• Unbreak me. Put me back together. I scream into the voices as I pick up the pieces. They each leave cuts, scars for remembering in the future. Thin white lines are overlapped by fresh crimson ones. The pieces fall again at the stinging, burning pain, shattering once more. I'm kneeling on the floor and in the dim light I see the mixture before me; a salty, coppery solution of blood and tears. I stare at the familiar concoction as I suck on my wounded fingers one at a time. The metallic taste numbs my pain, but I know it is only temporary. As I reach out to touch the puddle, tantalized by it's fragrance, a shadow steps into the light.
    I have met him many times before, but never have I known him. I believe he lives here for this is the only place I find him. This shadowy, dreamy place where broken hearts and broken people find themselves. Dark, dark curls frame a deathly pale face and nearly hide deep, bottomless eyes. Such lying eyes. He exudes an aura of peace as he holds out the final part to me. I walk to him and he wraps me in his arms.
    I don't know how long I stand there letting him kiss me ever so gently. But then, time is of no consequence in this place where nothing matters.The voices are growing louder now. I didn't notice it at first. I cover my ears in vain until, with a final scream, all is silent. Bewildered, I turn in his arms, suddenly afraid. There is another walking towards us.
    He glows with a light that is hard to mistake. Yes. I know this man. I have known him for many long years. The dark one releases me and warmth seeps into my body as I make my way slowly towards him. His hair is cropped short, honey blonde in the surrounding light that contrasts beautifully with skin I know overflows with heat.
    Beyond him, is a sea of people. I see them and become a child once again. I see all of them waiting for me and I am afraid. My teenage sister and my unborn niece or nephew stand there with my weary parents. My vindictive, bitter older brother, whom I love, stands beside his controlling fiancee. My grandparents are there. So are my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My friends, good and bad, my classmates, my teachers, my fellow church members...But behind all of them I can see the demons. Anger. Pain. Depression, Disappointment, Confusion, Doubt, Loneliness, and Darkness. But none of them compare to what steps out of the crowd to face me.
    It is Me.
    Or rather, it is what I have become.
    Terrified, I turn to run. But she is there. A blow to the face and I fall to the ground. A kick to the stomach, a fist to the head. Bones shatter as she steps on my leg, but I can't feel it or the other wounds I've suffered. I'm just too numb and i scares me all the more. Finally, her claws dig deep into my back. I'm coughing up blood, but I want to laugh, cry, and scream all at the same time because finally, I feel something. Now I can feel every blow. Every cut, every kick, every punch, and I can hear every word she she said as she gave them to me.
    I scream again to drown them out. The scream of a child. High-pitched and full of uninhibited emotions.
    The man in white is there immediately. The dark me is gone, waiting in the shadows to strike again. He cradles me in his arms, warming me, healing me. And I know that I need him. He's the reason I can go back to the world I hate. The reason I can face the world again. And that's what he does. He brings me back to myself. My real self.
    He unbreaks me.