She tried to explain that love wasn't like pie. There wasn't a set number of slices to be given out.

There wasn't less to be given to one person if you wanted to give more to another. That after a set

amount was given out it would all disappear. She tried to explain this, but it fell on deaf ears.

She wondered if the note had reached him. She scolded herself for not handing it to him in person.

She trusted her friend, but so much could happen. She waited impatiently for word.

Sometimes there isn't a good answer. No matter how you try to rationalize the outcome, it doesn't

make sense. And instead of an answer, you are simply left with a question. Why?

It seemed like it should have been so simple. There was nothing inherently difficult with getting the

project done. It was simple and straightforward enough that even a child should have been able to

complete it on time, but that wasn't the case. The deadline had arrived and the project remained

unfinished.

Eating raw fish didn't sound like a good idea. "It's a delicacy in Japan," didn't seem to make it any

more appetizing. Raw fish is raw fish, delicacy or not.

They argue. While the argument seems to be different the truth is it's always the same. Yes, the

topic may be different or the circumstances, but when all said and done, it all came back to the

same thing. They both knew it, but neither has the courage or strength to address the underlying

issue. So they continue to argue.

Sometimes that's just the way it has to be. Sure, there were probably other options, but he didn't let

them enter his mind. It was done and that was that. It was just the way it had to be.

The red ball sat proudly at the top of the toybox. It had been the last to be played with and
anticipated it would be the next as well. The other toys grumbled beneath. At one time each had

held the spot of the red ball, but over time they had sunk deeper and deeper into the toy box.

It was just a burger. Why couldn't she understand that? She knew he'd completely changed his life

around her eating habits, so why couldn't she give him a break this one time? She wasn't even

supposed to have found out. Yes, he had promised her and yes, he had broken that promise, but

still in his mind, all it had been was just a burger.

There was something beautiful in his hate. It wasn't the hate itself as it was a disgusting display of

racism and intolerance. It was what propelled the hate and the fact that although he had this hate,

he didn't understand where it came from. It was at that moment that she realized that there was

hope in changing him.

The day had begun on a bright note. The sun finally peeked through the rain for the first time in a

week, and the birds were sinf=ging in its warmth. There was no way to anticipate what was about to

happen. It was a worst-case scenario and there was no way out of it.

I've rented a car in Las Vegas and have reserved a hotel in Twentynine Palms which is just north of

Joshua Tree. We'll drive from Las Vegas through Mojave National Preserve and possibly do a short

hike on our way down. Then spend all day on Monday at Joshua Tree. We can decide the next

morning if we want to do more in Joshua Tree or Mojave before we head back.

She reached her goal, exhausted. Even more chilling to her was that the euphoria that she thought

she'd feel upon reaching it wasn't there. Something wasn't right. Was this the only feeling she'd have

for over five years of hard work?

He sat staring at the person in the train stopped at the station going in the opposite direction. She
sat staring ahead, never noticing that she was being watched. Both trains began to move and he

knew that in another timeline or in another universe, they had been happy together.

The words hadn't flowed from his fingers for the past few weeks. He never imagined he'd find

himself with writer's block, but here he sat with a blank screen in front of him. That blank screen

taunting him day after day had started to play with his mind. He didn't understand why he couldn't

even type a single word, just one to begin the process and build from there. And yet, he already

knew that the eight hours he was prepared to sit in front of his computer today would end with the

screen remaining blank.

The wolves stopped in their tracks, sizing up the mother and her cubs. It had been over a week

since their last meal and they were getting desperate. The cubs would make a good meal, but there

were high risks taking on the mother Grizzly. A decision had to be made and the wrong choice could

signal the end of the pack.

It wasn't quite yet time to panic. There was still time to salvage the situation. At least that is what she

was telling himself. The reality was that it was time to panic and there wasn't time to salvage the

situation, but he continued to delude himself into believing there was.

Pink ponies and purple giraffes roamed the field. Cotton candy grew from the ground as a chocolate

river meandered off to the side. What looked like stones in the pasture were actually rock candy.

Everything in her dream seemed to be perfect except for the fact that she had no mouth.

He heard the loud impact before he ever saw the result. It had been so loud that it had actually

made him jump back in his seat. As soon as he recovered from the surprise, he saw the crack in the

windshield. It seemed to be an analogy of the current condition of his life.

been perfection and he knew it without a doubt, but the results still stared back at him with the fact

that he had lost.