Xanda slowly walked into her kitchen and found a small bottle of imported Vodka and took the cap off. Searching through her refridgerator she found a fresh cartoon of orange juice and poured a small amount into a quart sized water bottle. She grabbed the Vodka and attempted to read the label. With blurred vision from the tears and the Russian Cyrillic writing she knew it was next to impossible. She mixed up the bottle and started to take small sips. She knew she didn't want to get drunk but she was hoping the alcohol would mellow her out. At the least it would make her tired.

Xanda walked into her living room and shut all the windows and blinds, blocking all the light out. She sat on her couch with her bottle of vodka with a drop of orange juice for color and sipped it quietly. She enjoyed the warmth the alochol sent down her throat. She liked the comforting feeling it gave her. As she sat on the couch lost in her thoughts her phone rang. She decided against answering it and let the machine pick up. On the fourth ring she sat quietly listening for the voice on the other end.

"Hey Xandi, it's John..." Xanda quickly tossed a heavy pillow at the machine and watched it fall to the floor. She started to down the bottle when she continued to hear his voice. "Melody and I are having another baby! Isn't that great? I just wanted to share the good news with you and I'm happy to hear that your firm is doing well. Great job! Talk to you later." When the message ended Xanda was shaking as she continued to cry harder and harder. "I hate you!" She screamed through her tears at the machine.

After 20 minutes Xanda calmed down and walked into the kitchen. She put the bottle of vodka into the freezer knowing that it wouldn't freeze because of the alcohol content and walked over to one of her kitchen cabinets. She opened the one with medicines and looked for her Sonata sleeping pills. She may have been terrified by suicide but sleep was welcoming. She didn't mind sleeping through her problems.

After taking just one pill Xanda sat at the kitchen table, staring outside as the sun set. It was beautifu. Everything she ever loved about a sunset. Perfect in every way. She wanted to get closer to it. Deciding being outside was the best thing for her she stumbled out the door, half cried out and slightly buzzed. She managed to make it to the large tree in the corner of her yard and climbed into it to watch the sun. It amazed her how much she always felt better after sitting in the tree watching nature in all her glory. "Everyone misses this. The most beautiful, peaceful thing in this galaxy and everyone takes it for granted." She mussed as the sun slowly went lower and lower below the horizon.

No matter how much Xanda tried to concentrate on the sunset and the birds that were slowly becoming less and less as the night arrived the tears would not stop. She continued to cry and the pain continued to get worse.

***

Brian walked around his backyard raking up all the leaves before the sun went down when he noticed something over the fence. He glanced over at Xanda's yard and became slightly alarmed when he saw her sitting in the tree again, staring at the sunset with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Damn, she gives Niagra Falls a run for it's money." He told himself after remembering the time before when he saw her sitting in the same tree, crying.

He tried to ignore her and to use up whatever light was left from the sun as he continued raking the leaves. The night was coming fast and he needed to finish what he had started. He heard her phone ringing and stopped for a moment. He wanted to see if she would climb out of the tree in time to answer it or not.

He watched Xanda slowly climb out of the tree. She held onto the side of it for a moment until she could steady herself enough to walk into her house. Brian didn't understand what he was seeing. To Brian, she was always crying, always depressed. He had never once seen her smile in the little time he had known her. He didn't even know if she had teeth. Xanda quickened her strides as she continued to cry but failed to make it into her house. At the backyard porch she fell to her knees, crying. Her cries her soft and faint, Brian could hardly hear them. But after ten minutes it was obvious she wasn't going to get up off the ground. Her mind was in a state of shock and pain. She had lapsed back to the time when the pain in her life was at it's worst.

Brian didn't know what to do. It was now completely dark and the chances of him finishing his yard was were zero to none. He put away his equipment and stood at his backdoor, unsure if he should go in or try to help the enemy. He knew she wasn't to blame for all their problems and fights but he still felt anger towards her, but on the other hand she reminded him of a wounded deer. She needed someone's help.