Deep in the heart of the Cardinal Wood Scarlett wandered in her crimson hood She stared in awe at the flowers in bloom She had never seen such a striking shade of maroon As she walked among fallen petals on the road She could have sworn that the ruby red petals had glowed But the question remained - where was Scarlett's destination That brought her through this carmine sensation? Well Scarlett, you see, doesn't quite recall How could she when faced with the marvel of it all She felt so at home in this land of brick red That she didn't think twice about the blood on her head Cranberry apple cherry wine Scarlett has made it to the divine
During his short journey to the train, dressed in four thick layers of clothing, Maxim glared at the Siberian sun. It wasn't a particularly new occurrence. Maxim's relationship with the sun was tumultuous, especially in dead January. Why should the sun bother even coming out when he would be lucky if the temperature hit -25 degrees Celsius? It was a cruel, teasing thing, the sun. It's taunting light and warmth in this frozen lifeless tundra.
Through the sweat pouring down his face, Odion glared at the West African sun. He would maintain until the day he died that farming is an honest man's work, but the damn sun, even in December, was punishing and cruel. The heat radiating off of the sun made the work unbearable at times. It was an unforgiving, relentless, stifling heat. The charms of the Sahara Desert, he supposed.
From her apartment in New York City, Olivia saw that yet again, the sun had risen, and it brought her to tears. The sun was the cruel aftermath the moon's tantalizing arrival. As much as she wished against it every night when she went to sleep, the sun never failed to rise. What's more is that she never failed to wake up each morning, forced to endure another day of her miserable existence.
After the storm, when the winds settle down It's all I can do to stifle the sound Of my scream and tears borne from frustration and regret That I let my emotions control me, that I got so upset
It starts unassuming, like most storms often do Everything is fine until I feel something new Until that feeling builds and the pressure explodes Although actually, it's truer to say that I implode And unleash a barrage of thunder and lightning No wait that's just me, isn't that frightening? My voice a loud boom, my emotions frayed as a wire It takes more than you think to put out this fire But when the whole scene is all said and done That's when my turmoil has truly begun Because that's when my body comes down from its high That the storm brought with it, even though its a lie Because it's not a high when I'm left at my lowest of lows Forced to face the aftermath of all of my woes With my will to go on and my energy drained and a new story for my therapist the only thing gained Yet on I trek to pick up the pieces and put it all back together As I hope and pray desperately for sunnier weather
Dear Theo
I have to start this out by saying I love you. If you hate me for this, I wouldn't blame you, but I need you to know that I love you with every last piece of me. If nothing else, please believe that.
To this day, I still don't believe you left willingly or on your own accord. That doesn't change the fact that I'm the only one. I've been met with denial and pushback at every turn. While I'll never give up on believing in you, I needed to stop. I needed to put myself first. While chasing your ghost, I became one myself. Pieces of me died while I grasped on to whatever parts of you I could reach. I lost myself to our past, to the best of us. Despite all of my efforts to hold the weight of the world if it meant there was even the slightest chance of you coming back to me, it crumbled around me anyways.
So, my love, this isn't a goodbye. I will never say goodbye to you. Regardless of if I get to see your face and hold you again, you will always be the most important person in my life. Everything I do will be for you and because of you. There's not a day that will go by that I won't think of you and the joy you brought to my life.
For now, though, that's all I have to offer. No more fighting for answers, demanding explanations, or challenging what people think they know. For now, I'll just learn to accept this new reality I've been forced into. You were always the more outspoken between the two us, anyways, and without you here, finding my voice seems like a monumental task a lot of the time.
Wherever you may are, I know we'll meet again, be it in this world or the next. I'm sorry that I can't give you more than that, but I simply have nothing else left to give, other than my love and devotion to you, my dearest, loveliest Theo.
With eternal love and endlessly yours, Melody
For the first time since I've joined the Rainer family, we're heading to a dog park. I couldn't wait to meet some new friends and run around a bit with other dogs.
We got there, though, and something stuck out to me like a sore paw. My name. I couldn't quite believe it, but the more I listened, the more I realized I couldn't deny it.
Oh. My. God. They named me Box the boxer. And there is not one dog out her named like that. I see Roscos and Rovers. I see Milos and and Maxes. As overused as they may be, I even see some Spots and Fidos.
What I do not see are any Pit the Pitbulls. No Rot the Rottweilers. Not a single Bea the Beagle.
It lead me to the horrifying conclusion that I had been blind to up until this point - the Rainers were pure evil.
It's impossibly ugly this sweater, But I wear it each week, no matter the weather It was handmade for me by my grandmother You could try and never find it, there is simply no other It's been dearly loved, worn in scorching hots and frigid colds If you listen closely, you'd see the memories it holds So maybe it's ugly, maybe you'd call it an eye sore But I really don't care, I couldn't cherish it more It's been a proud constant for me through blood, sweat, and tears And it'll accompany me, week by week, for many more years
It had been as real as a far away dream Or more realistically, a hair brained scheme She never would have ever guessed Even after being put to the test That this would come true The perfect opportunity to pursue She put in her best effort, she gave it a shot Although there were times she had thought it was all for naught It was time, however, to stare it in the face And welcome her dream with a warm embrace Because this situation was perfectly ideal It was all becoming real
After the third time of being told that she simply wasn't good enough, Ruby decided her day couldn't get much worse. That, of course, is when she realized she missed her bus to get back to her apartment.
With a deep sign, she set off for her apartment, resigned to just trek the two miles on foot.
It didn't take long for Ruby's thoughts to run away. Never in her life had she had any hiring manager tell her she wasn't good enough, let alone three in one day. Now that's not to say she's gotten every job she's ever applied for. It was just every one else before today had sent a politely worded rejection email or gave her a gentle letdown, not explained every one of her shortcomings in detail directly to her face. She would give them props for the sheer nerve of it all if they hadn't hit the nail so directly on the head.
It's not like Ruby was under any illusions about her talents. She spread her eggs out across many different baskets, so to speak. It was how she liked it. Her weeks were probably a dictionary definition of organized chaos. She split her time between lessons for 3 different instruments, volunteering at the local library, and a few different clubs and meetings. It kept her busy, and that's exactly how she liked it.
She liked the variety. She liked the diversity. She loved being able to see different people and do different things throughout the week. Busy never bothered her. It was being bored that she tried to avoid at all costs. So while Ruby had more than a baseline knowledge of a great many things, there were very few things she truly mastered. There was only so much time in a day or in a week, and that was after her time at work and her various extracurriculars. She didn't have a great deal of downtime to available to her where she could practice and perfect any or all of her various skills.
Today, though, it had very clearly proved to be to her detriment, according to three separate people who worked at three very separate businesses.
As always, when Ruby was deep in her own thoughts, her grandmother spoke as the voice of reason in her mind. Seeing as her grandmother had always been her biggest cheerleader and the person she inherited her love of everything from, Ruby was inclined to listen.
She heard her grandmother's musical voice as if she were whispering right in Ruby's ear. "Oh Ruby, don't let anyone dull your sparkle, my love. Don't let anyone discourage you from doing the things that you love. This world isn't made for perfection. There are a million pieces that make up your heart and soul and everything else about. Puzzles, even when finished, are never perfect. The picture can be fully complete, and you can still see the cracks. Shoot for love, shoot for happiness, but don't waste your life shooting for perfection."
With another sigh, this time one full of relief and clarity, Ruby continued on her journey home in an infinitely better mood. As always, her dear grandmother was completely spot on.
With a renewed sense of purpose, Ruby considered all of the puzzle pieces that made up her life, and with clarity, decided, "Why be perfect at one thing when I can be imperfect at number of different things that make me happy? I want to be complete, not perfect."
When Macy told her brother he could borrow her car, she meant for a few hours. A day at most, maybe. Yet here she stood on Monday morning, getting ready to go to work with no car to drive her there.
Macy pulled out her phone and called her brother, muttering curses under her breath when, of course, he didn't answer. She had to settle for leaving a scathing voicemail, instead. "You're an ass, Wyatt. You know I need my car to get to work, and I find it hard believe that your furniture pick up is taking longer than expected. Figure out your shit and get my car back to me by tonight!"
While felt slightly better at being able to voice her frustrations, it didn't change the fact that her driveway was empty and she had to be a work in 30 minutes. Macy cursed Wyatt under her breath one more time before taking a deep breath and switching her focus over to solutions to her transportation dilemma.
Uber was the first, most obvious answer, but the cost would have been outrageous, especially at this time in the morning.
Riding her bike came to mind next, but that thought was immediately followed by the memory of riding over a rock that popped the front tire of her bike. She hung her head at the realization it was a tire she had yet to fix. So bicycle was out.
Wait. Bicycle was out, but fortunately - or maybe unfortunately, she hadn't decided yet - she did have one final option that was looking more and more likely by the second.
Her unicycle.
It was a phase in high school that Macy tried her hardest to forget about. Never mind the fact that she kept it in her garage. Never mind the fact that it was going to have to be her mode of transportation to work this morning.
Macy sighed in resignment before venturing out to her garage to dig out her unicycle. Within 5 minutes, she was out in front of her house with her unicycle in front of her and her work bag resting on her back. She shook her head one last time, wondering how she got to this point in her life, before climbing into her seat.
As loathe as she was to admit it, it felt as if no time had passed since the last time she had ridden. She balanced and started pedaling as if it was second nature. As she started rolling down the sidewalk, she kept her gaze firmly ahead and ignored all of the stares she felt burning holes through her skin.
Macy belatedly realized how fortunate she was that it a nice day outside. October can be a craps shoot in terms of weather, but it was sunny and warm out, making for a somewhat pleasant commute. All things considered, of course.
As she got closer and closer to the office, the bewildered looks only got more and more frequent. Macy, on the other hand, was slightly horrified how good she still was at this. She weaved around other people walking and riding bikes on the sidewalk with ease. Even with the slightly off balancing weight of her bag on her back, she made the adjustments and shifted her body weight on instinct. To Macy, this riding her unicycle was easier than riding her bike had ever been.
When Macy finally pedaled up to her office, she was was happy to see that she had about 10 minutes to spare before her work day officially started. And it was 10 minutes she would need, because where the hell was she supposed to keep a unicycle for the day?
Rory Lockwood was not as bright eyed and bushy tailed as she was when started to make her dreams into reality. As an undergraduate student, she often thought of how worth it the monotonous classes and tedious assignments would be when she finally got the change to teach a class of her own and be the difference she wanted to see in the world.
She wasn't even as spirited as she was on the first day of school, 3 years in to her career as an elementary school teacher. She knew the truth about the profession, but she still held on to the positivity and the lives of the children she could make better.
No. Now at 26 years old, Rory Lockwood was completely and positively jaded. The dream had officially died. Because even though Rory still held the same love for children and teaching that she always had, there was one particular aspect of the job that had ruined it to the point of no return.
"My daughter needs someone to monitor her every time she does a worksheet so the pencil doesn't hurt her. Same thing with lunch; she needs someone to feed her to make sure she doesn't choke.
"I'm sorry Mrs. James, but that is not an accommodation I can make for Lena."
"And why can't you, Miss Lakewell? I don't think it's too much to ask."
"Along with Lena, I have 22 other students I'm responsible for. I simply don't have the capacity to make individual accommodations for every student as one person. Any accommodations will have to be made through administration or the special education team."
"Special Education? What are you saying about my Lena, Miss Lukewarm?"
"Nothing, Mrs. James, it was just a suggestion for where you might be able to get the help you're looking for."
"Help? My Lena is perfect. She doesn't need any help. How could they let someone so evil be around our dear children?"
It took every last bit of poor Miss Lockwood's self restraint to not act on her thoughts and show Mrs. James what evil could truly look like. Although the true evil was letting poor little Lena grow up with the likes of her mother. There was nothing Rory could do about that, though. All she could do was begin to consider alternate career paths in which she never had to interact with another parent ever again and settle on imagining just how evil she could have been to Mrs. James, if only there weren't consequences.
