The story is finished and shipped off to its destination. It is, quite literally, out of my hands now. And of course I will be hesitant to read it once it's published, just like an actor is reluctant to watch himself on-screen after the movie has been filmed. I will read it, but through my clasped fingers, as if watching a horror film I've watched many times before and therefore know when the girl in the white nightgown is going to be slashed and beheaded. I just hope I won't want to kill myself when I read it in print.