And I put my hand on her arm to stop her rowing. Aaron’s Noise roars up in red and black. The current takes us on.“I’m sorry!” I cry as the river takes us away, my words ragged things torn from me, my chest pulled so tight I can’t barely breathe. “I’m sorry, Matches!”?”“Matches!” I scream. Aaron brings his free hand towards my dog.“MATCHES!”?” And Aaron wrenches his arms and there’s a CRACK and a scream and a cut-off yelp that tears my heart in two forever and forever. And the pain is too much it’s too much it’s too much, and my hands are on my head, and I’m rearing back, and my mouth is open in a never-ending wordless wail of all the blackness that’s inside of me.

The Knife of Never Letting Go