[ WP ] Begin and end your story with this sentence : `` And yet , the city remained . ''

`` And yet, the city remained. Amazing to think that a volcano can erupt, kill almost everyone and still leave things more or less intact, is n't it?'' 
 
 Chris had just spent the last ten minutes talking about Pompeii. The man sitting next to him said a silent thank you to the deities of public transit for deigning to make his stop next. Chris settled in for the long haul, his stop not being for another hour. 
 
 As the bus doors opened and let his captive audience escape Chris saw an angel step on. She was talking passionately about *something* to her companion, whose eyes had glazed over long ago. He watched with interest as she paused their conversation and sat next to him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her shirt. It had a cartoon volcano with the text `` I lava you'' underneath. 
 
 Chris thought this woman could n't get any better. But then she said those words he had been longing to hear from another for as long as he could remember. `` And yet, the city remained.''
