"I think I finally get it."

"Get what?" There was something about the look in his eyes, the confidence, the surety, that had me swallowing hard.

"You." And as he smiled, it was almost smug. "I get you, Oz. You're a little, Aren't you?"

If only I had known at the time just how much those few little words were going to change my life.

The Little Of Oz Series

Drowning was the process of sustaining respiratory impairment by either submersion or immersion.

I had spent my whole life believing that it required the involvement of some kind of fluid, some kind liquid, in order for one to drown.

But how could that be true when inside my chest, tidal waves of emotion had risen, crashing throughout my body, leaving no part of me unaffected? How could it be true when feelings that came without name flooded my chest?

There was no water, but I was drowning.

It was the worst of pains. It was the most sadistic of pains. Hope and doubt had drawn swords, and the battle had left me shaken to the core.

It wasn't clear who had won between them. It wasn't the kind of game where a victor could truly be crowned.

I had run out of tears. I had hoped that my thoughts would have followed their example and dried up, but luck had never seemed to be on my side.

Chapter49