prance

"If I prance away like a little girl, would you follow me?"


It was weird to hear the question asked from such a low, masculine voice. "I would be concerned for your mental health."


"But you would follow me then. Would you? Isn't that unsafe?"


"You think I'd be afraid if you were doing that?"


"Could be a tactic to lower your guard."


"Could be emasculating to your reputation."


A scoff. "What makes you think I care what people think about me?"


Shrug. Who knows. "Don't you care what I think about you? And why are you asking me stupid questions?"


See that little smile playing on his lips? "Do me a favor. Look at me for a second."


"And risk fatal blindness? You wish."


"Come on, just turn a bit. So you can see me."


Deep sigh. Fine. "What?"


"You're smiling."


"So are you. What's your point?"


He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small box. "Want to know what's inside?"


Faster thumping in the chest. Tightening of fists. "Not really." Yes.


He opens it. A diamond.


I knew it.


He snaps it closed. "Will you run after me now?"


I laugh and there's a chase.

seahorse

A seahorse was swimming around when it met a dolphin.


"Have you ever wished you were smaller? You could get into little crevices and explore a whole new world that would otherwise never be seen," the seahorse said.


The dolphin shook its head. "There is a so much to see above the water. There is sun and land and clouds and other animals. I am content with what I have."


The seahorse was not convinced though. "But there is so much more here. I truly feel sorry for you. If I weren't so small, I would probably think as you do though."


Turning around, the dolphin suddenly whipped its tail down, and away the seahorse flew in the water. The dolphin called after it, "And if I weren't so large, I probably wouldn't think that was very funny."

bargain

Another angry uncle dead, another funeral planned. It's like they exist to torture us.


"At least it's the reading of the will," my sister said as we walked into the study. I could see my mother standing by the books that her pompous brother used to own. "This is how we get 'em back."


I rolled my eyes but stayed silent as a man with floppy hair and glasses began to speak. "Hello everyone, thank you for coming..."


I drifted in and out of listening to what he said. Uncle Barney was most definitely not a generous man, but he did have a lot of assets and fortunes that had to be done away with now that he was gone. I remember when I was just ten, I had saved the last and best bit of a chocolate chip cookie that my mother had baked and was about to eat it when Uncle Barney swooped in and ate it out of my hand.


I had wanted to cry, but he had thought I was joking. "Good lad!" he had laughed, slapping me on the back before turning away.


I hated Uncle Barney. I don't want to be mean to the dead, but his funeral was just what it was to me: a funeral. I didn't cry, but I didn't jump up on his grave and laugh evilly either.


"And to my niece Candice..." I could feel my sister shifting next to me uneasily as the man with glasses finally got to her. I don't know what could be so exciting. I would expect Uncle Barney to leave us something that would burden us more than help us. If he leaves me his business or his dogs, I'm going to be one unhappy kid... again.


"And to my wonderful nephew Tim," the man read. My ears pricked up and I straightened in my seat. Now I'll listen. "For being such a good kid when he was younger, I leave my pub, The Hopping Frog, and hope that he takes care of it forever and always."


My heart clunked to the bottom of my chest. The pub? The one with the urine stains on the wall, the broken stereo systems, the angry workers at the bar, and the worst reputation in the city? That one?


My sister nudged me gleefully. "Good luck Tim!" she snickered. "Uncle Barney dead and you get his lousy pub? What a bar-gain!"

slippery

Self-control is a slippery slope. At the top there is Discipline, shining down beatifically, but in its path stands Temptation and Sloth.


This is Temptation.

And this is Sloth.

effervescent

She was shining with effervescence, her mouth stretched widely into a grin and her eyes gleaming brightly in the light. Her whole body seemed to glow from within and spread throughout her entire body, from her toes to her fingertips. She was alight with something, something that was not part of her.


"What are you so happy about?" I asked.


She turned her head so that her eyes were on me, but I could tell she didn't see me. Her face was blank but radiant. "I saw a light," she said dreamily, "and it was beautiful."


I furrowed my brows. "What are you talking about?"


She turned away and smiled gently, sighing. "The light was beautiful. I want to touch it." Her eyes closed and her smile grew. "I can feel it calling me."


She walked ahead and reached out her arms, embracing the light as it came and engulfed her completely.




I never saw her again.

chills

It's been a year since I've been to the beach, but I can remember it so well. If I close my eyes, I can still feel the hot sand under my feet, its grains trickling in between my toes and allowing me to sink into the land just a little bit. I can hear the distant sounds of splashing and laughing as I walk closer and closer to the water until I can smell the ocean and taste its saltiness on my tongue. The sand is wet and packed here, a hint to how cold the water will be once I'm ready.

I don't need my eyes to see the blue-green waters, powerfully rolling in until they come to shore as small waves. The sun shines and sparkles the water, and I feel torn because the glare hurts my eyes but at the same time the beauty of the ocean intrigues me. I take a few steps and stop just as the tide comes in and washes over my toes, my feet, up to my ankles. It's colder than I expected. I get chills just as the water pulls away back to the ocean.

fleet

Because I have no idea what to do with this word: Digression is key.

AHEM.

The First Fleet came to Australia in 1787 under Captain Phillip.

Phillip Island is known for the Penguin Parade today and is one of the largest tourist attractions in the country.

The Little Penguins come in rafts to shore once the sun goes down and it's dark for predators to see them easily.

The sunset is beautiful in the Outback.