A lonely ache lives in your chest, shoving things out of the way to make room. It’s hard to breathe now. It grows. Gains teeth.

Soon, it begins to gnaw away at your heart. It is fortunate it chose that, for it is the thing you will miss the least.

Anna Piaia is a lover of both words and history. She lives in Philadelphia, where both are plentiful. You can see her ramblings at annadelphia.com.