Marilyn walks slowly across the frozen lake, every step cautious and uncertain. Her eyes sweep across the surface, searching for any sign of Bear.

Bear, her chocolate lab, was no where in sight. She listened intently for his barks and whines. His paw prints had created a track in the snow, leading right toward the frozen lake.

“Bear?” she called out wearily. Her voice cut through the cold air, b...

Hide and seek has always gotten my adrenaline pumping. Now, I feel as if I’ve had five double shot espressos.

The announcement had echoed around the courtyard. People paused, pulling out their earbuds and looking at the sky as if the voice had come from the heavens. I snorted at their foolishness.

Oh well. If there was anything I knew as a pro hide-and-seeker, it was that a head start was always...

For 100 years, the kingdoms of Ramidere and Stohan had been locked in a deadly war, the Blood War. Too many lives had been lost and not even half the bodies had been recovered. The two kingdoms had been hopelessly stuck in a stalemate and neither about to wave a white flag. They were locked in some game of tug-a-war, with no side having a clear upper hand as territories were constantly being won a...

“You don't understand, Maria! I love you!” he exploded, throwing his hands into the air, “I love you and I love you more than I’ve loved anyone else in my life. I love you so much that I feel like I’m going crazy—.”

“Stop, please, stop,” Maria pleaded, moving around the back of the couch as he continued to corner her. They had traveled around the apartment that way. Every time he stepped forward,...

_“You promise me you won’t?” he asked me, his eyes searching mine. He held my face between his hands. I knew he was looking for any sign of doubt or lies on my face. _

_“I won’t,” I swore honestly. “I could never do something like that, trust me.”_

He had kissed me after that. I thought he had loved me, but he was just making me promise him something, when all the while he was lying to my face. ...

Expectations.

Stressed, anxious.

Their dreamy aspirations

and their many obligations.

These fancy, pretty, perfect preparations.

They expect from me brave declarations

Isn’t that the point of these nominations?

All of this adoration, this admiration, this adulation?

What if I can’t live up to these reputations?

What if I can’t be the person in their imaginations?

What if all this grand glorificat...

Why can’t I do that?

Why don’t I look like that?

Why doesn’t my hair shine, my smile glimmer, and my skin glow?

Why can’t I talk like her, get my way with every word?

Why doesn’t my laugh sound like bells? Why don’t my eyes put people under spells?

Why can’t I answer every question in a confident tone?

Why do I feel so alone?

Why doesn’t my every word make people laugh? Why don’t I own a...

Love is like a string—

pulling me along, fling after fling.

It’s not a game I like to play,

but still I play it, day after day.

When life gives you lemons,

you squeeze them for lemonade.

When life gives you roses,

you water them until they’ve decayed.

Love is like a rope—

stringing me along, hope after hope.

It holds me there, in the air,

scaring me, affair after affair.

Yes, love scares me,

b...

Yes, being banished here is most definitely worse than death. Yet I can still think of 100 things worse.

The darkness and I have become akin. It was bound to happen at one point—perhaps I simply pushed it to happen sooner rather than later. Now there is a certain comfort I find here, hidden amongst the shadows.

But it was not always this way. The tree limbs once looked like monstrous arms, reac...

As long as I breathe,

I will love you.

As long as I see,

I will notice you.

No matter what I do,

remember this;

I love you.

But—

As long as you breathe,

you won't love me.

As long as you see,

you won't see me.

I see your eyes—

a mix of green and blue.

They tell me lies;

let me believe in me and you.

I stare at you,

you can't even glance at me.

I'm lost in their hue,

and you’re lost in period...