“Don’t put on such a brave face.”“He was, but ... but I wasn’t in love with him,” I replied then began to sob.I was immediately surrounded...by my friends, including Flinn and Torun, who just held me in a group hug whilst the rest of the party went on around us.“It’s OK to mourn, Kiria,” Flinn told me gently.“I ... I wasn’t in love,” I sobbed “So why does it hurt so much?”“He’s still alive...”“But doesn’t know me and won’t know me either.”“You mourn the loss of a friend, so it’s OK to cry,. The guests that weforced to be submissive would never permit theirreputation of being a dominate personality be put atrisk, they really wanted the punishment and control andneeded it but in secret and the rest of the world had tobelieve otherwise.My year was nearly up and I asked Diana to marry me. Itold her that I was willing to give up my career tobecome a mathematician for her. She would not have it;she said love is fleeting and I would eventually regretit; besides although she had a deep. It was a week before Ralph asked me when we could get together again and that was my opportunity to tell him sorry, that I'd loved it, but it was a one time thing that I'd never do again. But I didn't say that. I just said that I didn't know. From then on once or twice a week Ralph would ask me if I was ready yet and I would always answer no and then say something like, "I can't this week because" and then I'd give some lame excuse instead of just saying that I was never going to do it. She gave him a quick wave and a huge smile before turning to go back inside. All he could do was smile, hoping he could spend more time with her. He walked along the main road, over a bridge, and into the tiny town of Tairua, exactly like many he had seen all along. The Manaia Café overlooked the harbor and Cyrus found a table on the patio outside. He ordered a lemonade, salad and sandwich, and enjoyed watching the boats and small town harbor activity. It was quiet and peaceful, the air was.