In deciding which type of life to live, I stood beneath the sprawling fig tree of my imagination. Each branch a symbol of lives that I could lead: a branch with the promise of love, another with career triumphs, another with wild adventures, and yet another with quiet contentment. I reached for each, and I hesitated because I knew one taken meant letting the others fall to the ground, gone and lost forever. So instead of climbing the tree, I stepped back and declared "I will plant my own seeds...

Sam sat in the administration waiting area for what felt like hours. The fluorescent lights flickered above, casting fleeting shadows on the pale walls. The hum of the air conditioning filled the silence, pressing down on him like a weight. The cold steel of the chair bit into his back, his rigid body unable to relax. His mind churned with questions he couldn’t answer: Who put that note on my desk? Why was Mr. Willis so upset? What does any of this mean? He drummed his fingers on the armrest, h...

Sam’s face stared at the chalkboard. Mr. Willis’s voice continued to drone on about the recent Civil War. Sam did not care. He has been sleepy since last night. His father came over to visit last night to spend time with Sam. That time was cut short due to due to his parents’ argument.  As he lay in bed, he felt oddly comfortable with their shouts. Both of his parents were in the same house, which was rare nowadays. Sleep did not come last night, but it was coming in now. Mr. Willis’s lesson was...

Rusty Green's tires hummed a low, steady tune against the asphalt as the road stretched into Gary, Indiana. It was late afternoon, and the sun cast long shadows over the broken buildings. Bella leaned forward in her seat, feeling pressure in her bladder. “Can we stop soon?” “Do we have to?” Sam joked. “I can go in the seat.” Bella said urgently. Sam slowed the car as they entered the side streets. The town felt like stepping into a memory. Same had been here before when he was riding shotgun ...

Sun-less sky on this morning, dark and dreary. Clouds blocked most light to dust the lands with a drab hue. Inside Bella, she was happy to finally escape. She had been living in this small box for what seems an age. An age that had punctuated moments of happiness, but happiness that led to nowhere. Moving is an opening to a new beginning. This house, this new house, was from her aunt that died a few years ago. When Bella was a child, she would visit this aunt in her summers off from elementary s...

SUBJECT: Notification of Separation Proceedings Under AR 135-178, Chapter 8 Sam read the typeface letter that dropped his heart. For a year, he prepared to enter the military. The military provided an option to make something for himself. He was not much for school, and he already failed at becoming an electrician. His old boss would say "Wire is cheaper than time." Sam spent a lot of time trying to become something for himself. Military was another shot missed. Time was indeed expensive to him...

Sam bought a pack of pens to keep track of his thoughts. His therapist said writing his thoughts will give them structure. Thoughts flowed through Sam like as breeze through a tree. Structure was the way for him now. He needed to organize himself. This surely will help his relationship with Bella. Something had to finally help his relationship with Bella. Bella. Sam knew Bella since they were in juvie together. She loved to write. Same did not love to write. Bella loved how Sam breezed through ...

For a path Take a step For a goal Take a step It's all the same. No matter what we do, it all ends the same. What we do before the ending is where life is lived. Let's take a step and enjoy life, from the starting to the ending. ...