Life-changing flares

It takes courage to get up in the morning and convince yourself that today will be the day when something so wonderfully extraordinary happens that life will never be the same.

It takes guts to be so cheerful before you’ve barely opened your eyes.

Leo was one of those guys.

He was that person who sang as he shaved before going to work. Who made breakfast for the family on weekends. Who hardly complained about anything, because ‘what good would that do?’ He was the one who could literally turn your frown upside down because when you saw him, you wished there were more of him in the world.

Linda was a girl with mood swings. Like any female, she was easily affected by hormonal changes, to the extent that days of laughter would be preceded by spurs of inexplicable irritation or followed by moments of melancholic sobbing. There was no real explanation for any of it. She was, however, a person who would wear her heart on her sleeve; she would do anything she could and more to take care of the people she loved. She would organise surprises and be happier for the emotion felt rather than the gift itself. She was a person who would go all out, and despite what she said, she secretly hoped someone would do something similar for her too.

When they met, the flare lit up inside both instantly.

Leo asked her if she believed in fate. “What if everything we lived was precisely to lead us to this very moment, so that we could meet right here, right now?”

“What if we’re one connection away from changing our entire lives?” was her response.

She smiled and his entire world lit up. His heart fluttered and she blushed, her eyes glistening with happiness.

It wasn’t always easy. But they tried. Together. It required finding the middle line. Making compromises and retreating when fighting would not lead anywhere.

“I need you to be happy, because we can’t be sad together,” he told her when she felt blue.

“If you laugh, I’ll smile,” she would reply.

And step-by-step they would make each other better.

In life we don’t need extravagance; just one person to turn on the light. Everything else will follow.

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Light and colour

©Trish Nankeville

There’s something inspiring about waking up to light and colour. It helps awaken your senses and boost your mood. And when you emit a positive vibe, you feel more confident, like you can take over the world if you have to.

He would bring her flowers every morning simply to see that radiant smile of hers.

She would beam like spring in bloom and he would boast of a mission accomplished.

It was simple things like that that made every day special. Monotony was dangerous, and boredom was lethal. It was keeping the spark alive that made it all worthwhile.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Giveaway love

©MCD

“I have some good news”, she said, smiling timidly.

“Surprise me,” he muttered.

They had just had a pointless disagreement and he was still frowning about the misunderstanding.

She was trying to liven the mood.

“I won a giveaway!” She jumped in excitement.

He couldn’t help but smile.

He loved how when she got all excited she resembled a little girl; innocent, sweet, and enthralled with everything. The happiness was contagious.

He was expecting to hear of some cosmetic products, or something similar, as this is what was usually given away on social media.

“What exactly?”

“A trip for two to Paris!” she exclaimed.

His eyes opened wide and he was lost for words.

“Really?! All expenses paid? For the both of us?!”

“Yep! Get ready to fly!”

And just like that, everything changed.

Paris was her dream location. It was the only capital city in Europe she had not set foot in.

He had promised himself if they managed to go there together, it would be the place where he would propose; to capture her heart forever.

Up there

©Roger Bultot

“Take me up there,” she said, pointing at the high-storey building in front of them.

He had asked what she wanted to do for their first day in the city together. He had been there for two months already before their schedules coincided enough for her to be able to visit.

He was planning on surprising her during the few days she was there. He wanted her to stay there with him. And as soon as their eyes met when she arrived, he was certain of it.

He was going to propose up there, with a view of the city.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Home condiments

©Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“Legend says that when you can’t sleep at night it’s because you’re awake in someone else’s dream”.

“That’s cheesy”, she grinned.

“It made you blush,” he smiled coyly.

“I once read that if you want to look at someone’s soul, you have to look at their dreams”.

It all got serious suddenly.

“The dreams we don’t share to many because we’re too preoccupied with making them a reality”.

She stared into his blue-grey eyes.

He was honest like no-other. And he had a plan.

One seemingly as simple, yet fulfilling, as having table salt and pepper in their common home.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Ripples of love

©Brenda Cox

There is a tingling sensation mixed with an adrenaline rush when you take a trip abroad with a partner. Particularly when the flirting is still young and everything is so sweet and fresh and delightful. There are so many things you want to do; so much you want to talk about; as if trying to make up for the time lost when you hadn’t yet met each other.

It was freezing cold at the square. You could feel it climbing inside and diffusing into every vein. But when he heard her laugh ripple, he needed nothing more to warm up.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Stolen, fleeting moments

They met under circumstances unfavourable to them both. But that’s when the strongest emotions are generated; when you’re least prepared for them.

They grew closer without realising how time passed. And soon they were integral to each other. They could not imagine a day going by without speaking at least; soon without even seeing each other. They were as vital to each other as oxygen is for life.

But as reality caught up with them, they became aware that they were not meant to be. Their destiny had already been decided for long ago. All they had were stolen moments that leave too quickly.

And they were forced to make their peace with that. Regardless of how they disliked it or were opposed to this fact.

Their duty lay elsewhere. And on account of it, they could not be together.

But she insisted despite all odds.

And he fought for her.

Life had other plans.

But they were bound to be together in some other form, some other life, some other time.

A painting abstraction

Painting, it is said, has the benefits of promoting stress relief, expanding creative growth, bolstering memory, enhancing problem-solving and motor skills, cultivating emotional growth, and stimulating an optimistic attitude. In short, it makes you a better person. And in opening up your mind, you may also open yourself up to other people around you.

She found love while painting.

Actually, love found her.

It was on a large rectangle board that her art class had brought in to be designed.

She chose a range of beautiful, soft colours.

But she didn’t choose her partner in this.

Fate probably did.

Their joint effort resulted in an abstraction of colours and lines that radiated passion and warmth.

Painting brought them closer, made them happier, and more loveable.

They fell in love among the colours, and were united by the lines.

Also part of Daily Word Prompt

Inn of Hearts

“People choose to stay at an inn to escape reality.  So it should be a place where they feel welcome and comfortable. But it should also transfer them to somewhere else. A place that only exists in their dreams. Until they come here”.

It was how her grandmother described the inn she managed, ever since Hazel could remember.

Hazel, named so because of her distinctive brown-coloured eyes, spent most of her summers at her grandma’s inn in the New Zealand countryside.

It was a place that combined nature, green valleys, mountains and beautiful beaches. The summers there were memorable. She would always find something adventurous and exciting to do, be it from simple gardening to trekking, gliding and rock-diving, so that by the time she entered adulthood she was already saturated with experiences.

But then, her career-driven self got carried away by city life and the business routine that meant having a leave but never actually taking it, and working incessantly.

It was only after her grandma passed away and she inherited the inn she loved, that she returned to it after years of neglect.

From the minute she stepped back on the porch, Hazel could feel her grandmother’s presence and all her childhood memories rushing back. She could feel it all in the air around her.

She decided to renovate the inn to its former glory, fixing what was broken and treasuring what was worth saving, while using eco-friendly resources to give back to nature that had nourished her childhood so well.

And in this she had found help. As if sent along deliberately by a higher force to remind her of all that she had forgotten so abruptly growing up.

Roger was a man who returned to his roots when he discovered that fixing old things helped him restore the broken parts of his soul.

It was inevitable that they would fall in love.

The inn brought them together into constructing a dream home they never knew they shared.

They kept its former name: “The Inn of Hearts”.

A rose among verses

It was the last thing she found of him after he had left.

Afraid to touch the slightest, she breathed in deeply, desiring to inhale even the air surrounding his belongings.

It was the place where he was inspired; where he once sat and wrote down his deepest thoughts, his innermost emotions, those sentiments that drench our minds but which we don’t have the courage to say out loud.

It seemed like hours had passed before she approached his vintage wooden desk.

A pile of papers lay in disarray, all hand-written verses. And in the middle, strategically placed, was a single, long-stemmed red rose.

She leaned over to read…

“You’ll always be my forever,
My secret, my desire, my happiness;
Even if I lose you, I know you’ll be there,
Running across my mind,
Hiding in my dreams,
Drowning in my sorrows of having let you go.

You’ll forever be my always,
My love, my joy, my wholeness;
Beautiful as the first day I saw you,
Wild, energetic and bright,
Glimmering like the sun,
Sparkling like the stars,
Emanating that positive aura only you possess.

You and me will never be,
That’s what you said,
And it tore me to pieces
Like the verses in my head.

If always and forever were ever really true,
All I would ever want is to spend an eternity with you.”