Forever trying to recapture the brief period in his life when he was free and happy, he became a sad relic of a forgotten world.

Told to dig deeper within himself, David came to realize he was a shallow, shallow man.

"The only folks who complain about the system being corrupt are those who aren't benefitting from it," he laughs, blowing an acrid cloud of cigar smoke in the reporters' faces.

They woke that July morning to a blanket of snow that never let up.

And then the unexpected happened as it is wont to do.

Lizzie told herself his swagger and bravado were a turnoff and yet her thoughts kept returning to their chance encounter.

Only ghosts were able to stanch her loneliness.