1.

Dave watched as the forest burned up on the hill, only a

few miles from her house. The car had been hastily packed and
Marta was inside trying to round up the last of the pets. Dave
went through his mental list of the most important papers and
documents that they couldn't leave behind. He scolded himself
for not having prepared these better in advance and hoped that
he had remembered everything that was needed. He continued
to wait for Marta to appear with the pets, but she still was
nowhere to be seen.

2. Her eyebrows were a shade darker than her hair. They

were thick and almost horizontal, emphasizing the depth of her
eyes. She was rather handsome than beautiful. Her face was
captivating by reason of a certain frankness of expression and
a contradictory subtle play of features. Her manner was
engaging.

3. 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.

4. The robot clicked disapprovingly, gurgled briefly inside its

cubical interior and extruded a pony glass of brownish liquid.
"Sir, you will undoubtedly end up in a drunkard's grave, dead of
hepatic cirrhosis," it informed me virtuously as it returned my ID
card. I glared as I pushed the glass across the table.

5. The leather jacked showed the scars of being his favorite

for years. It wore those scars with pride, feeling that they
enhanced his presence rather than diminishing it. The scars
 gave it character and had not overwhelmed to the point that it
had become ratty. The jacket was in its prime and it knew it.

6. He picked up the burnt end of the branch and made a

mark on the stone. Day 52 if the marks on the stone were
accurate. He couldn't be sure. Day and nights had begun to
blend together creating confusion, but he knew it was a long
time. Much too long.

7. "Explain to me again why I shouldn't cheat?" he asked.

"All the others do and nobody ever gets punished for doing so. I
should go about being happy losing to cheaters because I know
that I don't? That's what you're telling me?"

8. Greg understood that this situation would make Michael

terribly uncomfortable. Michael simply had no idea what was
about to come and even though Greg could prevent it from
happening, he opted to let it happen. It was quite ironic, really.
It was something Greg had said he would never wish upon
anyone a million times, yet here he was knowingly letting it
happen to one of his best friends. He rationalized that it would
ultimately make Michael a better person and that no matter how
uncomfortable, everyone should experience racism at least
once in their lifetime.

9. There once lived an old man and an old woman who were
peasants and had to work hard to earn their daily bread. The
old man used to go to fix fences and do other odd jobs for the
farmers around, and while he was gone the old woman, his
wife, did the work of the house and worked in their own little
plot of land.
 10. You can decide what you want to do in life, but I suggest
doing something that creates. Something that leaves a tangible
thing once you're done. That way even after you're gone, you
will still live on in the things you created.

11. I recently discovered I could make fudge with just

chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract,
and a thick pot on slow heat. I tried it with dark chocolate
chunks and I tried it with semi-sweet chocolate chips. It's better
with both kinds. It comes out pretty bad with just the dark
chocolate. The best add-ins are crushed almonds and
marshmallows -- what you get from that is Rocky Road. It takes
about twenty minutes from start to fridge, and then it takes
about six months to work off the twenty pounds you gain from
eating it. All things in moderation, friends. All things in
moderation.

12. His parents continued to question him. He didn't know

what to say to them since they refused to believe the truth. He
explained again and again, and they dismissed his explanation
as a figment of his imagination. There was no way that
grandpa, who had been dead for five years, could have told him
where the treasure had been hidden. Of course, it didn't help
that grandpa was roaring with laughter in the chair next to him
as he tried to explain once again how he'd found it.

13. The boy walked down the street in a carefree way, playing
without notice of what was about him. He didn't hear the sound
of the car as his ball careened into the road. He took a step
toward it, and in doing so sealed his fate.
14. I'm heading back to Colorado tomorrow after being down
in Santa Barbara over the weekend for the festival there. I will
be making October plans once there and will try to arrange so
I'm back here for the birthday if possible. I'll let you know as
soon as I know the doctor's appointment schedule and my flight
plans.

15. Cake or pie? I can tell a lot about you by which one you
pick. It may seem silly, but cake people and pie people are
really different. I know which one I hope you are, but that's not
for me to decide. So, what is it? Cake or pie?

16. The red glint of paint sparkled under the sun. He had
dreamed of owning this car since he was ten, and that dream
had become a reality less than a year ago. It was his baby and
he spent hours caring for it, pampering it, and fondling over it.
She knew this all too well, and that's exactly why she had taken
a sludge hammer to it.

17. Don't forget that gifts often come with costs that go
beyond their purchase price. When you purchase a child the
latest smartphone, you're also committing to a monthly phone
bill. When you purchase the latest gaming system, you're likely
not going to be satisfied with the games that come with it for
long and want to purchase new titles to play. When you buy
gifts it's important to remember that some come with additional
costs down the road that can be much more expensive than the
initial gift itself.

18. Indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in

some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole
being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist
 passing across her soul's summer day. It was strange and
unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly
upbraiding her husband, lamenting at Fate, which had directed
her footsteps to the path which they had taken. She was just
having a good cry all to herself. The mosquitoes made merry
over her, biting her firm, round arms and nipping at her bare
insteps.

19. 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.

20. The chair sat in the corner where it had been for over 25
years. The only difference was there was someone actually
sitting in it. How long had it been since someone had done
that? Ten years or more he imagined. Yet there was no
denying the presence in the chair now.

21. "Begin today!" That's all the note said. There was no
indication from where it came or who may have written it. Had it
been meant for someone else? Meghan looked around the
room, but nobody made eye contact back. For a brief moment,
she thought it might be a message for her to follow her dreams,
but ultimately decided it was easier to ignore it as she crumpled
it up and threw it away.

22. Then came the night of the first falling star. It was seen
early in the morning, rushing over Winchester eastward, a line
of flame high in the atmosphere. Hundreds must have seen it
 and taken it for an ordinary falling star. It seemed that it fell to
earth about one hundred miles east of him.

23. She tried not to judge him. His ratty clothes and unkempt
hair made him look homeless. Was he really the next Einstein
as she had been told? On the off chance it was true, she
continued to try not to judge him.

24. Green vines attached to the trunk of the tree had wound
themselves toward the top of the canopy. Ants used the vine as
their private highway, avoiding all the creases and crags of the
bark, to freely move at top speed from top to bottom or bottom
to top depending on their current chore. At least this was the
way it was supposed to be. Something had damaged the vine
overnight halfway up the tree leaving a gap in the once pristine
ant highway.

25. He had three simple rules by which he lived. The first was
to never eat blue food. There was nothing in nature that was
edible that was blue. People often asked about blueberries, but
everyone knows those are actually purple. He understood it
was one of the stranger rules to live by, but it had served him
well thus far in the 50+ years of his life.

26. Do you really listen when you are talking with someone? I
have a friend who listens in an unforgiving way. She actually
takes every word you say as being something important and
when you have a friend that listens like that, words take on a
whole new meaning.
27. 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.

28. Here's the thing. She doesn't have anything to prove, but
she is going to anyway. That's just her character. She knows
she doesn't have to, but she still will just to show you that she
can. Doubt her more and she'll prove she can again. We all
already know this and you will too.

29. He ordered his regular breakfast. Two eggs sunnyside up,

hash browns, and two strips of bacon. He continued to look at
the menu wondering if this would be the day he added
something new. This was also part of the routine. A few
seconds of hesitation to see if something else would be added
to the order before demuring and saying that would be all. It
was the same exact meal that he had ordered every day for the
past two years.