Over the city of Rio, there’s excitement in the air!
Let the games begin!
Years of training have led to this one
Month of fierce competitions and amazing victories, when
People all around the world gather to enjoy this
International commemoration of sportsmanship.
Celebrate the world’s athletic diversity at the
Summer Olympic Games of 2016!
Magic may seem
Like the stuff
Of fantasy
And fairy tales,
But I know
For a fact
That it really exists.
Real magic comes
In the form of
Sweet kisses
And affectionate hugs,
In gentle words
And selfless acts.
Real magic
Is respect
And trust
And loyalty.
It’s devotion
And kindness
And overwhelming joy.
Real magic
Is waking up
Every day
Next to someone
Who makes you smile,
Falling sleep
Every night
Beside someone
Who shares in your pain,
And spending
Your whole life
With someone
You could never
Live without.
How could I not
Believe in magic
When I grew up
Seeing it every day
In the form of such
True love?
Dedicated to my parents, whose love has always been a huge inspiration for my writing and my personal life. Thank you for teaching me what real magic is! I love you both so much!
Stop pretending. This isn’t you.
Why are you hiding? You think they’ll never see through the mask? You think they won’t like what they see when they do?
Pretending is exhausting, I know. It must be hard to keep up a facade all the time. That’s why you cry every night, isn’t it? That’s why you never let anyone in, why you never show that face to anyone but me. It’s easier to wear the mask when nobody knows what’s underneath.
You keep telling yourself that it’s better to play a part, to blend in, to be “one of them”. You think if you always tell them exactly what they want to hear, then maybe they’ll like you. You think their approval can make you happy. You’d rather feel accepted than dare to stand out by letting them see what’s on the inside, even if it chips away a little piece of you every day.
But I know you’re better than this.
Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right. The glass between us can’t protect you from the truth. That’s why you came looking for me, isn’t it? Why you always look for me in your weakest moments. You want me to help you, to encourage you, to save you. You want me to tell you what you already know.
But I can’t tell you anything, can I? Everything I’m telling you, you’re really telling yourself. I’m just the voice; the words are all yours. You have the power to save yourself.
That’s it. There’s that smile. You feel your confidence growing, don’t you? Hold onto that feeling. You know what you have to do now. You’ve always known.
Start listening to this voice in the mirror, the voice inside you.
Don’t be afraid anymore. It’s time to discard the mask for good. Get out there and show the world this face, your real face, the face of someone who’s comfortable in their skin and doesn’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. Only then will you finally be free. Trust me, that’s the only face you’ll ever need to be happy.
Stop pretending to be somebody else, and start being you.
(What If? Exercise: Read the description here.)
Jenny stared at the clear sky above her, while all around, the sounds of screaming and crying grew fainter. She winced at the sharp pain running up her leg, knowing that if she’d just waited a few seconds after the light turned red, she’d still be on her way to school right now. But it was too late; for the next hour, her world would be nothing but sirens, blood, and darkness.
—
Matt trembled as he fumbled with his cellphone, his heart pounding in his ears. He kept trying to piece everything together, but it had all happened so fast; one second, he was swerving to avoid the boy on the bike, the next, he was slamming on his brakes and screeching to a halt. He was terrified to think he’d soon be explaining to the police that the girl had come out of nowhere, and he hadn’t even seen the lights change.
—
Cory sat on the sidewalk with his face buried in his hands and a bicycle lying beside him. Two strangers sat on either side of him, patting him on the shoulder and reassuring him that it was an accident, that he wasn’t to blame for the car or the girl, but he knew the truth. He had put off getting his brakes fixed for too long, they had cost him those precious few seconds of reaction time, and this terrible accident was all his fault.
—
Donna knelt beside the poor girl lying on the pavement, feeling uneasy about the youth in her face and the odd angle of her broken leg. The woman wasn’t usually so affected by her job, but the knot in her throat now was only too real, and she kept her eyes averted as she helped her colleagues move the unconscious teenager onto the stretcher. Knowing that a matter of seconds could just as easily have taken her own adolescent daughter, she resolved to do everything she could to get this girl back on her feet and moving forward in life once more.
—
Nick watched helplessly as the ambulance drove away down the street, taking with it the girl who sat in front of him in Math class every day. In that moment, it occurred to him that everything left unsaid, everything that could have been said, had been taken away in the span of a few short seconds. Terrified at the thought of never getting another chance, he decided that the first day she was back in school, he would finally tell her exactly how he felt.
These pieces are based on What If? Exercise 97: “Nanofictions”. The exercise is to write five flash fiction pieces of three sentences each, which may or may not be connected by a common detail. The objective is to understand how to focus immediately on a troubled situation and learn how to identify the details of drama. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
My darling baby sister,
You’ve always been to me
A gift sent from above,
The baby of the family.
My lovely baby sister,
You know this is a crime,
The way you’re getting older
Like you’re fast-forwarding time?
Adoring baby sister,
I wish you’d understand
Growing up is overrated,
Nothing special, nothing grand.
And yet, dear baby sister,
I know this to be true:
You’ve finally come of age,
And there’s nothing I can do.
So maybe this, sweet sister,
Is what you’ve been waiting for:
A time when I can’t see you
As a baby anymore.
But know, my darling sister,
That I love you anyway.
May you have a great adult life
And a wonderful birthday!
Happy Birthday to my awesome baby sister! Stay sweet, and know that no matter how old you get, I’ll always love you!
(What If? Exercise: Read the description here.)
The wind carried the little seeds into a gray field.
There they landed, in the middle of the grass.
Days and nights of sun and rain passed.
Until at last, the first sprouts appeared.
One by one, bright flowers blossomed.
Soon, the field was alive.
Grays turned to colors.
A beautiful sight.
Magical field.
This piece is based on What If? Exercise 93: “Ten to One”. The exercise is to write a 55-word story in which the first sentence has ten words, the second has nine, etc., until the last sentence has only one word. The objective is to show that precision and thrift in writing can produce surprisingly powerful results. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
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