Time seems to move to a slower beat. Everything becomes more circumspect when you have no one to share the big things of life or even the everyday little things.

The worry of being alone, to be apart from others. The solitary feeling for a short time might help to get things into perspective or cool a raging mind. But if it's long term then the mind begins to play tricks. Conversations are between ourselves, no outside voice to support, to balance, to question or confirm. From there the path can be very unsettling.

Our authors including Nikolai Gogol, O Henry, Katherine Mansfield, Amy Levy, Mikhail Bulgakov, H P Lovecraft and others have much to say.