My father looked right at me, but he didn't answer. And his eyes were dazed and staring through me, like I was made out of smoke.
That was the first time I thought that maybe I was.

With my heart racing, I ran in the other direction; leaving the rest of this rescue to people who actually want to be heroes.

I hadn't been thinking, actually. I was just trying to get to a place where I'd be noticed.

There are some nights when you just want to know there's someone else besides you in this wide world.

I pick up a pen and start to unscrew the whole thing, pull out the skinny little tube of blue ink. It would be so cool to have one of these built inside you, like a squid; you could point your finger and leave your mark on anything you wanted.

I find myself staring at the goldfish. Bright as a penny, he swims in circles, happy to be going nowhere.