He's falling again and I can't stop him. I reach for him with the desperation of one who will not survive without him. The earth swallows his tall, beautiful form, devouring his strawberry blond waves, his hazel eyes flecked with green, until only one hand reaches upward for me, the earth eating him alive.

I scream his name, dive for him. It takes forever to hit the ground. It vibrates under me, the tiny seedling bursting from the dark loam that ...