The arrogant and the amazed

It was like falling in love. They brushed the tips of their fingers along the spine of the books in the Library at the Edge of the World. Everything seemed endless, waiting for them and only them.

They longed for everything, even more than a fly had longed for a bite of a rotten chicken bone. After the first two bites, there was always the third, but not always the fourth.

The sworn and the slipped

Flicker, Flicker, yellow screen protector, the children fell again.

Mama, Mama! I’ve promised! I’ve tried!

I’m not going to play, I am going to be a good good boy

Yes, yes, but you’re too young

Mama, Mama! How can I grow?

Wait

Sit and stare

The doubtful and the dusted

They hold their hearts in their hands and winged with all their might. They cry in triumph as drops of scarlet fell through the clouds and onto the cracked and lifeless earth. A scarlet tree grew.

They changed their minds. Maybe their drop wasn’t pure enough. As the thought solidified in the air, the north wind and the thunder carried their bodies away, along with the scarlet tree and the millions of birds that nested on it.

The loud and the lucky

They loved the broadcaster. They loved seeing people nodding along as they told about the type of flower that got stuck in their dog’s collar last Thursday night after a walk in the rain. There is a constant craving for a sound that fills the ear, that blocks out everything else.

Somebody patted them on the back. The person who nodded along patted themselves on the back.

The isolated and the connected

They loved staying inside their rooms, digging away at the endless grave of emotions inside their minds. When every they located a tiny rock, they dump it out through the mouth. Or sometimes through the hands. While the world watched outside as they slowly spat rocks.