"...my attachments are always excessively strong." (Northanger Abbey)
"The true and affecting story of the Duchess of C***"
Out of my ear fell a clump of gritty grey sand, a scab-like mass, a universe of tiny rocks and pebbles, fragments of roots, shreds of green...
Crystalline, spidery lines etched their way across the surface, layer upon layer of them locking me in...
They floated motionless except for an occasional twitch of their bodies to keep themselves from drifting apart...
A sharp pain sent a gasp hissing through her teeth...
I rest my forehead against its knee...