the other side of the galaxy

(One) And it was so scary, so grand, so full of sexual exploration and blooming love.
(Two) So it was still new. Still growing and changing and becoming.
(Three) Not always the same thoughts, but always the same caring and sharing and such.
(Four) Making a pretty picture. Standing the test of time. Everyone is so happy, yet so jealous.
(Five) You think time can make up for normalcy. That life will be interesting again.
(Six) And you start up a fantasy or two. You don't always connect now. You know her the best, but what of the rest?
(Seven) You fucked up. And she fucked up, too. You see her and you don't know her. You've lost what you thought would always be there.

Over. Bette tries to repeat the word, to run it over her tongue and say it aloud. It sounds a lot like a door slamming in her face.
And Tina is gone. And Bette wonders what happened to the years.







What it is... Dana doesn't know, not anymore.
And maybe she never knew, even when she was healthy and okay.
Dana looks in the mirror and sees a stranger staring back. And she sees all the people she has hurt somehow.
Can you make up for things like that? Is there a do-over?
Lara will make it okay she'll be alright she understands she couldn't take it I couldn't love her enough to stop her pain.
But is that what it is? Dana pushes away from the bathroom after being sick. Again.
Alice will be fine she has friends she is so strong I didn't mean to leave her I didn't plan to hurt her all the time.
But is that what it is? Dana runs out of breath as she tidies up her bed.
My parents will survive they still have Howie they did the best they could with me I was always disappointing them.
But is that what it is?
Or is it just time running out that is making Dana wish she could do it all over again?








She was closing her book. Turning the page. And the chapter was done. Onward to the next story.
Jenny found a lost part, a missing piece of the fiction of her childhood and brought her home again. Not the old one... Not the one with denial as a nightlight. But a new one.
The world of Jenny's mended heart. Open and ready and willing. Not completely whole, but getting there.
Jenny walks along and no longer feels like her skin is peeling off. She wakes up in the morning and likes the sun on her face. Jenny laughs and she means it and Jenny smiles and she feels it.
Maybe not everyone gets it. But then they don't have to.