“Let’s do something exciting!” Her voice emanated the thrill and her eyes sparkled.
“But you hate heights,” he began.
“Be intrepid! If we don’t do something challenging, how will we face our fears? How will we grow?”
She was already leading him to the hang gliding centre.
It was extreme, but worth it.
Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #159
The lotus flower is unique in its beauty. People are often urged to be like it: to trust the light, grow through the dirt, and believe in new beginnings.
It may not last long in its bloom, but it offers a beautiful sight.
She couldn’t look at a lotus the same way after that night.
It was their first romantic outing in town. And everything seemed so princely. It was those feelings she could not forget, no matter if the details of the date eluded her thereafter.
It all seemed so ideal at first. So perfect.
But it doesn’t last.
Also part of Friday Fictioneers
It is often urged as a step to healing to write down your emotions, your thoughts, everything you keep inside. It is believed that putting the thoughts inside your head on paper is actually a therapeutic form of tension release. The toxins that you keep locked inside will flow via ink on paper and relieve you from the stress.
But it is also a way of getting to terms with a truth you keep concealed even from yourself.
There are so many things going on inside our minds that we tell no one. Sometimes we don’t even admit them to ourselves.
And often that is what hurts us the most. Failure to acknowledge facts keeps our emotions perplexed and maintains our mood in a complex state.
In short, we cannot fix what we do not accept.
So we are urged to write.
We write down made-up stories to tell the truths we wish we could say out loud.
And in these, we hope to find some consolation, some relief, some healing.
In a sea of torments, become your own captain.
Learn to navigate through the storms, to overcome the waves of anguish your mind creates;
To surpass the monsters that rage inside of you.
Learn to maintain your calm and rationale in the depths of the ocean, in the heart of the tempests and in the midst of the darkest nights.
Trust your intuition; know that sometimes your instinct knows best and will lead you to shore.
The downpour won’t last forever.
Prepare your mind and soul for it.
Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #158
The first thing that flashed into his mind at the sound of the verdict was the image of his primary school playground. Four kids had set up a court there and were playing judge and criminals. He was one of the criminals, presumably a robber. The judge – a pig-tailed blondie whom he had a crush on – deemed him guilty. When he asked why she replied “because I rule” and added slyly “because Sissy gave you her cookie and you took it”. He couldn’t remember who Sissy even was. But it was a silly reason as that that got him convicted then.
It was an unjustified reason that got him convicted now too. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Wrongfully accused.
Just because they could make him appear guilty. And he was there.
Justice isn’t always moral. And it isn’t always served to those who deserve it.
Compromise entails a powerful connotation. Because those who can appreciate its meaning can comprehend that it is better to bend a little than to break.
In order to meet in the middle, both sides need to make an effort, and stretch a bit to reach out to each other.
Sometimes it is not enough to be right. Sometimes being right does not change a situation or bring a desired outcome.
In the same way, sometimes it is not enough to want something tremendously. Or to have great chemistry.
Sometimes it is also about timing. And timing doesn’t always agree with us.
Things will happen if you insist on them. If you work towards a purpose. If you try hard enough. And if you persist in what you want.
It’ll all fall into place when the time is right.
Just be patient.
How can you miss something you never had; you’ve never even tried?
How can the longing for it be so great that you yearn for it constantly?
How can you dream of a paradise you’ve never seen in reality?
She scribbled in her notebook all during the entire flight. She’d lost count of the hours it took her to get there.
All she cared about was that she was finally going. There. To that place she had been dreaming of ever since her eyes fell on an advertorial in a travel magazine. Somewhere by chance.
But here – finally – by choice.
Also part of Friday Fictioneers
“So how do you know when you’re home?”
People who were getting to know her usually fired this question among their first ones. As a person who travelled constantly, it was natural that at some point she would lose the distinction of when she was home and when she was just visiting a place. It was a risk flight-attendants chose to take.
“You just know. Home is a feeling. It’s not just the place. It’s the emotions that you get when you walk into it. The smells that remind you of people, places and sentiments. It’s that feeling of safety and tranquility that it radiates. It’s somewhere you’re truly you”.
Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #156
He arrived to find tens of cardboard boxes stacked outside the back door ready for use.
He stepped inside cautiously like a cat tiptoeing around obstacles.
“Hello? Anyone here?”
“I’m in here!” His mum’s voice was faintly heard from the attic.
She was sitting around a series of memories, handkerchief in hand.
“I saw a fridge dumped on the way home yesterday; so I decided to de-clutter the house”, she explained.
He looked around. There was a lifetime of objects, which to him didn’t mean much.
“In our time, when something broke, we fixed it instead of throwing it away”.
Also part of Friday Fictioneers
It’s the quiet ones you should fear. Because they have a whirlwind of thoughts howling in their minds.
They won’t always tell you what they’re thinking, but you can see their emotions reflected in their eyes.
They are the ones who will look out for you no matter what. They’ll be there whenever you ask for help, and will go out of their way to please you. They’re the ones you want to have as friends because you take for granted that they’ll do their utmost for you. But they’re also the ones you fail to appreciate. Yet, they stay. Because that is the type of person they are. They don’t measure or count what they do for you, they do things because they feel them in their heart.
The quiet ones are the ones who also need others the most, regardless how much they say otherwise.
They would ideally like to have people around who care as much as they do. People who during a crisis will show up without having been asked to simply to check in on them. We all want friends around us who every once in a while ask if we’re OK, if we need anything, or simply to be there for a walk, a chat, and a hug. People who are present and make it all seem manageable because we don’t feel like we’re fighting against the world alone.
It’s the quiet rivers that lead to the loudest streams. But when they’re calm, they offer the most refreshing waters.
MC's Whispers 