Adjusting her skirt as she sat in the booth Kathy stare back at the man across from her. Jared fixed his moustache and sipped his matcha, strange choice for a man to order Kathy thought but she kept her opinions to herself as the green foam kept covering his top lip. “So, you just moved here?” Jared asked. Kathy stirred her iced coffee with the straw, paralyzed by the simple question. The thought of lying to keep her safety and avoids a potential serial killer popped into her head, but this man was barely taller than her at 5’8 and drinking a matcha, the only thing he could potentially kill is the sexual tension of this date. “Yes I did, just starting college here, I’m from Ohio originally.” Kathy responded. Jared looked at Kathy for a bit, shrugging his short brown hair and looking incredibly perplexed. “Where is Ohio in relation to here like in relation to Indiana?” Jared responded. Kathy stared at the thin man in a green polo and rethought everything about her being. How could she find herself paying for her own coffee on a date with a man who didn’t even know where Ohio was? Kathy got up, and left the coffee shop entering the autumn air.

Stepping back from the altar Candace nearly tripped. Forgetting the sizeable gap in between the floor and the raised altar. Catching herself on a pew she was met with a loud creak. Yet in her hands was some book. Careful to not drop it onto the marbled graveyard. It was heavy though. Each page felt like it was moving or writhing as she clutched it. Yet the dullness of the church around her remain well past it’s lifespan, nothing about it moving except to crumble. Candace retraced her steps. Through the back door by the altar and up the steps to the courtyard. Floor by floor and suddenly Candace is met by a knighted figure, that wasn’t there before. In instant fear Candace ran the other way, back into the heart of the church and back towards the room of worship where she got the book. Setting it back down on a pew she left again. Tiptoeing up the stairs she was just on. Yet whenever she made her way back to where the knight would’ve been it was no longer there. But how? Metal like that would’ve made some seriously clunking. Quickly Candace returned to grab the book once more, yet entering she saw the book was gone.

I’ve needed a dramatic rain soaked kiss  On my lips, to water and revive the garden of romance that lives in my heart, ever since I can remember. 

Since the day I became a teenager. Hands around my ears, the fingers splitting to hold my lobes. I need the downpour on me and a lip on mine more than I need my lungs to expand and deflate like a red balloon.

Why oh why, must I make it my whole being to replicate and chase after romance? Always consumed by the culture and the media of it, it could kill me.

Max woke to the torturous echo of his alarm clock. The numbers always being off but that was something to be fixed later, wasn’t it? Narroly acoiding the plethora of water bottles and fast food cups that surrounded said clock on his nightstand he sat up. Feeling the crumbs that made home in his sheets at his ankles as he removed said cover and stood up, facing the late afternoon in just a t-shirt. His light blocking navy curtains had spread a mere bit, this ray of light likely what awoke him, or was it the sound, who’s to say what came first. Now barefoot in the light of his minimalist room and the sunlight of 1pm he stepped over the spilled case of guitar picks that plagued the bottom of his bed. His ocd tendencies plagued his life, which directly reflected in his apartment, a place for anything and everything. He bent over to scramble together the scattered picks and return them to the case and thus immediately the drawer as well. How something could go this array in Max’s den, the only logical explanation was his night of drinking last night or the insomnia he had been facing.

Jada picked up her fork off the table and stabbed down at her Alfredo. The frail table trembling at the tremor of her piercing blows, Alex immediately noticed this. “I wonder when your food will get here haha.” Jada said, the creamy sauce slipping out the corners of her mouth. Avoiding contact with the nastiness that was Jada’s face while eating Alex said “By the time it gets here it feels like I’ll probably be out of town to school.” Jada twisted the thick noodles around her fork with her left hand, and slobbishly twisting the piece of her dark hair that draped in her face with her right hand. “Well at least I get something first here for once.” Jada said with an undertone of resentment. Alex knew what this was about. Staring at his reflection in the mirror on the wall behind Jada, his bleached buzzed hair nearly making him look like a thumb, Alex responded “Well you know how much money you’re saving right, I’d kill to not already be in debt at our age.” This was Alex’s semi automated programmed response. Normally he would find something else to focus on but with his side of the dark table empty of food all he could do was stare at the constantly moving alfredo Jada had her hands on. “You can have some if you really want. I peep you staring at it, it’s good.” Jada said. Her nostrils flaring a bit and the activity of her eyebrows increasing a ton, she was pissed. “No really I’m good, you know I’m pretty simple, my burger will suffice whenever it decides to show up haha.” Alex said awkward laughing off at the end. “Can’t get more simple then me, barely graduating and staying in my hometown.” Jada said. As she finished saying hometown she got up, dropping the cream covered fork onto the marbled flooring and storming off back into the restaurant, her black sundress hard to follow in these dark lights.

With my pale feet hugged by pink plastic and rubber, swinging hundreds of feet above a zoo or multicolored lights, I took a breath. The bench seat of this ferris wheel was extremely cold, juxtaposing the increasing humidity that haunted the air of the small beach town. And I found myself focusing on the ant like figures beneath me. Searching their colony for the familiar figure of you. And your broad shoulders and legs that lie.

Yet the breeze holds my hair hostage, blinding my pupils. When I’m no longer hostage to my own body I see the blackout. Reds, yellows and blues gone black like a bruise. Someone stole the light.

And the rotational cycle I should be experiencing is put on pause. Yet merely all I can think about is your whereabouts. Hot dogs fall from the palms of the prisoners of the wheel. And the screams of terror rise. Where oh where is the light?

In this newfound darkness, I see clarity. Summer breeze on my forearm and sunset in my eyes, you remain on my mind. Avoiding hysteria I pick a person to watch. A body to capture my gaze.

From up here they’re all the same. Illuminated merely by orange and pink skies. Sirens scream with flashing lights of maroon and cobalt.

Soon after the screams, came the return of illumination. My body I chose to follow is now visible to me. It appears she has stumbled up to a man. Hold on. I know the shoulders she’s suddenly holding and the legs walking away. The truth finally came to light.

There’s a key created.  To kickstart the engine that is my heart.  Yet now I find myself.  Beneath a yellow hued stoplight in this midnight parking lot.  Patting my pockets, and my bag for it.  No familiar jingle is heard. And now my body floods with nerves.  Will I be trapped?  In this field of tar and pale lemon lines. 

To my saving. A large shadow appears to be approaching.  Turning my head over my shoulder and  I see you.  Full of hubris and a hand out.  In the spotlight of your palm stands a key.  “I have a copy of yours”  you say.  Yet the meaning of how that could be is lost and filtered before entering my ears. And I find my mere mice-like self running into your foxy arm. 

With my door ajar, and your hand on my thigh as I do.  I twist the key in its ignition.  The flutter of the engine teases me.  Yet your key was enough to revive my engine. To start me up again.

Now I look, to share my gratitude and all I see is the same bleak lot, and a mark where your hand just was. I should just drive off but now I’m stalled. Turned on but immobile. How long could this battery last? Love is the lie that keeps us alive.

I finished typing on my computer composing an email to my boss asking if there was anything I might need to catch up on while I was off for the weekend when I checked the date. It was 4th of July weekend. “Honey! Did you realize it’s 4th of July this weekend?” I called to Amanda who was in her room down the hall. Quickly she stumbled into my room bursting through the door. “Shit, no I didn’t. We gotta get out of the city then.” Amanda replied leaning against my doorframe whilst putting her outgrown bleached hair up out of her face. “Yeah I know. Let’s just go to my parent’s cabin I know they won’t be there.” I replied, turning around in my swivel chair to face Amanda now. Her facial expression dropped. The cherry red concealed in her cheeks plummeted into a ghostly pink now. “I know you’re fucking lying Lily.” Amanda responded to me. “What? Come on it’s only an hour away. Plus would you rather deal with the terrorizing sporadic blasts throughout the night?” I responded back. Amanda looked at me with about a thousand thoughts hidden behind her pupils. I watched her lips purse to speak, and go back down a few times before saying after what felt like hours. “I guess that wouldn’t be too bad.” Amanda responded her Boston accent fading away into the sincerity of her statement. Before I knew it the two of us were in her car, driving past the “Farewell New York” sign and on the highway. “So how much longer?” I asked Amanda to be annoying. “Lily, it’s your parents cabin, shouldn’t you know this route like the back of your hand?” Amanda responded, cracking her gum in her mouth after finishing her sentence. Her window was open and her hair blew so elegantly in her face. I stare at Amanda’s nose, the slopes and peaks of it in her side profile as she drove. She catches me staring, I know how much she randomly hates her side profile and she looks at me and smacks my glasses off my face. Playfully now hitting each other as her knees cruise down the highway. Then suddenly something crashes in front of us. “What the fuck!” Amanda screams. Swerving off the road the car falls off the shoulder of the highway into a ditch, instantly I heard/felt one of the tires puncture. “Shit shit shit” I said. Opening the door and getting out. “Are you okay?” I asked Amanda quickly. “Yeah I’m good Lily, are you?” Amanda asked. “I’m cool, what the hell was that?” I asked. “Seemed to be a deer or some sort, per usual, it went away unscathed, will probably trollop home to it’s family not even telling them how they almost killed two women.” Amanda responded. “You and your vendetta against deer.” I said, staring at the destruction. “From birth till death I don’t care.” Amanda responded. The headlight was a bit cracked now and the front right tire was definitely shit. I knew there was no spare anymore so we were stranded a bit. “I’ll call a tow.” I said. I quickly realized my phone was on the actual brink of death but I reached a towing service. “We unfortunately are closed due to the holiday, please try another local company for your towing needs this weekend.” “Shit, they’re closed for the weekend.” I said. Amanda now pacing around the wreck responded, “Just call literally any other one.” “Well I would but, my phone just died.” I said holding up my phone as the white led screen faded away. “Well we’ll just use my phone.” Amanda said. She immediately patted her light wash denim short pockets, front and back. Opened the front door searched the driver and passenger side. Now frantically looking in the car I began searching around outside. Retracing our theoretical steps in the car I found her phone. “Hey I think I found it.” I said with an air of unease. I may have found it but there wasn’t much to find. It was shattered and wasn’t turning on. “Well you know my password, just call somewhere.” Amanda said, wiping her forehead and walking towards me. “Hon it’s broken, won’t turn on. We seem to be a bit stranded.” I said. Once again I saw Amanda’s joy leave her face. “I knew we shouldn’t come out to your parents cabin!” Amanda said. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. Maybe you’re right. But surprisingly I think I have an idea of where we are. If I’m right there should be an exit up maybe a mile with a quaint little hotel. We could just stay there and figure this all out tomorrow.” I said, pulling Amanda close and going on my tip toes to kiss her head. Traversing on the side of the road on a Friday night 4th of July weekend in the outskirts of New York we found it. Creeping into view was a quaint hotel. Not a chain like you may expect but one of those small 1 story hotels. Where the doors to each room you can walk up to, no hallways. Inside our room was a stain on the carpet and two small beds we pushed together to be a large one. It was quaint and cheap, with a delicious complimentary breakfast. “We should go up to your parents cabin more often.” Amanda said holding me in her arms in the bed.

Tussled brown hair and freckles spread all over the young boy’s face as he look at himself in the reflection of a puddle. Icarus was a beautiful young angel. His ivory garbs that covered his thin and muscular body flowed in the wind, but that was to be expected as Icarus stood outside the temple. Clutching his golden bow he stepped away from the puddle, knowing it wasn’t good to focus too much on yourself, and away from the temple. Icarus walked through the small village, past small shop and library. “Are you headed to the mountaintop young one?” The familar elderly voice of the librarian shouted at Icarus from inside the library. Stopping in his tracks and turning his head in the direction of the shout Icarus found the librarian. “Yes I am, I’ve got to test these out somehow don’t I?” Icarus responded flapping the beautiful white feathered wings that remain perched out of the young boy’s back. Icarus observed as the librarian looked at him with amazement. “Be careful don’t you, please, you know.-” The librarian said. As he was finishing his sentence Icarus looked up at the sun and noticed it beginning to become obscured by clouds. “Yeah sounds good. I’ll be around.” Icarus responded, now running off out of the small town and towards the large mountain. Treking up the monstrous hill Icarus paused a moment, placing his bow on the rocks and wiping his brown of the perspiration that was building up. Looking around Icarus soon realized he was already pretty high up. The large temple he was seemingly just outside of was nearly an ant mound to him from this point. So Icarus paused. Staring off the ledge in front of him, and breathing in and out. “Should I?” Icarus said aloud. Almost immediately in what seemed to be a response, Icarus heard a brush from the tree behind him, and suddenly an acorn fell. It was a sign. Icarus stood at the ledge holding out the wingspan of his arms and actual wings. Closing his eyes Icarus dove off the ledge. Feeling immediately the pressure of the wind through every fiber of his being and the thrill consuming him. Yet, without thinking, the feathered wings began to flap. Laughing aloud Icarus said, “I’m unstoppable!”

If only I put my phone down. To stop and turn left. To view upon the entire axis I ignore.

A moment away from the blue light that haunts my retinas, To give it that same ocean colored light, from a different sized square.

Or to handle the wheel of an automobile, yet many dont’t put that screen down for that, And look where they are.

To stare at those with wrinkles, my attention bringing them delight, and the rectangle I hold so often being placed down bringing them, even more pleasure.

Perhaps there’s grass, that should be touched, Instead of a electronic rectangle. I wouldn’t know about that, and continue grazing the delicate screen of LED.

Yet, I won’t. In the generation of free will and overexplored topics, I will continue, to be held hostage to a screen.

Millennia from now, the option to turn left or right from them won’t even be here. When the sun turns into a monitor and the moon becomes a power button.

We hold these rectangles, or squares tight to us like new borns. Nursing them near our chests but never giving them a breast, just a charging outlet. If only I could put my phone down, yet it seems, it’s all I have.