I watched as the last of the lights flicker away to give way to the darkness. Beyond those distant shorelines was my home or at least what was left of my home. I cannot go back.

Before I disappeared into my own gray insanity, I looked at the world with more vibrancy than perhaps any0ne who has ever lived. There was nothing about life that I could absolutely hate, nothing about it that could make me want to scream. Perfection was the key… but perfection I couldn’t understand.

I turned to look at the sparkling waters below me. Cool, swirling, inviting. There’s only so much I can do to keep myself from plunging deep beneath it. I want to drown out their voices. Their sordid pasts. Their unbearable scrutiny. I never understood perfection.

I took one step forward, and another and another. The flash of lights erased what was left of my dismal memory. Then, I felt the cool waters part. Beyond those shoreline was my home no more. Beneath these waves lies my sanctuary.