Jim opened the door slowly, cautious of my

Jim opened the door slowly, cautious of my fragile state. "AJ? Are you okay?" Do I want to lie to him? Do I tell him the truth? "I'm fine," I lied. It was then my mask shattered.

I sat in my sobbing silence as he came to comfort me. "Tell me what's wrong." he commanded softly. I refused to speak, not off my own accord; I just merely couldn't.

So I sobbed. Stingy salty tears pooled in my eyes, then ran down my cheek. They burned when they touched the thick seam where my lips had been sewn shut. He said, "Tell me what's

the deal? Why is your mouth sewn up?" I couldn't tell him. If I opened my mouth, my prophecy would be heard. I pushed him aside and hurried down the alley. "Hey, Wait!"

I bowed my head and ran. He followed me-- I could hear his footsteps echoing off the walls. It sounded like a hundred men- a thousand. I couldn't speak. I could never speak. I was

afraid I'd never see her again. As I ran through the dimly lit parking garage, stumbled down three flights of stairs, and exploded through the exit, I found myself staring

at the shattered remains of the glass door I'd just burst through. I hadn't even seen it. I sure got her attention. "Oh my God" she said, "Your bleeding." "It doesn't matter", I

said, blood spraying in an arc from my severed carotid artery, "it's just a scratch." She seemed pacified by this and got a mop to clean up the blood. Phew! I thought. But the door

...the door...it seemed to far away....I had to get to the door...Blood continued to gush & my vision grew dim. I think I closed my eyes then. I heard her screaming, but I felt so