Abruptly, I realized the familiar look in Max’s round blue eyes, which had been so compelling, was sadness.

Life became colourful and wild as Ada danced through night and day. She danced so fiercely that she forgot what day it was or even her own name.

Scarred, but strong, we were two warriors who were ready to do the hardest thing of all, to return to life.

Nothing would ever be the same after I had been hurt so deeply, but to still have the courage to love—that was real bravery, the bravery people talked about in stories and tales.

We were willing to explore and be surprised. Willing to trust that there was beauty out there and love and joy. Ready to have our hearts touched and our souls hugged.

I knew that I never wanted to stop walking; I wanted to see places and somehow understand what this thing called earth was all about. There were so many people out there, and I had to meet them. I felt safe and at home on the roads to nowhere, I felt welcome and protected in the unknown land and I fell in love with the people around me. They were so very similar and still so very different from me. I felt their souls connect to my own, and I knew no greater feeling could ever be given to me.

She needed no drugs as she, like all the others, was high on him.

There was a memory of how beautiful, how wild, how colourful, how adventurous and how wonderful this big world was.

She had had many men before her father’s death and after they’d found each other. As if the pain would go away when enough souls showed her love—made love to her or made her forget her name for a night.

I felt his gaze upon my back as his hands moved down ever further, vanishing between my legs and claiming land that wasn't his to take.