The rain hit the tin roof like gravel.

I packed my bag.

The handle was wet.

I left the house.

I left the door open.

The wind rushed in.

It smelled of wet earth.

It smelled of decay.

I walked to the square.

The cobblestones were slick.

I slipped.

I caught myself.

My hand shook.

The tremor was bad.

It started in the fingers.

It moved to the wrist.

It was the palsy.

The doctor called it degenerative.

He said it was natural.

He said it was old age.

He was wrong.

It was the sickness.

It was the thing in the water.

It was the thing in the air.

I looked at my hand.

The skin was thin.

The veins were blue.

They looked like roots.

They looked like cracks.

I was losing control.

I was losing myself.

I walked on.

The town was quiet.

The factories were dark.

The smokestacks were cold.

They did not blow anymore.

The machines were stopped.

The gears were rusted.

The oil was dried.

It was a graveyard.

It was a tomb.

I knew why.

I knew the secret.

I had found it.

I had written it down.

The data was clear.

The correlation was perfect.

The chemical was the cause.

The chemical was the killer.

It was in the coolant.

It was in the steam.

It was in the rain.

I was the scholar.

I was the witness.

I was the fool.

I had told them.

I had gone to the board.

I had shown the papers.

I had explained the mechanics.

I had used the terms.

I had used the formulas.

I had been precise.

I had been right.

They laughed.

They smiled.

They said it was a joke.

They said I was tired.

They said I was paranoid.

They fired me.

They locked me out.

They took my desk.

They took my name.

They erased me.

Now I was alone.

Now I was sick.

Now I was dying.

I walked to the bridge.

The bridge was stone.

The water was black.

The water moved.

It moved fast.

It was angry.

It was alive.

I looked at my reflection.

The face was pale.

The eyes were hollow.

The mouth was open.

I saw the fear.

I saw the hate.

I saw the end.

I was not afraid.

I was ready.

I was the shield.

I was the wall.

I was the barrier.

I would not break.

I would not bend.

I would stand.

I would hold the line.

I would stop the poison.

I would save them.

I would save the town.

I would save the children.

I would save the future.

I was the hero.

I was the savior.

I was the god.

I was nothing.

I was dust.

I was ash.

The tremor stopped.

The hand was still.

The mind was clear.

The vision was sharp.

I saw it.

I saw the truth.

The truth was simple.

The truth was cruel.

The truth was mine.

I had been wrong.

I had been blind.

I had been stupid.

I had not looked.

I had not seen.

I had only guessed.

I had only assumed.

I had only felt.

I had not measured.

I had not tested.

I had not verified.

The data was flawed.

The sample was small.

The control was missing.

The variable was ignored.

The chemical was not the cause.

The chemical was the cure.

The chemical was the life.

The sickness was not the poison.

The sickness was the absence.

The sickness was the lack.

The sickness was the void.

We were sick because we were clean.

We were sick because we were pure.

We were sick because we were empty.

We needed the taint.

We needed the stain.

We needed the dirt.

We needed the dark.

We needed the other.

We needed the monster.

We needed the beast.

I remembered the boy.

I remembered the name.

Elias.

He was my student.

He was my friend.

He was my lover.

He was the light.

He was the warmth.

He was the breath.

He was the life.

He was the heart.

He was the soul.

He was the love.

It was not reason.

It was not logic.

It was not science.

It was instinct.

It was primal.

It was raw.

It was wild.

It was the blood.

It was the bone.

It was the meat.

I had loved him.

I had loved him fiercely.

I had loved him completely.

I had loved him beyond fear.

I had loved him beyond death.

I had loved him beyond life.

It was the anchor.

It was the rock.

It was the ground.

It was the truth.

I had lost him.

I had lost him to the sickness.

I had lost him to the fear.

I had lost him to the shame.

I had pushed him away.

I had burned him away.

I had killed him.

Not with a gun.

Not with a knife.

Not with poison.

I had killed him with pride.

I had killed him with ego.

I had killed him with certainty.

I had been so sure.

I was so wrong.

I was so alone.

I was so blind.

I was so small.

The rain stopped.

The sun came out.

The light was bright.

The light was cold.

The light was white.

It burned.

It burned the skin.

It burned the eyes.

It burned the mind.

I felt the heat.

I felt the pain.

I felt the burn.

I felt the life.

I felt the return.

The tremor came back.

The hand shook.

The mind raced.

The body failed.

But the spirit was strong.

The spirit was free.

The spirit was whole.

I was not the shield.

I was not the wall.

I was not the barrier.

I was the seed.

I was the root.

I was the soil.

I was the earth.

I was the ground.

I was the base.

I was the start.

I was the beginning.

I was the hope.

I was the future.

I was the promise.

I was the gift.

I was the love.

I was the truth.

I was the light.

I was the fire.

I was the storm.

I was the rain.

I was the life.

I was the death.

I was the end.

I was the start.

I was the whole.

I was the part.

I was the one.

I was the many.

I was the self.

I was the other.

I was the us.

I was the we.

I was the all.

I was the nothing.

I was the everything.

I was the void.

I was the full.

I was the empty.

I was the space.

I was the time.

I was the moment.

I was the now.

I was the here.

I was the there.

I was the where.

I was the when.

I was the who.

I was the what.

I was the how.

I was the why.

I was the answer.

I was the question.

I was the silence.

I was the sound.

I was the word.

I was the noise.

I was the voice.

I was the cry.

I was the shout.

I was the scream.

I was the song.

I was the melody.

I was the rhythm.

I was the beat.

I was the pulse.

I was the breath.

I was the gasp.

I was the sigh.

I was the moan.

I was the groan.

I was the pain.

I was the joy.

I was the sorrow.

I was the glad.

I was the fear.

I was the brave.

I was the weak.

I was the strong.

I was the small.

I was the big.

I was the high.

I was the low.

I was the up.

I was the down.

I was the in.

I was the out.

I was the on.

I was the off.

I was the yes.

I was the no.

I was the maybe.

I was the perhaps.

I was the never.

I was the always.

I was the soon.

I was the late.

I was the now.

I was the then.

I was the before.

I was the after.

I was the while.

I was the until.

I was the since.

I was the for.

I was the from.

I was the to.

I was the by.

I was the with.

I was the at.

I was the in.

I was the on.

I was the under.

I was the over.

I was the through.

I was the across.

I was the along.

I was the around.

I was the about.

I was the against.

I was the between.

I was the among.

I was the within.

I was the without.

I was the inside.

I was the outside.

I was the inside out.

I was the outside in.

I was the top.

I was the bottom.

I was the left.

I was the right.

I was the front.

I was the back.

I was the side.

I was the middle.

I was the edge.

I was the center.

I was the core.

I was the shell.

I was the skin.

I was the bone.

I was the blood.

I was the flesh.

I was the muscle.

I was the nerve.

I was the brain.

I was the heart.

I was the lung.

I was the liver.

I was the kidney.

I was the gut.

I was the eye.

I was the ear.

I was the nose.

I was the mouth.

I was the tongue.

I was the tooth.

I was the hand.

I was the foot.

I was the head.

I was the neck.

I was the back.

I was the chest.

I was the belly.

I was the hip.

I was the leg.

I was the arm.

I was the elbow.

I was the wrist.

I was the knee.

I was the ankle.

I was the finger.

I was the toe.

I was the nail.

I was the hair.

I was the sweat.

I was the tear.

I was the blood.

I was the snot.

I was the spit.

I was the bile.

I was the vomit.

I was the feces.

I was the urine.

I was the seed.

I was the egg.

I was the sperm.

I was the ovum.

I was the zygote.

I was the embryo.

I was the fetus.

I was the infant.

I was the child.

I was the youth.

I was the adult.

I was the elder.

I was the old.

I was the dead.

I was the ghost.

I was the spirit.

I was the soul.

I was the mind.

I was the body.

I was the self.

I was the other.

I was the us.

I was the we.

I was the they.

I was the you.

I was the he.

I was the she.

I was the it.

I was the them.

I was the us.

I was the we.

I was the all.

I was the none.

I was the one.

I was the many.

I was the single.

I was the plural.

I was the individual.

I was the collective.

I was the private.

I was the public.

I was the secret.

I was the open.

I was the hidden.

I was the shown.

I was the seen.

I was the unseen.

I was the known.

I was the unknown.

I was the certain.

I was the uncertain.

I was the true.

I was the false.

I was the real.

I was the fake.

I was the genuine.

I was the counterfeit.

I was the original.

I was the copy.

I was the first.

I was the last.

I was the beginning.

I was the end.

I was the start.

I was the finish.

I was the arrival.

I was the departure.

I was the stay.

I was the go.

I was the come.

I was the leave.

I was the remain.

I was the vanish.

I was the appear.

I was the disappear.

I was the show.

I was the hide.

I was the reveal.

I was the conceal.

I was the expose.

I was the cover.

I was the bare.

I was the clothed.

I was the naked.

I was the dressed.

I was the undressed.

I was the armed.

I was the disarmed.

I was the equipped.

I was the unequipped.

I was the prepared.

I was the unprepared.

I was the ready.

I was the unready.

I was the set.

I was the unset.

I was the fixed.

I was the loose.

I was the tight.

I was the slack.

I was the hard.

I was the soft.

I was the rough.

I was the smooth.

I was the sharp.

I was the dull.

I was the blunt.

I was the keen.

I was the bright.

I was the dark.

I was the light.

I was the shadow.

I was the sun.

I was the moon.

I was the star.

I was the sky.

I was the ground.

I was the air.

I was the water.

I was the fire.

I was the earth.

I was the wind.

I was the rain.

I was the snow.

I was the ice.

I was the steam.

I was the vapor.

I was the mist.

I was the fog.

I was the cloud.

I was the sky.

I was the space.

I was the time.

I was the moment.

I was the now.

I was the here.

I was the there.

I was the where.

I was the when.

I was the who.

I was the what.

I was the how.

I was the why.

I was the answer.

I was the question.

I was the silence.

I was the sound.

I was the word.

I was the noise.

I was the voice.

I was the cry.

I was the shout.

I was the scream.

I was the song.

I was the melody.

I was the rhythm.

I was the beat.

I was the pulse.

I was the breath.

I was the gasp.

I was the sigh.

I was the moan.

I was the groan.

I was the pain.

I was the joy.

I was the sorrow.

I was the glad.

I was the fear.

I was the brave.

I was the weak.

I was the strong.

I was the small.

I was the big.

I was the high.

I was the low.

I was the up.

I was the down.

I was the in.

I was the out.

I was the on.

I was the off.

I was the yes.

I was the no.

I was the maybe.

I was the perhaps.

I was the never.

I was the always.

I was the soon.

I was the late.

I was the now.

I was the then.

I was the before.

I was the after.

I was the while.

I was the until.

I was the since.

I was the for.

I was the from.

I was the to.

I was the by.

I was the with.

I was the at.

I was the in.

I was the on.

I was the under.

I was the over.

I was the through.

I was the across.

I was the along.

I was the around.

I was the about.

I was the against.

I was the between.

I was the among.

I was the within.

I was the without.

I was the inside.

I was the outside.

I was the inside out.

I was the outside in.