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RasMuse2022 Selections
Poetry
Goodness
We are going to the mountain steam
my children rolling down the path
like Christmas bells in August
at the water’s edge they skip stones
lay in grass beds the deer made
I watch the blue from the sky shine
in their eyes immortalizing goodness
My Cat, Bear
His name is Bear but it is not a Bear
A body too small to be one
The cat’s fur glows the color of rust
Bathing in the warm sunlight
Yet despite a black coat
He constantly shows affection
Apricat
furry, orange, shy
independent, watcher, hide
talkative, purr, play
Scent of a Lily
The first time I saw you I didn’t know your name,
I saw your beauty and needed to know more.
Your scent was sweet and intoxicating, unlike anything I have
ever smelled before.
You stand tall behind all the others.
You’re bold and need no support.
When I see you arrive every spring, you make me smile.
Every July when you wake and show your colors,
Your perfume glides with the wind and through my windows.
come fall, it's time to say goodbye.
But I know I’ll see you again next Spring.
Peace
You can play it loud
Or even play it low
Music can bring peace
When there’s nowhere to go
Singing alone in the comfort of your home
Eyes fill with water
As tears begin to flow
Because you found peace on your own throne.
Seven Hundred and Thirty Days
It's been seven hundred and thirty days
since I last was home.
The smell of my favorite home cooked meal
pouring out of the kitchen
Music playing in the house as family come in to see me.
Seven hundred and thirty days
since I drove down the roads that I grew up on
the ones that I would ride my bike down with friends.
The corner beige house right before the hill,
where I had my first kiss.
I’m home for three days,
then I’m back serving my county for another
Seven hundred and thirty days.
Surprise Baby
She was a dog Mom
Thinking her heart was so full
And then there was you
The Door
Sometimes I feel like I left the door open in my mind.
Especially when those thoughts I just had…
Sometimes I feel like the door is on a broken hinge
With a rickety screen
And sun-bleached wood
Warped from constant rain.
Sometimes I feel like I left the door open to my brain
I wish I could find the key before all my good thoughts go down the drain
I wish there was a dead-bolt to keep away the pain
I wish it had a peep-hole so I could hide my shame
Sometimes I feel like I left the door open in my mind
Every time I try to unwind, the hinges squeak
Every time I try to pass the time the frame shudders
Every time I try to sleep the cracked door whispered
and utters
Quiet words that stop my rest
Hallowed threats that bring me unrest
Quiet tears that wet my cheeks
Keeps my eyes sunken for weeks
Sometimes I feel like I left the door open to my brain
Sometimes I wish I knew what left it open again
Sometimes I wish I could stop floating through
Arenal Volcano
Magnificent and looming on the horizon
Completely fills the view
Takes my breath away
Climb to the southernmost lava flows
Walk along the rain forest floor
Cool under the canopy trees shade
Lush light and dark greens
Spring up from the forest floor
Reaching for light
Going on toward the climb
Hard black stone
Uneven surface
Pushing, pushing, pushing on
Over frozen lava
Heat of the day
On to the crest
Past the flows
Breeze in the face
Brilliant view, splendid blue sky
Cone reaching up
Meeting clouds
Climbing down to the jungle
Undercover in large roots
Cooling down
The Cry of Thunder
Her cries rumble through the house like thunder.
One hand caught in a loophole of toys as they all clatter together.
The other hand punched in her open mouth.
The shrieking of her cries and the rattling of the toys.
A set of tired eyes dashing across the room.
Her cries rumble through the house like thunder.
Soul of the Midnight Blue
After the heart of the burning day
Raises the soul of the cooling night.
Revealing the body of the eternal sky
And the countless celestial lights.
Up upon the world it resides
Though shrouded in darkness it cannot hide
Its midnight blue soul that glows inside
Such is the dark moon in the sky.
Winter Play
Skates cut into ice
Freezing cold air fills my lungs.
Beads of sweat drip.
Faces of the Ages
Hanging on the wall
Like vines drape from a tree
Many faces looking
Do their eyes follow me?
Framed in black and stoic
Like spectacles, help us see
Who are all these faces
How do they relate to me?
Spreading through the ages
Like stars through the galaxy
All these friendly faces
Is this my family tree?
In Your Hands
A vivid description of a scene
Loving couple holding hands
The past the future lumped together
The world brings struggles and tribulations
We fight against
We conquer it all
We take hold of the tough times
And love our way through
The turmoil
We are strong, tenacious, and resilient
And we forever
Can get through It all together
Desert Diamonds
Laying here on this hard sandy ground,
I look up and see all these figures around.
Some are short, some are tall, but all have many arms,
I look beyond the statues of darkness, and a sense of calm.
Washes over me for what I see is a beautiful sky,
with bright white diamonds saying hi.
As sleep takes me tonight,
I thank God for this wonderful night light.
Owl
Frigid wintertime
A spotted, fast owl flying
whilst watching the ice
Ashes
The weight of life fell on her
Broke her bones
Destroyed her spirit
Desolate and isolated
She crumbled towards numbness
Surviving, not living
Wondering when the weight became unbearable
When did s**t get so difficult?
Is when she began to change
She turned to help
To hope
An ember sparked
It's all it took
For the flame to set ablaze
And consume her soul
Into the phoenix she was meant to be
Thankful for the light within
She mourns those on their journey
And pray they become the phoenix they were meant to be
And not dwell in the dark
But come to live in the flame
Night Arrest
My eyes rested on stars
their lids caught on some
invisible terrestrial edge of
brilliance
a late-night wind
pulling me to lay down on
grass prepared for the dew
there is a hiccup in the
stillness from creature
conversations
as heavily accented
birch trees whisper.
Walk in Hanoi
To walk in Hanoi is to awaken the senses
Out the door and across the street, watching as we cross.
Scooters zipping by, horns beeping, streets full
Sounds everywhere, most unfamiliar. Street vendors crying out
Trains passing by, a language unknown.
Smells of cooking right on the sidewalk
Fresh meat is being cut too
Chopped-up fruit adds sweet sent, except the durian, which just stinks
Flowers cut and fresh bring a fragrance to the air.
Hanoi has its own sent
The air feels heavy with humidity
We hold hands not to get lost
Touch the fabrics and feel the beauty of spun silk
The glaze of tile on building sides smooth under the fingertips
So much to see, beautiful faces, some aged with lines from the sun
Others smooth. Working out on the streets making tea, preparing noodles
Laundry hanging between homes, washing dishes in the gutter.
Happy people everywhere.
Up Up Away
Clear blue-sky white clouds
Seat belt fasten takes deep breath in
Whew! Relax close eyes
Pink
Happy smiles draw tears
Two pink lines though faint is seen
In my womb she grows
A Scarred Moment
Having a few moments
for examination
I revisited my scars
the two small brown burn
marks that look like
age spots that blend in well with
the others the result on making
homemade donuts
the raised white scar from fixing a barbed
wire fence thirty-two years ago
for a husband I
no longer love or have
the scar that looks like a
cross on my left knee
a car accident caused by a
man without driving experience
in the winter
a notch near my eyebrow
from someone’s cat
more years than I remember
a wounded dog left both my hands
with scars that make me
cry when I think of him
internal scars are unnecessary
to relive
they are already covered by
layers of skin, muscle
parts of me delegated
as a barrier and fortified
to withstand the truth.
Note: The following poem contains sensitive content which you may find emotionally challenging. If you are in need of emotional support at any time, call 988 for the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
The Grey Sky
Pain has become a part of your life-
Pain has replaced your blood.
Nothing but pain flows through your veins.
The colors have lost their color.
The sun doesn't shine anymore.
Tears no longer fall from your eyes to the floor.
The grey sky has no boundaries- it's made the air feel cold.
It's made your breath more noticeable- and some how you feel dead.
Dead.
Death- walks with you under the sky.
The grey sky-
encourages death to take you.
So, inviting he is-
open arms,
artificial warm,
but you can't tell the difference anymore.
The grey sky killed hope.
So, death took you.
Strength Within
When you’re frozen in time,
And you can’t move or take another step.
Look within.
To find your strength,
And tell yourself, you can.
Just keep going and you will succeed.
For it's when you’re thinking that you can’t,
You will be right.
Look within.
To find your strength,
And overcome defeat.
Heart Strings
Those beautiful heart strings
I wish to play your melody
The secret song of your heart
There is only one who can play it
Play that rhythmic beat
That makes my soul sing
I wish to play your heart strings
That beautiful melody
That beautiful song
I will tell you a secret
A secret of mine
You are able to play mine
Those secret heart strings
The heart strings that no one can play
You have found its melody
My heart plays its melody for you
You who has found its secret
A melody just for you
Those beautiful heart strings
I wish to play your melody
The secret song of your heart
Your beautiful song
That makes my soul sing
By Category
By Creator
Creative Non-Fiction
Nothing Good Ever Comes from a 2 AM Phone Call
With a jolt, the ringing of the house phone woke me. It was 2:10 AM. Nothing good ever comes of an early morning phone call. I rolled over and picked up the receiver. "Hello" "Mom, it's Kayla" My oldest child lived on the other side of the world; she was a US Marine stationed in Japan. Her job was intelligence analyst, and she was good at it. The General in charge of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)would only take a brief from her. It made me feel proud of all her hard work; being a female and a Marine is hard. Her voice sounded steady and sure, almost a little excited. This early call could not be bad news; maybe she was coming home for a visit! The following sentence from her completely changed my hopeful thoughts.
"I have spent my morning in legal and afternoon in medical, and I will be shipping for Iraq in 2 weeks" My head was still trying to shake the drowsiness of sleeping out. Did I hear her right? Iraq? Two weeks? I ask, "are you sure?" "yes, mom, I'm sure. The 31st MEU is being deployed, and I have been augmented," What? What does that even mean? I wish the military had given parents a handbook that explained all these words. Kayla explained that she went to legal to write her will and medical for all kinds of shots. She will attend briefings and pack up her barrack room for the next several weeks. Why did the MEU have to augment-barrow-her? At this point, I regretted constantly pushing my children to do their best. Couldn't another Marine give a brief just as good as hers?
When she enlisted, the smooth-talking Marine recruiter assured us as a female; she would not see combat. When she graduated from her military training school at the top of her class, Kayla could hand pick her duty station; she chose Okinawa, Japan, and was stationed at Marine Corp Air Station Futenma. Once again, we were told that being stationed in Japan is considered a deployment, and she would not be deployed to the "sandbox" from a deployment. Innocently we trusted what we were told and did not think she would leave Japan for a deployment.
I hung up the phone after telling her to let us know what was happening once she knew more. The hurry up and wait game is prominent in the military. We found out she was leaving the night before she flew out of Japan. Keeping our heads clear and attitudes positive was difficult. Every time the phone rang, I worried it was a Military Chaplin calling to tell me she would not be coming home. She did call every few days at first, but then nothing. Days turned into weeks with no phone call or mail. It was agonizing to wait. We could tell by national news reports that heavy Marine fighting was happening in Fallujah and knew she must be involved. But was she okay?
Christmas 2004 was fast approaching, and no one in our house felt the Christmas spirit. How could we celebrate when Kayla was in a war with no Christmas around her? We could not mail packages and still had not heard from her. Because she was deployed from a deployment, we did not have a "family officer" to go to with questions. We just waited. The fighting was fierce, with concealed sniper positions and booby traps a severe danger. Most of the action was street fighting, causing coalition forces a significant loss of life. Some 110 coalition forces were killed and some 600 wounded in the battle; some 3,000 insurgents were killed or captured. An unknown number of civilians, estimated to be in the thousands, were also killed. At times I thought I would lose my mind from worry and the unknown.
On Christmas morning, the phone rang. It was Kayla she was okay. Fallujah had fallen and was in U.S. control. Operation Phantom Fury had been successful. We all wanted to talk at once and find out what was going on. She could not share much of what she had been doing but was able to assure her dad, two sisters, and me that she was okay. I would not rest until three months later when she was on U.S., Japanese soil again. Our daughter would carry the unseen wounds of war with her to this day. Due to her service in Iraq, she is a disabled veteran and remains proud of her service to her country. As a service member's parent, it is hard to let your child be your protector when it has always been the other way around.
A Freight Train with No Train
Have you ever heard a song or watched a movie clip that sends a jolt through your body, has your hair sticking up and goosebumps all down your arms? that gives you a quick adrenaline rush? These are the feelings I get while telling this memory my family and I went through, as many others did on April 28th, 2002, in La Plata, Maryland.
It was a quiet Sunday in Southern Maryland. Our springtime was very enjoyable, warm enough to wear shorts out and possibly get a tan if you were lucky. At 9 years old, I really had no worries and lived a very carefree life. My siblings and I, I am the oldest of three. My brother Matt was 7 at the time, and our younger sister Kayce was 5. We spent the majority, if not all, of our time outside. We had a small farm-style house just on the outskirt of town. Just behind us, our great grandma lived; it was a huge field we would walk through. I just remember all of the wildflowers, big willow trees with the long branches swaying in the wind, and the untamed grass that was up to our waists, but my least favorite was the snakes. Our dad would always tell us to look up into the trees, and we could see them hanging there while walking the field to our great grandma's house.
April 28 started out as a typical Sunday for us. Most of our time was spent outside, occasionally inside, for a snack and back. Our cousin John, who we called "John-John, "asked my brother and me if we wanted to go to his church on this particular Sunday. The church was having some type of game day, and there would be lots of other kids there. Of course, my brother and I said yes, as we absolutely loved going anywhere with "John-John." He was like our older, much bigger brother that we didn't have. It was right around dinner time, maybe 5pm, when78 we got to the church. My brother and I joined the other kids in the classroom. I was in a room where they were playing volleyball, and Matt was with some other kids in another room. "John-John” was with the other adults socializing while we were playing.
What seemed like seconds after we got there, there was instant chaos. Still, to this day, there are some blank spots where I lost some memory so did my brother, but from what I do remember, for a 9-year-old was gut-wrenching. From what I can remember and from talking to Matt over the phone, everyone was yelling to get on the ground and cover our heads. Do you know how they teach us in school to crouch down and put our arms behind our neck for a tornado drill? You can say we were prepared on what to do but definitely did not expect a tornado to come our way.
Matt and I loved the movie "Twister" I think at one point, we watched it multiple times in a day. I remember thinking to myself, there is no way something like that could ever happen, let alone here. While we were crouching down, you could hear yelling, crying, pleas for it to stop, and praying. It was as if time stood still, and at one point, I blocked out all sound and just looked around at what was happening. Seeing the screens from windows being ripped and sucked up into the air to never be returned, to parents holding their kids tightly, to my brother and I there, only having each other. Our parents were not there with us, and we had no clue where "John-John” was.
A freight train. A tornado sounds like a freight train coming through town, that deep howling, calm but very loud sounding. 7pm is when the La Plata tornado came through, taking our city and even lives. There was absolutely no warning from news stations or weather radios. In fact, it was such a beautiful day out with the sun shining, not even a chance of rain. In a blink of an eye, the sky turned such a deep green, and the sound of the freight train came rolling through along with its softball-sized hail. This tornado was an F4. It completely took out our town. Homes, businesses, the courthouse, and even our school. Unfortunately, it also took the lives of 5 people that day. I will never forget my mom telling me that she wanted KFC for dinner that night, but my sister wanted sloppy joes. So they stayed home to make those, and that exact KFC was utterly destroyed, and nothing left of it. A news story specifically mentioned this KFC and how it no longer had a foundation.
The April 28, 2002, La Plata Maryland tornado is the deadliest Maryland has seen. This tornado was classified first as an F5 but then later as an F4. Wind speeds topped out at 200mph and had 24 miles of hellish destruction, with no mercy, killing 5 and leaving 100 million dollars in damage. Some of our school artwork was even found in a state over. As I sit here and type this, the clouds turn black, getting ready for a thunderstorm, but that's okay. If I can live through one of Maryland's deadliest historic tornadoes, I can handle any kind of storm that comes my way.
Christina’s Classified College Survival Guide
(Inspired by Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide)
As an online college student there are many hazards you might face...
Orientation overload!
Endless Essays!
Navigation Negation!
STUDY SADNESS
Procrastination perils!
Caffeine Comas!
That’s just to name a few, but the journey to higher education is full of many challenges that can take even the best student by surprise.
That’s where I come in!
I designed a guide to help you traverse this shining new opportunity.
**Results may vary**
RULE # 1: ALWAYS take the orientation!
-“But Christina, orientation is a waste of time!”
Incorrect! Orientation is a helpful tool designed to let you test out blackboard features before your class starts. You can practice navigating blackboard and locating key features. You can get a feel for the set up of blackboard and learn all the secrets it holds!
MOST IMPORTANT: Nobody wants to start their first day of class with no idea how to submit an assignment! Major Faux pas!
RULE #2: COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE!
Dear reader, NO ONE IN THE WORLD CAN HELP YOU IF THEY DON’T KNOW YOU’RE STRUGGLING!!!
Let me say that one more time-
“OK, WE GET IT!”
Fair enough. I will say that without regular communication with your instructor, you might struggle to be successful in your courses. Most instructors take 24-48 hours to respond, but a good rule of thumb is to reach out during their office hours. The office hours are located in the syllabus which is something you should explore.
Of course, if you happen to miss those office hours, leave a detailed message to the number provided; AND send a message to the course mail. Your instructors want to help, so do them a favor and TALK TO THEM! 😊
BONUS: If you are missing info to cite your class e-book *whispers* check the syllabus 😉
RULE #3: Make time for success
Learning online can be a new and scary experience. Don’t be afraid to make a schedule to help you get all the important stuff done. BONUS: You can even set an appointment with a Peer Educator and they can help you make a comprehensive schedule that helps you get it all done. Time management is KEY to your success as an online student.
** Remember you are the only one in charge of getting the work done. So, hop to!
Good news is I believe in you. Extra good news is there are literally 10 tons of resources available to you, so you don’t have to do it all alone!
DID YOU KNOW? There is a time management cookbook. Yeah, just let that sink in. These angels on earth came up with a cookbook full of yummy recipes to help us manage our time. Ps. The tater tot hotdish is a hot dish in my house 😊
RULE #4: Sweat the small stuff
Oh yes reader, you read that right! Sweat the small stuff!! If you ever have that tickling feeling of unease about the material you’re learning. That’s your brain signaling for help!!!
When learning something new, a few struggles are to be expected. But don’t let those little struggles become BIG PROBLEMS later. Content comprehension is important due to the set up of our courses. Falling behind is something no one wants, so get help sooner rather than later.
If you are struggling to understand and finish your assignments talk to your instructor and set an appointment with a tutor. Tutor match is full of students that took your classes successfully and now want to help you share in that success.
I promise, you’ll thank me later 😉
RULE #5: Don’t forget about YOU!
Hey I get it, being an online student can become something that fills all the free time you have.
Yes, completing your assignments is important, but completing them at the cost of your mental health is not. Stress is the number one killer of good times in online school. SIDE NOTE: I call my stress goblins and I use tricks to give them the boot!
Here are some things you can do to bid those stress goblins adieu:
Go for a walk
Go pet your dog
Lay out in the sun
Ride a bike
Plant some flowers
Jam out to your favorite song Tom Cruise in Risky Business style
Eat a triple-decker fudge chocolate cheesecake (personal favorite)
Whatever floats your boat sailor!
Just go do something! Let your brain reset and kick those stress goblins in the tuchus. Reducing stress is critical to helping your brain retain knowledge. This is especially helpful for testing; you can’t pass your test if you are too stress out to remember how many letters are in your name.
Pretty sure I have 7 letters…wait
ANYWAYS
Believe me when I say stress reduction can make all the difference. I know a scientist and she said it’s true- especially the cake part.
The End
**Roll Credits**
JUST KIDDING
These are just a few tips I have and more will come-hopefully 😊.
Feel free to add more because I didn’t make this guide just to help me! I want every Ras student to have these helpful tips to make their learning experience better.
Until the next tip!
Trash Cemetery
As I washed my hands at the kitchen sink, looking out the window as I always do each morning, I smiled as I watched a small green hummingbird hit each opening point on the feeder that hung from our porch roof outside. The hummingbird is nearly invisible among the abundance of ferns that grow up a hill to the mossy forest above but I was still able to watch it drink from the feeder. Living in the Pacific Northwest, having moved from our home state of Minnesota, had always been a dream of ours and this very act of handwashing and bird watching among the greenery was a wish come true for me. What didn’t fit this scenario, however, was the lack of a garbage can that once stood next to our recycling bin. It was Saturday, not garbage day, and the blue bin was there, but where was our garbage can? Standing on my tiptoes to look down onto the driveway in which the cans stood, I had my answer; the can was on its side with its lid open. As my brain worked quickly to process what I was seeing, my eyes caught what they had missed before as I watched the hummingbird, a big white trash bag was stretched and torn, laying on the hill, along with the weeks’ worth of garbage scattered about.
Picturing a plump family of raccoons digging in our garbage can at night made me laugh and so did watching my husband, Andrew, pick up the trash and throw it all back in the bin. A bunch of harmless coons, or maybe just one, looking for a midnight snack was a funny thought for me to consider. Andrew, on the other hand, did not think the scenario was funny but our daughter agreed with me and begged to stay up late that same night, in hopes of seeing the family or single coon return. Reflecting on the fact that this was our first spring in our new home that sat high up on a hill with a long driveway, lined in a forest, and that we had found a live mouse in our indoor garbage bin in the kitchen just weeks prior, I embraced the nature that was seemingly unbothered by our new presence. That night yielded no visitors of animals or people and in the morning, our garbage can remain standing next to the recycling bin as it should.
As time went on, I passed the cans daily as I went to unplug my electric car and leave for work in the morning. If anything was to return, I would notice it right away since Andrew parks his car at the other end of the house. Still finding enjoyment in our nighttime offenders, I was disappointed to see our garbage can in its place each morning, boring and normal as usual. My enjoyment was short-lived, however, when I began to find our garbage can on its side and trash thrown about at least twice or three times a week. I couldn’t leave the mess for Andrew to pick up as I passed right by it to get to my car, and starting my workday throwing away trash I had already once thrown away was becoming very annoying. Not to mention, the view from my kitchen window had gone from peaceful and serene to disgusting as I had the perfect view of the trash I hadn’t noticed before, scattered up on the hill of the forest. Empty bags of chips and paper towels, rolled-up garbage, and food wrappers had now taken the place of the beautiful hummingbird I used to observe. Now matching Andrew’s feelings about the raccoon(s), we decided to set up surveillance by installing a doorbell sensor at the bottom of our driveway to notify us if anything was to come up it, along with an outdoor camera that would notify Andrew’s phone if anything came into view. We needed to confirm what we were dealing with so that we could learn how to prevent them from digging in our garbage can.
More days of scattered trash came and went without a doorbell or camera notification so we concluded that the coons are probably coming from down the hill and probably late at night because we had never heard any outdoor disturbance. Then one night, at around 1:30 AM, I was abruptly woken up by Andrew as he yell-whispered, “it’s out there RIGHT NOW. I can hear it!”, pointing to the window in our bathroom that overlooked the recycling bin and garbage can. I leaped out of bed, grabbed my closest pair of glasses, and tried to quiet my thumping heart as Andrew and I snuck over to the window to investigate. There was no quieting my heart as we finally laid eyes on our nighttime offender, our trash panda, our perpetrator of the evening, our morning-annoyance.
In the moonlight, we watched as a black bear scooted backward out of our garbage can, dragging out a bag of trash with him. A black bear! In my driveway! In my garbage can! With only a flimsy house window to separate us! I was shocked, scared, intrigued, and nervous. Andrew ran to turn the outside light on to scare the bear off but the bear continued tearing through our trash. Andrew took his bravery one step further and opened our window, now just an even flimsier screen separating us, and yelled, “shoo! Get out of here!”. The bear looked our way, looked back at his pile of a mess he had made, and then shuffled himself up the hill and out of sight. A black bear had been terrorizing our garbage can and dragging our trash up the hill through Spring and now well into Summer, leaving us to pick up after him. I felt naïve to think I assumed it was a family of raccoons and even more naïve to consider how I let my daughter play outside by herself in an environment that is perfect for black bears. I anxiously wondered what we were going to do about this bear and the harassment of our garbage can and how we were going to get it to go away.
The following Saturday, Andrew took two bungee cords and used them to keep the lid shut tight on the can outside. He also moved the cans near his car, where our exterior lighting showed the brightest, in hopes that the light would keep the bear away. Knowing the serious possibility that the black bear could come back, we had to try what we could to prevent this nightly ritual of trash-spreading. Later that evening, our plan was put to the test. As the three of us sat watching TV and snacking, the doorbell sensor at the bottom of the driveway went off. Frozen, I glanced at the clock: it was only 8:00 PM. Not a few minutes later, Andrew’s phone chirped with a notification from the outdoor camera. He quickly pulled up the application and exclaimed, “he’s here!”.
Rushing to the bedroom window that overlooked the garbage can’s new placement, we watched as the black bear punched the can onto its side and immediately try to pry the lid open. The bungee cords worked for a moment, but the black bear bent the corner of the lid so he could have an arm’s access to the contents inside. Opening the bedroom window to shoo him again, our daughter and I also yelled some demands; “stop it! Knock it off! Go away!”. This bear, larger than our garbage can, and with noticeably long claws and wide paws, glanced up towards us and then went back to trying to gain more access inside of the can. The bear not only didn’t care about the bright lights or the bungee cords but also did not care that three humans stood behind him, yelling for him to go away. Changing his tone, Andrew yelled a deep, “GET OUTTA HERE!” which caused the bear to retract his arm from the can and swiftly run back up the hill into the night and out of sight.
Beary, as we named him, did not return that Summer, Fall, or Winter. Andrew and I argued over who needed to go up the hill to Beary’s Trash Cemetery and clean up, but neither of us had the energy to do so. There were piles and piles of trash everywhere your vision could lead you and the time it would take to clean up was more than either of us wanted to give. We watched as the leaves tried to cover up some trash and the snow hid most of it, but then Spring returned, reminding me, as I washed my hands at the kitchen sink, of the mess that still needed to be tended to. With a plan in place, Andrew and I agreed to tackle the Trash Cemetery in the forest and dispose of everything. I was eager to get back to hummingbird watching and dreamily gazing out of my kitchen window without my eyes darting from one pile of trash to the other.
As I went to start that particular Saturday with my cup of coffee, I glanced out the window to find that an old nuisance had already started theirs; there was our garbage can, laid on its side, with a week’s worth of trash surrounding it.
Fiction
The Salvager’s Promised Land
“Those damn Pirates!” Uncle Ramus’ voice boomed through the bridge of the junk heap he captained.
Jenelle looked up from her tinkering. By ‘those damn pirates’ she knew he meant their rival faction. “What did they do now?”
“They barricaded the core entrance and won’t let anyone in with supplies to finish the repairs! Apparently, we can’t be trusted to repair the core, we might sabotage it.”
Jenelle shook her head, “But if the core fails the planet dies! Why would we sabotage it? It’s our home too. What should we do?”
“You’re gonna fix that navigation panel and get us home so we can make them let us through” Ramus growled.
Jenelle zapped a few more wires, fixed the base panel back in place and gave the control panel a solid love tap. “That’ll do it,” she smirked, pushing her chestnut locks out of her eyes.
Less than an hour after landing Uncle Ramus and his bunch of rag tag, rowdy salvagers were already gearing up for a fight, strapping a practical arsenal to their bodies. If you could name it, they were pulling it from the armory.
Jenelle wanted to go but when she started to gear up her uncle gave her a glare that said, “don’t you dare.”
She knew better than to argue so instead she plunked down and set to work hacking into the planetary security system. Hacking because the cameras didn’t belong to them. They had belonged to the Intergalactic Commune when this was their recycling center, before they abandoned the planet and left the cameras to disrepair, but at least she could see what was happening.
Uncle Ramus and his crew went in hard, but when the smoke cleared every one of them had been subdued. It was like the pirates had seen them coming.
“What am I going to do now?!” Jenelle’s panicked pacing was interrupted by a deep shudder that shook the whole spaceship, causing her to grab a hold of a nearby control panel to keep from toppling over.
“Well, there goes the planet!” Jenelle literally yelled into the empty room.
She began pacing again. “If we don’t fix the core the whole planet will break apart! But if the whole crew failed, what am I supposed to do? I’m ONE girl, one GIRL!”
Jenelle threw herself down into her chair and let it roll, unguided, across the floor. She sat there, slumped, and disheartened until another shudder rocked the ship.
“That’s it!” she bolted from the chair. “I have to try.”
She strapped several blasters, a taser baton, a few stun grenades, and a tool belt to her body, then picked up her tablet so she could watch the cameras. If she had any chance of making it to the core entrance, she’d need to use stealth, and she wouldn’t be going in the front door.
Jenelle crouched behind some bushes on the outskirts of a clearing staring at the back entrance to the core.
They had stationed one man here, just one, and he looked young. Sandy blond hair fell in messy waves around his face, and she could see the piercing blue of his eyes from her hiding spot across the clearing.
Jenelle looked down at her tablet and scrolled through the different camera views of the area. No one else in sight.
Stashing the tablet under a bush, she laid on her belly and began to army crawl around the clearing, staying hidden in tall grass, bushes, and techno-rubble. Finally, only three feet separated her from the door, but it was all open space.
She waited until the boy turned his back then jumped to her feet and dashed to the door. Her hand gripped the handle when a voice froze her in her tracks.
“Halt! I’ll shoot!”
“If you shoot, we die!” Jenelle yelled, spinning to face the boy. She watched his eyes widen, and his jaw fall slack, not sure if his reaction was from her words or looks.
In contrast to the grungy look most salvagers wore Jenelle wore feminine clothes that showed her curves, her long hair fell in wild chestnut waves down to her waist, and she had been told her big green eyes looked like a daydream.
"Wha-what do you mean WE will die?” He finally stammered.
“If I don’t get in there NOW the gravity will fail and the planet will fall apart!” As if to enunciate her point the planet shook again, sending Jenelle toppling forward.
The boy dropped his blaster as he reached forward to catch her.
Jenelle kicked the blaster away as hard as she could and jolted for the door, flinging it open as soon as the bio-metric scan granted her access.
“Wait!” A hand grabbed her by the wrist.
Jenelle wrenched her arm away. “I can’t wait, so help or get out of my way!”
Jenelle had made it to the center of the planet and pried open the panel to the core controls. She must have sold her point because the boy had followed her and now stood, blaster pointed at the doorway, ready to halt anyone who tried to stop her.
“X-Savion!” A booming voice broke Jenelle’s concentration and she looked up to see the leader of the Pirates standing in the doorway. “What do you think you’re doing?”
X-Savion straightened his shoulders and stood as tall as he could. “I had no choice, Dad; don’t you feel those quakes? The core is dying. I don’t know how to fix it, do you?”
“She’s a Salvager, boy, you can’t trust her.”
“What would the Salvagers gain by sabotaging the planet’s core Dad?”
Just then a dozen men barreled into the room, fists swinging. Among them Jenelle spotted her uncle and several of his crew.
“STOP!!” She screamed. “We die if I don’t finish. Your choice. Die together or live together?”
Jenelle looked around at the mess hall before her. The room was loud, not from arguing, but from boisterous people sharing tales of fighting iron giants, and barely escaping Intergalactic Commune cruisers. A smile crept across her face. “I guess I’m not just a girl,” she thought to herself.
“Look what you did,” a voice spoke up from right next to her ear.
Jenelle turned her head to the side and almost ran into his face.
“X-Savion,” his name slipped off her tongue.
“You saved a planet and brought two feuding families together, you’re like… a miracle or something.” He planted a kiss on her cheek.
She blushed, grinning from ear to ear. “Maybe I am.”
MORE THAN A SHARED PAST
She surreptitiously eyed the man over the paperback she opened but hadn’t started. The coffee aroma permeated the entire coffee shop and it bustled with activity; school was out and there was a group of four girls in the corner slurping drinks that would have cost Ricki her entire allowance at that age, a decade ago. Another group of women were playing a board game and laughing quietly at each other. A couple of people were working on their laptops, steaming cups of their drug of choice next to them.
She had watched him walk in and goggled when she realized who it was. She had already ordered her cocoa and had the new Maid paperback with her to read through while on her lunch hour from the local equipment rental place that she owned.
Dark haired and handsome, Donovan Ivory didn’t look much different than the last time she saw him, damn the man. She, on the other hand, had gained thirty-five pounds—most of it baby weight, as she was only a week or so from delivery.
Their child.
He didn’t know, of course. Was she wrong to keep it from him? Probably. Although he wouldn’t give the reason for his failure to commit, he had made it clear at the culmination of their three-month affair that he wasn’t the “settling down” type, had no intention of pursuing anything less than a casual fling. Ricki wanted a stable, long-term relationship. It wasn’t going to work out.
A few months after the final flurry of angry text messages, she had taken several pregnancy tests. All of them were positive. She threw up after throwing all of them in the garbage.
A man who wasn’t a “settling down” type, only seeking a casual affair, wasn’t someone who was father material, in her opinion. Screw that. Screw him.
She briefly thought of terminating the pregnancy, gave much longer thought to adoption until one night she had a lucid dream of a little baby girl with her cap of black curls, smiling up at her as she nursed. She decided then and there she was keeping her daughter—and she knew it was a daughter. Plenty of twenty-five-year-old women could be single moms. She had a good job, a support system—from that moment on, she was quite determined to be the best single mother.
She never gave a thought to contacting her ex, even to request child support, even to tell him he was going to be a father.
Her mother had met her ex. She had liked him and was Not At All Happy with the way Ricki was handling the situation.
“Give him a chance to get to know the baby, Ricki. Tell him you’re pregnant and see what he says”, her mother said, hands out in supplication. But Ricki could not be convinced.
From behind the book she watched him order; saw the looks the baristas were giving each other over his good looks. And he was good looking; sturdily built, a bit of a beard, dark hair, and that crooked smile that earned him a second date. Despite herself, her tummy did a little flip then her daughter chimed in, squirming inside her, like she was turning over in bed. Which, in fact, she was.
Sinking down a bit further in her chair at the coffee shop, a cold wave washed over her. Please don’t look over here, she thought. Please. Despite her bravado, she didn’t want the confrontation. She tried to concentrate on the words…
“Ricki,” he said, directly in front of her.
She flushed, an easy thing these days, as she looked up at him. “Donovan,” she said, coolly. “I didn’t know you came to this coffee shop.” Because if I did, I never would have come here. “You never were much of a coffee drinker.”
“I had a taste for…hot chocolate, for some reason,” he said. “My dear, close friend Emily told me they serve excellent hot chocolate. In fact, isn’t that what you’re drinking?”
Ricki startled. How had he known? Didn’t matter. She ignored the question. “So, what brings you to this area? You’re way out of your neighborhood, aren’t you?” She hoped the question bought her some time as she internally freaked out at the name Emily, the name she had chosen for her daughter.
He put his cup on her table and, uninvited, pulled up a chair. Ricki angled herself in such a way that she thought she could hold her paperback to prevent him seeing her burgeoning belly.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” He leaned around the table and stared pointedly at her “Did you think I wouldn’t care?”
She ground out the words. “Do we have to do this here?”
He slapped the table lightly and gave her a rueful grin. “I guess we do, because this is the first chance I’ve had to process the fact that you’re pregnant with my child.”
This was all happening too suddenly, she thought. She felt ambushed. Who had told him? Who told him she was here? Her mother? No, not even her mother would go against her wishes like that.
“Fine. Who told you I was pregnant? One of those supposed warlocks you hang around with all the time? Doing their silly, stupid magic tricks? Did one of them read a crystal ball? Find me in the tarot cards?” She gave him a dark look as she took a big, fortifying sip of her own hot chocolate.
Donovan leaned back in the chair. “My daughter told me.”
Ricki blinked several times, not getting his meaning. “Your daughter told you? You don’t have a daughter.”
He nodded towards her belly. “Emily. My daughter Emily told me that she was here and where to find you.” He sipped his drink calmly. “I like the name. She likes the name.” He gave her another smile while Ricki gaped at him.
“And she really likes hot chocolate.”
The Lost Investors
It was the spring of 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. Cell phones were not smart and did not have the best reception when being used. Paired to go to an investor conference in Flint, Michigan, Cara and Victoria were not excited about this at all. Although they have had conflicts in the past, they agreed to let conflicts go and work together.
The day was finally here when the CEO, Sterling Stanford, made the decision that Cara and Victoria would be going to the investor conference. Once Cara and Victoria received the news that they had been paired to attend the conference together, they were disappointed knowing they would have to work closely together as they both would have preferred to work with other people. Cara decided to go to Mr. Stanford to request to work with someone else. She knocked on Mr. Stanford’s door.
“Um, come in.,” said Mr. Stanford.
Cara asked, “Do you have a minute?”
“Yes, please come in.”
“Thank you. I was hoping to talk with you to request that when going to the Investor Conference I would be able to go with someone else since Victoria and I can’t seem to work well together.”
“I put you and Victoria together because I do know you don’t work well with each other. This will give you an opportunity to work closely with each other and work things out. You will need to leave tomorrow at 7:00 am.”
“Yes, sir,” she said giving up, “Thank you.”
The adventure began when Cara and Victoria met up at work and started their journey to Flint, Michigan. The drive would be about four to five hours so they would reach their destination around noon. They reached the conference and worked together the best they could without much bickering.
Cara and Victoria would take turns driving home. They would both argue that the other person was going the wrong way.
“Victoria you’re going the wrong way!” Cara exclaimed while Victoria was driving.
Victoria replied sharply, “No am not!”
This is where the trouble starts two hours into their trip back to the office. Suddenly, the car started to make a loud and clunky noise. The car slowed down before coming to a complete stop in the middle of nowhere.
Cara and Victoria were walking in the woods for what they thought were days, but it only had been an hour. They both started to complain that they were hot and their feet were hurting, but they both knew that they needed to get back to the office. They had to step over logs and other obstacles along the way. This was when Cara and Victoria started to talk and have small conversations about their home life.
Cara asked Victoria “Do you have any children?”
Victoria said, “No, how about you? Do you have any children?”
Cara said, “No. I would like them someday though.”
Small conversations took place and they began to get to know each other better. Suddenly the conversation went silent and the walking continued. They both started to get scrapes on their arms and legs from brush and sticks. At that point, they had been walking for three hours. They stopped to rest and talk about what they should do next.
Cara asked, “What should our next step be? What are you thinking?”
“I feel we should rest for a little more than start up again. Should we find berries or something to eat?”
“That works for me.” Cara said while her stomach was growling.
This is the first time the two of them had agreed on anything.
Cara told Victoria, “I feel that we have a couple more hours before we get back to work.”
“I feel the same way.”
At this point, the woods were getting a little thinner where they could walk safely. They did find some wild raspberries to eat. The raspberries gave them the energy to finish the journey back to the office. They knew that they were getting closer and closer back to Flint, as they were able to see the town ahead in the far distance.
As it got late, they were able to see the streetlights. Cara and Victoria were starting to get more energy so they started walking at a faster pace. The excitement grew because the exhausting journey was almost done. Now they were able to see the top of the buildings. They were finally back at work. Sterling Stanford stayed late at work that night. When Cara and Victoria came through the door, dirty and exhausted, Sterling asked them what had happened and they told him the story.
Cara and Victoria talked about their adventure.
Cara said, “As I look back, maybe this adventure was meant to be so we could get to know each other and start working better together.”
Victoria replied by saying, “I feel the same way. I am glad we worked things out and that we are able to work better together.”
The two were now inseparable friends. To this day, they talk about their journey to and from the Investor Conference. They talked about how grateful they were that it had brought the two of them closer together. They were not as different as they once thought.
The Protector
As Mina walked through the newly murky streets of Bally, Pennsylvania, with her little brother, she smelled the devastation surrounding them. Her small town showed all the signs of surviving an extreme war. It was a very small town with only a thousand people as their population. He kicked the rock out in front of them as they headed to the trading markets right across the street of where they were staying. It was a cloudy day and the wind had picked up a bit of a chill from the last night. Mina fingered the gold medallion with a lion engraved into it and their last name Bakker on the other side as Finn sighed loudly.
“I don’t want you to trade dad’s old cuff links,” said Finn with a frown that formed around his small face.
Mina sighed and looked down at him, “You know we have to…we need the food, Finn.”
Finn huffed and pouted a little bit as they lined up with the many others waiting to trade their goods for food and more supplies. World War III started in 2029. Every country was against each other and has been constantly fighting for six years now. Mina and Finn’s parents had died caught between the war. While she was remembering all of this, they finally made it up to the counter. The woman waiting there looked like a sketchy old witch. Every time Mina traded with her, she tried to cheat her because she assumed that Mina knew nothing because she saw Mina as a mere millennial brat who knew nothing of what the world was like.
“What’ll it be?” the older woman basically groaned out.
“The usual,” Mina replied.
As Mina was about to hand over the cuff links, a huge explosion happened behind her. She crouched in a fetal position. She waited a moment before she slowly tried to rise again but stopped when another bomb hit closer this time. Everyone around her started running in the same direction towards something. She stood up and looked toward their building that they were staying in and noticed that it had caught on fire. She started to turn toward where Finn should be to tell him they needed to get out of here and to safety, but her blood ran cold when she realized he was not next to her.
“Finn? Finn!” she shrieked looking all around her and by the market.
He was nowhere to be found. She quickly shoved the cuff links in her pocket and started running away from the market to search for him. She asked every person on the way if they had seen him, and they all shook their heads no. She stood there feeling panic and tears trying to overcome her. Mina was sure he had been right next to her the whole time. She tried to reason where he would go and why he would ever leave her side. Then her eyes go wide as she realized that he had gone back in the ruined building for mum and dad’s picture. Mina started sprinting towards the wrecked building. The flames still enveloped certain areas on the roof and different rooms. As she arrived, she saw people helping drag out other people who were stuck in the wreckage.
“Did you see a small boy with blonde hair in there?” she asked one of the wreckage victims.
He shook his head no but saw her strained and worried expression.
“There are still a lot of people in there though,” he told her and started coughing as a woman came up to help him.
Mina looked at the building again. She was sure he went up to their room to try and go save the picture. She took a deep breath and rushed into the building. The damage was worse than what she had imagined. There were boards and ceiling parts from other rooms that had completely collapsed onto the entrance floor. When Mina spotted the wrecked staircase, she groaned. Their room was on the second floor, she would have to risk going up those stairs to reach where Finn will be. She started slowly making her way over there, every floorboard creaked under the slightest amount of pressure. She now started to ascend the staircase. It creaked and groaned as she slowly and lightly walked up its splintered form.
“Finn!” she started calling hoping for a reply.
Then a stair broke completely from under her and before she entirely lost her balance, she jumped onto the next one quickly. She breathed out a heavy sigh and looked back up the staircase as she started treading up them again. She finally made it through that obstacle as she reached the top of the staircase. She heaved out another sigh as she started to move forward again. Suddenly, someone grabbed her right ankle, and she couldn’t help but scream.
“Don’t scream! Please, I’m stuck and need someone’s help,” said a woman.
Mina could not see her face but just her arm. This woman was covered by wooden boards and cement blocks. She seemed to be stuck in a small pocket where the cement hadn’t crushed her. Mina inwardly groaned because she didn’t have time to waste on helping others until she could find her little brother. She decided to do the right thing because if her parents were here still, they would look down on her if she didn’t.
She grabbed a smaller wooden board and propped it where there were other boards, and she could use their leverage to make a small gap for the women to sneak out of. She groaned as she pushed down the board and the whole placement started groaning as well. Mina got enough of the leverage though and told the woman to slip out quickly before the boards or herself snap from the pressure.
The woman hugged her and blessed her with a million “thank yous”, but Mina had a mission to get back to. She told the woman to go slowly and carefully back down those stairs to safety, and the woman nodded in agreement. Mina looked back to the hallway that she must go down the get to their room. The whole side of the wall was gone, and she could see the outside. As she passed it warily, she could feel the cold air dry her cold sweat on her lower back. She continued to call for her little brother and to her shock she heard a reply.
“I’m in here!” he faintly called.
Mina gasped and started running carefully toward their room, “I’m coming Finn! Don’t move, I’m coming!” she smiled a relieved smile.
As she got in the room, she saw that he was stuck in their small closet and blocked by some boards. She quickly rushed over to him and removed the boards blocking him. He rushed into her arms quickly as she squeezed him close.
“What were you thinking! You should never go off alone ever!” Mina yelled at him
“I’m sorry Mina! When I heard the first bomb go off, I didn’t want to leave mum and dad behind again!” he cried as he gripped tightly onto the picture of them.
Mina sighed and hugged him again. Then the whole building started making uneasy noises and Mina looked back at Finn.
“We have to leave now,” she told him as they quickly ran through the building and down the staircase.
As soon as they exited the door the whole building completely collapsed. Mina sighed in relief as she turned back to Finn and squeezed him into another bear hug. She almost lost him today, she promised her parents that she’d look after him and keep him out of harm’s way.
“Our home! Where are we going to stay now?” Finn asked Mina.
“We’ll figure something out, we always do. Besides, the important things is we still have each other,” Mina said with a warm smile.
“And mum and dad,” Finn corrected her holding up the picture frame to her.
She chuckled, “And dad’s cuff links.” Then they both started laughing.
They walked away from the destroyed building, and it seemed the bombers had stopped. They held each other’s hands and walk off into the setting sun, not looking back to the past, but forward to the future.
Sparks of Hope
It was the summer of 2005, and Xavier Lucky was doing his usual walk to the basketball court. He was well known in the neighborhood, not only for his looks but for his work as a life coach and as a teen counselor.
Xavier was always wearing basketball shorts with sneakers and a shirt. His t-shirt matched his pearly white teeth. No one wore t-shirts as white as his! The shine of his shoes matched his bald head. His smile was particularly big that morning. After weeks of excruciating headaches, he could finally come out of his dark bedroom; and feel the sun on his face.
Xavier made sure to have his iPod with him. Everywhere he went, Hollaback Girl was playing. He needed something less commercial to listen to while walking on the streets of Decatur. When he got to the basketball court, it was 93 degrees already, and it was only 11:00 am. The park was empty on a hot Saturday in Georgia, but Xavier did not mind.
“I should have brought Gatorade!” Xavier mumbled.
As he began warming up at the court, he saw a group of teens carrying some paper bags with bottles inside of them looking like alcohol. A young man stayed behind, he seemed a little frustrated and sat on one of the benches. Xavier tossed the ball at him and asked:
“Hey, kid! What is your name, want to play?”
The boy’s eyes got wide open, he jumped out of his bench and spoke
“Yes sir, I am Anthony, but my friends call me Tony!”
“Alright Tony, nice to meet you. Let’s play!”
Their practice times became a routine. He could see the bright future in this young African American teen. He could see the hope in his eyes every time they played. Xavier learned that tony loved basketball and math. Tony wanted to get away from his troubled home and neighborhood, and he wished to apply for a scholarship at the Catholic high school. Going to that school would make it easy for him to apply to colleges.
After a whole month of no headaches, Xavier woke up on a Tuesday morning and he could feel it coming, His ears were ringing, and the room got filled with sparks. He tried to see those sparks as hope and a reminder of the gift of being alive. It was time to turn off the lights. This is a reminder of an event that changed him forever.
After serving in the Army and fighting in Iraq, he knew the importance of hard work. During his last tour, Xavier and his troop got bombed. Sadly, his troop did not make it. He was the only survivor, and he was left with severe damage to his brain. after years of taking medication, they had stopped responding.
Once a flare-up came, all he could do was to lay down, and once he closed his eyes, all he could see were sparks, it was like little flashbacks of the explosion when they got bombed by the Taliban. When the bombing happened, he only saw the sparks from the blast; he woke up weeks later in a hospital bed.
It took a couple of weeks, and Xavier finally recovered. It was Thursday, so he decided to go to the park and meet Tony, but he did not see him. Saturday came, and once again, Tony wasn’t there. Xavier didn't see his usual friends either. A bad feeling stuck in his mind. He saw Tony walking home many times; he was always hesitant about letting Xavier walk home with him.
Xavier walked and knocked on the door once with no answer. He did it again, this time harder. Mr. Edwards, a tall man in his late 50’s wearing overalls with no shirt, answered the door. He did not seem thrilled about being interrupted from watching his football game.
“Hello sir, I am Mr. Lucky. I spent some time with your son practicing basketball; I have not seen him in a few days, Is he okay?”
“I am not his father!” Mr. Edwards shouted. “A son of mine would have never tried to steal some sneakers at the mall and then try to fight security!”
“Where is he/. Is he okay?” Xavier became terrified
“I do not know and I do not care!” Said Mr. Edwards. “That boy should have been working instead of playing with a ball and wishing to wear fancy shoes to play better!”
Tony’s stepdad closed the door so fast that Xavier could not ask anything else. He had to rush back home anyways. Today he had to volunteer at the teen detention center. Amy worked there as a social worker. She was going to pick him up in an hour. She didn’t want Xavier to drive.
At the detention center, Xavier was setting up the meeting room. The meeting was about to start. He glanced and locked eyes with a familiar person. It was Tony, looking a little different. He had a broken nose and a black eye. Tony could barely look at Xavier, he seemed embarrassed and angry.
Over the next few months, Tony began participating in the meetings little by little; his anger seemed to have vanished. He could play as much basketball as he wanted, as long as he participated in counseling meetings and stayed out of trouble. Xavier also did not give up on Tony’s stepfather. He often visited him at his house and tried to encourage him to visit Tony. Mr. Edwards was Tony’s legal guardian, after all.
Three months passed, and Tony’s trial was approaching. He had become a model teen at the center. He also began mentoring younger teens. Xavier was very proud. A few days before the trial, he felt a little shaky and tired, the dreaded headaches were approaching, and it was time to turn off the lights.
The day of the trial came, and Xavier was weaker than ever. This last episode was hard on him. He asked Amy to take him to the courthouse. Once they arrived, the biggest surprise was to see Mr. Edwards. He was there supporting Tony and willing to follow the judge's recommendations so he could take Tony home. Tony’s life got a second chance that day.
Two weeks passed, and Xavier was again walking on the streets of Decatur. Still wearing his crisp white t-shirt and sneakers, this time he left his iPod at home. He wanted to hear everything around him. He looked weak, and his vision seemed not to be back to normal, he had lost some weight too, but he was grateful to enjoy the day.
Xavier arrived at the basketball court. Amy, Mr. Edwards, and Tony were there, waiting for him. Tony had received a scholarship to the high school he wanted to attend. Xavier knew that it was time for him to take it easy. He was feeling tired. But for one last time, they played and hoped never to lose that spark in their hearts called hope.
Living with Grace
Grace was a happy, healthy, adventurous 10-year-old girl. She was tall for her age, almost half a foot taller than her twin sister, Rose. The twins could not be more different, in height, eye color, hair color to personality. Their mother and father always suspected there was even more of a difference between the girls than what they could see with their eyes. When they were infants, Grace rarely cried, laughed, or acknowledged her parents when they spoke to her. Rose did. After many appointments and testing the family received news of her diagnosis. The diagnosis was not meant to label her, but to get her the help and treatment that she needed to help her develop. All the therapy paid off when she was four years old and finally said her first word, which was, “mamma.” Living with Grace, was stressful and very challenging.
Grace spent her summers playing in the creek that flowed through the family’s property with her sister Rose. She enjoyed swinging for hours on her swing set or giving her parents mini heart attacks at her many calculated escape missions that took her parents by surprise. No matter the security measures, she always found a way to keep her family on their toes.
A few summers ago, while Grace was playing in the backyard, an unexpected knock came at the front door. When her mother answered the door, she was met by the next-door neighbor, Mr. Wallace who was holding tightly to Grace’s hand. There she stood with an innocent sparkle in her striking green eyes and a big grin on her adorable little freckled face. Mr. Wallace explained to her mom that he had found her running down the middle of the road heading toward the pond. That grin, a grin like one that would be found on a cat that just ate a canary. Grace had bamboozled her mother and father, again. Her mom knew she had work to do. So that night her mom went out and bought bicycle locks and zip ties to lock all the gates on the fence. This did not make Grace happy. It led to at least a 30-minute screaming session. Grace’s parents had taken every measure to keep her safe at home.
Coming to the family’s home, visitors would see these safety measures of latches and alarms on all the doors and windows and wonder who they were trying to keep out. But it was not to keep anyone out, it was to keep Grace inside where she was safe.
Grace was a fluent swimmer and learned to swim at the age of two. She attended preschool at a school for children who were like herself, and they had a swimming pool. Not a large pool, like the ones that had a diving board and slides. But large enough for her class to go once a week to learn about being safe in the water. On Thursdays, was Grace’s day at the pool. She loved Thursdays. She also loved timers. Grace needed notice for any change in routine. This helped keep her calm, sudden disruption to her routine upset Grace. So, her mother set alarms for Grace to let her know when it was time to do something. Alarms were set for bath time, bedtime, waking up, dinner, and pool days of course. Life with Grace is anything but boring and kept her family well organized.
At the end of the school year, the twins had completed the third grade. To celebrate, their parents made reservations at a hotel that had a large water park, candy shop, and arcade. Grace enjoyed road trips and staying in hotels. The trip was a two-hour drive. Before they would leave mom knew to set the timer. Grace’s mom got extremely nervous going away from the house with Grace. She would get herself prepared, like a runner would train for a marathon. She would make sure she got plenty of sleep, drank enough coffee, and de-briefed Grace’s dad and Rose on their duties to ensure Grace’s safety. For ten years their mother had organized these training sessions and one would think she had covered all the possibilities of dangers that they might face. Their mother knew Grace well enough to know that she could never train enough to be one step ahead of her daughter.
It was water park day. The twins and their parents were getting anxious. But not for the same reasons. Grace’s mother had already taken one of her pills that she calls “vitamin X” which helped to keep her calm. Their mother wanted them to enjoy themselves and did not want them to know how nervous she was about this outing. Even though her stomach was in knots, and she barely slept. The twins’ dad was packing the car while their mom was making sure they did not forget anything. Grace and Rose were tasked to pick out one stuffed animal that they could take with them.
Grace asked her mom for a third time that morning, “what's the timer?”
The timer was for when it was time to leave. Her mom told her, and Grace went back to what she was doing, content until 5 minutes later when she needed to ask again.
After the two-hour drive, the family arrived at the water park. Grace and Rose could not wait to get into the water. Their parents talked about who would be on “Grace duty” first. Dad took the first watch. The family found chairs and set their things down. Mom perched herself in a chair with a book that she would never read, and before they went to the pool mom reminded Grace to stay with her father. Grace led her dad to where she wanted to go while Mom watched from her chair so that she could be a second set of eyes on Grace. It did not take Rose long to make a friend in the five minutes she had been there and asked her mother if she could go on the water-slides. She introduced her friend to her mother, and Mom gave her blessing for the pair to go to the slides. The two giggled and went on their way. Mom’s eyes went back to where dad and Grace were. Dad was there, but mom could not see Grace. She jumped out of her chair and dropped her book and went straight to her husband while her eyes were scanning the area for her daughter.
Mom yelled to their Dad, “Where’s Grace?”
Her husband went pale and suddenly felt his head spinning. He was ashamed that he had gotten distracted and lost sight of Grace.
Grace’s mom knew the feeling of panic all too well. No matter how many times Grace had wandered, ran, or hid from her the panic never got any easier. After Grace’s mom and dad were certain she was not in the pool she was in originally with her father, the parents decided to split up and look for her. Mom stumbled across Rose and her new friend and asked them if they saw Grace. They had not. Now there were two more volunteers on the search for Grace. Rose began to cry. Her mother assured her that they would find Grace and that she was fine. The twins’ mother seemed to be composed.
“Thank God, I took my vitamin X before we left the house,” she thought to herself.
Mom wanted to cry and scream out Grace’s name. She did not. She tried to stay calm to keep Rose from panicking like she was on the inside. That was a feeling she did not wish for her daughter to experience. Rose and her friend went one way to look for Grace, Mom went the other way.
Mom approached the toddler pool where there was a large mushroom sprinkler and another tall sprinkler that slowly filled buckets of water and when they filled high enough, they would dump over onto an unsuspecting child. That is when mom noticed a figure floating face down in the water under the sprinkling mushroom. The panic that mom was feeling began to fade. Mom knew that figure, it was much like her own. Tall, long torso and chestnut brown hair fanning out into the water.
As Mom entered the shallow pool, the lifeguard watched her unwavering stare at the floating figure. With a whistle in the lifeguard’s mouth, she was ready to blow, Grace’s mother shook her head and smiled. The lifeguard did not blow the whistle but looked confused as to why she was smiling. Mom reached the floating target and lightly laid her hand on the figure’s shoulder.
The figure rolled out of their front float and looked up at Mom with those stunning green eyes and Mom kissed her forehead and gave her a bone-crushing hug, which made Grace say, “Stop that!”
Mom told Grace that they needed to find her father and sister to call off the search party. Grace did not want to leave the toddler pool and began to yell. People nearby began to stare at them. This was not new. This family was used to stares and whispers, and after a while got used to it and pretended to not notice.
Grace’s mom whispered in her ear, “it’s okay baby, we’ll come right back.” Mom led her by hand out of the pool to find the rest of the family.
After Dad and Rose were found, the family gathered their towels and decided it was time to take a break from the pool. The family walked back to their room and planned to talk with Grace. Rose was upset and did not want to leave her new friend. Sadly, this happened a lot to Rose and must follow what rules are set for Grace. She understands why it happened. It upset her that she could not do things that her friend’s families could do because of Grace. Rose loved her sister and couldn’t imagine life without her twin and accepted their differences and made the sacrifices to help keep Grace safe. This is life with Grace.
Grace was calm finally after the family discussed the dangers of running away and not telling Mom and Dad where they were going. They ordered a pizza and went to the arcade to play some games while they waited. Dad went off to play games with Rose while Mom went off with Grace. Grace found a claw machine with superhero stuffed toys in them and begged her mom to get one for her. It was a known fact that Mom was the claw machine champion in the family, so she was up to the challenge. The pizza was ready, and Mom was tired of mashing the buttons on the claw machine. The pair met up with Rose and Dad, with pizza in hand, and made their way back to their room to eat.
After they had eaten, Grace looked at her mom and said, “We go back to the pool now?” The family laughed.
Mom kissed Grace on the top of her head and said, “Yes baby, we go back to the pool now.”
Visual Arts
King of Chaos
Country Celebration
Calm Before the Storm
In the Clouds
Waiting for the Dog Days of Summer
Deer in the Headlights
Painted Skull with Added Chains and Spikes
Roses and Horses
Stroll on a Sunday Afternoon
Frankenstein 2022
Sunset Sail
Sunflower Resin Cow Skull
Untitled
Yosemite
Young, Wild and Free
