Can't Catch Me Now

"Come back to me alive," she says quietly. Then, firmer: "In one piece."

I cup her face in both hands, thumbs brushing her cheeks like I'm afraid she'll vanish if I blink.

"I always do, I'm not made out of sugar" I promise. Repeating the phrase, like we always do.

She leans into my hands, eyes closing for just a second.

"I'll be here," she says. "Don't disappear on me."

"I won't."

I pull her into me one last time, holding her too tightly, too long. She clings back just as hard, fingers digging into my shoulders like she knows something I don't.