ordinary day

"Just a boy, just an ordinary boy, but he was looking to the sky."

Tevin looked up into the shadowy evening sky and saw a hawk soaring above. For one split second, he knew he could fly. Not in an airplane or with jet pack. Not even with wings. Just him, sailing into the sky in his plain human body.

He found the though disconcerting and he tried to shake it away. So Tevin stopped looking at the sky and put his attention back on the 7th grade science exams he was grading. But that night he dreamed of flying, of seeing his house from a bird's eye view.

And the thought lingered. Tevin found himself having dreams of flying nearly every night. He would find himself absentmindedly searching articles about human flight on the internet. Of course the results would always be Superman images or some other science fiction/superhero reference.

But one day things changed. Tevin was again out on his back porch in the evening hours. A beautiful sunset stretched out in front of him. And Tevin was beginning the task of preparing future lesson plans for a new subject area, anatomy. Tevin opened the teacher's guide edition of the science book with the full intent to put together a lesson plan that provided a comprehensive, albeit brief, look at the entire body. But he never made it past the brain.

Specifically, Tevin got lost in a small subsection of the guide book entitled "The Mysteries of the Brain". Here, there was discussion about the untapped potential of the human brain. About how people with genius-level intelligence, musical prodigies, reputed psychics, and even some people with autism tapped into some parts of the brain that were dormant in the rest.

Tevin again thought of flying. But this time he didn't think with the imagination of a child but with the clarity of a scientist. And he decided that it was more than possible, it was doable. He decided that he would be the one to do it.

every morning

"Once again, as predicted, left my broken heart open and you ripped it out."

Brooke knew she looked perfect tonight. Little black dress. Strappy, red stilettos. She had taken special to make sure every part of her was as alluring as possible. And as she walked through the club that night, she knew she would be able to accomplish her task.

After about an hour in the club, she spotted him. Martin. He was there with his friends as she had suspected. She caught him eyeing her once and Brooke knew her plan would work. She smiled coyly at him and was pleased to see that such a simple thing gave him the courage to come over.

As Martin began making his way across the room, Brooke turned to get a new drink at the bar. And to enact step two of her plan. She spotted a suitable guy towards the end of the bar. Well-dressed, well-groomed, offering to pay for her drink which she readily accepted.

Brooke couldn't have planned the timing better. Martin stopped to speak to her friends before making his final approach to her. By the time he got to her, Brooke was flirting shamelessly with the bar guy. She casually said hey to Martin, giving him as much attention and affection as a distant cousin, and then turned back to her conversation with the bar guy. But not before she caught the look of astonishment and disappointment cross Martin's face.

Brooke had a hard time masking her face. And stopping the small part of her that wanted to grab Martin and apologize. But she quickly shook off her doubt. It had taken her too long to get past her own astonishment and disappointment over how casually Martin had treated her recently. Brooke had made the mistake once already to open herself to him, only to be shaken by his lack of call and apparent lack of care. But she was not the type to wallow in self-pity too long. Getting even was much more liberating.

ain't no mountain high enough

"If you should fall short of your desires, remember life holds for you one guarantee: you'll always have me."

The tears glistened on Miranda Joy's face as she swayed automatically to the music. It seemed strange to her now that she had been worried about this moment, that she had thought she would feel self-conscious with so many people watching her. But the instant she had begun dancing with her son, she forgot about the people at the reception and embraced the moment.

To be honest, the whole day had been draining for her. Watching her only son marry was tougher than she'd ever expected. Miranda Joy liked her new daughter-in-law. They had met on several occasions and she seemed to be an excellent person that really loved her son. But now that the moment was here, an apprehension had grown in Miranda Joy and she was no longer at ease with the idea of giving her son to this woman.

So when the time for the mother-son dance had come, Miranda Joy was eager to have this moment with her son. And he was beaming. She had never seen him so blissful and content. She felt as if there was something that needed to be said in this moment. Some piece of sage advice or loving anecdote to share before sending her son off to be a husband. But she was too full of anxiety to offer such.

The music played and Miranda Joy tried not to get tears on her son's tuxedo.