A Prayer I got a call yesterday from my love. She said she ran into my boss and he asked her why I was a grump. In the last couple of weeks I had not smiled. She smiled wanly and agreed with him; she too had not seen a smile from me in awhile. Was it her, she asked. Was it my job? "Please tell me," she asked. "Will you just smile?" she pleaded. Then this early morn I was blessed to talk to my soul mate. After awhile of ca...

Amber Rae Amber Rae was born that way, with eyes so big and blue, with golden hair and skin so fair – as soft as morning dew. Painted toes of scarlet-rose her sandals couldn’t hide – behind would sail the ponytail her older sister tied. Amber liked to ride her bike the mile or so to school when traffic flow was fairly slow – on mornings dry and cool. Before her trip, she’d stop to clip some blooms for Mrs. Berne, the smal...

They sat around the table pondering the the future. Marshal Hagen finished his food, quickly drained his glass and stood. “I'd like to say that this was great meeting you all, but under the circumstances I think I'll postpone that. I better get back to my partner.” Tom said, “Wait a bit, Art, if you're not in a rush. We have a prisoner out in one of the outbuildings but he hasn't been very talkative. If he sees a U.S. Mar...

He shifted and squirmed trying to relieve his aching limbs. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, everything hurt. The ground beneath him was solid and punishing; it provided no comfort, no respite from the pain. In fact it only heightened his agony. He stretched, unfurling from the awkward ball he had been curled into, wincing as his muscles pulled and stretched, felt like they were tearing. His head ached and he knew, he didn’t...

It was a tragedy that he died, It was a tragedy that she died, It was a tragedy that the train derailed, It was a tragedy that the van overturned, It was a tragedy that the car veered off the road, It was a tragedy that the tornado created so much damage, It was a tragedy that the monsoons returned as usual and so many lost their lives. It was a tragedy. What is life but one long tragedy? Do we even understand the meaning...

The first meeting of the new government was held on a Friday evening. The first order of business was swearing in the new elected officers by the Marine's chaplain, the Reverend Stark. The first to take the oath of office was Eric Reid, the Territorial Governor. He was a mid fifties man, looking quite fit, with a broad smile and a full head of white hair. He had been Governor of one of the the ninety two States in PanAmer...

I couldn't cry, the tears refused to leave my eyes as my face burned. There was nothing to say as she lay motionless, like a doll. An empty doll now, nothing left on the inside; no life, no soul, no Fei. Even knowing that I couldn't leave. I wouldn't until I saw that spark in her eyes and her perky voice going at 500 mph about nothing in particular. It wasn't until Raven stopped sobbing and pried me away. "Let's go, Pirat...

“Betcha,” the old man said. “No way. You always win.” said my mom. “Come on, you get Drummer if you win, and I get Sunny if I win,” Lee said. “OK,” Eloise said. Lee won his daughter’s horse. #### Mom and I drove up to the house and my uncle Jim was roaching Sunny. The clipper buzzed. Handfuls of glowing mane fell to the dirt driveway. “He’s just doing that to get Dad’s goat,” my mom said. #### Grandma sent me to the mailb...

(3/8/13) I found myself swirling in deaths eyes When I heard your voice in a far distant cry “Do not leave me; do not go away, I need you Beside me, I need you to stay” The current as strong as it pulled me down But to your love – I was earth bound. There is a story that you and I must write Of how love grew wings, and then took to flight. Battling the under currents that would pull me in They say with death you cannot wi...

Their happiness taunts me, the cruelest of jokesIf only they knew how I felt.My heart in pieces, just a shell of a manCursing God, for the cards that were dealt.May your heart be broken a thousand timesMay you drown in a sea of tears.For only those, who have loved and lostCan know of those terrible fears.At losing a loved one, their soul mate for lifeAnd being left, so terribly alone.I would give up my life, just to see y...

I think there must be a million birds Outside my window today Urgently squeaking and squalling and calling Like they have something salient to say My brief experiences with these creatures Have always been the same Move within five feet of them And they scuttle and fly away; But not today Noisy rabblerousing by the children next door Should cause the skittish critters alarm Yet they lackadaisically amble under the shade o...

She stepped back and admired her handiwork. The painting had taken her months to complete. Someone in her grieving group had suggested she go back to painting after her husband died, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. She hadn’t painted in years, rarely finding the time after the kids were born. Now that she was alone again, she certainly had plenty of time. Time, the thing that seems so precious to some, and now...

This musing only available on Stories Space. If you are reading it elsewhere, it has been stolen.Sometimes, I remember my phone's inbox is getting too full. When I am waiting for the bus, I go through and delete old messages.Just a sprinkling of words in a little message can bring me torrents of emotions. Some of them make me smile in passing, some of them make me snigger, and some of them remind me of wonderful days and...

In the darkness never showing Couldn’t see her heart was growing Still not formed no way of knowing When she’d show up at my door. In the darkness she did leave me Sorrow, guilt and loss did weave me A blanket full of love to give thee Baby who I’d see no more. Lost inside me thorns devour All my love I’ve lost the power Memories of that darkest hour Cut me to my deepest core. Now again a chance I’m given Scared beyond be...

Alone. My naked feet curled away from the biting gravel. I hugged my knees on the beheaded mountaintop as the wind ripped shawls of warmth from my back again and again. I cupped my hands over my chest, around the flickering light protected by my sternum: my heart. It’s weary pulses threaded underneath my skin, shivering like a candle in the wind. Leave me be. Let me die. I couldn’t remember how long I’d been trapped there...