A graveyard wasn’t my idea of a date. Believe me if anyone suggested we go to a graveyard for a way I would have turned away right then and there, who could even think of romance when you’re surrounded by dead people But then Julians car broke down. We were stranded. Triple A was at least two houses away and we were miles from anywhere we could stay in. After about thirty minutes we both got bored of waiting in the car. Julian suggested we go walk around. “Sorta like a midnight stroll, that’s romantic right?” He asked, his face lighting up in the moon light. I was bored and he was absolutely amazing and cute . I kissed him and we stared walking. We found the grave yard after about ten minutes. For a moment we stood outside looking in. Julian was the first one to go in, he was the one who noticed the gate was unlocked as well. I hesitated but he grabbed my hand and looked at me with those soft golden eyes that were begging me to come. Eventually I let him lead me in. We walked in and Julian went to a grave. A grey plague on the ground with a vsparents ml teddy bear and flowers next to it. “My father use to run a funeral home, he was the one who taught me to really appreciate life.” Julian said softly. “ he would bring me to graveyards and tell me about the people, the stories he would tell” Your father would bring you to a graveyard? The question just bubbling underneath couldn’t seem to find its Way out. Julian looked back at me his golden eyes looking sad for a moment before changing again. “I know, kinda weird right I mean, who ever heard of someone brining a kid to a graveyard” he said “No I think it’s kinda cool” I said before I could think about what I was saying. He looked away, almost embarrassed. “Sure ya do” he said softly, sarcastically. I turned his head gently so he was looking at me. “I do. Your dad wanted to show you about his work, he wanted to be with you” I say. We both turn back toward the grave almost simultaneously. Tim Adams Father, loving husband, son, best friend. 1932-1977 The inscription read
I quickly did the math in my head “45 years” I said under my breath. “Such a short life but a well lived one.” Julian said. Neither of us said anything for a moment. “It’s weird an entire life summed up in a short amount of words.” He said. Julian traced the years on the grave silently, studying them. I had never known anyone who was so serious and careless at the same time. I wondered if that was why I was so attracted to him in the first place or maybe it was his golden eyes that shined in the day and night. We Moved on to the next grave. Peter king 1990-2015 We went through the graveyard row by row looking at the different name and the different quotes or phrases . As we were walking out, holding hands Julian looked at me. He leaned in closet until he was just an inch from my face “Thank you” he whispered.. then before I could say anything he kissed me.

I walked into the living room and saw the usual mess, scattered papers and food wrappers sprawled across the room, a half empty can of beer spilled out on the floor( luckily I had hardwood) I groaned and opened the window to get rid of the stale smell of beer. The limo on the couch who had created the mess moved slightly , something almost like a groan escaped the lips before falling back asleep. I shuffled to the kitchen and put the coffee on. Ten minutes the lump other wise known as Lori stumbled into the kitchen. Her red hair which was usually slightly tame was as wild as could be as if she had just stepped outside into a tornado. She wore an extra large gray shirt that was covered in various stains, although to call it a shirt was ridiculous and the shirt almost covered her knees. I poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. With a small nod she thanked me and proceeded to pour in two spoons of sugar into the cup. Life in lockdown certainly had its challenges. For one we were both out of our minds with boredom. Oh sure we binge watched all the shows and Lori and I each picked up a new hobby for a few weeks but it wasn’t enough to chase away the endless hours in between video calls and meetings to chase away the uncertainty of this never ending lock down. At first we thought of it as a fun way to spend more time, after all with people not leaving their houses unless it was to go for groceries or the doctors or something else like that there wasn’t much else to do. Of course anyone could go outside any time they liked hut there just wasn’t much to do. Restaurants, bars, movies, concerts and pretty much anything fun was cancelled until further notice. I’m a nature lover but there’s only so many times you can walk around outside before you get sick of that too. As the lock down continued we began getting in each other’s nerves more and more until it was rare to pass even an hour without being at each other’s throats. I sip my coffee slowly. Those days were still crystal clear in my head and would probably always be burned into my memory. The yelling and screaming and slamming of doors and then the long unbearable silence that followed sometimes lasting for days. I stared back at Lori who was busy pouring cereal and making toast. I could almost laugh thinking about how we use to hate each other until we found out we both hated the same teacher for the same reason. It was almost hard to images that was three years ago. We became unlikely friends after that. She taught me to skip class every once in a while and I taught her that not every rule needed to be broken. About a year ago we started dating, it wasn’t something we planned Or anything but one day we kissed and everything changed. She started staying over my place and we were growing closer and then everything changed with the lock down. Now we seemed to exist in this weird indifferent relationship. There weren’t sparks anymore like the first time we kissed but we were both tired of yelling and screaming. We had a silent agreement that we would just tolerate each other. Lori over to the table and slid a bowl of cereal and a plate of toast in front of me. Without knowing why I felt myself reach up and grab her shirt gentle. She paused, clearly caught off guard. Slowly i pulled her closer to me until my lips met hers. The kiss was king and slow, filled with everything I couldn’t say out loud. For a minute she.was too shocked to do anything and then she was kissing me back. After nearly two months of being in each other’s space and a month of constant fighting everything we wanted to say had exploded into a powerful and passionate kiss. Nothing mattered in that kiss, not her sloppiness or my nagging or either of our annoying ticks and flaws. Eventually we had to pull away. We didn’t say anything but we didn’t need to, we both knew everything had changed in that moment

I was told my prince would save me. He would come and slay the dragon and we would ride off into the sunset on his white steed and we would live happily ever after……and that would be great and all but they didn’t tell me how long it would take. No one said I would be trapped in isolation with nothing but a fire breathing dragon to keep me company for years, and I mean years. I would sit by the window of my tower waiting for someone to come and rescue me, I dreamed of that day so much sometimes I actually believe it had happened and I was heartbroken to find every morning I woke in the same tower instead of a palace or with some prince. As the years dragged on and on and on I began to wonder if maybe my prince had simply forgotten about me or perhaps he found another princess’s or maybe there was no prince coming after all. Perhaps I was just a Princess locked in a tower. The thought had been absurd, why would I be locked in a tower if not to meet my Prince Charming who would risk life and limb to save me from the terrible dragon? I had gone half mad thinking about it. I paced the tower tossing the idea over and over in my mind. This was not how it was suppose to go. The Princess, that was me, was suppose to be locked in a tower and saved by her Prince Charming and they would be wed and the entire kingdom would celebrate and they would live happily every after with children and life would be good. My heart felt like it was going to burst, the room was spinning so fast. I had to sit down. Nothing was going to plan. Nothing.
My prince wasn’t coming and the terrifying fire breathing dragon wasn’t all that terrifying. Sure Lexi was scary at first but after like thirty years I saw her as more than just a terrifying dragon. She became somewhat of a friend- even if she barely acted like I was there and threatened to scorch my face if I got to close to her. I looked around my tower which was more like a prison after all these years and I glanced out the window. Somewhere out there was a price who was suppose to be rescuing me . The more I stared out at the wide world with no walls or dragons or rivers of lava to keep them trapped the angrier I could feel myself becoming. Finally I had decided enough was enough. Prince or no prince I was getting out of here one way or another. As if sensing my plan Lexi, who was sleeping, suddenly woke and a stream of fire suddenly appeared. “Shut up Lexi. I am sick of waiting for some Prince Charming” I snapped. I gathered my things and tied Them together in a bundle. The tricky part was getting out of here. The first thing I had to do so take care of Lexi. No matter how much I thought it over I couldn’t bring myself to kill her. I would have to trap her somehow. The good thing about a stone tower was that Lexi couldn’t burn it down. All I had to do was trap her behind one of the rooms in the tower and a bunch of stone. While Lexi fell back asleep I spent the day gathering pieces of loose stone that had fallen throughout the years, another reason to get out of here, stone turned out to be a lot heavier than expected and the dress only got in my way. Eventually I got sick of tripping over my dress and found a discarded sword and cut my Dress until it was just above the knee. Sure with the stone piled in front of the door and my stuff packed I was finally ready to go. Hopefully Lexi would just sleep until I was gone. Hope was for suckers though because as soon as I had began my escape I heard Lexi waking up. She was trained to keep me here but my stone barrier seemed to be doing its job. I had to hurry. It wouldn’t hold her back for long. I ran toward the bridge. With one look back I crossed the bridge toward the kingdom and toward freedom.

The mafia. People hear mafia and they think it’s all killing and dumping bodies in the ocean. Okay so sure there’s some of that. Ya know sometimes you just gotta take care of business and there’s nothing else you can do. My father tired to hide the family business from me and I’m sure it was only to protect me but I was always too curious for my own good. I found out when I was around 12.
I had waited until my father was out “in a meeting” when I finally dared to sneak into his office that he always kept locked unless h was going in or out. At first I didn’t find anything , Just notebooks with numbers and names in it. I thought nothing of it until I saw the newspaper clipping and the “reports”. The newspaper was filled with articles about dead bodies found or people who mysteriously disappeared. I filed though the reports. They were from people my father worked with. They described gruesome scenes and “accidents” they saw. I had lost track of time and didn’t hear my father come home until it was too late. At first he was surprised, then angry. I had never seen him so angry before. He didn’t talk to me for a long time, no one really did.
Then one night- very late my father came to my room. He explained everything to me. He said he wanted to wait until I was older- He didn’t want to think he was a psycho or anything but since I already found out . He answered all my questions and I could tell he no longer was talking to me like a child, he wasn’t going to hide the truth anymore because I would only find it out later.
It took a while to get use to the idea of my family and the the mafia but it was more than just death and kill king. After I found everything my fathered made sure to share everything with me. He didn’t leave any details out, even if I wished he would. He wanted me to know what the family business really meant. It was more than just death and killing. It was about looking out for people, it was about defending the defenseless, it was about protection. It was about putting family first,no matter what. It was our way of life.

She stood in what would have been the front door. Of course the door was missing, the walls had giant cracks and the glass in the windows had long been shattered. Anyone else would have decided to destroy the place and it went against any and all logic to try to save this old run down house but she wasn’t listening to logic right now. Nostalgia and longing for her childhood home had taken over any logical thoughts to abandon this place. It had been years since she was here but the memories still came flooding back as if she had lived here her entire life. Piles of sand flooded the door ways and she had to climb over them to even get inside but as soon as her foot crossed the threshold of the house she instantly felt a thousand times better. She placed her hand on the cracked and Crumbling wall of what use to be the kitchen. She closed her eyes and once again she was ten years old again. Her mother was cooking stew and the flavors filled the house. She could hear her mother humming to an old song under her breath and she could just see her mother twirling around in the kitchen as she grabbed more ingredients. Her mother would let her have the first bowl before calling in her brothers. Her two older brothers would have been out on the farm. They always had tons of energy and working on a farm was a good way to let off energy. Her brothers would come running in and tassel her hair and call her squirt. She would tease her brothers and they would pretend to wrestle with her until their mother told them to stop. They would sit down to have dinner and just as they were sitting down their father would come in. He’s kiss their mother and kiss her but not the boys because “boys don’t kiss their father” they would talk and laugh and their father would tell stories about the market and the strange people that came in. Eventually they would settle down in the living room and relax. Life was so much simpler back then. That was before the sand storms began. Living in the desert they were use to a sand storm every now and then but then they started to happen more and more. Eventually they had to leave. Now, she finally had a chance to come home.

Most people would think that being raised by the government would be something terrible, something horrible. After all government is constantly divided and always fighting about something not to mention it takes about forever to get anything done but honestly it’s not like that. I’m not some cold distant kid who never knew love or friendship. Of course I know who my parents are and they visit frequently.

It all goes back to the year 2025. The world was finally recovered from a massively deadly disease as well one of the greatest divides in the country. In history we refer to this as the great split. Our teachers don’t call it war because it never reached that point, although it came very close. People grew tired of fighting and arguing and being divided on everything from birth control to policing to medical rights. It all sounds so wildly frustrating. The government stepped in, the initial plan was to try to mend the brokenness of the country but sometimes things just break too much. People were set in their ways and stubborn, refusing to change or even acknowledge that other people might have different opinions. There were rallies and meetings and protest against the rallies and people of all kinds calling for a change but no one knew where to start. What can you do when no one wants to work with anyone.

You start over. You start with the next generation. At first it was just a scientific test. Could you raise children simply on facts and research? Could we take the bias and the prejudice out of the children that were being raised? The short answer yes. After multiple studies done in several counties scientist from across the globe discovered that emotions were holding children back. Emotions were holding everyone back. That when the real change began. Children no longer grew up with their parents rather they grew up being cared for by the government in a organization for child’s well-being and mental health. Agents were assigned to raise children in all aspects starting after the first year. All children now live on government facilities and are taught to debate rather then yell and research rather then boldly claim.

While we are at school we are studied and examined by scientist and psychologist both who ensure children are being cared for physically and emotionally.

My parents visit and we are able to spend time away from the facility and do what any normal child would have done back in the before days as my father calls it. We have lunch, we talk and we simply enjoy our time together. My mother tells me that about life in the before time. She tells me that some parents struggled to feed their babies, she tells me that some families fought all the time and she tells me that families sometimes were more like strangers in the same house. My mother also tells me about families that would play board games or watch movies all night. She tells me about her childhood. She tells me about her mother and father making fires in the summer and roasting s’mores. She tells me about jumping in leaves in the fall with her dog. She tells me about building snowmen with her sister in the winter and she tell me about running around for hours in the backyard in the spring. My father tells me about his childhood too. He tells me about camping and hiking trips he would take with his father and watching the sunset and looking up at the stars. My father tells me about the times his family struggled to put food on the table and how his parents would fight when they thought he was asleep. They tell me their stories so I can know what life was like.

Being raised by the government is not as bad as you would think. I never hear my parents fight, I don’t worry about food, water, or shelter. I have friends and I have a family. It’s not perfect there are bad days and there are things such as pets I will never have or camping trips I will never go on and sometimes I do wish things were different but mostly it’s okay. I have everything I need and that’s what important

Trust People talk about trust all the time. Everyone wants trust and everyone wants to be trusted. We whisper and gossip about who is and who isn’t trust worthy. Who can keep a secret and who is just waiting to stab you in the back. Trust is a double edge sword especially when your royal. Trust is hard enough, who to tell your secrets, who can you be yourself around, who knows the real you? Trust is hard even without the royalty behind everything. Trust is fragile when it’s little things but add the idea of ruling a kingdom and it gets risky. They say it’s Lonely at the top and it is. When you’re the one on top everyone wants to knock you down, everyone wants to take from you, steal from you, lie to you, deserve you. To them you have it all. You have a crown and the throne. You have a closet bigger than a house. You have servants at your hand. You have it all, but all you have are things. You have money and jewels and servants when you want friends and family and people care about you. You want to be able to trust but you can’t. You can’t trust anyone. So you turn your heart to stone, you shut your emotions off, you pretend it doesn’t bother you to see families happy and laughing together when you go into the village. You are the queen. People trust you, yet you can’t trust anyone.

It’s always the quiet ones It’s the quiet ones who see things that others don’t, who notice the small details. It’s the quiet ones who stare off into space, lost in another universe that they themselves have created It’s the quiet ones who sense the difference in body language. The small muscle twitch, the quiet sigh, It’s the quiet ones who pay the closet attention to emotion.
It’s the quiet ones who can see when people are smiling thigh the pain.
It’s the quiet ones who create scenario after scenario in their minds It’s the always the quiet ones

Introverts. They call us introverts because we don’t like crowds, we find small talk tedious, we’re comfortable being by ourselves. We don’t need to be surrounded by people to have a good time. Introverts Wall flowers The quiet ones

What is the meaning of life Sure I could say the meaning of life is to become rich and famous, after all most of fantasize about that anyway. Having adoring fans that will follow you and do whatever you say. It sounds nice and it would defiantly mean you would be remembered when you die. Of course people don’t want to think about death at all. People don’t die they pass away or move on to the other side, there not gone,not completely anyway. We want to, need to hold on to hope that there is something after all this right? It what? Is this a test from the gods? Perhaps if we pray and dedicate our lives here to the gods they will reward us for our dedication in the next life? Maybe? Who am I to know for sure, I do not pretend to be a speaker of the gods. I am simply an ordinary human like you, living everyday the best I can. So maybe that’s the meaning of life Not to be the best But to be our best sleeves.
Our best sleeves? What does that mean?
Who can say for sure, that is a question only one person in the entire world can answer. You So. What . Is. Your. Best . Self.
?

I didn’t want to go to the festival. I wanted to stay home and read my newest book but my friend Sam insisted that I go. She practically dragged me to the festival insisting that I will have fun and that “I need to get out of the house” I rolled my eyes but went along. The festival was loud and crowded. People were pushing and shoving their ways to food stands and rides and games. “Can we go home, I’ve already been stepped on five times and we’ve only been here for a minute” I whined. Sam rolled her eyes and pulled my arms. “Come on Katie you can’t just spend you’re entire time reading, you spend all day reading about adventure, why don’t you have a real adventure” Sam said. I glared at her “And exactly what adventure can I have at a festival where everyone keeps pushing me and stepping on my feet” I demanded. Sam thought about it for a while “Picture this, we’re just having fun playing games and everything when someone jumps you, you get annoyed and all but you look up and see him” I shook my head. Sometimes she was more delusional then I was but we were friends for a reason “Him?” I asked. “Your soul mate” Sam said her eyes lighting up. I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t I’ll meet my soul mate” I said. Sam looked at me with her pleading eyes,begging for me to stay. “One hour, you have one hour and then I’m going home” Sam jumped With joy clapping her hands together. “Yay! I promise this is going to be amazing” she said. Sam wanted to go on rides first and of course she chose the fastest ride at the festival. Sam had always had a wild strike but that’s something we didn’t share. While she went on again I was throwing up in the bushes. “You don’t look so good” I looked up expecting to see Sam but instead there was a man, maybe a little younger then me. He held out his hand for me to take “You should sit down” he said. He guided me to the bench and I felt glad to be sitting for a while. He went to go and get me some water. We talked, his name was Adam and his blue eyes sparkled in the festival lights. I started to feel better. “So, are you here alone” he asked. “No, my friend Sam is here. She’s on the ride” I said pointing to the twister ride. The ride was ending and people were spilling out. Sam came out grinning wildly. It took a moment for her to spot me and she started laughing as she walked up to us. “Hey, who’s this cutie?” Sam asked plopping down next to us.
“Adam “ I said. We started taking again and we ended up going on more rides, a tad more calm. Sam wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. Adam and I ended up in one seat while Sam rode with someone else who she made friends with in line. After about a minute the ride stalled out. It wasn’t a complete cliche, we weren’t on top or anything but it gave us more time to talk. “I’m really glad I ran into you” Adam said he smiled. I felt myself blush. “Me too.” The ride got going. We went to the games next. Sam ended up winning a goldfish and a small teddy bear. Adam won a panda bear and offered it to me. “I’d look pretty silly showing up with a panda bear around the guys” he said when I first refused. I didn’t want the night to end up all too soon we were saying goodbye to Adam. “Sooooo?” Sam asked as we walked to the car. “Okay, you were right. I’m glad you dragged me to the carnival” I said. Sam smiled.