Sunset Watching

Sand seeped in-between my toes. It was hot from soaking up the sun all day long. The heat slightly burned but I didn't care. My hair slightly blew behind me with the wind. I closed my eyes and listened. Music danced through the air and blew around me. The world was full of music but no one ever cared to take the time to stop and hear it. Complete silence was impossible-I decided that years ago. There would always be one thing fighting through the distance to be heard. 

The sea salt and humid air pumped through my lungs as I drew in one last deep breath. My eyes opened and rested on the sunset. Somehow mesmerized by its deep colors, I sat down in the sand. I couldn't have been there long before he slid behind me, put a leg on either side of me, and wrapped his arms around me. 

"Watching sunsets again huh? Can I join?" His voice was hushed and made my insides flutter. I smiled and leaned my head back on him. "I'd like that a lot." 

His strong arms around me made me lose my breath. He made me feel secure and safe...like no one could ever hurt me if I was in his arms. I was broken before he came into my life. Funny thing is, I was probably in a million pieces. But with every laugh, smile, "I love you", compliment, hug, and moments like this....he put me back together. Piece by piece, he found me and put me back together like a unsolved puzzle. And in the process, I fell harder and faster than you would say normal people do. 

I turned to look at him. Those eyes of his were bright and reflected the ocean in front of us. He looked back like he was searching for something. His face was relaxed and calm. I smiled softly. His arms started to softly unwrap from around me. He gently placed a hand on either side of my face and leaned in slowly. His lips were warm and soft. After a moment he pulled out slowly, letting our lips part. Our foreheads rested together before he pulled me into him. I curled up against him and closed my eyes and his arms wrapped around me again. It was silent-all except for his heartbeat and steady breathing. His hand found mine and our fingers tightly laced together. We sat there together till the sun had set below the ocean's surface and the stars came out to show their shining faces. Opening my eyes , I caught a shooting star soaring between the other stars. I prayed that God would freeze time and let me live in this moment forever...just me and him. That's all I wanted. All I ever needed.

Perfect Little Family

Our house was small, but it fit us all comfortably so we didn't mind. I was in the kitchen cleaning as I did every night after dinner. The two little boys were playing video games. My husband walked up behind me while I was doing dishes. I kept cleaning as he talked to me.

"How are we gonna get them off that thing huh? They're on it way too often." He ask as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I looked up and gave him one of those looks.

"And you're at work way too often. Maybe if you offered to play with them, they mind get off of it and spend time with you instead?" I winked at him and nudged him with my hip towards the kids.

"Alright, alright, I'm goin'. " He winked back and kissed my forehead before we turned around. He sat next to the youngest on the couch and looked at me as if to ask if that's what he should do. I shook my head, smiled, and continued doing dishes.

"Hey boys how was school?" He waited and there was no answer. Their eyes were still glued to the television and they were completely zoned out. I giggled and my husband playfully glared at me. I looked up and shrugged my shoulders. He raised his eyebrows as if to tell me "Its on. I got this." I put the plate down as he stood up and turned off the boys' game.

"Alright! No more video games for tonight." The boys whined at their fathers comment. I laughed and made eye contact with him again.

"Hey, there's no whining in this house!" Their father teased then ran towards them. He tackled them playfully to the ground and started to tickle them. I set my dishes down to watch for a moment. They rolled around on the floor laughing and tackling eachother. Their laughs were loud and full of pure joy.

"Wait! Mommy's part of the family too. She needs to play with us." I giggled and went over to them. I held the youngest in my lap and our oldest boy was with his father. We laughed and played till I said it was time to go to bed.

"Awe mom we are having so much fun! Ten more minutes?" One of the boys argued. His bottom lip slipped out as he tried to convince me with his best "puppy dog" face.

"Yeah baby, ten more minutes?" He mimicked in our sons voice and stuck out his bottom lip as well. I giggled at their attempts, but told them no.

I sent the boys to get into their pajamas and stood up off the floor. I started to walk back towards the kitchen but my husband grabbed my hand. He whipped my around and pulled me close to him.

"Guess what." He said.

"Baby I don't have time for this, I have to clean the kitchen."

"Just guess!" He said again. I rolled my eyes at him and smiled.

"What?"

" I think we can steal you away for ten more minutes, don't you think?" He tickled me then picked me up over his shoulder. I told him to put me down but he kept running towards the boys' room.

"Boys! I have mom! She said we can have ten more minutes!"
"I did not!" I arugued. He laughed at me and threw me down softly onto the little boys bed. Our two boys cheered and they all tackled me again, laughing as they did so.

Proposal

A red bandana covered my eyes. "Just tell me where we are going!"
"No, it's a suprise!"
I sighed at held tight to his hand so I wouldn't fall. We definitely were outside. The cold fall air blew around us. After a few minutes he stopped me.
"Okay, count to ten then you can take it off."
I slowly counted like he asked me to then slipped the bandana off. My eyes focused. We were in the middle of a football stadium. My feet were on the 50 ft yard line. I gasped and cupped my hands over my mouth when I saw him there on one knee. He addressed me by my full name.
"I met you and I knew at that moment you were the one. Those sparking eyes and your contagious smile made me fall hard. We've been through everything together. Thick and thin. And I would love nothing more to spend the rest of my life with you if you'd let me. Will you marry me?"

My eyes started to tear up and I shook my head and smiled. He slid the diamond ring onto my finger and I gently held the sides of his face and kissed him.

"I wouldn't think of spending the rest of eternity with anyone else. I love you."

"I love you too baby." He smiled.

I jumped when the first firework went off. More followed after it. I laughed and looked at him. Fireworks and a football field? I don't know how he did it, but it was perfect. He held me close and we watched the fireworks till they died out. 

"Fall"ing in love

We decided to take a walk that afternoon. Fall leaves dropped all around us. The scene took my breath away. The leaves had changed color from their green to deep reds, oranges, and yellows. I gathered a pile of leaves in my arms and tried to sneak up behind him. When I got close enough, I threw the leaves over his head.

"Hey!" He shouted. I squealed with laughter and ran away. He chased after me telling me that he would get me back. After a few moments, I had lost him. I hid behind a tree with a large trunk and tried to catch my breath. He didn't come. I peeked around the tree trunk to look for him. Nothing was there. I turned back around and he was right in my face with a handful of leaves. He threw them over me and they flew around me. While stepping forward, he tripped and fell into me. We both tumbled to the ground. He towered over me and we both burst up into laughter. He smiled down at me and gave me that look of pure love. He looked at me the way guys look at their love in movies. Like their completely mesmerized by you and they'd never love anyone else. He's blue green eyes gleamed as he smiled. He then leaned in and gave me a kiss.

Steph

I was in a house with everyone I knew. Someone had broke in. I hid behind the wall of the hallway to see him. He was wearing a black jacket and he had red hair. I thought I had seen him earlier that night in the window but I pushed it away from my mind and told myself that it was nothing. It wasn't nothing. There really was man there. I ran to the room further down the hallway and sat in the corner with the lights off.

The door creaked open and I froze. Expecting the man, I was filled with relief to see a woman. She had short strawberry blonde hair and looked around the age of 20.

"Its okay. Its just me." Steph was her name. She sat next to me and we held eachother. We heard gunshot after gunshot killing everyone in the other room that we loved.

Skeleton Chase

I was little. Only my mom and dad lived in the house.  I fell asleep but I woke up to scratching on my window. I screamed for my parents. They burst into my bedroom door and grabbed me out of bed. My dad held me and ran. They ran me out to the car and we all sat in the back seat...waiting.  I saw it run out of our house. It was gray and black. it had a cloth on that was ripped, showing it's ribs and flesh that gushed blood. It looked like death in a live version. It had long finger nails filed into points. It didn't walk but it ran. While it ran, it sometimes was on all fours. Boney. Gray. Plain white eyes (no pupils and no color). It disappeared from my vision. I heard a tapping on the window on top of the car. The sunroof cracked more and more.... then the glass shattered. It's hand reached in and the creature screamed. The sound was high pitch but almost zombie like with a touch of growl and nasal sound to it. The car shook and there was blood splattered on the window.

Red Men's Torture

Rusted silver chains wrapped around my wrists and hung me from the ceiling of the cement basement. My shoulders and arms ached from my weight pulling down on them. I gave up trying to hold myself up and let myself hang there. I avoided the men's gaze. They were all in black and had red faces. No eyes, no mouth, no nose, no anything, just red. I didn't understand how it was possible, but it scared me. Looking at them brought the memories back to mind from the last few hours. Every moment from them grabbing me, the ripping of my clothes, the forming brusies, or the suffocation of the gray cloth they shoved into my mouth...it all made my stomach turn. To my left was their table of toys. Axes, metal rods, whips, knives, etc. All scattered in a disorganized manner. Though there seemed to be everything else, there was nothing to end my suffering fast. The one thing that would have given me hope would have been a gun.

The leader of the group turned towards me. He chose his weapon from their table of toys. Squirming was of no use while hanging here by my wrists. My plead was one word. "Please." I said. It came out weak and mouse like. They all laughed at me and looked at me like I was an object. Worthless and no purpose for life. Their laugh sickened me. I was their toy. Only of use for their sick enjoyment. The leader raised his arm and brought it down hard.

They tortured me for hours. The room was now empty and quiet. Excruciating pain burned my body. Blood pumped from every cut and poured like sap from a tree. They left me there to be drained of life. I struggled for each breath till my body let out its last.

Blue Bird's Homecoming Song

The sun was setting against the mountains. Even though it was setting, it was still bright. The sunlight traveled through the wheat in the field and made it glow. Birds danced through the air and sang songs of joy. I giggled and followed them. Their wings were vibrant blues and greens. When the sun would reflect off them just right, a silver accent would gleam through their feathers. I copied their song and threw my hands in the air. My sandals hung from my fingers but I didn't care. I span in circles and let my curled hair flow in the air.  My white lace dress spread out as I twirled. My laugh sounded through the crisp air. After a moment, a voice broke threw my laugh.

"Even after all these months, your beauty still amazes me."

I stopped spinning and my dress fell back down and brushed my knees. Even after all these months I'd never forget that voice. I slowly turned around and I faced him. He was dressed in a white button up shirt and tan pants. His name escaped my lips. He smiled at me. I dropped my sandals and ran to him. My body collided with his and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He picked me up and I let my legs wrap around his waist. His arms closed around me and I felt him laugh against my body.

"You're home." I whispered.

He planted a gentle kiss on my lips and let it bloom for a moment before pulling away. His forehead rested on mine.

"Yeah, baby, I'm home."

No cry

"One more!", The doctor told me.
I tried to muffle my sobs. "I cant.", I thought. I can't do this. The epidural was available anymore. There was so much pressure and pain stretched through my body. Tears came down and I pushed one last time.
"It's a boy."
I let a smile come and a slight giggle of relief travel through my lips. But there was no cry. I tried to sit up. The nurse to my right told me to lay down.
"Where's my baby?" No one answered me. "Why can't I hear him? Where's my baby?" Silence. I yelled it a second time and the same nurse asked me to calm down.
Nurses and the doctor in their blue work clothes surrounded a table. Through a crack between two of them I saw him, my baby. He had dark hair just like his dad's. His skin was an olive color like my grandfather's. But he didn't move. There was no rise and fall of his chest.

"Ma'am-I- I'm sorry..."

Gas Leak and Fire

A boy and I were downstairs at the school working on a project. There was a concert going on upstairs. Music seeped faintly through the floorboards. Upstairs was full of life but downstairs was quiet and lonely with just the two of us. The boy called me over and sent me to copy a couple papers. "As you wish kind sir." I winked at him and his sweet laughter filled the room. Maybe louder than ones laugh should be, but I didnt mind. It made me shiver with happiness and laugh myself. I snatched the papers and walked out of the room trying not to blush.

A strange smell drafted in the air.The hallway seemed to be longer than usual. The dark made it an optical illusion and made me nervous. Somewhere gas was leaking. I stopped walking when I heard a crack. I looked up, but before I could move, the entire ceiling fell. The light bulbs turned red and hung on their cords. The devils eyes swung back and forth. I tried to scream for the boys help, but the air turned thick and it made it hard to breathe. I started to army crawl in the red hallway underneath all the debris. Smoke started to fill my lungs. I looked behind me to see a trail of fire spilling towards me, getting closer by the second. I lost all ability to move and my body grew unconscious.

I felt my body sway slightly as he struggled to carry the both of us up the stairs. His strong arms wrapped around me. Both of us gasped for even one precious breath of clean air.

White

I appeared in a white room. Maybe not even a room...a white world, a white space, a white demension. There wasn't walls or any thing in there but me. There was complete silence too. No matter how hard I strained my lungs, nothing escaped. I ran. I ran fast and hard. And when I gave up, I turned around and ran the other way. It never ends. You're trapped in this demension that's so white you have to squint to see and so lonely and quiet that you think you might dissapear into the depths of depression in seconds.

Fire and Tar

I was in a large room. There was windows on either end of the vast space. Other people were there, none of which I knew or looked familiar. They were all hard at work when the ground started to shake. I ran into the back room and screamed his name, shaking him to wake up. He startled awake with the explosions and grabbed my hand. I followed his quick footsteps trying not to fall behind. The bombs were loud and there was one after another. He held me in his arms and told me it was going to be okay. By the way his heart was racing, I knew he was lying. We sunk down to the floor against a wall together. He still held me tight against him like I was going to dissapear. I started to cry. The ground grew hot. Too hot to touch. People screamed as their shoes started to melt off their feet, scrambling to find safety...but it was nowhere to be found.  The room started to fill with a black substance that was as hot as lava but the consistency of tar. His hand held mine tight. His eyes looked at me with tears spilling down his cheeks as he said his last I love you. I said it back and buried my head into his shirt. Explosions made us jump and made others scream even more. Each time I opened my eyes, I saw someone die...burst into flames, turn black, and fall too the ground. The room now was covered with dozens of lifeless bodies. I started to panic but he lifted up my chin and looked at me again.
"We'll be together again, I promise. Mich, it's okay. No goodbyes, okay? I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here holding you." I nodded and put my face into his shirt. His arms wrapped around my body tight again. We waited. Waited through the screams and cries of pain from the others. It wasn't long before it was our turn.
Heat scorched our backs as fire engulfed the room....and we were gone.

Shadow Man & Forest

It was dark. The moon glowed in the sky making it easier to see my way. Trees towered on either side of me, forming a pathway inbetween them. Leaves crushed beneath my shoes as I took careful steps. The world was quiet...far too quiet. Something to the left of me moved. I froze and didn't take another step. The shadow passed again on my left through the trees. I didn't move, too paralyzed with fear to even think of doing so. A rush of wind came east from behind me. It's ice cold breath fogged around my neck, sending shivers down my entire body. My body turned to look at it, but before I could see it, I sunk to the ground and crippled up. Excruciating pain pumped through my veins with the shadows stare. He had no eyes but he was starring at me. My body shook uncontrollably. Through it all, my eyes were stuck on him. He was the form of a man, but with no face. Just a black shadow and a black cloth.