Even you

Even the most truthful
Can be caught in a lie
Even the most beautiful of flowers
Begins to wilt and die
Even the strongest of men
Will grow to be weak
Even the most dedicated searcher
May find nothing left to seek
Even the brightest of colors
Can grow pale and fade away
Even the most articulate of all
May not know what to say
Even the most generous person
Can have nothing left to share
Even the most loving individual
Sometimes seems like they don't care
Even the finest of ships
Has days when it won't sail
Even winners
Have moments when they fail
Even in paradise
The ocean can be rough
Even the fastest runner
Sometimes isn't fast enough
Even the most common
Is different from all the rest
Even perfection isn't perfect
And can't always be the best
Even when you have it all
You'll find you can still lose
Even the funniest comedian
Meets crowds they can't amuse
Even the bravest soldier
Deep down has hidden fears
Even the boy who never cries
One day finds himself in tears
Even in heaven
Angels may fall
Even your scream
May project a silent call
Even the most stubborn
Eventually will learn
And then you discover, when you get too close
Even sunshine will burn.
Even you will realize this
Before you hadn't known
Even you can fall in love
And still you are alone.*

+ 10 years after she left

Ike carried a box into the new house. "That's the last one honey!" He called.

She came in and kissed him. "We finally moved in together!"

"And I'm very happy!" He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "What are we going to do with all these wedding presents?" He asked.

"Hmm....why don't you go upstairs and go through some old stuff in the boxes, and I'll start opening the gifts. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not.....it's fine with me." Ike went upstairs and set the box down. He opened it up and began removing items and sorting them into piles. One was marked 'Garbage' and the other was 'Keep.'

Near the bottom of the box, he came upon a piece of paper. After a second glance, it looked vaguely familiar. It couldn't be......

It was. How could it have possibly gotten into this box? Taylor must have found it and kept it all these years. He picked it up and just looked at it for a few moments. Then he sighed and tossed it into the pile marked 'Garbage.'

Sometimes he still missed her, but he had accepted that she was gone. She didn't want to be found, so he had respected her wish, and not searched for her. He had loved her enough to do that.

"Honey?" His wife called. "Someone sent us a wedding present. A ring. But I don't know who it's from."

Ike stood up and leaned out the doorway. "They didn't leave a name?" He shouted.

"Oh they did.....but we didn't invite anyone with that name."

"What name?"

"Jenn..."

And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
I can make believe he's here

Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head

On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me

In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness,
The trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me
Forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us

I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers

I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world would go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known

I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own.*

+ One month later

Ike knocked on the door. When it opened, she stood before him.

"Hello, Ike." A man appeared behind her. "I'd like you to meet my husband, Mike." She turned to her husband. "Mike, this is Mr. Hanson."

She's married.....well, so am I. We've both moved on.

He and Ike shook hands. "I'm a big fan of your music Mr. Hanson," Mike said, "especially the new album you produced."

Ike smiled. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it."

"Mike," Jenn said, "can you go check on dinner? The potatoes have been in the oven for a while."

"Sure." Mike went into the kitchen.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked. Ike nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He saw a ten-year-old girl sitting on the couch, reading.

Jenn leaned over and said softly, "she's yours Ike. I was pregnant when I left."

Ike's jaw dropped. "Mine?"

"Yours."

He couldn't believe it. He had a daughter.

Jenn turned her head towards the ground, avoiding his eyes. "I couldn't ruin your career, I didn't want to take away what meant the most to you....your music. You had so much going for you, and a baby would have prevented that from happening. Still, you have every right to hate me."

"I don't hate you. In fact, I'm not even angry."

She lifted her head.

The look in her eyes encouraged him to go on. "Yeah, I mean, I have a daughter...it's hard to even grasp that."

She nodded, and there was an awkward silence between them, neither one knowing what to say. It had been so long; they didn't know where to begin.

Ike finally broke the silence. "What's her name?" He looked over at the couch.

The young girl looked up at him shyly, and smiled. He saw his own eyes staring back at him. In that brief moment, he saw a part of him shining in that small, gentle smile.

Jenn looked from her daughter to Ike. She smiled faintly, and met his eyes. "Her name is Hope."

That night, as Ike walked home, he looked up at the stars.

Yes, he decided, you can touch the stars.

He had found his Hope.

After walking for a few minutes, he stopped and closed his eyes, remembering the poem that she had left him with. Her final words. The poem that had brought tears to his eyes; the words that had broken his heart.