I’d been wanting it since the sixth grade.

To be free.

To move on.

To get out of this town.

It’s been years.

Years that have dragged on,

Brought me to the brink of insanity.

“You’re almost there”

“Just a few more grades”

Please.

Let me out.

I want to explore.

I want to meet people.

I want to be free.

Please, let me out.

I watch me friends as they leave me this year.

I’m held back. ...

I cried.

I woke up and sobbed.

The day was ruined.

Before it started, I had already lost.

Went to school.

Went to class.

Like walking through fog,

It continued to last.

No tears in the hall.

I can’t show my weaknesses.

Not here.

Of all places.

Her voice was cheerful.

It brought a smile to my face

as she merged her way

Into my personal space.

It was joyous.

I could forget.

She fo...

We’d been waiting for this for years.

Bought dresses, shoes, and rings,

Bows, purses, and flowers.

So little time to find our favorite things

Wearing them for a few simple hours.

Pink is my color.

Black more suits her.

Complimentary partners,

A duo, in a word.

Hand in hand, rushing to the venue,

Excited to arrive at the dance.

Her gorgeous face took my breath away.

I found myself cau...

Beeping and bustling

Shuffling and calling.

I hear the life within the infrastructure.

Laughing and smiling

Crying but living.

It is home.

This place is loud.

This place is busy.

But it is connected.

It is home.

Especially though the roads

Intertwining

Through the blocks

And the corners

And the crazy drivers

Of the city.

It is home.

Glass doors.

The smell of fresh food

From a st...

Steady, steady.

Built from the ground up.

A foundation,

a sensation-

a life just begun.

Evolving from the Earth,

the beginning of a line.

Something new and unexpected.

Different yet connected,

similar in kind.

Heartbeats sound through the family,

supportive voices drift.

New faces stay comforting,

Ever continuously growing,

A beautiful kind of gift.

Extensions of the self,

branche...

I was never fond of it.

Love.

It always felt like something to avoid.

It’s complicated.

Absurd.

Messy.

So many synonyms of chaotic

that I could never describe.

It feels stilted.

Awkward.

Out of place for me.

I’ve never experienced it;

What would I know?

How could I write

for something so foreign?

I see it on the streets,

in my house,

and in my mind.

But still.

It feels too ou...

_That girl is sitting by herself._

From the moment I walked into history, an annoying first period to have, I noticed the strange desk set-up. Mr. B moved his desks from rows to tables, shoving 5 of the slightly-too-small middle school chairs together.

Everyone cliqued up immediately. That wasn’t surprising. What _was_ surprising was the girl in the back.

There were plenty of empty seats. Bu...

August 18th, 2002

We’re moving today. To LA. Not sure why Dad decided we needed to do that. I was perfectly happy here. But it’s a big change and I guess I have to get used to those at some point.

But, my favorite musical is playing in a theater there not long after we get the keys to the new house. I might try and persuade him to buy the tickets for me. You know, as an apology for packing up m...

Dragons dipped and dove overhead as I began my journey. They were searching for me, I knew. My father sent his military to hunt me down. Again.

But I would not get caught this time. Hiking my bag to a more comfortable position on my shoulder, I held my skirt as I walked. The mist rolled in, creating an eerie scene before me. I didn’t there there was any danger, despite how wildly my heart thumpe...

Somewhere, on the edges of a deep blue lake, an adolescent duck made its landing. The heavy, gray fog hid the bird as it made its silent descent onto the water’s surface.

The fog, humid and thick, covered the expanses of the lake, as well as the campgrounds surrounding it. The duck, usually spoiled by the campers and hiker that roam the forests, sought out its own lunch.

Diving deep beneath th...