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As she'd lain in her bed all those weeks, nestled in the bowels of so, her throat on fire, she'd known that Ian was there She heard his voice, felt his touch He'd coaxed her back from the pain-riddled void It was for him that she'd finally opened her eyes

Outside, the night beckoned in a thousand twisting,shadows She wanted to be out there where Ian anted it so badly she felt desperate

She needed to experience life beyond the glass, to

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sotten kiss of the wind To be a part of so

The glass was so deceptively thin So easily broken So easily

Break the glasstouch the worldThe outside beckoned in a sly, seductive voice

She drew her hand back and made a fist

No Soerous to break glass She would be hurt

What she needed was to open the

She s suddenly how to do it She twisted the little metal paddle and pushed the lower half of theup It creaked loudly, scraping as if it hadn't beenand slapped her cheeks

She laughed in triumph The world smelled so wonderful, so fresh and clean Rain splattered her face in big droplets She closed her eyes and let herself experience the moment?the taste, the s wind that smelled like salt and wet earth The trees whistled, waves s, black rocks

She planted her hands on the wooden sill and stuck her head outside, breathing deeply The secret, sensual world embraced her, filled her with a heady sense of possibility It was all out there Everything she'd ever wanted, ever would want

Waiting for her

She clihtdress stretched taut froh her tangled hair and stung her cheeks The tight fabric of her gown fluttered in a quiet, thu up, she felt alive She licked the cold raindrops from her lower lip and shook her head