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2 With No Possibility
2 With No Possibility
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.
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.
She sat deep in thought. The next word that came out o her
mouth would likely be the most important word of her
life. It had to be exact with no possibility of being
misinterpreted. She was ready. She looked deeply into his
eyes and said, "Octopus."
Betty was a creature of habit and she thought she liked it
that way. That was until Dave showed up in her life. She
now had a choice to make and it would determine
whether her lie remained the same or if it would change
forever.
He stared out the window at the snowy field. He'd been
stuck in the house for close to a month and his only view
of the outside world was through the window. There
wasn't much to see. It was mostly just the field with an
occasional bird or small animal who ventured into the
field. As he continued to stare out the window, he
wondered how much longer he'd be shackled to the steel
bar inside the house.
Twenty-five years Dana had been waiting. She tried to be
patient during that time but she hadn't always managed to
be as patient as she'd like. But today the opportunity had
finally come. The thing she always imagined would make
her the happiest person in the world was about to
happen. She didn't know why at this specific time she all
of a sudden felt sick inside.
There are only three ways to make this work. The first is to
let me take care of everything. The second is for you to
take care of everything. The third is to split everything 50
/ 50. I think the last option is the most preferable, but I'm
certain it'll also mean the end of our marriage.
What were they eating? It didn't taste like anything she had
ever eaten before and although she was famished, she
didn't dare ask. She knew the answer would be one she
didn't want to hear.
They decided to find the end of the rainbow. While they
hoped they would find a pot of gold, neither of them truly
believed that the mythical pot would actually be there.
Nor did they believe they could actually find the end of
the rainbow. Still, it seemed like a fun activity for the
day, and pictures of them chasing rainbows would look
great on their Instagram accounts. They would have never
believed they would actually find the end of a rainbow,
and when they did, what they actually found there.
His mother had always taught him not to ever think of
himself as better than others. He'd tried to live by this
motto. He never looked down on those who were less
fortunate or who had less money than him. But the
stupidity of the group of people he was talking to made
him change his mind.
The coin hovered in the air, spinning over and over again. It
reached its peak and began to descend. Both boys were
pleading with it to land a certain way but the coin had
already made up its mind on what it was going to do.
She patiently waited for his number to be called. She had no
desire to be there, but her mom had insisted that she go.
She's resisted at first, but over time she realized it was
simply easier to appease her and go. Mom tended to be
that way. She would keep insisting until you wore down
and did what she wanted. So, here she sat, patiently
waiting for her number to be called.
They needed to find a place to eat. The kids were beginning
to get grumpy in the back seat and if they didn't find
them food soon, it was just a matter of time before they
were faced with a complete meltdown. Even knowing
this, the solution wasn't easy. Everyone in the car had a
different opinion on where the best place to eat would be
with nobody agreeing with the suggestions of the others.
It seemed to be an impossible no-win situation where not
everyone would be happy no matter where they decided
to eat which in itself would lead to a meltdown. Yet a
decision needed to be made and it needed to be made
quickly.
She was in a hurry. Not the standard hurry when you're in a
rush to get someplace, but a frantic hurry. The type of
hurry where a few seconds could mean life or death. She
raced down the road ignoring speed limits and weaving
between cars. She was only a few minutes away when
traffic came to a dead standstill on the road ahead.
The shoes had been there for as long as anyone could
remember. In fact, it was difficult for anyone to come up
with a date they had first appeared. It had seemed they'd
always been there and yet they seemed so out of place.
Why nobody had removed them was a question that had
been asked time and again, but while they all thought it,
nobody had ever found the energy to actually do it. So,
the shoes remained on the steps, out of place in one
sense, but perfectly normal in another.
It was a rat's nest. Not a literal one, but that is what her hair
seemed to resemble every morning when she got up. It was
going to take at least an hour to get it under control and she
was sick and tired of it. She peered into the mirror and
wondered if it was worth it. It wasn't. She opened the
drawer and picked up the hair clippers.
There was a leak in the boat. Nobody had yet noticed it, and
nobody would for the next couple of hours. This was a
problem since the boat was heading out to sea and while the
leak was quite small at the moment, it would be much larger
when it was ultimately discovered. John had planned it
exactly this way.
It was a question of which of the two she preferred. On the
one hand, the choice seemed simple. The more expensive
one with a brand name would be the choice of most. It was
the easy choice. The safe choice. But she wasn't sure she
actually preferred it
It had been a simple realization that had changed Debra's
life perspective. It was really so simple that she was
embarrassed that she had lived the previous five years with
the way she measured her worth. Now that she saw what she
had been doing, she could see how sad it was. That made
her all the more relieved she had made the change. The
number of hearts her Instagram posts received wasn't any
longer the indication of her own self-worth.
One can cook on and with an open fire. These are some of
the ways to cook with fire outside. Cooking meat using a spit
is a great way to evenly cook meat. In order to keep meat
from burning, it's best to slowly rotate it. Hot stones can be
used to toast bread. Coals are hot and can bring things to a
boil quickly. If one is very adventurous, one can make a hole
in the ground, fill it with coals and place foil-covered meat,
veggies, and potatoes into the coals, and cover all of it with
dirt. In a short period of time, the food will be baked.
Campfire cooking can be done in many ways.
The light was out on the front porch of the house. This was
strange. Judy couldn't remember a time when she had ever
seen it out. She hopped out of her car and walked to the
door. It was slightly ajar and she knew this meant something
terrible. She gently pushed the door open and hall her fears
were realized. "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" everyone shouted.
There weren't supposed to be dragons flying in the sky. First
and foremost, dragons didn't exist. They were mythical
creatures from fantasy books like unicorns. This was
something that Pete knew in his heart to be true so he was
having a difficult time acknowledging that there were
actually fire-breathing dragons flying in the sky above him.
The red glow of tail lights indicating another long drive
home from work after an even longer 24-hour shift at the
hospital. The shift hadn’t been horrible but the constant
stream of patients entering the ER meant there was no
downtime. She had some of the “regulars” in tonight with
new ailments they were sure were going to kill them. It’s
amazing what a couple of Tylenol and a physical exam from
the doctor did to eliminate their pain, nausea, headache, or
whatever other mild symptoms they had. Sometimes she
wondered if all they really needed was some interaction
with others and a bit of the individual attention they
received from the nurses.
Sometimes it's the first moment of the day that catches you
off guard. That's what Wendy was thinking. She opened her
window to see fire engines screeching down the street.
While this wasn't something completely unheard of, it also
wasn't normal. It was a sure sign of what was going to
happen that day. She could feel it in her bones and it wasn't
the way she wanted the day to begin.
Patricia's friend who was here hardly had any issues at all,
but she wasn't telling the truth. Yesterday, before she left to
go home, she heard that her husband is in the hospital and
pretended to be surprised. It later came out that she was
the person who had put him there.
They had made it to Las Vegas, wide-eyed and with so much
hope and energy. They had planned the trip for more than a
year and both were so excited they could barely control
themselves. They still hadn't realized that Las Vegas
promised a place where dreams come true, it was actually
the place where dreams came to die.
He hid under the covers hoping that nobody would notice
him there. It really didn't make much sense since it would be
obvious to anyone who walked into the room there was
someone hiding there, but he still held out hope. He heard
footsteps coming down the hall and stop in front in front of
the bedroom door. He heard the squeak of the door hinges
and someone opened the bedroom door. He held his breath
waiting for whoever was about to discover him, but they
never did.
There had to be a better way. That's all Nancy could think as
she sat at her desk staring at her computer screen. She'd
already spent five years of her life in this little cubicle
staring at her computer doing "work" that didn't seem to
matter to anyone including her own boss. There had to be
more to her life than this and there had to be a better way
to make a living. That's what she was thinking when the
earthquake struck.
The drug seekers would come into the emergency room and
scream about how much pain they were in. When you told
them that you would start elevating their pain with Tylenol
or Advil instead of a narcotic they became nasty and
combative. They would start telling you what drug and dose
they had to have to make their pain tolerable. After dealing
with the same drug seekers several times a month it gets
old. Some of the doctors would give in and give them a dose
of morphine and send them away. Sure that was faster, but
ethically she still couldn’t do it. Perhaps that’s why she had
longer care times than the other doctors.
She has seen this scene before. It had come to her in dreams
many times before. She had to pinch herself to make sure it
wasn't a dream again. As her fingers squeezed against her
arm, she felt the pain. It was this pain that immediately
woke her up.
There was no time. He ran out of the door without half the
stuff he needed for work, but it didn't matter. He was late
and if he didn't make this meeting on time, someone's life
may be in danger.
Ten more steps. If he could take ten more steps it would be
over, but his legs wouldn't move. He tried to will them to
work, but they wouldn't listen to his brain. Ten more steps
and it would be over but it didn't appear he would be able to
do it.
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.
"Can I get you anything else?" David asked. It was a question
he asked a hundred times a day and he always received the
same answer. It had become such an ingrained part of his
daily routine that he had to step back and actively think
when he heard the little girl's reply. Nobody had before
answered the question the way that she did, and David didn't
know how he should respond.
The computer wouldn't start. She banged on the side and
tried again. Nothing. She lifted it up and dropped it to the
table. Still nothing. She banged her closed fist against the
top. It was at this moment she saw the irony of trying to fix
the machine with violence.
"Do Not Enter." The sign made it clear that they didn't want
anyone around. That wasn't going to stop Jack. Jack always
lived with the notion that signs were mere suggestions, not
actually absolute rules. That's why the moment Jack looked
at the "Do Not Enter" sign, he walked past it and onto their
property.
"Can I get you anything else?" David asked. It was a question
he asked a hundred times a day and he always received the
same answer. It had become such an ingrained part of his
daily routine that he had to step back and actively think
when he heard the little girl's reply. Nobody had before
answered the question the way that she did, and David didn't
know how he should respond.
The computer wouldn't start. She banged on the side and
tried again. Nothing. She lifted it up and dropped it to the
table. Still nothing. She banged her closed fist against the
top. It was at this moment she saw the irony of trying to fix
the machine with violence.
"Do Not Enter." The sign made it clear that they didn't want
anyone around. That wasn't going to stop Jack. Jack always
lived with the notion that signs were mere suggestions, not
actually absolute rules. That's why the moment Jack looked
at the "Do Not Enter" sign, he walked past it and onto their
property.
Stormi is a dog. She is dark grey and has long legs. Her eyes
are expressive and are able to let her humans know what she
is thinking. Her tongue is long, pink, and wet. Her long legs
allow her to sprint after other dogs, people or bunnies. She
can be a good dog, but also very bad. Her tail wags when
happy or excited and hides between her back legs when she
is bad. Stormi is a dog I love.
A two-inch layer of freshly fallen snow covered the yard.
Stacey peeked outside. To most, it would have been a
beautiful sight worthy of taking a photo to put on Instagram.
For Stacey, it meant something different. The first snow of
the year brought back the witches as the fairies in the yard
had to seek shelter to avoid the cold.
Was it enough? That was the question he kept asking
himself. Was being satisfied enough? He looked around him
at everyone yearning to just be satisfied in their daily life
and he had reached that goal. He knew that he was satisfied
and he also knew it wasn't going to be enough.
All he could think about was how it would all end. There
was still a bit of uncertainty in the equation, but the basics
were there for anyone to see. No matter how much he tried
to see the positive, it wasn't anywhere to be seen. The end
was coming and it wasn't going to be pretty.
"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. 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.