He Called

All it takes to set it off again is the exchange of letters, then four minutes on the telephone, calling to tell her he was moving back to Manila. Do you miss me? I'd like to see you again. Old lines uttered, tired and so very true.

She doesn't want to go through that again. Her heart is half of what it used to be - if he returns she will have to hide it. Her body will become a fortress. She will throw out all semblances of love, forget what it means to feel. She is a deep scar slashed back into being - in the wound, she finds the ring he'd given her three years ago. It seems larger now, cold and solid in her unwilling hand. She prays for fortification - let me not break, or else lay down pillows for me, so when I shatter, the pieces will be easier to pick back up again.