Crystals floated around her and her skin sparkled in the light. I could see diamond tears covering her cheeks; she knew as well as I did that we wouldn’t survive this. The refractions hadn’t been in our favor this time.
It was a risk we ran, mirror traveling throughout realm, yet up to this point, we always outran them. Although we'd never say it out loud, we thought we were invincible. Mission after mission, we made it. Sometimes we were a little worse for wear, but we always lived to tell our tales.
Not this time though. This time, we traveled right into a trap laid out for us by the very entity we had spent our careers, our lives, trying to take down. Our stepping through the portal into the room planted with a sea of glass, mirrors, and jewels trigged an explosion that sent a wave of shards crashing toward us.
In the breath, the split second, after the explosion, the whole world slowed to a crawl. My head snapped to where I knew she was at my side. If this was going to be my last moment, I knew I wanted to spend it looking at her.
Her eyes were brimming with love - for me, for our work, for our life - and I knew for sure the same love was reflected in mine. It was far from easy and at times, certainly not glamorous. Our luck was bound to catch up to us, I suppose. But we had a hell of a run. We paved the way for so many other agents and missions in the fight to create the realm we wanted for us and for our future. I knew without a doubt that our team would carry on where we left off, and I was already so proud of them. And in this moment, surrounded by both my end and my reason, I was at peace. It was all more than worth it, I decided, as the split second ended and the world sped back up.
I was enveloped by glass, pain, and then darkness.
It's no wonder the universe designated him the Chosen One.
He's too good for this world. He's certainly too good for me. He's the sun to my moon, the day to my night, the life to my death.
He's a beacon of light with a gravitational force that's impossible to ignore. He gives off radiant glow. I can't help but be drawn into his incandescent orbit. I know I have everything to lose when it comes to him, but to be out of his path is somehow worse.
He is golden in a million ways. Despite how the world has repeatedly knocked him down, he does his damn best to help and do good. Despite everything always going wrong for him, his intentions are never everything but the best.
He is a field of sunflowers. He emits enough radiant light to warm and comfort everyone. He is happiness; he is the sun.
"You were the sun, and I was crashing into you. I'd wake up every morning and think, 'This will end in flames.'"
With 10 fingers and 10 toes, she was as pretty as a rose We decided to call her Caroline
Her name meant strong, and after waiting for her for so long I couldn't wait to tell everyone she was mine
She was as peaceful as a dove and she brought so much love Almost as if it was a sign
Even though she was new She was our family's glue With her everything would be fine
She filled a void that wasn't there and left me speechless, which is rare I can't wait to watch her shine
She was just so little So seemingly brittle And to me she was just divine
High above the city Where Hazel loved to play The people down below looked itty bitty every single day But one day she grew curious Of what happened on the ground But her questions made her father furious So by her own imagination she was bound
High above the city Where Hazel was forced to play She realized the world beyond her was so pretty But she was resigned to the fact she was in her swing to stay Now she couldn't help but dream About a world where she could belong But it made her want to scream If she dwelled over it too long
Because high above the city Where Hazel was being detained She knew her dad would never admit he Kept his daughter constrained But she longed to see the big, bright world And all it had to hold So in her head a plan had swirled She just had to be bold To venture down to city would require more than just luck She had to dare to dream, to explore Because she did not wanted to be stuck High above the city anymore
I promised myself I would never do this. I've heard the horror stories; my mother practically ingrained them in me. It was from both sides, too.
Never ever hitchhike, Sophie - you don't know who you could be getting into a car with. What if they're a murderer?
Never ever pick up a hitchhiker, Sophie - you don't know who you could be letting in you're car. What if they're a runaway criminal? What if they murder you?
From her penthouse in the Upper West Side, my mother had very strong opinions about things that quite literally never concerned her. That's my mother for you.
Driving up the windy roads approaching the Catskill mountains; however, I noticed two figures stalking up the side of the road, and they had their thumbs stuck up in the universal hitchhiker signal. My mother's warnings, of course, crossed my mind instantly, but those words were quieted by several other circumstances at play.
#1. The two figures in question were, almost certainly, female. Not for nothing, it does make a difference in my mind. In fact, I might even feel guilty to leave two women walking up the street alone, only to be picked up by some strange, potentially dangerous man, especially when I could have helped.
#2. And this one confirmed it in my mind that I just had to stop: it was raining buckets. I'm talking about torrential downpour. I couldn't in good conscience, leave these two poor girls walking uphill for god knows how long in the makings of a flood.
And so I slowed to a stop as I approached them. I unlocked the doors of my Kia Sorento just as the travelers realized that I was, in fact, stopping for them. They scurried over to my car, wrenched open the car door, and dove out of the rain into my backseat.
Before even giving them a chance, I started nervously rambling as I pulled back onto the road, "Hi, I hope you weren't in the rain for too long! Although I'm sure you guys want to get out of those wet clothes, so let me know where I can drop you off. I'm not from town, so you might need to help me out a bit extra with directions, but I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out together. Does that sound good?"
The response I got was the very last thing I was expecting - hysterical laughter. I mean downright cackling from both women in the backseat of my car. Women who I - if I'm very honest, am tempted to throw right back out of my car. With a peer in the rearview mirror, I saw them both doubled over in their seats from laughing so hard, and that got my mouth working again.
"What in the hell?" I said, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the raucous laughter behind me. With another look in the rearview mirror, I saw one of my passengers finally lift her head, to which I said once again:
"What in the hell?"
Between chuckles, the hitchhiker responded, "What did Mom always say about picking up hitchhikers, Sophie?"
"The same thing she said about being a hitchhiker, Sarah. Don't do it!" I quipped.
In the backseat of my car sat my younger sister, Sarah, and her girlfriend, Naomi - the very two people I was in the Catskills visiting.
"Naomi convinced me to do it! She's a bad influence you know!" Sarah teased, to which Naomi swatted her arm. "You, on the other hand, have just ignored the wisdoms imparted on us in our childhood all on your own!"
"Okay, if that's how you see it, then you can get out, and Naomi and I will wait for you to stumble all the way back to your house soaking wet," I retorted.
Sarah just chuckled again. "Thanks though, Soph. We've been having car troubles, so we thought there would be no harm walking into town to pick up the last few groceries we needed before you got here"
"Yeah," Naomi added, "it was sunny and clear just an hour ago. We obviously never would have left if we thought this was going to happen."
"Of course! I'm just glad it was you two, and not anybody dangerous." I responded, shivering slightly at my mom's worst fears and warnings came to mind.
As if reading my mind, Sarah suggested, "Right. Let's never tell Mom about this."
"Agreed," I laughed. With that, I continued steering us through the Catskills in the pouring rain, not once coming across another hitchhiker.
The shores of Cethanden Island held much more than the items found washed up in the tide. At first glance, it might not have been obvious. There were shells and seaweed as far as the eye could see - typical of just about any beach. The shore, however, was gifted a myriad of items by the tide.
Because that's the thing about Cethanden. It only appears for those who need it, and it always gives them what they need.
Cethanden gaved Delilah a map. Delilah, who had lost her spark after years in a dead end job with a boyfriend who loved the idea of her, found a perfectly preserved map of Europe. It highlighted all of the places she had dreamed about visiting forever. Over the course of one trip to the beach, she had a renewed sense of purpose. She was motivated to make her trip a reality and went home with the beginnings of her lifechanging plans.
Ashton was gifted a pen. He had always wanted to write; his head was full of stories and characters and places just begging to be explored. There was always an excuse, though. He didn't have enough time. He wasn't good enough. He'll try tomorrow. Cathanden gave him not only the means, but the courage to start.
All Rose wanted was a sign. She wanted a sign from the universe that it wasn't too late to reunite with her sister. Cethanden gave her just that. When she found a necklace with a sapphire stone, she couldn't help but smile. The birth stone of September, which is when Lily was born. Rose left her pride on the beach in exchange for the necklace. With a heart full of love and remorse, off Rose went to make amends.
And so Cethanden, and all the enchantments its tides had to offer, stood not what the life was, but what it could be. It held hope. It held opportunities. It held second chances. It held happy endings.
It was no small feat to incapacitate the head of a nation. It was not a task for the weak willed, but she was up for it. Every anonymous, black market job lead her to this moment. The big break - her career maker - was within reach, and all she had left to do was demonstrate her strengths to the crime ring she dreamed of working for since she was 10. It was time to solidify her position in the future of organized crime.
Be the bigger person they always say But do they know how grating it is to hear that everyday? Forgiveness is a virtue, a sign of good But those who believe that have me misunderstood I suppose I could let it all go, but why would I? Why is it on me to comfort the person who made me cry? So I won't always give it up because my anger is mine And I think I'm entitled to that over your efforts to make everything 'fine'
I know every detail about every version of herself she has ever been But is that for the best. What if I wanted to forget? Anxious and critical and a failed perfectionist I wish sometimes I could be someone I never met
Because for better or for worse, Herself is me And with every change and phase the same question remains: How do I become the version of me I want to be?
But maybe it doesn't have to be impossible I can write the details of my next version day by day Make changes and be better on purpose And one day soon, I can proudly say
I know every detail about every version of herself she has ever been
