Every story gets three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Start, during, finish.

Everyone knows that the beginning and end of a story are the best part. The start and the finish. The middle is relatively unimportant.

But, that's just in a world of pretend.

I wish her story was just a beginning and an end-- not because the beginning or the end were especially happy. Because I knew about them. I could fit the pieces together, thread them alongside one another, until I had a coherent picture.

But, the middle-- the means to the end-- that was still missing. The what, why, how, and who: all lost in translation.

I would never know the during of Samantha Avery; I was destined to understanding the start and finish.

I think that hurt the most of all.