I never thought loving your family meant acknowledging the feeling. I always thought it’s something that’s true without having to expound on the fact or having to act on it.

And that’s true in a sense. But I always felt something was missing in my family bond. Siblings, always together, yet never going beneath the surface of their thoughts, feelings, beliefs. In reality, I know nothing about my ...

“Okaaaay we have 15 minutes at the supermarket, each one of you has $10 to spend,” I was swiveled in the drivers seat looking back at the passengers of the van.

“Be back here by 6:30, sharp! And please, I beg if you, don’t create a messy situation. Just try to act as casual as possible, for my sake.”

Everyone grunted in response, some yawning and some only just waking up. Drew, who’s hair look...

Waves crashed against the shore, but not in the most peaceful way. They sloshed against each other just as much as they slammed against the beach. The water was dark and churning, the beach black and glistening. The grandness of nature showed its strength and calm at the same time.

Maddie found herself sitting on a ledge about thirty feet above the water. She sat there with her knees close to her...

A gravelly path wound its way through the lush green land, finding itself in the best places to be traveled. Three journeyers trekked through the overgrown forest, trying to get to the same place the path was going to. Treeg wasn’t bothered by cutting through the dense trees, but he was sure the “Great Lady Sailia” wasn’t enjoying herself at all. She was doing pretty good about not complaining tho...

Water splashing my face.

The sky, a black canvas sprayed with white. So far away…

My hand is stiff. I make an effort to move it.

My arm is stuck, stuck in wet sand.

I wiggle the rest of my body, and I find that I’m laying in wet sand, my back and legs and arms half swallowed by soft, wet sand.

A salty breeze brushes my hair. It flops onto my face, cold and wet.

The sky is so beautiful.

...

The water was lapping at the edge of the boat, rocking it to and fro.

The giddiness and anxiety was just about bubbling over and out of Jeremy. He _hated _boats and swimming and the sea and anything to do with large bodies of water. It made him sick. He mentally yelled at himself for not thinking of a great excuse to skip this “voyaging adventure”.

He jumped up and stood precariously on the rai...

Life is like a sharp stick, stuck in your shoe.

It hides in the corner, and then if you step in a certain way it shifts and stabs the bottom of your foot. It’s uncomfortable and if your lazy you just shake your foot around so the stick shifts out of the way again, somewhere in your shoe. It’s not poking you for the time being, but you know it’ll stab you again. But it’ll stab you later, so for n...

My butt was aching from sitting for so long. The van kept bumping over imperfections in the road so I couldn’t lean my head on the window or I would hit it over and over again. My eyes felt so droopy. It was raining outside, the scenery outside somehow made the rain seem magical. The van’s headligts made certain things sparkle in the foggy dusk.

Sam’s head dropped onto my left shoulder...

The lake is cold, slimy, and filthy.

You stand at the edge of the dock on a bleak cloudy day, looking out over the thick murky water.

Something isn’t right with this lake. It almost looks like it’s _breathing. _

The fog swirling over the surface. The forest on the other side beckoning you to run across the water to join the shadows.

You catch yourself from falling forward over the edge. You o...

“Identification, please.”

I fumble for my fake ID card, my hands so sweaty it slips out of my hand a couple times before I can yank it out of my too-small pocket. I’m wearing a business suit that makes me look like some kind of boss-woman. It’s extremely uncomfortable.

I press the card to the scanner, my heart beating so loud in my head I can hardly hear the approving beep. The doors slide open...