‎    ‎    ‎    ‎   Start by pulling him out of the fire and hoping he will forget the smell. He was supposed to be an angel but they took him from the light and turned him into something hungry, something that forgets what his hands are for when they aren't shaking. He will lose so much and you will watch it all happen, and you would let the world break its neck if it means keeping him. Start by wiping the blood off of his chin and pretending to understand.

Repeat to yourself, "I won't leave you, I won't 
leave you." until you fall asleep and dream of 
the place where nothing is red. When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it. Oh, when you sing it to sleep. Here are your upturned hands. Give them to him and watch how he prays like he is learning his first words.