Hours passed, although it seemed as if one hour consumed the next, to me. Night came, and with it we left. Our footsteps echoing empty in the large hall of the hospital. The sky was bright with stars, but my eyes saw none, only the black expanse above me. I must have slept, but I felt even more tired the next morning. Perhaps, because I knew I had to return to school. Face all the questions and the normal high school life, that I wanted to avoid at all costs. But of course, I had to act like it was nothing, just like it was to everybody else. My silence alarmed my bestfriend, and as she asked me the question I had been dreading all morning, “Are you okay?” my fragile masque shattered quickly, and painfully. Tears coursing hot trails down my face, she hugged me and the minutes seemed to last forever, but yet not long enough. Releasing me, she said the natural phrase that comes next, “I know it hurts, but at least he’s in a better place.” A better place, that makes this one seem like a personal hell