The first thing I notice is the echo. There’s nothing in between me and my voice-not for hundreds of feet. Everything eventually bounces back to me, a little less than it was before. The second thing is the stillness. Stillness itself is not a strange or unusual thing. Plenty of things are still-lakes on a calm day, trees, houses, mountains. They don’t move for years and nobody gives it a thought...

Indiana Husband (Let’s call him Jack): hardworking, traditional and loving.

Coming from a small town, Jack’s values are very traditional. He believes his role in his family is to be strong, protective, and a provider. He believes Mia should be supportive, nurturing, and sweet. He believes in God and football and the American dream. He has worked hard his whole young adult life, and gives his best...

My stomach feels weird and my mind is racing as we pull into the parking lot. I find a space to park, but as soon as we do I have second thoughts.

“Do you think we can park here? I don’t want to get towed.” I ask her before getting out of the Mercedes.

“Yea, I don’t think anyone will care, baby. We should be okay” She smiles back at me.

She’s so happy and excited for our date night..she has no...

SETTING:

mostly in Mia’s place of work. Her office, which is pretty secluded. She has photo’s of her boyfriend and inspirational quotes on her desk. It’s winter, so it’s dark outside and the office is full of florescent lighting and holiday decorations. He office is small and just down the hall from her manager’s office. There’s no windows in her office, but the lobby area has big windows that loo...

Deep dark possibility

What lies within

The space between stars?

I know not.

Is that her life?

or her dying breath?

hard to know the difference

from down here.

a million different worlds

existing together

in that black space between

would be stars.

Or a million miles

stretching wide

with nothing alive at all.

thick black empty.

They are simply stars

From where I stand.

to know the truth

I wan...

MN MIA:

Mia wakes up before the sun has even begun to touch the sky. She likes to spend her mornings alone, slowly getting ready for the day. She takes a super hot shower, listening to her favorite playlist. The second she gets out she pours her first cup of coffee. She takes care to complete her skin care routine, curl her hair, and perfect her makeup. Her boyfriend wakes right about the time s...

I walk the gridded streets

of this city built in grey

walls towering around me

where once the grass would lay

Which direction must I go?

This city is just a maze

no rhyme or reason I can see

just streets and streets for days.

The crowd moves fast and thick

a buzzing swarm I can’t avoid

all busy bodies in a hurry

and every one’s annoyed

A honk, a screetch, a jolt

a biker’s curse, a finger thrown...

The sun has been down for hours. The thick blanket of snow on the ground reflects the streetlight making the evening a bit brighter than it should be. The snow has stopped falling. It now rests deep and shimmering on the ground. The trees stand sturdy, their branches full of ice and snow, familiar with its weight from years of surviving Minnesota blizzards.

The darkness outside makes the fluoresc...

David Hill was the love of my life. We met at this party for a mutual friend’s birthday. I was 25 and he was 27. I noticed him right away, and we were off in our own little corner talking in no time. He was a software enginer-a real techy guy. Stable. Mature. He won me over with his brilliance and his level headed nature. He was calm, cool, collected, and oh so smooth. I couldn’t help myself. I fe...

Emotional: She feels things so deeply. She loves deeply, but she also hurts deeply. Her emotions are always on her sleeve, and she isn’t afraid to feel whatever comes up for her in any given moment. If someone hurts her, she will weep. If someone is kind do here, she will jump with joy. She gives all emotions a chance to be felt and uses them to guide her. She will make choices based on how she fe...