Patrick the Pirate

My twin brother Patrick invited me to his beach house to meet the THE ONE. The one he’s going to marry. I was wary. Patrick has had his share of awful girlfriends.

Let me describe Patrick. He is portly, balding and has a front tooth missing. He has a warm and ebullient personality and can make me laugh. Always.

I arrive to his beach house and was greeted on the front stairs b...

Waves singing salty tunes

Moonlight dim and softly looms

Whispers quiet against the night

Longing for the heavily light

Sea of green and blue hues

Morning comes with heavy dew

Sunlight bright against the sand

Morning to day isn’t it grand...

Beach houses; they're a great place for a vacation, a place where you can relax. So close to the water that the tide comes up to the posts holding up the entire structure. Where you can see beautiful sunsets, shades of pink and purple, reflected onto the water. The calm, clear, ocean waves lulling the occupants of the beach house to a peaceful sleep. The sand that got tracked in being permanently...

Eran las 3 am, la brisa me erizaba la piel, el reflejo de la luna en el agua alumbraba el ambiente con una luz plateada, era una llena, la marea estaba baja, el mar se escuchaba en calma. De dónde vino el grito ? Se siente sola la noche, escucho la espuma del mar filtrarse por la arena. Lo escucho otra vez, corro hacia el sonido, no siento las manos, los labios se me congelan, veo sombras y de rep...

The view was stunning. Ocean waters came almost right up to the door, with sand at the base of the door so close that it was touching the entrance. We had been looking forward to this vacation for a long time. It was truly oceanfront property, something we could never afford. Only now that we were there, sitting at the windowsill and watching the water creep higher, higher, higher - we wouldn’t ha...

Childhood conditioned me to loath and fear the beach

Though not for crabs or seagulls or whatever else there creeps

But for the very ground itself, the sand between my toes

For what lies beneath it, does anybody know?

Each step is a risk taken, a gamble with your life

Waiting for that sinking feeling, like the slicing of a knife

Lungs constantly on ready to be held at second’s glance

Barely even...

Mom gives a weak little smile as she pulls her suitcase over the threshold.

I look at the small house, the living room is nice. Right when you walk in your faced at a small hallway. If you look to your right it’s the kitchen and to your left is the living room. The whole house is just barely big enough for us.

Mom stands next to me, taking in a small breath.

“It’s nice,” I say, before she can s...

My father died in the waves. I fear I’m next.

Maybe with a little more background, you can convince me otherwise, but it’s important that I tell you how he met his death at the hands of that seductress.

She called to him, and he confided in me, “I hear her every morning when I wake. She sings songs to me from the rocks out beyond where a man can stand. I see her, draped in seaweed, and with a v...

The perk of sleeping in on vacation was that by the time I woke up, everyone who had to get up on Toddler Time already had cute stories and photos to share. My two-year-old niece had never slept in a day of her life.

Mom held out her phone towards me while I poured cereal into a bowl - Reese’s Puffs, a lifelong vacation favorite.

“Perfectly timed,” she said, indicating the photos on the screen. ...

Her dress was as green as gas station Jell-O, and its innards were equally artificial.

-Delores, “Turn Tables, Volume 2 in the Turnip the Volume Series”

MJ was particularly proud of Produce Plaza. He'd spent hours painting and flavoring fruit, warming the air to a perfect 57 degrees Fahrenheit, and selecting street clothes for the patrons. Against his better judgement, he'd slapped beards on jus...