Fiction vs. Reality

Dear Papabear,

I recently read the "Nightshade" trilogy, and when the book ended, I didn't know how to handle myself. When I got home from school, I couldn't help but to cry. I felt like I was part of the pack, I felt like that was my family. A person died I didn't want to die.

What do I do? How do I get over this? 

--Wolf Willful

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Dear Wolf Willful,

That is a high compliment to the author that the characters touched you so much.  How do you get over it?  You realize that the story is fiction, that these people are not real, and they are not really dead (or alive).  If you want them to live again, just start reading from the beginning of the first book.

I don't wish to negate your very real emotions, hon, but please get a hold of yourself. It can be very cathartic to experience the feelings an author puts on a page, but, in the end, you close the book's covers and return to reality.

Hugs,
Papabear