I bring the light. From my tower by the seaside, my job is to shine a light for weary travellers, so that they may find their home. Although the waters may be rough and the winds unkind, our family lighthouse guides sailors into the warmth of their loved one’s kitchens, their bellies already grumbling at the thought of the soothing soup awaiting them. They’ve been dreaming of the smell of their wi...

They say it’s so that we can all feel we have a purpose. A sense of belonging. A reason to live.

They say before the vocations, people were aimless, slothful, lost. Floating around from one dead end day to day post to another.

Or, they were scrambling over each other, doing anything to get ahead. Sacrificing time with friends and family, all for the sake of a job. As if a title could give them t...

The life of a cat isn’t always easy. Humans think we lounge around all day, waiting to be fed, disappear, and sleep. We’re no real bother to them, so they assume we have it easy.

That’s simply not true.

I’ve been a stray, sulking around crowded streets hoping for crumbs. I’ve been left in the wild, to fend for myself and my siblings, climbing trees and chasing mice to our hearts’ content.

But ...

The life we built together

The trust

Each brick placed painstakingly on top of the next

Creating a foundation

A secret language only we could speak

A secret garden only we had the key for

And just like that

In a moment

A mistaken word

A truth slipped

You burned it all down...

He slides up to me at the bar, all bold confidence and charmingly lopsided grin.

My heart stops somewhere on the way up my throat. I swallow it back down, willing my stomach to stop competing for gold in gymnastics.

“Would it be too cheesy to ask what a pretty girl like you is doing all alone at a bar?”

I square my shoulders, put on Confident Abby, and smile back at him. Confident Abby never s...

Squiggly lines in every colour of the rainbow

Jagged sharp edges that speak to a deep seeded anger

Bright yellows and oranges that remind us that joy is always present if we look for it

A portal into another world

As seen through the eyes of a child...

I stare dumbfounded as the inky symbols swirl on Hannah’s arm, before stilling into place. They seem to hum, like the deep breathing of a sleeping dog. The black lines undulate, pulsing against her tanned forearms, forming a spiral.

“Pretty cool, huh?”

“How did…when did…” I stammer.

“Night before my twentieth birthday. My mom said she got hers around then too.” Hannah can’t stop staring at the...

The space between stars is best described as longing

Two dazzling figures, close but never touching

Knowing that if they do, they’ll burn too bright

An all consuming love that alights

At first offering warmth and glow

And then

Breathtaking

Overpowering

Extinguishing

The stars consumed by their own want and need for each other

Kept apart by the distance between

For their own good

So that they...

Find me down the garden path

I’ll be waiting, my fingers tapping nervously against my thighs

I’ll roll my shoulders back, hoping to loosen the tightness beneath the shoulder pads of this rental tux

Find me down the garden path

Standing next to my brother

Risking a glance across the aisle to your best friend, wondering if she’ll have the same tell tale signs of oncoming tears in your her eyes

Find...

The feel of flour wedged between fingers

The starchy sweet scent of potatoes wafting through the air

The heat radiating from the old hob warming the room

Turning our cheeks rosy

The tinny sound of Italian music playing through old radio speakers

The smell of garlic and fresh tomatoes wafting from the sauce pan, bubbling as the fresh pasta dough rolled between our hands

It was the perfect Sunday...