The boy ran, tears streaming down his face and obstructing his vision. He tripped on the curb of the sidewalk; hauling himself up with bleeding hands, he continued running. He knew he shouldn't be crying, but he couldn't stop. His sobs were racked with anguish as his mind reeled in confusion. How could she have broken up with him? She was his life, a second soul that had inhabited his body. Without her he felt exposed and shy. He had told her everything. He had depended on her; she was what made his life worth living.

The sun beat down on the pavement, heating his thin sandals as they flapped beneath his feet. Still, he continued running, stopping only momentarily to pick himself up from another fall. His cell phone started to ring. It bounced hard against his thigh, leaving a bruise, but he ignored it. He couldn't answer it; he was too weak. His chest heaved up and down and he was short of breath.

Running away from the city towards the faster traffic, he lost his left sandal and the overheated sidewalk left heat blisters forming painfully on the bottom of his foot. He couldn't see where he was going anymore, and his vision was not only blurry from tears but from lack of air reaching his lungs. Swerving to avoid people-shaped blobs, he stumbled into the road. Cars whizzed past him, and he made a decision. Slowly, he took a step forward, right in front of an oncoming truck, cell phone still ringing at his side. Then, right before he fell backwards with the force of the collision, he caught a glimpse of a girl running towards him, cell phone at her ear, her mouth opening in a scream.