"Push me higher!" Mia shouted, her pigtails flying as she clutched the swing's chains.

Her brother, Aaron, planted his sneakers into the woodchips and gave her a shove. The swing squealed, tilted forward, then whooshed back.

"If you go any higher, you'll touch the clouds!"

"But, I _want _to touch the clouds!"

Nearby, two other kids argued over a red plastic shovel in the sandbox.

"You had i...

She left the mug on the counter, still half full, still half warm.

She sighed.

It wasn't about the mug. But it was about what it had come to mean.

Every morning for the past two years she had used it, chipped at the rim, faded print of a city skyline she had never visited. She assured herself that it was practical, just a vessel for coffee. Nothing more, nothing less.

But some mornings she ...

"Demonstrate," the woman said, gnarling at the grit behind her mouth.

The other steadied herself on the ramp.

"What am I supposed to do again?"

"You know - just try not to incapacitate yourself in the process."

She nodded, realizing that this was the only way to solidify their relationship.

The motorcycle snarled to life; she revved it, shot a glance back, then popped a wheelie down the r...