Bella emerged into the lobby from the late twilight, like a sufficiently recovered she-wolf entering an open dell from a dim forest of lost time. Although it could not be observed that she was still in the process of healing, one thing was certain: she was not looking for prey. She merely wanted to survive the rendezvous.

Riding a bike is easy. Until you try doing it with an armful of groceries seeking escape from a torn paper bag — while eating a cookie.

I didn’t intend to be a hero.

But as a result, I lost my job, my wife and both of my girlfriends.

In contrast to the tension of another workday and sour news, it had been a somewhat relaxing drive home and not too hot to require air conditioning. As he pulled into his driveway with the window still down, he could hear yelling and crying from his wife and kids through the partially open front door. Although certainly loud enough to be heard outside, the noise was not so disturbing or unusual to cause an alarmed notice from any passerby. And on this day … well … he was inclined to just sit and listen.