Month: July 2022

Farewell, Adios, Goodbye

What is one of the hardest words in any language?

Goodbye.

Whether it is a goodbye for a short time or a long time, it is always hard. A friend says goodbye till tomorrow, and yet hesitates to go out the door. A husband leaves on a buisness trip for two weeks, but calls every night and hates the need for this goodbye. Again: a sibling leaves on a trip with some friends, but writes letters home and cries over the phone; the goodbye paining her heart and leaving her chest aching.

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The Traveling Book

I have finally reached the stage of preparing for my trip where I pack the backpack.
I gather together the various assortments of things I must bring with me: sketch book, reading books, origami paper, etc.

When I begin to pack I find, in middle of the stack, a book with which I am well acquainted. Despite never having meant to put it in the stack it has ended up there, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

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How Can I …

I slumped against the wall. Face the crowd …what for? A middle school graduation certificate?
“You ‘k?” Mandy brushed my bangs out of my face.
“T-think so?” I asked.
She shrugged, “I’m nervous too, but I’m sure it’ll go well.” My heart slammed into my ribs painfully and my mind screamed with fright.
“See you at dinner,” Mandy said. I clutched the shirt over my heart and watched her leave. My knees crumpled beneath me and I collapsed to the ground shaking with relief. Talk’n is stressful. Avoiding everyone on my way I slipped back into my bedroom and locked the door. Collapsing onto the unmade bed I stared at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the ceiling were barely visible in the noon-day sunshine streaming through my window. I craned my head back to look at the inspirational sayings taped over my walls: one step at a time; you can do this; you were born original, don’t die a copy; if you can dream it, you can do it. Rolling onto my side I curled into a ball, how can I ‘do it’ if I can’t even talk to people?

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