"I cry for time. For here, as we stand on this ground, this round mound of sound, we cry, for our hearts are cold and need to be full once more. We came here, from near and far, to stand 'neath this star and shout to our God. GOD! For he is and HE IS!"

The girl cried. She bent down and sat on the grass and heard the man's words as they poured down from the mound.

"I cry for peace. Not the soft peace of the mind, but the loud peace of the soul! GOD! For he is and HE IS!"

She cried more, now as her Dad swayed and 'yay'-ed and prayed. She cried and cried and cried. And she sat on the ground, 'the round mound of sound,' he'd said and she thought all the world was dead.

"I cry for us all! Not those who just speak the truth but for those of us who ARE the truth. Hear me God! For he is and HE IS!"

Belle, for the girl's name was Belle, cried as the man on the mound lied. And she wished the world dead, just as dead as her head and her Dad, who still swayed and prayed and kept his hands help up high to the sky as Belle cried. And the sky turned to black and the black came with fire.

"I cry for GOD! As he does there, so shall he do here and as the sky turns to night, we will all be just right. For we will be took up," (and at this Belle looked up) "and we all will take flight in the night, for he is right and he is might and he is light and he is and HE IS!"

And Belle saw, in the night, that no wing would take flight, nor her Dad as he swayed or the man as he prayed but the world would be dead and she wished for her bed and she clung to her head as the first of them crashed and it splashed and it mashed and she cried.

"For he is and HE..."

Round was the sound as it hit on the mound and man who had prayed, and them all who had stayed saw it crash and it smash and it mash and it roll like a coal to each soul and Belle cried with one hand on her head and out to her Dad and said "Please, let us go. I want to go, and go to bed."

But Dad swayed and still prayed as the might rained that night and the light soon fell dark in the park where they prayed and Belle cried as her Dad held his head and he said, "Were we all to take flight, in the night, with the light?"

And he knelt near his Belle and she felt of his plight and took his head in her hand and they sat on the land and they cried and they cried, how they cried as they died on that round mound of ground where the last of them crashed and splashed and mashed.

And Belle said at the last, for the sky fell so fast, that she loved her dear Dad who had swayed and had prayed, but had left her to cry on the grass at the last but it was good and not bad and she was glad for her Dad.

And he cried as they died and he held out his hand, on that sad soul-soaked land and she took it in hers and they prayed.

And they swayed.

And they said, so small and near-dead on the ground full of sound, "For we are and WE ARE and I love you."

It’s a bad day to beg for food. A foul, chill wind blows down the street with a threat of snow in it. My hands are cold. I pull on an old pair of wool gloves to warm them. There is just a small fire. The wood will soon be gone. I know there’s no work to be found in this town, but I hope I can find one kind soul who will share a loaf of bread or a cup of soup. Hard times are here for sure.

The street is near as bare as the trees. On the far side of the road, a man makes his way to the church. I could tell him there’s no food there, but could be he just wants to pray. I lost my faith when I lost my leg in the war, and my wife to the plague. There’s not much to live for now. But a man can’t just die when he wants to. The flesh fights him all the way. I’m just glad Kate can’t see me now, that she went fast. It would have hurt too much to watch her fade bit by bit.

So now it snows. Won’t die of thirst at least. But I must find food, and soon. If I wait too long I won’t care if I eat or not. I’ll grow weak. I’ll lay down and freeze to death in this dark, dank hut. Die of cold, of pain, of love too soon gone.

Wait! There! I see her flit from tree to tree. The girl with the red cape. She was kind to me once. Gave me a bit of cheese, a drink of milk. Some of the boys told me she had one cow she hid at her farm. No one from the Corps could find it, hard as they tried. It would have made a fine meal for the whole troop. More of them might have lived if they had had a bit of meat.

I chase the flash of red through the woods, past the pond. Must be two miles from town now. She moves fast, light, like her feet don’t touch the ground. One more mile and she stops to pull brush from the front of a cave I did not see. A cow moos. My heart leaps in my chest. There will be food there I know. And warmth. And a girl . . .

I must not think of that. Kate has not been gone a month. How could I? But a man has needs. And the girl with the red cape has a sweet face and a fine form. And food. Food I need to make it through the cold of the year. In spring I can plant, I can farm. I can raise corn and beans. By then this stump will heal and I can walk with a crutch. But now it throbs with heat from the wound and I must have some help to get by.

As I get close to the cave, I hear a low, calm voice hum a child’s song. Kate used to sing that tune. It calls up times gone by when there was no war, when life had hope and dreams in it. I peer through the gloom of the cave. There she sits on a short stool by the cow. She guides the streams of milk to her pail with a sure hand. She smiles at me but her eyes look strange, as though she sees a land far, far from here.

“Why did you come?" she asks.
“For food," I say.
She laughs. "I have the food you seek, my friend. Bread to eat, milk for your soul, and the sweet, sweet fruit of love. But we can’t stay here."
“Where will we go?"
“To the far place. You will see. You will like it there. No cold. No pain. All the time in the world for the joys you miss so much."
“How do we get there?"
Her eyes glow with gold light. “Grab hold of my cape. I will take you."

I reach for her. She is warm, so warm. My hands, then my arms are bright with sparks. I am mad with love, a torch in the dark of the cave. Her red cape swirls to hold me close and the heat grows so strong I can’t bear it. Then I smell the smoke from my own hair as it burns away. All at once I know where I am, what I have done. But it is too late. I can’t put the fire out. I fall to the ground by the stove and see there is no cave, no cow, no girl, no food. There is no hope. In flames, I go to meet my Kate.

This was the day. We had to go to the vet. This choice had been put off for weeks. No one seemed to have the will to do what had to be done. She would not move. She would not eat or drink. She would not play. She sleeps, sighs, coughs and then sleeps more. We watch, we pray, we hope, we tend to her needs and pray and hope some more. Pills do not help.

No change.

Twelve years of love comes down to this. Time, that seemed to have no end, now speeds up.

Tears, a catch in your throat, pain and more tears.

And guilt. Such…guilt. Have we let her down? Did we not do all we could? For all the love and joy she gave us, did we give back the same?

It's time. The vet is kind and gives us space. A kiss, a hug, a stroke of the back. Low talk, soft talk.

“Such a good girl. All will be fine. Soon, no more pain. We love you. Good girl…”

Scratch her ear, pet her head, kiss her nose and choke the sob. You try not to look in her eyes, but you have to.

Hold her paw. Watch her sigh. Wait for her sleep. Her last breath.

She’s gone.

But pain free. You hold on to that. You grip that thought with all your might.

And turn to go. So hard to do. But you force your feet to move. And you live on.

And you miss her. And you still love her.

My name is Jack. I am just a kid, but I am big. I have big arms and I am strong.

When it is warm, I work on the farm with my mom and my dad. I work hard. When it gets cold, I go to school. I miss a lot of school, so I don't read good or do much math.

I am big and strong, but I do not think fast. I talk real slow and I got left back, so the kids think I am dumb. They call me Dumb Jack; Big, Dumb Jack.

This year at school there is a girl in my class. Her name is Lynn. Lynn is not like I am. She is not big or strong. She is tall and thin. She is smart. Her eyes are blue and her hair is blond. She is cute. I like to talk to Lynn.

When we talk, she does not call me Dumb Jack. I like her a lot.

Last night, I could not stop my thoughts of her so I went to go see Lynn at her house. It was the first time I went to her house. I did not call first. I had to walk at least a mile to get there. It was dark when I got to her house.

I thought I would ring her bell, but then I heard her voice. She was with a kid from our class. It was Sam. Sam is smart, but he is mean. He likes to tease me a lot. He calls me Dumb all the time. I hate Sam.

I snuck up and got close so I could see Sam and Lynn. Sam had his hand on Lynn's back. She let him hug her. She let him kiss her. How could Lynn let Sam touch her?

I said, "No!"

Then I heard Sam laugh. "I think Dumb Jack likes you Lynn. Go home now, Jack. We don't want to see your big, dumb face."

I was mad, but I had my pride. I went to go, then I heard Lynn laugh too. It broke my heart and it made me so mad. I saw red.

My name is Jack. I am just a kid, but I am big. I have big arms and I am strong. I can hit hard and I can hit for a long time. I can kick and I can punch.

I hit Sam's head with a rock and blood came out. The blood went on the ground. The blood went on Lynn and the blood went on me. It was so much bright, red blood. I heard Sam groan then he went still.

I tried to hold Lynn, but she ran. When I heard her scream, I ran too. I caught her and I held her in my arms. I did not let her run. I held her still. I held her tight. I did not make her bleed. I just held her neck.

I gave Lynn a hug and a kiss. She did not move. She was dead, too. I dug a pit and put Sam and Lynn in it. They will not laugh at me now. That makes me feel good.

My name is Jack. I am just a kid, but I am big. I have big arms and I am strong. I can kill.

It had been days now since the Gods died. It could have been weeks, months, I did not know. Each day the sky was as dark as the last. My room was as bare as my thoughts. I closed my eyes.

Back in the days of light we would spread our wings and soar passed the roofs which were our town and bask in the warmth and soft glow of the late sun. We were the youth and our Gods kept us safe and made good on our wants and needs. We were a strong and proud race; both the land and the clouds were our realm. We were to pay, though, too high a price for our trust and our faith.

They came from the north of the sea, the men, with their boats and their words and their songs and their thoughts.

We took them in; to our land, our town, our home. We let them fill our hearts and our minds. We came down from the clouds and heard their bards sing tales of arms and men. They brought us gifts and yoked our wild beasts. We breathed the same air and now as one we broke our bread.

With new wit and skill we could make good our own needs and wants. Through our own toil, with pride we now did reap what as one we had sown. Now brave we cast our rope nets to tame the beasts of the sea. Our guests brought fire; in awe we held the flame of Gods in our hand. From our steep hills they showed us how to dig for ores and cast for us sword and axe and mail.

They told us that now we were safe. We liked the way this made us feel. This was a word ere we did not know. They told us that this would make us free, like the birds. Free. This word too we had not known.

Now that we were safe and free, we had no need to use our wings and learned to speak in the tongues of man. When dark fell we each took turn to stand on guard, to keep safe our kin and too the flame that the men had stole from the Gods.

The Gods did not come to take back the fire. More men came though, from far off lands, with words and gifts and with lies and swords.

Our guests, now king and prince and knight, took words and gifts to greet these men, but too took lies and swords and ones from our own kin. We heard the clash of steel. The sky turned black, as did our hearts and thoughts. In fear now, not joy, we prayed and cast our eyes to the clouds. All was still, our breath held as one. And then the sound of sword on sword broke the calm. As we let out that breath as one, we knew that our Gods would not come.

In our hearts we knew our Gods were dead. In our vain pride and toil, with new crowned kings of men, we had lost all that once our race held dear and true. Our wings beat no more. We did not know what it was to be free.

The screams, the pain, the swords, the lies, they blend and fall. As the shade of dust falls on the land, where once the call of a bird would sing to me in the half dreams of dawn, my wings, like my heart, are broke.

I close my eyes and leave our lands to the wrath of man.

The flame ate my heart, my tears flow down. For no more shall I laugh. The pain will not leave. I try to sleep, but my mind will not let me; thoughts sail through my head, they do not let me rest. Please, my friend, come back. Why did you leave me? Why did you go where I can’t? Do not let me live here, do not let me find love here. Take me with you, take my soul. Come, oh death and save me.