Afterward, there's an emptiness. A void stretches so wide, you might fall into it. The coldness swallows you until you're numb, and you think it's better that way, because at least you can't feel the pain anymore. Your jaw starts to hurt from all the fake smiles. Every time someone asks, "How are you?" you feel a flutter of panic. They know, you think as you answer, "I'm good, what about you?" But then they reply normally and the panic passes. This goes on, and it gets easier