Dreaming of bubbles, Reality of harsh words, Can I really choose?

I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. The happy moments shone like sea glass in the sun. The fulfilling moments filled me with peace. The terror that I thought I would feel blew away like dandelion dust in the wind. Turns out this was always the right path, even if others didn’t see it that way. That’s true inner light.

Cold hands gripped the edges of the coffin as the lid slid to the side and clattered to the floor. I stood, stunned and frozen, as the monster slowly pulled itself to a standing position. My mind willed me to move but my limbs remained stuck in time and space. The monster stood fully and growled deeply in my direction. I watched in horror as it reached out and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me down into the coffin beside it. We plunged together into the coffin and down into permanent darkness.

Season’s Greetings - the world is bright and loud, but full of so much promise.

Season’s Greetings - you fall and skin your knee, comforted by your mother’s love.

Season’s Greetings - books replace toys and studying replaces play, the real world begins.

Season’s Greetings - you leave the warmth of your mother’s love and emerge into the world on your own.

Season’s Greetings - the world had dulled with monotony, but now brightens with her smile.

Season’s Greetings - wedding bells chime and the promise of little feet sweetens the world.

Season’s Greetings - you guide your daughter into the bright and loud world that you yourself have grown so comfortable with.

Season’s Greetings - your daughter grows and you watch her hit every milestone that you did.

Season’s Greetings - your baby leaves home but you revel in the marriage that has become your entire world.

Season’s Greetings - the days grow shorter the longer you live.

Season’s Greetings - the days end with the squeeze of a hand and a smile at the flashes of life that you lived.

Superstar swooped down from the sky and directly towards the burning building. Without pausing to take in the scene, she burst through a window and smoke poured out into the blue sky behind her. She had been saving Eastern City now for five years, since a chemical accident in her former laboratory had led to her incredible powers. She had never once hesitated on an urgent call, and today was certainly no exception.

The smoke billowed into her face and she thought back to the day of her accident. Before she was Superstar, she was simply Sally. A girl from the south who had big dreams and an intellect to match. She had studied all her life to be a chemist and after years of studying, she was finally a doctor. Sally had been offered several positions around the country related to chemistry, but she had eventually settled in Eastern City. The job had amazing benefits, steady hours, and was far enough away from home that she felt free. It certainly didn’t hurt that the city itself was beautiful and bursting with things to do. She spent her days in a laboratory, studying chemical properties of different experimental medications and researching new chemical reactions while she spent her nights living her life and making friendships that would last forever. It was always strange to Superstar when memories of her days as just plain old Sally arose, how starkly they contrasted with the events of her every day life as a hero. The morning of her accident was completely ordinary and average, much like the rest of her life had been before that. She had been focused on a particular chemical reaction, and after days and days of research, determined that the chemicals were unlikely to react in a dangerous way. She couldn’t have been more wrong. When mixed, the chemicals turned into thick purple vapors, reaching out from their beaker and entering directly into Sally’s nostrils and eyes. Sally’s vision went dark and she collapsed to the floor. She was rushed immediately to the hospital, where she was determined to be completely and fully healthy. It wasn’t until that night, sleeping peacefully in her bed, that Sally’s body chemistry began to change.

From then on, life was forever changed in the most drastic and exciting way. Sally developed the ability to fly, skin that healed at an extremely accelerated rate, and strength beyond human comprehension. Not sure what to do with her newfound abilities, Sally decided that the best course of action was the help the people of her city, the city she had come to love so much. She spent hours sewing the perfect hero outfit for herself - a purple cape that flapped as she flew, a black tight-fitting body suit that wouldn’t get in the way of her rescue missions, and a purple mask to go across her eyes and protect her identity. Instead of being a Sally, the researcher, Superstar was born and Sally was reserved for her nightlife with her friends. Sally’s friends had noticed a change in her, noting that she seemed more confident and satisfied with herself, but not a single one knew about her physical changes and her double life.

Superstar was perhaps the most surprised that she was able to keep her secret from her girlfriend, Leah. Sally and Leah began seeing each other about a year ago after meeting through mutual friends while out drinking at a bar. Sally remembered the exact moment she laid eyes on Leah for the first time. Her long, black hair created a wave around her tiny frame, her brown eyes were so dark that Sally could get lost for hours, and her smile was so bright that the entire bar and both lit up and melted away around her. The two were inseparable from that moment on. During the day when Sally became Superstar, Leah was busy at her job as a lawyer, and often without her phone in the courthouse. During the nights when Sally became Superstar, she would claim a chemical emergency and act as if she were off to the laboratory before charging out to save her city.

Withdrawing herself from her memories of the past, Superstar brought her attention back to the smoke filled room ahead of her. Flapping her arms with incredible speed and strength, Supergirl cleared the room of the smoke entirely. She saw a woman laying unconscious, black hair fanned all around her. Superstar felt a lump catch in her throat as she realized how familiar that black hair was. Rushing to the woman as fast as she could, she gingerly flipped her body over, and found herself to be correct - it was Leah. Superstar glanced around her and realized that through the smoke and her clouded mind, she hadn’t realized she was standing in Leah’s office at all.

“Leah,” she shouted, brushing the hair back from Leah’s face. Leah sputtered and coughed, but didn’t open her eyes. Superstar jumped to her feet, holding Leah in her arms, and flew through the broken window she had just come in. Flying gracefully towards the earth’s surface, Leah’s eyes fluttered open as Superstar landed.

“Thank you, Superstar, the door was too hot, I couldn’t get out. I couldn’t breathe…” Leah trailed off, tears beginning to flow down her face.

“Are you hurt?” Superstar said, concerned filling her eyes as she searched Leah’s body, looking for any signs of injury. Leah shook her head and Superstar felt her breath come a little easier.

“The ambulances will be here soon, just wait here for them,” Superstar instructed, running her hand across Leah’s face tenderly. Superstar jumped to her feet once more, bracing herself to take flight

“Wait!” Shouted Leah and Superstar knelt back down to meet her gaze. “I can’t thank you enough,” she continued and pulled a tiny box from her pocket. Opening the box, she revealed a stunning diamond ring with a gold band. “I’m proposing to my girlfriend this weekend and when I was trapped up there, not able to breathe, I thought I would never get the chance to tell her how much she means to me. Never get the chance to tell her that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I can’t thank you enough.” Leah’s warm, dark eyes met Superstar’s as tears welled up in the hero’s eyes. Leah first looked puzzled at the tears, and then had a dawning realization. Slowly, she lifted her hands up and gingerly removed Superstar’s mask from her eyes.

“Sally?” Leah said, voice barely above a whisper. Sally looked down at her hands, tears now flowing freely. She had so badly wanted to spend her life with Leah and now feared that she had jeopardized this with her lies about her true identity. Through blurred vision, Sally saw Leah reach for her hands. Squeezing tightly, Leah kissed each hand gently.

“So,” she continued as Sally finally found the strength to meet Leah’s eyes, “will you? Marry me, I mean?” Sally’s mouth broke out in a grin so wide she felt like her face would crack.

“Yes!” She said, kissing Leah firmly on the lips and laughing with pure joy. The women embraced and held each other tightly before Sally pulled back and returned her mask to its proper place over her eyes. Sally closed the ring box in Leah’s hands telling Leah to keep it safe.

“But first,” she said, as she took her stance for flight once more, “I’ve got a building to save!” And with that, she took flight, leaving Leah on the ground watching her fiancé fly above her, feeling like the luckiest person in the world.

Creative and passionate like a foreign lover writing a love letter to a person far away

Active and energetic like a young horse frolicking in a blooming spring field

Responsible and sensible like a seasoned mother caring for her sweet boys

Theatrical and dramatic like an actress in her debut role on the stage

Empathetic and emotional like an old, wise sage connecting to the universe around her

Radiant and bright like a star lighting up the entire night’s sky

He was beautiful. Janelle couldn’t help but sneak a look at Stanley over the top of her computer monitor. He sat at his own desk just across the crowded office. He was leaning towards his screen, face scrunched in concentration, and Janelle was captivated. She dreamt of him leaning towards her in that way, concentrating on nothing but her green, almond shaped eyes. Stanley absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair and she imagined what it would have felt like to do that herself. He was tall, but not too tall for her also long frame. She couldn’t help but fantasize about what their children would look like - her green eyes and his tanned skin.

Stanley shifted in his seat and Janelle dropped her head back down behind her screen, heart pounding and panicked that he had seen her stares. She waited a few moments, her heart rate normalizing, before peaking her eyes back above her computer screen. This time, Stanley was not alone and she felt her eyes widen in surprise. A woman, one she had never seen before, was sitting on his desk, neatly perched on the edge. This woman was thinner than Janelle, more petite than Janelle, and had softer features. Janelle felt jealousy wash over her mind and narrowed her eyes. The woman was flirting, playing around with a strand of hair and laughing at something Stanley had said. She saw Stanley reach up his hand towards her leg and Janelle dropped her head behind her computer screen once more. She couldn’t watch the man she loved fall in love with someone else right before her eyes.

What Janelle couldn’t see was that Stanley had lifted his hand to push the young woman from his desk. He wasn’t interested in the young, flirty temp employee. He wasn’t really interested in his work either. What he was interested in was his beautiful co-worker Janelle and her deep, captivating green eyes. As the young woman took the hint and left Stanley’s desk, he glanced over to Janelle’s. Her face was obscured by her computer screen and he sighed. A woman like Janelle would never love a man like Stanley anyways. He turned back to his work and both of them continued to miss each other’s signals of love.

There was a relief in feeling the storm’s approach.

Tension building for days, finally reaching a climax and bursting.

Rain poured down on the land and replenished all broken edges and dried up places.

New life could finally grow and begin to flourish. This is the start of a new chapter.