“I would take on the most barbaric monster in the land for you.”

“I am the most barbaric monster in the land.”

“I would raise the sun and pull the tides for you.”

“Oh, come on, enough of that shit. You’re all talk and no action. You always say you’ll do things and then you never follow through.”

“You know what I followed through with to get here to you, the battles I’ve fought, the friends I killed along the way, what will ever be enough for you?”

“You. You’ll be enough for me, just you.”

“I don’t believe you.”… Read the rest

The day had finally arrived.

She’d been stalking the mailbox for days, but the envelope, more of a package, really, was waiting for her exactly when she should have expected it.

But she didn’t like to assume or expect anything.

She went inside and tore it open, and pages and little booklets came spilling out onto the kitchen table.

“Honor’s Society”, “Lacrosse Club”, “Women’s League of Voters”, “Writing Group”, there were so many things to be excited about.

The door opened.

“Mom, I got in!”

And as happy as she was, her mother still felt a tinge of lost hope.… Read the rest

They were gliding along the water and trying to look away from the trash floating in the canals which were overflowing some banks with their dirty, murky water.

Wasn’t this supposed to be the city of love and romance?

Wasn’t this worthy of Harrison Ford saying “Ah, Venice,” over and over again?

The water is rising everywhere they go.

The garbage is piling up, the land fills are full.

“Maybe we should shoot our trash into space.”

Or maybe we just float along this water, close our eyes, and pretend like everything is beautiful, the way it always should be.… Read the rest

She loved exploring her grandmother’s attic. It held a thousand treasures from the past, collected by family and brought here to live with the dust bunnies.

Once, she went up with her mother and found something she’d never seen before.

“Mom, is this a globe?”

“It is, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Mom spun the globe in its cool stand, and she looked sad.

“The world changed before your grandma ever got to use it in school.”

“That place where they used to teach things?”

“Yeah.”

Everyone was sad grandma wasn’t allowed to teach anything anymore.… Read the rest

He held out a shiny silver ring to her with trembling hands.

“I know I don’t have much to give you. I can’t even give you a real ring. But I swear I will give you my undying love and devotion. I promise I will love you and care for you for the rest of our lives.”

It wasn’t actually a ring. It was just a piece of tinfoil twisted and pinched into ring form.

She looked into his eyes and knew she believed him, he would love her forever.

She held out her hand, and the ring slipped on.… Read the rest