Anxiously Waiting

I am hypersensitive to every sound, touch and smell. The anxious feeling runs through my veins and causes my body to buzz in a constant state of panic. Itchy, dull, green waiting room chairs scratch at my legs through my faded jeans. I grip the cold, metal sides of the chair with my sweaty hands in a release of suppressed fearful emotions. The smell of strong disinfectants burns my nostrils and causes my eyes to moisten with salty tears. The thundering beeping of a heart monitor brings me back to the present. I look up from the spotless, bright, white floor and turn to see the nurses station. All of them are female and seem to be dramatically gossiping about a resent social event. I could care less about their drama. I just wish to see my mother. There are many noises from patients and monitors that I can hear yet all of them see to disappear. I am alone in the waiting room and the silence of being alone to me is deafening. My Father and brother had left a couple minutes ago to grab some coffee. I feel a great sorrow for my Father, as he has been at the hospital all day waiting for results that would never seem to come. I think of my mom and how my brother and I were not allowed to see her before she left. My mother knew she would be overcome with her fear of surgery if she had to say goodbye to us in such a way that it would feel like a finality; as though she would not return to us. It's alarming to me that she could have cancer. I struggle with that possible fact, even though the doctor's say there is a extremely high success rate from thyroid cancer. Still, I don't like the idea of my mother having to go through that ordeal. At the thought of my mom I turn on my phone and flip to a photo of me and her when I was younger. In the photo I am wearing one of my mom's necklaces. We are in my Aunt and Uncle's tiny house they used to own until they moved away. I am sitting on my mom's lap and we share the same long brown hair and large smile. I need the positive memories at this difficult time. Right now I feel as though I am on the edge of panic attack. Battling against potential grim, scenarios is something I am ashamed to admit. Strong and stable are things I should be, though it seems I am not. In my vision I now see a tall, lanky man in a white lab coat approach me. It takes me a minute to rouse of my daze and register him as a doctor. It is time to face the news on the results.

"Bluffing"

             "I meant the bear to come after me instead of you”. It is the most obvious of lies to Gabriella. Only three weeks ago Gabriella and her cowardly boyfriend Liam had gone for a hike in Jasper Park and had a deadly encounter with a grizzly bear.  Liam, the most horrible boyfriend ever, ran away as Gabriella intelligently played dead to save her life. Unfortunately for Liam he was chased and mauled by the bear while Gabrielle was left safely lying on the ground. This is the tale Gail Helgason tells in her short story, Bluffing. In this story it is clear to see that Liam is a self-centered man that only thinks of his own desires. He always wants to get away but leaves his girlfriend behind constantly. While Gabriella thinks of how to pay the rent for the house they live in; Liam is planning a “Three month [trip]…down south” with his friend Clive. Gabriella is always living with the consequences of having “relented one more time,” to Liam. Therefore, it would make sense why Liam, the narcissistic man he is, ran away from the grizzly bear to try and save his own skin. Liam is also the kind of man that doesn’t like “to learn from people who…know more than [him]”. During, the bear attack Gabriella told Liam to back, ‘off slowly” but Liam who thinks knows everything thought running away was a smarter action. He paid a painful price. Lastly, Liam is consistent liar. When Liam noticed that some men were going on a hike in the same area as he and Gabriella he quickly diverted them. He told them that it, "might not be such a good idea," as they had come across, "an elk carcass". He convinced them a grizzly was in the area so that he and Gabriella would be alone. All of the reasons clearly state that Liam ran away from the bear to save his own skin. 

Lady Light Up

"Can you stop smoking, please?"

I glared at the old, stern woman before me. It was late and I was exhausted so I did not have the patience I normally would on a Saturday evening to deal with this kind of situation. This senseless woman before me thought it would be alright to smoke in my diner. It was not the cleanest diner ever but obviously there were still some rules that people have to follow. For example, you cannot just light up a cigarette in a family diner. Not today, not in my diner.

The dark skinned women stiffly turned to me, as if I had insulted her. She peered at me with light blue eyes and I could tell by her glazed expression that she had seen a fight more than once or twice. It was like staring into a dead soldier's eyes. To be honest I was apprehensive to even say anything after that just because of the look she gave me. She sent a cold tremor down my spine.

It took me a moment to gain my wits again but just as I was about to speak this daring women took another deep, long drag of her cigarette. She then proceeded to blow the smoke directly in my face. I sputtered and coughed as I felt my lungs suffocate and burn from the cancer causing fumes. After, I could breathe, I shot her my most menacing stare.

"I'm sorry, but I am going to have ask you to leave". I demanded as fiercely as I could muster.

The woman continued to glare at me for what seemed a life time, then just as I thought she was going to ignore me entirely she gingerly grasped the rim of her beige, woven hat and tipped it forward in a small salute. Calmly, she raised from her seat and leisurely walked to the door.  When she has finally left I found myself staring after her. It was as though her presence was a frozen darkness.

Lived A Thousand Lives

     Alyshia is the girl who wants to run through time and space. She dreams of seeing the universe and endeavors to be everything and anything. She wants to solve crimes and hunt monsters, and so she does. Though, it may not be in the way you think. Alyshia lives in fairy tales and novels. She is the most important woman in the universe, the hero in her own story.

It would be easy to say that Alyshia reads her days away. She consumes adventures and the characters personalities within them. She has lived thousands of lives through different eyes and minds. She is ever-changing and enigmatic.

However, Alyshia in her everyday life is actually a typical teenager. She plays football every night with her loud, eccentric teammates. She finds football a bit tedious now though. It's mostly just kicking. Running. Yelling. Alyshia is more of the quiet type. She is also the kind of girl that gets her homework done everyday, but will never be the person to boast about getting exceptional marks. She is humble and considerate, the kind of person you could count on with your life. Alyshia is like John Watson and Sherlock Holmes combined; she is both the loyal friend and a deranged genius. However, she hides behind this shy teenager facade when truly she is a firecracker, waiting to explode at the mention of one of her passions. In fact, she has way too many passions. It may even be best to not talk to Alyshia about anything to do with Music, TV Shows, Books and History. You should never ask Alyshia about those things, you will get a 7 hour lecture about The French Revolution or about how a certain book changed the way she views life itself. Alyshia is quite a confusing person, you think you know her, the gracious, timid girl when suddenly she will surprise you when she erupts with a frenzy of energy. In fact, Alyshia is obscure even to herself.

In the end, Alyshia is inimitable and absolutely astounding. She is the dreamer of improbable dreams. She is the girl who has lived a thousand lives in just 17 years. Alyshia is the kind of person who loses herself in stories and adventures. Yet, she cannot wait to create her own. For now, she is like Bilbo Baggins, sitting in her hobbit hole reading and drinking tea. One day though, the world will hear of Alyshia's improbable dreams becoming a reality.