I am insatiable. My desires creep into the crevices on the floor board, making it their home alongside the mangey rats. The dark circles under my eyes are heavy. They drag my face downward. I notice the cracks. I say nothing to you.

     Now I hear the sound of waves gently lapping against each other. In the sea, there is the fin of a shark way out in the distance, warning its victim far too late. I see you standing there next to me, on this damp sand. There is the stain of a kiss on your cheek. It’s not soft and sweet but pointed and thorny like the roses that grow near the cobblestone bridge, the one that’s arched over the rushing rapids that crash through town. The bridge crumbles bit by bit into the froth below, upsetting the silence with a startling splash. The pieces of cobblestone are never found again. In the reflection of the water, you notice a raven soaring above us. You squint to see a wedding ring in the bird’s mouth. As you gaze in awe at the thief, I look at you. I notice a golden reflection in your eyes. It comes from a burning, titleless book. Are there confessions in it? Pleas? A final message? I wonder. 

     On the way to your house, I spotted a letter in the thicket beside the road. It’s sealed in wax. It’s too painful to reach. We continue to walk, my boots tapping the path louder than yours. Our hands are so close and yet our fingers never graze the other’s. I wish they would. 

     You put an ornate key into the lock of your door and the mechanism inside clangs as you unlock it. Your house is as cold and dark as it is outside. You start a fire in your fireplace, as magnificent and grand as a king. You stand and stare at the flame as it dances. Your face is warmed by the glow of it, something I had never seen before. I call your name firmly but you do not respond. I coyly make my way over to you. I whisper your name sweetly and sadly once more. Tears well up in my eyes as silence is the loudest answer you’ve ever given me. I turn and leave. Back to the shattering cobblestone bridge. Back to the frozen water of the sea. Back to the house with all my desires hiding in the cracks. The cracks have disappeared. There is nothing else here.