The Photograph On The Wall

There's a photograph on the wall. Two people are in it. Laughing. Smiling. Connected. Together. Two souls joined through a beautiful, unexplainable force: love.

There's so much joy emanating from this photo. The green trees in the background. The bright sunlit sky. The way their eyes hold each other's. The laughter showing in the very way they hold their bodies. The trust visible in her arm around her waist, her hand on his knee. Everything in this photo is how it should be.

Fingertips linger lightly on this glossy photograph. Trembling fingers that only a short while ago had caressed his face. Even if it weren't for the tears welling up in her vision, she wouldn't be able to recognize these two people anymore. They were from a different time. A brighter time. A time when she knew. A time when there was no question about letting go. She didn't have to hold on. Because he had been there. Always. Been there. ...Always.

These people in this photograph... They were strong. They were confident. They had all the answers. No questions hung over them like dark clouds threatening to storm. No fears pestered them when moments were quiet. Neither felt like the slightest gust of wind could shred them apart like wet tissue paper.

Who were these people, she wondered. And why had "always" really only meant "for now"?

Just a short, random thing written when I really should have been getting ready for bed. Thanks for reading!

You Promised (Do You Remember?)

Do you remember?
The sky was green that evening.
Do you remember
The world was electric that evening?
Do you remember?

And you promised.
You said you’d come and find me.
No matter what happens,
No matter the paths that life takes us,
We’d still love, we’d still care.
You promised.

Do you remember?
The lightning was next to us that night.
Do you remember?
The rain was heavy that night.
Do you remember?

You promised.
You said you’d come and find me.
No matter what happens,
No matter the paths that life takes us,
We’d still love, we’d still care.
You promised.

Do you remember
The sun was white that morning?
Do you remember?
The ground was wet that morning.
Do you remember

That you promised?
You said you’d come and find me.
No matter what happens,
No matter the paths that life takes us,
We’d still love, we’d still care.
You promised.

I remember.
I’d found my best friend that day.
I remember
Life made sense that day.
I remember.

I promised, but
Never mind. I’ll find
Someone like you.

Inspired by Adele's "Someone Like You". 

A Morning At The Beach

Soft white light was leaking through her eyelids. She blinked against the light, furrowing her brow as she snuggled up around herself. It was cool, breezy. She had fallen asleep on something coarse but warm.... Slowly she opened her eyes. Ah, yes. The beach. The sun was just barely peaking over the calm ocean waters. The morning was her favorite time to be on the beach. Everything was so quiet, so peaceful. So white and serene. It was like a little slice of heaven all to herself.

Smiling softly to herself, she sat up, brushing the sand off her face. Her hand froze on her cheek as she felt sand had caked on her skin, as if it had been wet.... As if she had been crying....

Suddenly the events of last night came flooding back to her memory. Grief swelled up inside her chest and throat, overwhelming her. Grief swiftly morphed into rage and she found herself standing up, staring out at the horizon as fresh tears threatened to choke the life from her.

Something flashed in her vision and her eyes flickered down to whatever it was. Several feet in front of her, laying in the sand, was the silver diamond ring. A sob shoved its way through and she stormed to the ring, snatching up it up. Despite how warm the sand was, the ring was still cold. Tears now streaming down her face, she clenched the ring in her fist, kissing her fist softly, before looking back up to the horizon and tossing the ring out in to the water.

He was gone. He was never coming back.

Inspired by an acting exercise done in class one day. 

Post Tech Week

Isn't it strange

How a load off your back
Can actually feel more burdensome?
And that old cliché
Proves itself once again:
You never know how much
You really love something
Until it's gone.
Tech Week is over,
Sleep is returning into daily routine.
You can go home after school
Instead of at 7:30, at the earliest.
No more going over lines,
No more horridly cheesy ending.
But…
No more parties before performances
No more teasing the director
No more family-feel between fellow actors
No more laughs
No more games.
And you never though
You'd miss it this much.
So…when's the next play?

Companion to Tech Week, posted yesterday. Thanks for reading!

Tech Week

For one week, life consists…
Of Tech Week.
Fancy Christmas Dinner to get ready for?
It can wait.
Important testing all week?
Screw it.
Advanced Placements classes?
I'll get back to them.
Two long, convoluted books to read?
I'll get them done before the due date.
This is Tech Week.
Life is Tech Week.
Tech Week is life.
I don't care if you get detention.
I don't care if the scariest teacher
Needs to see you after school
Or if your father just died
And it's the date of his funeral.
Or even if you are at the hospital,
Dying of some fatal disease.
It's Tech Week.
Nothing,
I repeat,
NOTHING
Is more important Tech Week.
…
Is it over yet?

I have experienced this so many times... Thanks for reading!

A Very Poor Substitute

Morganne knows this feeling all too well. This fear, this creeping terror clawing it’s way through her heart. She knows that as soon as she pulls on her pajamas and turns off the lights, the vulnerability, the loneliness is going to force it’s way out of her throat. She can feel it already working it’s way through as it has been periodically all day.

She knows she should be happy. She should be excited for the future, there’s so much in store and, to be honest, she really is excited. But right now she’s more lonely. Like she needs nothing more than a pair of arms wrapped around her. She knows how safe she’d feel then. Nothing would matter then. But those arms are missing and she’s alone and afraid to turn out the lights.

So Morganne slips into her pajamas and grabs her teddy bear, clutching him tightly to her chest. For a moment she just stands there, hugging the bear, her mouth pressed deep into his head as the tears scream to be released. If she couldn’t have those warm and safe arms to nestle in to, this teddy would have to do.
Slowly at first, but then with a jolt of determination, she makes her way to the light switch and flicks it off. Almost immediately the flood gates are opened. Morganne chokes back a sob and finds she has to practically crawl to her bed, pulling the covers high up to her chin.

Why is it, she wonders through the blinding tears, that loneliness is much more suffocating in the dark? Quite literally suffocating, too. Even if she weren’t silently sobbing, she knows she’d be finding it hard to breathe. And there’s nothing you can do, either, her heart moans. A stuffed animal and warm blankets are a very poor substitute for love.

I think most everyone can relate to this sort of suffocating loneliness. Thanks for reading!

Please (Pleas, Part Nine)

Horrified dread swelled up in his heart as her limp body registered in his dazed mind. Something snapped inside of him and he scurried forward, falling to his knees and gently cradling her in his arms.

"Please," he chocked, traitorous tears obscuring his vision. He brushed her long, black hair out of her eyes as tremors ran through his body. The air seemed to press on his lungs as he rocked back and forth, begging her to say something.

"Please," he whispered. "Please…"

But no one would hear him. No one was there to answer his cry of distress.

"Please…"

And there you have it: we've come full circle. Thank you for reading this! I hope you... enjoyed this. Enjoyed probably isn't the right word for a story like this, but you know what I'm getting at.