Nell was not social and disliked other people. As she faced her early death, she formed a cold heart and did not accept her situation calmly like some others. She realized she would have to change her approach as her current situation was impossible. While the past can become familiar over time, memory can also be unkind in how it shapes perceptions.

2. Was it always this way? Did those with passage booked on
death’s silent ship always scan the dock for faces of the
long departed?

3. Nell was not one
for friends and
had never hidden
her distaste for
most other
humans, their
neurotic
compulsion for
the acquisition of
allies.

4. The prospect of an early
death sits differently upon
each person. In some it
gifts maturity far
outweighing their age and
experience: calm
acceptance blossoms into
a beautiful nature and
soft countenance. In
others, however, it leads
to the formation of a tiny
ice flint in their heart. Ice
that, though at times
concealed, never properly
melts.

5. The current
equation
was
impossible,
thus some
factor must
be
changed.

6. Memory is a cruel mistress with
whom we all must learn to dance.

7. Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder, isn’t it?

8. The past turns into something of an
old friend.