a muscle ticked beneath his friend 's eye . `` is n't he a little old for me ? '' how fragile he would always be once his sense of purpose was gone . with another deep breath i straightened my shoulders and took my first step into the mountains . she does n't need to absorb any additional stress . in not very many hours the sun would lift itself up again . in some ways , their row home is a little nicer than mine . `` secrets that i can not allow others to know . '' 