i was here

"The hearts I have touched will be the proof that I leave that I made a difference."

Andie felt so tired but she could see the schoolhouse less than a mile in front of her and soldiered on. She thought back to twenty years ago, the first time she'd made this journey, and how tired she had been then. Life comes full circle like that, she guessed. So Andie trudged on, hoping that her legs wouldn't give out on her before she got to the door. Hoping that if they did, the kids inside wouldn't see her. Hopes that became obsolete as a sudden flood of children swept out of the door of the schoolhouse and began charging towards her.

Despite her fatigue, Andie found herself grinning ear from ear and picking up her pace to meet the kids. As she walked, she did a quick head count. Fifteen. Today, they were all here which was a bit of a miracle. The kids reached her and the hugs pulled her down to the ground. Andie didn't have the energy to get up, so she just let the kids smother her down and drown her tickles. Once again, she marveled at the joy these kids could have when they had so little. The instructor, Mr. Joe as the kids called him, followed by the kids and gently began pulling them off of Andie. 

Joe, of course, fully realized that Andie was exhausted. Andie had handpicked him to secede her after she could no longer count on making the trek everyday. Joe had been one of her star pupils and one of the few that remained in the area. There was so much potential in him. She knew he would do amazing things and every time she saw him, she only could hope she had given him enough of an academic foundation not to get drowned in the big bad world.  He certainly had the bravery and intelligence to handle anything that came at him. 

Joe helped Andie to her feet, pulling her up into a strong hug. He pulled back but let his arm remain around her waist, practically carrying her into the schoolhouse and to the seat at the front of the room. Andie looked around the space fondly while Joe tried to calm the children down some. To most people, there wasn't much here to look at. Bare dirty walls. No real door to speak of. Falling apart, ancient desks. No books. Just a room full of eager children and their weary teacher. But the kids that had come through this door had changed Andie's life. Including this fifteen, there had been over 150 kids that came through this door at some point, although only half had "graduated". 

Andie had tried to keep tabs on as many as she could. She would check on the girls from time to time, play with their kids, and help them cook dinner. She would eye their babies to make sure they weren't falling prey to any number of sicknesses that pervaded the area, and if she saw the slightest sign quietly leave whatever medications she happened to have with her. She would also check out their husbands, looking for any signs of domestic issues. But, for the most part, her girls had heeded her lessons. Their children were healthy and their husbands were respectful and kind.

The boys, of course, had succeeded in ways the girls were not able to in this country. Just a fact of life that would take more than a simple schoolteacher to change. Her boys were well-respected everywhere they went. Leading people with their voices, inspiring people with their talents, or simply raising a new generation of thoughtful children. 

Andie had never married, never had her own kids. Her friends and family never seemed to understand this. At her age, they all seemed so concerned about her missing legacy, that she would leave nothing behind to stand as a testament of her existence. But Andie knew better. She looked around this room, its dusty but sturdy walls, at these children so ready to learn, and she knew that her legacy would last lifetimes. That these kids and all the ones before were changed by a simple girl that had walked into a quiet village twenty years ago, approached a group of kids with a stack of old books, and offered to teach them how to read. 

with arms wide open

"If I had just one wish, only one demand, I hope he's not like me. I hope he understands that he can take this life and hold it by the hand."

Just as she suspected, Jo was terrified. Her pain tolerance was always high and the labor wasn't very intense yet, so the terror was the only thing really bothering her. The contractions were nothing compared to the terror racing through her mind and heart. A fear that had been intensifying throughout her pregnancy, but she kept pushing it to the side. After all, she was on the pregnancy train now. No getting off.

Her husband knew of her fear and mostly dismissed it. He, like her doctor, recognized it and attributed to the fear of giving birth and handling parenthood. And Jo had let them then that rather than address the real heart of the issue. Jo wasn't scared of giving birth. She had been in the delivery room with her sister during the births of her two nephews. She was well aware of what would happen and felt prepared to persevere through the pain. She wasn't afraid of being horrible at parenting. Jo had grown up around kids. She wasn't delusional, she knew it would be the hardest thing she'd ever done and she knew she wouldn't always make the right choices, but she was sure she had the tools to raise a child.

The truth was buried deep inside Jo and now that she was facing the inevitable, she couldn't hide from it anymore. But still she tried, chastising herself in vain for even being in this situation. She had told her husband, even before their marriage, that she didn't want kids. He had worn her down, convinced her of the magic of a baby with their shared genes. Honestly, Jo had never cared about that. But she knew he did, that having a kid meant the world to him. She loved him and this was one piece of the world she could give him. So here she was. Love could make a fool out of anyone.

And this fool was having the baby she'd never really wanted to have. Not because she didn't love kids. In fact, it was maybe because she loved them too much. The only thing she could be sure of was that she loved this baby, but it terrified her that she couldn't assure it anything more. She was responsible for bringing this life into the world and she couldn't assure it good health, or a good life, or anything beyond each moment as it occurred. The fear was paralyzing. Her husband would have called it irrational, and maybe he was right. But it was a fear that Jo had held for as long as she could remember. Something like that is difficult to let go of. She remembered how her sister had been, excited about bringing a new life into this world. All Jo could think of was how messed up this world was and how selfish it was for her to bring a life into it.

Yet here she was, preparing to birth a child that she would feel guilt over until the day she died. Jo rubbed her belly and tried to hope. Hope that her child would never be so fearful, that her doubt and guilt and fear wouldn't permeate their life.

teach me how to be loved

"Will you leave me lost in my shadows or will you pull me into your light?"

Evan knew he only had one job here. To keep her wine glass full. And, of course, to listen. This had been a night long coming. Five months into dating Shannon and the epiphany had only occurred a few days ago. Well, epiphany was a generous word. Since basically Shannon had told him what was going on with her. But once she did, the ups and downs of their relationship had all clicked into place. The fights that seemed to materialize out of thin air, the days of silent treatment he never understood the cause of. Not to say that Evan never played a part in it but he was pretty sure that his small mistakes and bad moves were blown out of proportion by Shannon.

It was a few days ago when she mentioned her "yellow dress" day as she called it. Evan remembered that day because it was the first day he'd seen Shannon. She hadn't met him that day but the next time their mutual friend had a party, he'd made sure to be there on the off chance that she would be. And she was. Evan was surprised to hear that was the day she'd made the decision to really start dating towards a relationship, to try to let go of all the things that had been holding her back from trusting someone and committing to someone. Maybe it was destiny.

Evan had invited Shannon over tonight for the sole purpose of getting all the stuff she'd been holding onto out in the air. He didn't know much about what she was going through, and was a bit nervous it might be some horrible tragedy he wouldn't know how to handle. But he wanted this relationship to work, because when things were good, they were amazing. So he'd brought out two bottles of her favorite Merlot and started pouring. It took one full glass and Evan sharing one of his own heartbreaks to get her to open up. But when she did the flood gates broke. Evan had put down his own glass to focus on what she was saying. To really hear her, to understand her.

And he did. Shannon talked about the people she'd lost, but when she spoke of the grief it was full of so much guilt it was shocking. Guilt over not being closer to the people she'd lost, guilt over letting them go too quickly, guilt over not remembering all the moments they'd spent together. Shannon talked about never fitting in with the other kids and being bullied as a child. Again, she placed the blame on herself for not figuring out how to be more social, more likable. She talked about the men who'd ran through her life and broken her heart. And how she should have been stronger, should have seen it coming. It was all such everyday stuff, sad and unfortunate undoubtedly, but the things that so many people go through without shutting down the way Shannon had. Evan had lost people and had his heart broken a few times. But the difference here was the guilt that Shannon held, as though every bit of it was her fault. And the way she bore her burden alone.

So Evan did what someone, anyone, should have done for Shannon all her life. The tears were streaming down her face and she had fallen silent, just staring into her empty glass. Evan walked over to her, placed the glass on the table, and sat down on the couch beside her, pulling her into his lap. He wrapped his arms as tightly around her as he could and let her cry. They stayed like that for nearly an hour, Shannon clinging to him like a life raft and Evan never letting go.

i can't let go

"If I hang on to this heartache, then my soul will not be free. So I keep trying..."

Four months and eight days after her realization and nothing had really changed for Shannon. Except the crushing truth that was her life. The constant replaying of relationships since she was sixteen years old. She could see the missed opportunities, the doors she'd closed, and a few hearts she was pretty sure she'd broken. She realized that she had been blind. And now she was lost, a grown woman with the relationship experience of a child.

Shannon continued to prepare dinner for Evan while she stewed over her predicament. From the outside, things were going well. Her friends had even commented on her new outlook on love, her newly found eagerness to date and to look forward to the possibility of commitment. It was a lot of bravado, more of how she hoped to soon feel rather than how she really felt now. The last few weeks dating Evan had been nice. She smiled even now just thinking about his dark brown eyes and sweet, sweet lips. Shannon wasn't delusional and knew things weren't supposed to be perfect, but she also didn't think it should be this hard this early on.

And she was pretty sure it was all her. Her mood swings, from frantic happiness to raging doubt to sobbing in tears, were hard to separate from Evan since they were mostly caused by him. Even she couldn't predict how she would react to the things he said and did, things that were mostly neutral but that she spun into her own craziness. Shannon could look back, logically find the point where she had gone too far, but she couldn't seem to stop it as it was happening. As though her emotions she'd finally let surface were in control and, worse than that, in overdrive.

But mostly Shannon was concerned because she knew. Her talk and her actions covered up an ugly truth that she could no longer bury. The moments that had broken her, that had trapped her in this fear and pessimism and unwillingness to hope were constantly on her mind. She used to ignore them but if she wanted to get past this, she couldn't any longer. She wanted to let them go but she couldn't. The moments were as raw and painful as they were when they happened. The tears and frustration and anger were fresh each time and it felt like her heart was being shredded every time she thought of them.

It was those moments keeping her from Evan. Those moments causing her wild mood swings. Those moments leaving her unsure what was the right thing to do at any given moment of time. She was still afraid, afraid of repeating the past, afraid of being exposed as an unhealed fraud. Those moments had passed and she'd never dealt with them emotionally, just buried it. Now it was all surfacing and she wasn't sure how to even start to let that kind of deep-seated pain go.

The doorbell rang and Shannon wiped the tears from her eyes. No, she wasn't sure where to start or if she would ever be able to let it all go. But the alternative of not trying seemed ridiculous. So Shannon opened to door to once again try to let Evan in.

ooh oh

"I've been hiding all my life and I've been trying to keep me safe. But I've been healing and I've been thinking I am ready finally for something more than this."

Shannon smoothed down the front of her sundress and glanced at her reflection one more time. She wondered if they would think she looked difference. Probably not. She was just wearing a simple yellow sundress and brown flat sandals. Cute, pretty even, but nothing particularly spectacular. But when Shannon looked in the mirror she could see the difference. A light in her eyes that wasn't there yesterday. She wasn't sure if it was even there a few hours ago. It was amazing how a few hours could change a person's life.

Nothing dramatic had happened. No momentous, life-altering events had occurred. Just a particularly eye-opening therapy session. One of those dramatic a-ha moments she had been waiting for the past year. Shannon had never really been sure about this therapy thing. She found the time interesting, found it refreshing to get some things off her chest. But the sessions had never really done much to change her outlook until today. Today Shannon had talked about an ex. A guy that she had casually dated a few years ago, and happened to run into again recently. He was married now with a daughter on the way. Shannon was glad for him, he was a good guy. But it made her realize her life was stalled.

The therapist had dug in here and really earned his money this week. Shannon had gotten to the heart of what was holding her back. Fear. The smug expression on her therapist's face told her that he had known this for awhile. Shannon was surprised at this revelation but it made sense. Looking back at the relationships she'd watched her mother have with a string of jerks. A pattern her sister repeated. A pattern that Shannon was so determined not to fall into that she was pushing people away and keeping herself closed off.

Shannon had set in her bedroom for two hours after the session, letting this information sink into her. Fear. She was afraid of being hurt, afraid of loving someone unworthy, afraid of having to pick herself up after the heartbreak. She was living in a state of fear. An easy life in some ways but completely unfulfilling. A gaping hole had been exposed that she couldn't cover back up now. Her fear had pushed her into this lonely, bitter life that she didn't want to lead anymore.

Yesterday was the last day she would lead this life. At least that's what she told herself and that was the first step. Realistically, it would be hard. Probably the hardest thing she'd ever done. She had at least the last fifteen years worth of behavior to overcome. Shannon imagined there would be a lot of doubt and second guessing and setbacks, but at least now she was going the right way down the path. At least now she had a little bit of hope for something more.

i told the storm

“Go away. I command you to move today. Because of faith, I have a brand new day. The sun will shine and I will be okay.”

Mommy always took me to Church on Sundays. We would get up early and could only eat cereal for breakfast and had to put on uncomfortable clothes and tight shoes. Then we would to go to Church. She said it was important that I go and so it must have been even though I didn't really like it. There were lots of people I didn't know but they all acted like they knew me. People that liked to pat my head and give me hugs. Mommy always gave me a special smile when I didn't squirm away from the people. And Church was long. People talking and people singing. On and on and on. Mommy would never let us leave early no matter how nicely I asked.

But I always tried to listen because Mommy said Church was important. Whenever I looked at her she was listening hard, watching the Preacher talk or singing with the Choir. The only time she wasn't watching was during the Prayer, when Mommy said we had to put our heads down and close our eyes. The Prayer was special time because that was when we talked to God. That's what Church was all about. God. And his son Jesus. Whenever I listened hard like Mommy, the Preacher was always talking about God and Jesus. About how God created the world and how Jesus saved us. I wasn't really sure what he had saved us all from but it must have been pretty bad. The Preacher also told us that God would protect us if we said the Prayer to him. I remembered that from the last time I was at Church and listening hard.

And last night I said my first Prayer alone. I did it quiet so Mommy wouldn't hear me. We were squished in the bathtub, me, Mommy, and my dog Basil. The rain was was so loud on the roof that it sounded like a hammer. And there was a lot of wind too. There weren't any windows in the bathroom but I could hear stuff banging against the side of the house. Mommy was holding my hand so hard it hurt and was using her other hand to find a signal on the radio. It was all staticy. So while she was doing that, I closed my eyes and said the Prayer. I did just like the Preacher said and asked God to protect us. And Jesus too, after all he had saved us once before. I did the Amen at the end just like in Church.

I remembered falling asleep on Basil in the bathtub and when I woke up there was no rain or wind. I woke Mommy up when I tried to get out of the bathtub and she got out first. The door was stuck at first but we both pushed together and finally got the bathroom door open. All the stuff in Mommy's bedroom was all over the place. The window was open and there was stuff in here that looked like my toy car parts, except for real-life cars.  Mommy looked out the window, then ran outside. Me and Basil followed behind her. All the other houses looked bad. A tree had fallen across two of them. There was truck sticking out of one of them. Big chunks of some of the houses were missing.

But our house looked the same. No trees or cars or missing pieces. I guess the Prayer worked.

bottle it up

"Soon as you start to make room for the parts that aren't you, it gets harder to bloom in a garden of love."

The cup shattered all around her with shards coming to the edge of her feet. Claire looked down absently, only registering the broken glass enough to tiptoe around it. Her eyes never left the view of the backyard through the sliding doors leading out from the kitchen. As she walked, she tried to remember the last time she had even opened those doors. Too long.

Maybe to the common observer, the yard looked okay. The grass was cut low, flowers were blooming, birds chirping and all that nonsense. But she wasn't a common observer and she was not pleased with what she saw. Claire had created her oasis her, had spent hours happily constructing her own Eden in this yard. What she was seeing was decidedly not Eden-like. Misshapen bushes along the walkway, weeds growing mightily in the flower bed, overripe vegetables in the garden.

Claire remembered the bright, early morning she came out here. Her routine had been so simple yet so satisfying. Early morning rising, a grapefruit and iced green tea, a.m. yoga at the studio down the street followed by scrambled eggs, then at least an hour in the garden. Claire came out even when it was ice cold or foggy or slightly drizzly. The only thing that would stop her was an actual rainstorm, and even then she would sometimes sit at her kitchen table fervently hoping the rain would end soon. She would get more done before 8 a.m. than any of the people she knew. Her friends thought she was crazy for starting her days like that, even the days she had to go into the office. But they didn't complain when they were munching on the vegetables and herbs from her garden. Nor when she hosted birthday parties or cookouts in the backyard.

How did this happen? Claire considered the question briefly but the answer was obvious. She just didn't want to face it. Her nights used to be filled with quick chores like loading the dishwasher and ironing tomorrow's clothes, reading in bed, and falling into sleep at a reasonable time. Now her nights were late, filled with pool halls and movie theaters and bars and bowling alleys. Her beautiful, blissful mornings filled with yoga and light food and cultivating her yard were now consisted of hitting the snooze button, strong coffee, and hastily made stacks of pancakes. Now her nights and mornings were preoccupied with Connor.

Connor, whose kisses were like rain, but that was the only thing light and airy about him. Claire remembered that her whole life used to be light and airy. Then came Connor and those kisses. Now she had been sucked into his world. It had all been so fun and new at first, new places and people and adventures. A whirlwind. But the fun vacation feeling had ended a while ago and Claire was now faced with the realization that what she had mistaken as a vacation was actually her life. And she couldn't live like this.

There were a lot of things Claire wasn't sure of as she walked through her yard to the small tool shed. She wasn't sure if the squash in her garden would be edible. She wasn't sure if her roses would recover from weeks of neglect. She wasn't sure how long it would take her to get this backyard back into shape. She wasn't sure when was the last time she had sat out here after work with a glass of wine. She wasn't sure how Connor would react to early nights and early mornings. But Claire was absolutely certain of one thing as she put on her gardening gloves. She was sure she was about to find out.

one of us

"What would you ask if you had just one question?"

Death.

So far it wasn't anything like Nathan thought it would be. He thought it would be more like the grave, dark, dank, and generally terrifying. He had never really believed the stories of bright lights, but Nathan remembered laying there, covered in his own blood and fighting for breath, he hoped there would be a bright light. Now he was dead, the fight was over, and there was absolutely no bright light.

But things weren't so dark and dank. It was a lot more like Earth than he could have imagined. Being here was discombobulating at first. He had no body but could still see and hear. Movement still felt like walking even though he had no legs. Nathan got over it quickly as he watched the other souls moving about. Somehow as easy to see the differences in as the human face, despite the fact they were all wisps of air surrounding a spark of light.

Then the air changed. At first it seemed like a storm, then Nathan realized that storms in the afterlife seemed unnecessary. And the wind was flowing directly towards and around him. The other souls simply moved around the storm. Nathan thought he caught a glimpse of something in the wind and tried to focus in on it. Suddenly he could see it. Sets of wings, moving so rapidly that he honestly wasn't sure how he was able to see it. Maybe super senses happened in the afterlife. Nathan was awed as it hit him what was happening. Wings in the afterlife could only be one thing, right? Angels.

The wings ushered him towards a remote landscape. A section of this place where souls became sparse. The ones that were here seemed different in a very visible way. If Nathan and the other souls had still been alive, they would be human. But these souls were something else, something more than the humans Nathan was familiar with. Even their souls were different looking. Larger accumulations of the wispy air and the spark inside each was definitely brighter. The wings finally stopped beating frantically. They were still and Nathan marveled at how magnificent there were.

Gigantic sets of wings, towering to at least eight feet, all so pale they were nearly translucent. Yet, just like the souls, they were the same but distinct. Some seemed stronger, some seemed nicer, some just were more radiant. Nathan was staring at them with open awe. Then the light finally came. He was still staring at the wings when he felt it. His back was to it and he wasn't sure how he knew it was light. It wasn't warm like a wash of sunlight. It was more like a magnet, drawing him away from the wonder of the majestic wings, turning him around, and pulling him towards it.

The light was bright, consuming, but not blinding. It was beautiful, more amazing than the wings. Somewhere in the back of his thoughts, Nathan registered two sets of wings flagging the light as well as a trail of air like low fog at his feet. He really could care less about the angels or the fog, he just wanted to be closer to that light. As the light neared, he saw a secondary smaller but more brilliant light directly behind the one drawing him in. The second light was so much smaller and not nearly as magnetic, but glorious enough to temporarily draw his eye. Only a second, then Nathan refocused on the magnetic light.

Nathan made it to the light, and just knelt in front of it. It seemed like the right thing to do, an instinctual act. He knelt and he waited. And felt dumb as the reality of what was happening dawned on him. This was Him. The one and only, the Creator in front of him. Watching him and waiting for him to understand. Nathan wasn't even surprised when a sudden understanding of what was happening emerged in his thoughts, as clearly as if someone had spoken to him. But of course no one had. This was the first day of the afterlife and every returned soul got an audience with their Maker. Got to come to him with one question which would be answered truthfully.

It was a lot. An understatement of course, but Nathan was overwhelmed. The secrets of creation and the universe lay before him. The chicken or the egg. The meaning of life. The existence of aliens. The big bang. All things that zoomed through his head. But Nathan kept coming back to the same thought, the secret turmoil that plagued him throughout his life. He had never spoken it, never even admitted it to himself. But it was there. So he asked it, the only real question, the only one that mattered. He knew he should have already known and internalized the answer, was a bit ashamed to ask but he had take advantage of this one chance. Nathan gazed up into the light and let the question fully form in his mind, sure that the Creator could hear it.

Do you love me?

journey to the past

"People always say life is full of choices. No one ever mentions fear."

It was too hot outside for Jasmine's emotions to be in turmoil. Seriously, it had to be like 100 degrees out there. Jasmine had the air conditioning blasting inside the car. Every single person outside looked hot. In a way it was comforting. That this wasn't the idyllic scene she thought it would be. That some people were miserable trying to move the belongings from the childhood, lifelong bedrooms to a tiny dorm room to share with a stranger. Jasmine was even pretty sure she caught a couple of faces of misery that had nothing to do with the heat.

So maybe she wasn't in this completely alone. It was the only time in Jasmine's life that she remembered being grateful for another person's suffering. She should have felt guilty, should have been ashamed. But Jasmine didn't. She felt relieved and for the first time in this long drive upstate, she felt the sense of dread that had parked in her stomach begin to alleviate. Jasmine slowly turned the ignition on the car and climbed out. She grabbed a small box and her backpack with all the dorm materials, and headed into the building.

It did not escape Jasmine's eye that her dorm was right beside an all boys' dorm. Good to know. Jasmine shuffled pass the other students and their parents. For a moment she felt a childish tinge to have her mother here with her for this fiasco. But she'd never really had the moving on campus type of parents and at this point it would have been awkward for them start being those people. She loved her parents dearly and were absolutely sure they loved her as best they could. But Jasmine wasn't actually sure they were cut out to be parental.

Yes, Jasmine was glad they weren't there but did wish someone else was. By the time she'd climbed the stairs to the third floor, she was really wishing someone had come along with her. Lugging all those boxes was going to be a nightmare, even if she did wait in the long line for the elevator. So Jasmine slowly unloaded her care. By the time all the boxes were unloaded and her car was tucked away in the student garage, Jasmine could barely resist the urge to flop down on her extra-long twin sized bed. But she did and she unpacked and set up her computer and checked her schedule a dozen times.

On the second round of cleaning, the door to the room opened and a girl with bright blue hair walked in. Lysa, the roommate no doubt.


Four years later, Jasmine couldn't help but think of that day as she waited for the speaker to finish. No one really listened to these things, did they? Jasmine thought of that first day. How excited she had been back in high school when she applied and when she got her acceptance letter. Juxtaposed with how terrified she was that first day of orientation when she moved in. Now here she was, all said and done, and Jasmine was absolutely sure of one thing. This school, these people, the things she had learned, it was the best decision she'd ever made. The speaker finished, Jasmine stood, grabbing Lysa's henna-covered right hand, and moved the tassel on her cap to the other side.

Jasmine looked into Lysa's glowing face and wasn't sure whether to whoop, laugh, or cry. Life was sure to throw a lot at her but this moment in time was one thing she would always be certain.

how will i know

"Falling in love is all bittersweet. This love is strong. Why do I feel weak?"

Willa stopped to look at herself in the mirror. Her outfit was new, her hair was just the way she liked it, her her makeup light and airy. The outside of her was perfect which wasn't surprising. Her mother had raised her to be perfect. Every article clothing, every strand of hair, were to be meticulous at all times. Sometimes she shuddered thinking of the scoldings she'd gotten when she was in elementary school. Willa had usually been up to par on the way out the door but it was impossible to return home the same way. Now that she was in high school, Willa arrived home before her mother and was able to correct any imperfections.

So it was no surprise to her that she looked perfect on the outside. There were just two things wrong with her image in the mirror. She was judging her look by her own standards, inherited from her mother. What were Lincoln's standards? Would he expect her to be dressed sexier? But Willa thought this new dress was sort of sexy. A black linen dress that came down to her mid-thigh. It even had a v-neck, something that had taken an hour for her mother to get over. But maybe she was too dressed up altogether, maybe he was expecting her in the khakis and simple skirts she wore to school. Willa glanced around her room frantically for a moment and quickly came to the conclusion that this dress was her best bet. It was the sexiest thing she owned by far and she knew that she wanted to dress up for Lincoln.

The second thing that was wrong was Willa herself. From the neck down she looked put together. But the make-up couldn't hide the terror in her eyes. Or the way her hands were shaking. And if she kept licking her lips, all of her lipstick would be gone in five minutes. But the worst part was her stomach, the constant butterflies were nearly making her nauseous. Willa tried to shake it off but deep inside she knew the importance of this date, knew that this could be a changing point in her life.

Willa had met Lincoln hiding behind the stacks in the library five months ago. They had quickly struck up conversation about books and became fast friends. At first it was just friends, for about a month. They both would meet in the library, reading books and quietly talking, during the lunch period. Then Lincoln had asked her for some help on his English project. The first time she went to Lincoln's house to help him, the sparks were undeniable. Something about leaving the library, seeing him at his home. And maybe the tank top and basketball shorts looked pretty sexy on him too.

That had been four months ago. Lincoln had slowly turned her world around. Taught her to accept her flaws and not be disgraced by them. Showed her there was more to life than straight As and perfect attendance. He was always finding new things for them do, their own little adventures. Karaoke and ice skating and petting zoos and farmer's markets and free concerts. They read books aloud to each other, beautiful stories of romance and adventure.

Today was the day things would change. Things would move forward in a big way. She could feel because every time she thought of Lincoln her heart would swell, she would feel like bursting into tears, or flames even. And Willa knew tonight was important because she knew Lincoln. He liked to keep things calm and casual, mostly for her sake because he knew she was slightly neurotic and anal. But this date he'd made a big deal about. This date he had told her was special. Willa's best friend had called it the "love" date. An enormous part of Willa believed it, wanted it so badly she was nearly insane. But there was a small, undeniable part that was simply and wholly terrified.

Willa heard the beep of Lincoln's horn. No more time for dallying or worrying. One thing was certain, she was going to get out to that car before her mother did. It had taken Willa twenty minutes on the phone to convince Lincoln not to come to the door. Willa grabbed her purse and a sweater, dashing down the stairs. She said a rushed goodbye to her mother, breezing through the door. Willa clambered into the car, somewhat ungracefully, looking over her shoulder to see if her mother had followed out the front door. When she was satisfied her mom wasn't coming out, she turned to face Lincoln and caught him staring directly at her. Before she could even open her mouth, he did it. Just said those three words as easily as someone would say hello.

Willa had been right. Her whole world had just changed.

i wonder

"I'm a star. How could I not shine?"

Paige rolled her eyes and braced herself for what was next. This was her third class of the day and the third time the teacher made her stand in the front of the room to introduce herself. She recognized a few of the kids this time, eyes rolling the same way hers were.

The first time had been such a disaster. Paige had stood up proudly, confidence from her popularity at her previous school clouding her better sense. She gave a spiel about her general awesomeness, listing off extracurriculars and talents she'd accumulated her freshmen and sophomore years. She even gave a shout out to her previous high school. Paige had ended her monologue with her most dazzling smile. A smile that faded as the other kids snorted and chuckled.

The second time was better but still not actually good. At least the other kids didn't laugh at her. Because she barely said anything. Just her name and where she used to live. Then she scurried to her seat before she could again make a fool of herself. But once seated, she was a bit ashamed of herself. She remembered the new kids when they came to her former school, the way they would mumble and look embarrassed. The way she always knew those were the weak ones.

So this was the third time and she had to get it right. Because Paige knew it was either third time's the charm or third strike and out. Paige walked directly past the teacher, sat her books and backpack down in an empty chair, then joined the teacher in the front of the room. She waited patiently while the teacher quieted the class and gave her "let's welcome the new girl" spiel. Paige took a deep breath, turned towards the fidgeting kids ogling her, and gave it her best.

Her best, which ended up being brilliant. Paige mocked herself, pointing out the few kids from her first class and giving a parody of her first introduction. Spurred on by their genuine laughter, she pointed out the kid from her second class and mimicked her mumbling mess. Again, laughter. And she stopped the humor there, determined to act like a normal, sane teenage girl. After the few laughs died down, Paige calmly introduced herself with a genuine smile. Paige Woods from Indianapolis, has two parents, one kid brother, and two dogs, plays tennis, and, like all teenage girls, loves the mall.

Paige settled into her seat feeling victorious. It was reasonable to be nervous on the first day at a new school, but she was glad that was over. As class started, a couple of the girls introduced themselves and Paige began to really feel at ease. Things here were going to be just fine. Why was she ever worried?

starlight

“Don’t you dream impossible things?”

Despite the fact she had checked the trial results twenty times already, Sharon decided to check them just once more. Part of her was afraid the words would magically change from the last time she read them. The other part of her was beyond thrilled and could have read that report a thousand more times. The results gave her the same information from the first time she’d read them. Sharon knew this would have to be quadruple-checked, that dozens of other scientists and laboratories would replicate her process to authenticate its accuracy. But Sharon was sure. Because the first time she’d had similar trial results was nearly five years ago. She knew she had been close but hadn’t really believed she would ever get there. There it was all laid out in front of her, the mystery of the chemical, genetic, and environmental factors that caused autism.

There were the kids. Sharon actually had had very little interaction with the children involved in the trial, occasionally speaking with parents when they had questions or to personally observe the children with significant difficulties or abnormal results. Sharon’s own results wouldn’t really change the lives of the kids that had participated in the trial. One thing that was clear was that autism was like a switch in the brain; once turned on it was impossible to turn off. But there were so many future generations that would benefit from this information and the rate of autism should drop drastically. It would be a preventable condition by parents if they were aware and cautious of all the factors.

But honestly, Sharon wasn’t sure who she was more excited for. It was selfish, especially considering how important this project was and how many other people had contributed time and energy, but she was so proud of this accomplishment she could barely breathe. She had put in the past ten years of work in this laboratory, day after day smothered by scientific research and medical records. She had spent the ten years before that studying, undergraduate degree then master’s degree and finally her doctorate. Twenty years of her life that she willingly sacrificed but didn’t truly believe would amount to much in her lifetime. Sharon had always believed she was putting in the work that someone someday would turn into the miracle that sat on her desk.

ordinary me

"And though I don't deserve this gift of mercy and abounding grace, you blessed me with anyway."

Callie was anxious and she hated being anxious. She was sitting on her hands, making a conscious effort not to pace the room. Firstly, because pacing was completely counterproductive. Her logical mind knew that. But mainly she was refraining from pacing because she was in a waiting room, presumably being watched by the people she was trying to impress. Her logical mind also knew that pacing was not impressive. So she tried to sit quietly, to think of calming things like oceans and stars and other crap.

Finally, the receptionist approached Callie with a plastic smile glued on her face. Callie couldn't remember if her name was Becky or Bonnie and she couldn't read anything from her super-fake smile. Becky/Bonnie asked Callie to follow her, so she did. Down the long hallway to the conference where she's had her interview two weeks ago. But they passed the conference room this time and approached a large door at the end of the hallway. Callie knew exactly whose office this was, the only man that she had been hoping to see at her interview but was absent.

The anxiety heightened accompanied by a ridiculous amount of glee. She had been wishing for a day like this for so long, and very specifically this day for the last few weeks. Since she'd first applied to the opening in this office. Callie's life had been full of average accomplishments. A few scholarships out of high school, graduating with a decent GPA from a large state school, getting a job after college that had provided her with steady promotions. A degree of success had stayed with Callie most of her life. When the job opening had first come to her attention, she hadn't planned to apply for it. Her life was settled and comfortable. She had so much more than so many other people that it seemed selfish to want more. But working for the mayor had been a dream for so long. Something that wouldn't just be an accomplishment on paper but that had the possibility for real world good.

Callie walked into the office, glancing back briefly as Becky/Bonnie closed the door behind her. There she was, face-to-face with the mayor. Her mouth was dry and her hands were shaking slightly. It wasn't really about the man, it was the title. It was the office, how much she wanted the job, and all the opportunities that existed. The meeting was brief and mostly a daze to Callie. She remembered being offered the job and graciously accepting. She remembered being glad she hadn't completely jumped for joy. Or vomited from joy. She remembered shaking hands, taking a new employee packet from Becky. Bonnie. Whatever. Then she was in the elevator. And she knew they could see her but she no longer cared. She did a full out happy dance in the elevator, smiling so hard her face hurt.

beautiful

"I want to go to a place where I can hold the intangible and let go of the pain with all my might."

The man holding the harness continued to stare at her. And Kelly continued to shake her head no. Every step of this vacation had been a stretch of her limits and this was where she drew the line. Yet the man refused to budge. Cher appeared over the edge of the steep ladder. She was out of breath but clearly loving every minute of this adventure. As she should since this was here ridiculous idea. Cher ignored the glare of death Kelly was giving and grabbed the harness.

The man was thankfully distracted and was no longer staring at Kelly. She could think now, but she couldn't seem to find a way out of her predicament. Really there was no way. Climbing the ladder had been scary enough but easily doable. The tour guides had been very clear about not trying to climb down. They had emphasized the point to show them articles about dumb Americans that had tried. Dumb Americans with broken limbs and head injuries.

Robyn peeked her head up next. She was extremely winded and Kelly reached down to give her a hand up. By the time Kelly turned around, Cher was swinging wildly though the air, screaming her head off. Robyn looked eagerly at the man and he presented her with a harness as well. This time Kelly reluctantly listened to the instructions. Her fate was horrible, but hers nonetheless. Robyn gave Kelly a quick wink then plunged though the air after Cher. Her screams were just as exuberant, and just as annoying to Kelly. But she was glad they went first. Maybe they would be too far away to hear the terror in her screams.

The man was looking at her again and this time she allowed him to slip the harness on her. Harness was a generous word, it was basically a strap that prevented her from letting go of the handlebar. The rest of her body was left to flail in the wind. With one big gulp, Kelly pushed off from the starter's ledge just the way the man had demonstrated. She might have been terrified but she still was good at following directions.

Then she was in the air. Ziplining. Careening through the air over a jungle in Panama. There was terror for a few seconds and then there was something else. The moment came quickly where Kelly realized the harness was more sturdy than it had appeared, that falling was unlikely. So she opened her tightly shut eyes. It was breathtaking. She felt like she could see the whole world, or at least the whole of Panama. Ocean and jungle and rooftops. The beauty was breathtaking. As she flew over the jungle trees, birds emerged up out of the trees and she even saw two monkeys sitting high up on a tree limb. It was more than she could have ever dreamed of.

Kelly saw the end of the line coming and wished she could somehow go back or stop the inevitable. She landed easily, barreling into the expectant arms of a muscular man. He expertly removed her harness but he was staring at her face. Kelly turned to look at Cher and Robyn. One look at her face and they stopped whooping over their adventure. Kelly realized what the fuss was. She was crying. Tears just streaming down her face but she hadn't even realized it. Cher and Robyn cooed over a few minutes, asking if she was okay, if she had been hurt. It took a few minutes but she finally convinced them that she was okay.

This new man seemed to understand, nodding at her when she looked his direction. Kelly looked back longingly at the zipline but followed her friends down towards the tour lodge on this side of the jungle. She looked down at her hands, her clothes, knowing that she looked the same. But those few minutes in the air, it was a freedom Kelly had never imagined, something she never knew she was missing. And she would never be the same.

when i look to the sky

"When I feel like I'm lost, something tells me you're here with me."

The walk down this aisle was unbearable. Chris briefly flashed back to his wedding, Gwen walking down the aisle. Had it seemed this long to her too? Chris almost smiled, a slight curl of the lips that faded as his gaze settled on the coffin ahead of him. A shiny mahogany cage for his brother's body. Chris felt something in his body falter looking at that coffin but continued to walk as assuredly as he had before. He continued down to the front pew and took his seat between his mother and wife. His mother looked pale and tiny, a woman shrunken into herself. His wife was clutching a handkerchief with a vise grip and letting the tears flow freely down her face.

This time Chris did let a minute smile surface as he thought about how close James and Janet were. The casual observer would have identified them as siblings instead of him and James. They had goofy nicknames for each other and were constantly teaming up to prank him. Chris put his arm around both women, hoping to hell it would offer a little comfort. Neither moved really, his mother absently patting his hand. The unconscious attempt to comfort from a woman that was barely present herself. In some ways, Chris was hoping this stoic behavior would last throughout the funeral. Chris looked across his wife at his five-year old daughter and couldn't even wrap his head around the idea of her no longer alive.

The service went on well, as well as these things go. People got up to speak about James. It was good in that sense, people that really loved him and that he adored right back. His old friend from both high school and college shared a tame adventure from their youth. His girlfriend, whom admittedly he had started dating fairly recently, had beautiful words about him. Their father had been the brave representative of the family never even asking Chris or his mother to speak. Dad talked about James as a young child. A full spectrum of the man that was no more. Words from brokenhearted people with their pain showing clearly. Only Chris seemed to be trying to contain his emotions. The hour-long breakdown on the basketball court with\ Dylan had been quite enough.

Chris thanked the heavens that his parents had decided not to allow the funeral procession to extend to the burial site. Just the family would attend the burial in the morning, another activity that would test Chris's resolve. Chris avoided the sad, sympathetic eyes following him out of the church. He stopped only briefly to receive a pat on the shoulder from Dylan. Even then Chris avoided his eyes. James and Chris had always joked that Dylan was their third brother, and Chris knew that Dylan's eyes wouldn't hold sympathy. The pain in those would nearly match his own, pain that would threaten to undo him. So Chris walked on.

By the time he had walked down the stairs of the massive church and back to the end of the parking lot where he had parked the car, becoming undone seemed inevitable. James was always his anchor and now he was adrift. The past few days he had felt directionless, dazed, and every time he tried to break out his funk his first  thought would drift to calling James. A thought that only served to drive him deeper into the reverie. He had selfishly left his wife, daughter, and mother standing on the church steps. Chris vaguely remembered murmuring something about bringing the car around but really he needed an escape. The image of his brother's face as the casket closed was burned in his mind. The last time he would ever see him. Ever.

The tears came fast and hard and Chris's attempts to brush them away were futile. He reached for the glove compartment where Janet usually kept the tissue. Instead of tissues, several polyester snakes leaped out at him. Chris jumped so hard he knocked his knee on the steering column. He rubbed his knee, looking at the snakes in confusion after his heart rate had settled back. Then the dawning came. One last prank from his brother. Chris rarely opened the glove department and wondered how long the snakes had been laying in wait. He shook his head at the ridiculousness of it all. Then a laugh bubbled it up, surprising Chris himself. Then another laugh and another until tears were streaming down his face. Good old Chris leaving some of the best of him behind. James had probably gotten the stupid snakes from the dollar store but they were invaluable to Chris now. He tucked them gently back into the glove compartment content that a piece of his brother, the last piece he had to offer him, would be in this car every time he got in it.

"And I can always find my way when you are here."

your heart is a muscle

"It's like you're giving up before it all goes wrong."

It was pretty much pitch black in the bedroom but that's the way Cris liked it. With the darkness came a kind of silence that allowed her to think. Today was a day that required a lot of thinking and Cris had been sitting in the dark room for hours. Carlos hated the thick curtains, hated the way it could be midnight in the bedroom and two o'clock in the afternoon in reality. If he were here, he would have long ago come in to jerk the curtains open. He would have forced Cris to leave her cozy chair and join the sun in reality.

But that's what all this thinking was about. Carlos wasn't there. It was day three and this was supposed to be easier. After all, she had asked him to leave. She had sat here in this bedroom for less than an hour. She had walked down the hallway into the kitchen where he was making his faux homemade chili. The only thing homemade about it was he brought all the precooked ingredients home and put them in a pot together. He was all smiles, and for a moment Cris had hesitated. Seeing him there did make her doubt her decision but not enough to actually stop the train wreck. She shook the doubt off and soldiered ahead.

Soldiered would be a heroic way to think of it. Cris had blindsided him. Right smack in the middle of the best relationship they had either ever been in, she called it quits. Quietly and simply told Carlos she didn't want to date him anymore, requested that he leave, and offered to cover half of his hotel costs. Of course, he didn't take it quite as quietly or simply as she offered. But Cris wasn't expecting that. She had already resigned herself to her position, she was willing to explain, to let him rant. She was unwilling to become defensive, to resort to an unnecessary argument.

Cris had tried to take the stronger side, point out all her flaws that annoyed him. Point out all the moments in their relationship that had been contentious. But Carlos kept picking at it. He knew her too well, knew that whatever had really become the deciding issue was something Cris didn't want to say. Then finally it spilled. Cris's anger unexpectedly bubbled over, the only way it ever really came out, and before she knew it she had blurted the whole truth. The truth that had grown from a conversation six weeks old, a truth that had festered while Carlos thought all was okay. A comment about moving to the suburbs, a house with lots of land and space. A life Carlos though of as relaxing and fulfilling. A life Cris had dashed away from as soon as she got her high school diploma and would never return to.

Carlos didn't even fight it anymore. Just started packing a bag in silence. And that's how it was for a solid thirty minutes. Carlos silently packing his bag, calmly choosing and folding his items. But there was a fire burning in his eyes and Cris knew there was more he would say before he left. He did. Carlos turned around with his suitcase to stare Cris directly in her eyes. And told her the truth, a truth that was real and not some fabrication in her mind. That he loved her more than he'd ever loved anyone, that he wanted to live with her more than any specific location in this world, but what he refused to live with was her constant doubt, her constant search for what's wrong, her unwillingness to talk to him or fight for their love.

Carlos left because Cris asked him. And now all she wanted was for him to walk in this bedroom and open the curtains so she could feel the sunlight.

chasing cars

"If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

Dylan wasn't really sure what to do next. He knew two things: it was ridiculously hot outside and his best friend was having a complete breakdown on the scorching pavement. Dylan wasn't even sure what had happened. It had been such a typical day, work and meeting up for a quick basketball game afterwards. They both had gotten off work early and the sun was still beaming down on them when they started playing. Typical game, Chris was raining threes and Dylan was struggling just to score half the points Chris was.

Dylan remembered noticing the sky. The sun was still fairly bright but a few dark clouds had definitely started to settle in. He remembered thinking how nice some rain would feel right now. It was a water break. While Dylan was guzzling water and staring at the clouds, Chris was checking his voicemail. As Dylan was capping his water bottle, trying to proactively visualize himself blocking just one of Chris's shots, he heard the sound. It was hard to describe -- human but unlike any sound he'd heard anyone make before, loud but quiet at the same time. It was the sound of knees hitting pavement and Chris's body trying to gasp for breath as his brain shut down. It was the sound of utter heart break.

So here they were. Chris kneeling on the pavement, hyperventilating. Dylan standing over him. He wasn't even sure what had happened yet, but he could put enough together. One of those voicemails was the bearer of terrible news. His daughter, his wife, his parents, his brother. Something had happened. Dylan had grown up with the family too and he wasn't even really sure wanted to know what had happened and to who. But that wasn't even an issue he had to deal with right now.

Dylan glanced around but the court was completely empty. He thought he should feel embarrassed or even worried, but he didn't. There wasn't room for that right now. There was concern for Chris, there was empathy for Chris, there was fear about what caused Chris's to react this way. Chris's gasps for breath were steadily turning into sobs and Dylan couldn't bear much more. He wanted to comfort his friend, but he didn't have much experience here. There were words he should probably say, or some comforting gesture. Or maybe this was one of the situations he was supposed to take charge and hustle Chris into some less public place.

Yet all of that was beyond Dylan's know how. He thought of his family, how he would feel if something horrible happened to them. Dylan understood that breathing would be hard, that any higher level of functioning would be nearly impossible. That no words would be soothing. So he did the only thing that did feel right. He knelt down on the pavement right beside his friend, ignoring the pain of the hot, rough pavement on his knees. Dylan knelt by Chris, close enough for their shoulders to touch. And he waited. He would be right there beside him when Chris was ready. Everything else could wait.

i won't give up

"Cause even the stars, they burn. Some even fall to the Earth."

Dana wasn't sure which way to go. Maybe the best thing would have been to say still, to stay hidden. These Scavengers would never find her, especially at night. But she didn't have the time to wait. She had promised to be back in Eden in a few hours, she had promised her little brother and sister that she would bring them food. And Dana wasn't one to leave her promises unfulfilled.

The Scavengers made another pass in the room, almost as if they knew she was there. She barely thought of them as human at this point despite the fact they looked the same as everyone else. But in these times, people fell into two groups, Scavengers and everyone else. Dana remembered the world before. Before an errant asteroid fell and set the entire planet off kilter. Dana remembered gangs and would laugh at the thought now. She remembered growing up in a rough neighborhood in Philly. That was a joke. Philly didn't exist anymore. Sure the land was still there. That big cracked bell was still there. But Philly was gone. In its place was a no man's land. The edge of civilization. Philly was the southernmost point now of what was left of the U.S. The oceans had shifted and there was beach now. But the biggest change was the complete failure of what was left of the government. D.C. was felled by the asteroid and the federal government completely fell apart. The states became so focused on defending their territories that they left their citizens to fend for themselves. Two years later, the citizens overtook the government and brought in the current era of lawlessness.

Then the Scavengers came. People that were little more than animal. They took whatever they wanted and killed anything that moved. Dana had even seen them turn on each other out of sheer boredom. Technically, Dana was a Scavenger. Her parents had joined with the group, thinking it was the only way to ensure protection and food in this post-apocalyptic world. Within two weeks, her father had been killed and her mother was being passed around with as much courtesy as a cigarette. They ignored Dana because she looked so young, younger than she actually was. And while they were busy ignoring her, she had escaped with her two siblings. She had never been more appalled at humans and never been more determined to keep her younger siblings away from them.

Now here she was. Trapped inside a wall in the remains of the children's hospital. The place that she and her siblings had been born. The hospital was the first building her father's architecture firm had ever designed and he had framed the blueprints. Blueprints she had memorized before she could even read. This wall was her father's secret spot, a gap in the walls in one specific place that he put in all his buildings. The problem was the gap didn't go anywhere. It was an excellent hiding place but what Dana needed was an escape route.

This Scavenger group consisted of two women and one bury looking man. He looked like he ate children for dinner, which was all too entirely possible for Dana to be comfortable with. Three Scavengers, at least as far as she had seen. There were no food or supplies left, but they seemed interested in breaking down some of the equipment. It was impossible to tell if they were just bored and engaging in destruction for fun. Or if they had plans to use the equipment for something. It seemed ominous if they were breaking down medical equipment for a good reason but Dana didn't have time to worry about that. The three had left the room but she could here them banging around in the room next door. She closed her eyes and visualized the framed blueprints in her dad's office. Dana choked up for a moment, remembering the constant, nagging smell of Newports in her dad's office, the way the smell stuck to the corner chair she used to snuggle into while her father worked.

Dana shook her head, trying to literally clear the memories from her mind. The memories haunted her every night in her dreams. She didn't need them interfering with her mind in the daytime too. Specifically not when she was trying to escape from a group of Scavengers in an abandoned hospital. Dana tried again, closing her eyes and trying to remember exactly what was in the room next to her. She was in the wall of a random office on the third floor. And the rooms on all sides of her were offices too. Then she saw it, saw the blueprints as clear as if she were standing in her father's office. The elevators were two offices away. And where there used to be elevators, there should be an elevator shaft. For anyone else, this might not be a viable option but Dana was not just anyone. She was the girl that had been living in the bottom of elevator shafts with her siblings for the past year. She was the girl whose father had built those elevator shafts and this one, the girl who knew how to open this elevator shaft in 30 seconds.

Dana opened her eyes. The Scavengers sounded like they had moved on down to the next office, thankfully moving in the opposite direction from the elevator shaft. She realized this might be her only chance. She would have preferred to find something to use as a weapon, to take just a moment to calculate exactly how much time she needed, but the last few years had taught her take her moments whenever she got them. Dana took this moment. She raced out of the room, barely glancing to her left before turning right to the elevators. She hadn't seen anyone when she glanced but it was so quick she couldn't be sure. She got to the elevator quickly, jerking out the large magnet from her backpack while she ran. This was the secret, some sort of magnetized system inside the elevator doors. A large enough magnet and Dana could guide the doors open fairly easily. Once inside, Dana knew there would be an iron ladder stairwell that went directly down. Down to freedom.

Dana had opened the doors just wide enough to slip into the empty shaft when a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder. Times had been rough and Dana had been in plenty of altercations before with Scavengers. She was strong and tougher than they ever expected. She should have spun around and clocked the owner of that hand in the face. Except this hand was certainly not human. It was kind of human, with human skin and five fingers. But the fingers were warped, longer and thinner than any human hand should be. The skin was more orange than even any tanning bed could produce. Dana was frozen staring at that hand on her shoulder, terrified to see who that hand belonged to. Not that she had much choice for long. A second hand clamped down on her and tossed her back into the wall. Tossed would be a nice version, a human version of the force used.

It was just a wall, about six feet behind the elevator but it felt the same as the day she had fallen off the second floor balcony at her old house. The air was pushed out of her lungs and she was struggling to drag some new air back in. Her head bounced against the wall violently once causing her vision to blur. But she could see that the magnet was still stuck to the elevator door and the elevator was still open just wide enough for Dana to slip through. She tried to shake off the blurred vision and the realization that something other than human was shoving her around. It didn't really matter if Planet of the Apes had come to be, what mattered was her getting out of that building.

The orangey human thing came towards Dana again. A scary enough to sight to clear her mind and vision instantly. Adrenaline is good for that. Dana pretended to scoot away from the creature, carefully angling herself in a direct line with the gap in the elevator door. She knew jumping into the shaft would be a freefall, but she was only on the second floor and she was hoping the elevator was on the first. Just a one story fall really. Once again, she took advantage of her moment. The creature tired of chasing her around and lunged for her. Dana dove around him, basically sliding the ten feet she had created right into the elevator shaft. The fall was steeper than she realized, about two stories down before she hit the top of the elevator car. She vaguely cursed herself for forgetting the hospital had a basement. But there was no time to lament. She pulled open the elevator safety latch and once again thanked her father for his insight. Elevators with a manual door open in the event of an electrical outage. As Dana jumped out of the elevator and sprinted for the doors of the hospital, she saw three creatures emerge from the stairwell. Two with breasts and one burly looking one. Dana froze for the second time in the last ten minutes as realization washed over her. The three Scavengers. It was almost funny, all the times she had thought of Scavengers as barely human and the proof was standing in front of her that they were not.

The three creatures took one step towards Dana and her sense of self preservation kicked back in. She sprinted out the doors of the hospital, taking her preplanned evasive route until she was absolutely sure nothing was following her. She slowed to a cautious walk, checking her well hidden food traps as she did. Her mind wandered as she did. To all the times she had seen Scavengers, and she realized that usually she saw them in buildings her father had built. It occurred to her that she had more confrontations with Scavengers than other people that she interacted with, that maybe that was because they were both drawn to her father's buildings. It seemed preposterous at first but the more she thought back, the surer she was that it was true. The way her father made her watch pretty much every alien movie ever made. The way her father designed his buildings full of hiding places, secret passages, and escape hatches. The way he had made her memorize every plan. Now it seemed that maybe he knew something was coming and was trying to teach her how to protect herself.

Dana returned to her current hideout, a small room behind a false door in a supply closet in her old elementary school. Obviously one of her father's designs as well. Her little brother and sister were happy to see her and even happier to the carrots she had pulled up from one of her hidden gardens. But all Dana could think of was her father's favorite TV show, the one he used to watch over and over again. She had found the show interesting and fun and funny, but she never had even once believed that aliens were real. Until today. Today she found they were real and she was now facing the very real possibility her father was expecting them to come. And if they were searching her father's buildings for something, then it was very very possible they were searching for her and her siblings. Dana took a deep breath and realized she would have to fight this one alone. No fathers or Doctors here.

"We've got a lot to learn. God knows we're worth it."

love the way you lie

"I can't tell you what it really is..."

The kids sat in a quiet circle, all six of them. Uncomfortable and looking to the woman for instruction. A woman that really wasn't much older than them and vividly remembered the teen phase of her life. This was the first session of a new group, a day she both loathed and found thrilling. Each group was different and according to the files back on her desk, this might be the most difficult and diverse group yet. Usually there was overlap, kids that had been through similar or at least comparable things. Kids that could find a way to relate to each other. But her clientele had been expanding and these kids all had distinctly different demons plaguing them.

After a few sessions, the woman knew she was losing them. They remained mostly quiet when someone talked, with the occasional clearing of throat or exaggerated sigh. Those sounds, along with the eye rolling and thumb twiddling, spoke volumes. The kids were disinterested, judgmental, and just generally bored with these sessions. They spoke in generalities when it was their turn, each one of them so focused on trying to say the right thing that they weren't really saying anything at all. In short, they weren't relating to each other. Which was the sole reason she put the kids in group sessions. The woman took the loners and tried desperately to show them they weren't alone. She didn't know what to do next but she was determined to keep trying, posing new questions and implementing new exercises at each session.

"...I can only tell you what it feels like."

When the breakthrough finally happened, it was so unplanned and unexpected that the woman nearly missed the moment. Lauryn was talking. She was a girl that didn't speak often, probably because of the incessant bullying she suffered. Based on her file, the woman figured Lauryn tried to be invisible as much as possible. But today something had happened. Lauryn was the first one to raise her hand. She volunteered to speak and when she did, she was surprisingly and refreshingly honest. Lauryn was actually sharing and the other kids were listening.

The woman never thought Lauryn wold be the spark for this group. She was a plain girl, with no outstanding features, good or bad. Not too tall or too short. Not too fat or skinny. Strictly middle class. She dressed in a general nondescript, teenage manor. Nothing about her stood out. Yet she still was picked on mercilessly by her classmates all because she was new. It had happened quickly, thanks to one freak incident in the lunchroom with one of the "cool kids". And it was months before the school even cared enough to tell her parents what was going. Months of ugly notes in her locker, trash being tossed at her when she walked down the hallways, anonymous shoves in the locker room and lunchroom and classroom. Months of soul-crushing behaviors before she snapped and drove her car into a tree at full speed. That tree happened to be on the school campus and that was the day the school called her parents.

Yes, the woman wasn't sure what happened today, but Lauryn was obviously feeling brave and open. And her words were having a visible effect on the other kids.

Lauryn talked about becoming a target for unreasonable reasons. And Sean, who had been attacked and beaten by six boys at his school because of his sexual orientation, stopped fiddling with his shoelaces and looked up.

Lauryn talked about how the fear and the desperation outweighed the anger. And Alicia, who had repeatedly been molested by her foster brother, took her feet out her chair and leaned forward.

Lauryn talked about the judgment in the eyes of the teachers. And Kelly, who had a brief but violent mental breakdown after getting a batch of bad drugs, reached out to hold Lauryn's hand.

Lauryn talked about the unbearable pressure she felt to pretend like everything was okay and continue with the regular day to day. And Alison, who binged and barfed pretty much everything she ate, let a tear roll down her cheek.

Lauryn talked about the loneliness, the isolation, the feeling of being apart while the rest of the world moved on around you, without you. And Harry, whose mother had locked him in closets for days at a time for minor offenses like spilling water on the floor, crossed the circle to hug her.

The woman wanted desperately to understand but she understood the importance of this moment. She let it play out. Each kid spoke that day, each kid opened themselves to the others. There were tears and a few smiles. There was progress. The woman waited until all the other kids had left before grabbing Lauryn. She asked her why she chose today to share. Lauryn just shook her head and patted her shoulder like a child. Then Lauryn told her what she could see, what she could understand that the woman never would. Lauryn could see the telltale signs in Harry, that he was on the verge of driving full speed into that tree just like she had. And that saving him was more important than her pride and privacy.