type of love you know.

It's aging and moving away. It's going to the same school but drifting away. It's trying to stay in contact, but no one has the time now. It's realising she's went out with friends without asking if you wanted to go.

It's the ache you feel whenever her photo appears on Instagram. It's the brief conversations you have with her on the streets, with the promises of catching up one day. It's watching time move more rapid and realising you haven't spoke to each other in five years.

It’s knowing she knew you in a way no one ever could. Mourning for the loss of what it meant to be known briefly.

Let that funny bone wear off

Far away into a corner

From where nothing comes back,

They may try to hush your voice

Strangle the sparks of your humour

Into a dying sound,

Call you loud

Or always excited for nothing,

But don't let it jargogle

The playful Identity of yours,

You're like the fireworks in the sky

With a festive spirit

with what little me i have left,

i erase august,

and it takes you with it.

september digs its hands into my heart and holds on,

and i never quite learn how to get rid of you.

every month that passes feels like it leaves traces,

like there’s a part of everything i do

with space for you in it.

i wish i didn’t always glance to my passenger seat

and expect to see you looking back at me.

but i would drive all those hours to the ocean for you all over again,

take the same practiced roads,

memorize the route to your hands,

just to drown where you last said “i love you”

just to watch those lights blink on the boardwalk

while the last of the tide sweeps out for good.