Couldn't Wait

As sad as the occasion was, even after all this time had passed, Nuala still managed to muster a smile, for her friend. "Hey Angela," she said softly, slowly coming to sit on the grass under the tree. "So I haven't come in a while. I know that's bad, and I'm sorry. I know what you'd be saying though." Nuala smiled at the thought of her friend and even laughed a little. "You'd be saying, 'you're here now, and you came back. That's what matters.' I can almost hear you saying it too." She looked up at the sky then down at the grass, trailing her finger along the outline of the stone. "I miss you Ange. I wish you were still here."

For a while after that, Nuala just sat there in silence. So slowly that she didn't realise it was happening before it had, she had allowed herself to get lost completely in her train of thoughts. Suddenly, Nuala became aware of one particular question that persistently floated back into her head. And the question was a quite simple one. Why? Why did bad things happen to good people? Why did the universe let it? Why couldn't bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good, like karma? Why did the world seem so unfair sometimes? Why? Just, why? But then, as she thought about it, Nuala realised that there were reasons for everything.

"You know something Angela?" After a long time where the only sound that could be heard was the whispering of the wind through the trees, Nuala spoke again, deciding that silence had gone on long enough. "I get it. It didn't seem fair to me that the world had taken you, but I think I get it now. Heaven couldn't wait any longer for you," she said, smiling as she did, as if her voicing it really cemented it and hearing it out loud made it make sense. "And h.. h... he'll," Nuala said, shuddering as she said the word, not liking it and knowing her friend wouldn't either. "They're giving people like Devina, remember her? Anyway, they're giving people like her more time to show they're good. But heaven didn't need to give you more time. They knew you were good. You've always been good. You were so good, in fact Angie, that heaven couldn't wait any longer for you."

I Kissed A Girl

"How'd it go?" her father asked and she started twisting her foot, staring at it instead of meeting her father's gaze. "Jill?" he asked again.
"What?" Jill asked, finally looking up at him. "Oh, it went well."
"Was he nice?"
"Uh..." Jill said, unsure. "Yeah, really nice."
"Well, he did pick you up and drop you home," he said, more to himself than to Jill, but she could still hear.

"Hey Cherry!" her mother said, with probably a little more enthusiasm than required. "How'd it go? Tell me everything!"
"It was cool," said Cherry, offering a weak smile in an attempt to defuse the awkwardness. "We'll probably do it again," she said. "Wait, that came out wrong. We'll probably go out again."
"Did you have fun?" her mother asked.
'The time of our lives,' Cherry thought, but didn't say it.
"Well you must have if you're going out again!" her mother said. more to herself. "You are going out again.. right?" she asked, looking at her daughter.
"More than likely," Cherry said, unable to stop the smile from escaping her lips.

"Will you be seeing him again?" Jill's father asked.
"Yeah, I suppose," Jill said, staring at her shoe again. "I mean, I think he liked me."
"I suppose that's good," her father said uncertainly.
"Yeah Dad," said Jill, "It's good. It means your daughter's happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
"Of course I..." he said. "Jillian, what sort of a question is that? Of course I want you to be happy!"
"That's what I'd thought," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I am so excited for you Cherry! It's finally happening!" her mother said, approaching her with her arms spread wide. "My little baby isn't my baby anymore!" Cherry simply closed her eyes and let out a breath as her mother engulfed her, squeezing her so hard she nearly couldn't breathe. She pulled away as she felt wetness on her shoulder.
"Mum, are you crying?" she asked.
"How can I not?" asked her mother, sniffling. "My little baby's growing up."

"But you do know the rules, right Jill?" Her father asked as she had almost reached the stairs. Jill stopped in her tracks, turning around to face him. "What rules?"
"The rules of relationships," said her father seriously, "and my specifically, relationships whilst you are under my roof."
Jill just looked at him silently, waiting for him to go on.
"Firstly, there is no going out on a school night, secondly, there will be no 'third bases' as you call them, of any kind, under any circumstance." Jill rolled her eyes. "And thirdly, if they begin to treat you poorly, in any way, you are to end it."
"Dad!" Jill groaned.
"Do you understand?" he asked, ignoring the fact that she'd spoken.
"Yes Dad," she said, sounding a little bored. "I understand."
"Good."

"Do you know what you'll wear?" her mother asked.
"Mum.. I don't even know for sure if we're going out again, let alone when."
"Ooh, you need to wear something that'll show off your figure," her mother went on as if Cherry had never spoken. "You're very shapely you know. A million girls would love to look like you!" Her mother turned back to her after inspecting her wardrobe. "Pink! Pink or red! Those are your best colours. And do you know what that means?"
"What?" Cherry asked, nowhere near as enthusiastic as her mother. It felt a little like the roles were reversed and her mother were the one going on the date instead of Cherry.
"Shopping!" her mother practically yelled.
"Whoopee!" Cherry said sarcastically.
"What?"
"Mum, I do have pink and red in my wardrobe, look," she said, pulling out the sole pink and the sole red outfits she owned and holding them up.
"Maybe, but that's not even a splash!" said her mother, disappointed. "Shopping!"

"Dad," Jill said, turning back to him from a couple of steps up the staircase. "Dad, there's something you should know."
"What is it Jill?" he asked, his eyes widening in a mix of concern and curiosity. "About the date?"
Jill nodded. "Dad, I kissed a girl,"

"And I liked it," Cherry finished as she let go of a heavy breath.
"My. My baby is all grown up now huh?" her mother asked after a moment, blinking.

Test

She stood silently as the world passed by her, some in a rush, others enjoying the leisure of time to spare. No one who passed noticed her, perhaps due to her silence, perhaps because she seemed to blend into the wall like a chameleon. One could only guess.
"Hello," she called as someone approached, her voice soft and quiet. Maybe the reason the person passing by continued on unfazed, without even so much as a pause or a sideways glance. "Hello, I..." She tried again, stopping again with a heavy sigh as she realised not one person who had rushed by had stopped, nor even reacted. This wasn't such a rare thing. More of a regular occurrence and she was starting to wonder why she kept trying.

Because... Deep down, she knew there was an answer and it was only when the people were few and far between and the world seemed quiet that she allowed herself the time to think, and remember. There was, in fact, a reason she was still here. The only thing was, she had no idea. She knew she was here for a reason, but no idea what the reason was.

She must have fallen asleep, she realised, for she woke with a start, and to her surprise, there was a stranger crouching in front of her, peering back at her.
"Are you alright love?" Asked the stranger. "You look a little lonely."
"I am," she answered. "Or I suppose you could say was. I've got company now, don't I?"
"I guess you do," said the man, offering her a smile. "Mind if I take a seat?"
"Not at all. Go right ahead."
"How long have you been like this?" He asked and she turned to look at him, meeting his eyes. "When was the last time somebody talked to you?"
"Aside from you?" She asked quietly and he nodded. "Oh, it was a while ago," she said. "But I do remember it, sort of. Something had just happened, I don't know what. I must have passed out or something, because all of a sudden I was here."
"What did they tell you?"
"They said that I was here for a reason. But even after all this time, I still can't figure it out. I keep trying to talk to people, but..."
"They don't ever notice you?" The man asked gently.
"Exactly," she said with a gasp. "How... How did you know?"
"Because I've seen it before," he answered simply. "Honey, I hate to break it to you, but you're a ghost."
"A... A ghost? H... How do you know?"
"Because I'm one too. We have unfinished business here. We have to take care of it before we move on."
"So you.." She asked breathlessly.
"Yeah," he said, pulling something from his pocket. "But look darling, I know what I've got to do. I'm just trying to do it now, so you take this ok?" He said, slipping the object into her palm and curling her fingers back over it.
"What is it?" She asked  holding it carefully. "It's good luck for us ghosts. So long as you have it, you'll have good luck in finding what you have to do, and doing it. But, be careful, and be warned. Should you loose it, your luck will turn the opposite way, and it'll all go downhill. You won't have chance at getting up there. That's why we're here, see. It's a test. To see if we are willing to work hard enough to get up there. We have to earn our place."

"But what about you?" She asked as he rose to his feet.
"Don't worry about me, little darlin'," he said, flashing another smile her way. "Good luck to you though."
She watched as he walked on, eventually, miraculously disappearing into a big bright light. But before he was engulfed completely by it, he took a moment to glance back, meeting her eyes and giving her one last, friendly, encouraging smile. As he slowly disappeared under her gaze, she finally allowed a small smile to escape her own lips. She knew what this meant. He'd passed the test. He was moving up, and one day, she hoped, she'd meet him up there once more.

Reflective Winds

The man tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep, his breathing hard and heavy. He moved constantly and quickly in his bed, seemingly never able to stay in the one position for long. Every few seconds, he'd squeeze his eyes shut tight, only to allow them to relax again moments later.

Taking a breath, he ran as fast as he could. He ran fast and far, stopping only when he deemed himself to be a fair distance from them. Out of breath, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he panted desperately for the return of breath. Having regained his composure after a while, he blinked. Seeing no one around to bother him, the man relaxed and walked on.

It seemed only moments before a flood of people suddenly lined his path. He shut his eyes tight and vigorously shook his head, as if that would make them all disappear. But, when he opened his eyes again, they were still there, and he spared not a moment before taking off at a run.
"What?"
"Why?"
"How?"
Their questions all floated past his ears as he flew by them, and the man just let them float right back out the other ear again. He had to run, and he couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. Not until they were all gone.

He started to slow down at the unexpected appearance of something up ahead, blocking his path. It was a lucky thing he had gotten a glimpse, for he only just managed to screech to a halt in front of the black clad figure.
"Why do you continue to run?" the figure asked. The man had only made the slightest move toward escape, but the intuitive figure spoke again. "You can't run," it said. "Not from me. Not this time." With that, it threw it's arms out either side and the man could see an eerie blue- purple glow shoot up either side of the figure before him, like a wall, blocking any path toward escape he may have attempted to take.

He awoke with a start, shooting straight upright in his bed. The man panted as he looked around him. Nothing there, he realised, and relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. He was alone. All was calm, which was why the man jumped at the seemingly thunderous, well, thunderous next to the quiet silence of his house, knock at the door. There was a few seconds pause, and then the knock came again. He rolled his eyes as he flipped his legs over the side of the bed and slipped off, quickly pulling on some clothes before going to answer the door.

The man blinked at the sight that greeted him. The same black clad figure from his dream. It couldn't be, he thought, shaking his head, but it was still there in front of him when he looked back.
"Robby," it said.
"How did you know my..." he asked breathlessly.
"You have run too long," said the figure. "But run you shall no more."
"What?" he asked, but the figure held up a hand, silencing him.
"I will ask the questions here, though there are none I need to ask. Rather, you need to start asking yourself." The man just stared blankly at it, blinking a few times.

The figure clicked it's fingers inches from his face and a rush of wind washed over him. "I will come again in a year's time," it explained. "If you are ready to face yourself by then, we will discuss breaking the spell."
"Spell?" he asked, staring wide eyed at the figure.
"Go take a look at yourself," said the figure instead of answering his question.

The man ran for the sole mirror he possessed without a second's thought. His mouth dropped helplessly at the sight before him. Thousands of tiny specks flashed blinding light back at him. He shook his head and closed his eyes, but saw the same thing upon opening them again. Releasing a heavy breath, the man resolved the only thing he could do was to return to the figure on his doorstep.

"So you see, now you cannot run away from yourself," said the figure.
"I've been doing it for years," said the man, glaring daggers at the figure who had done this to him. "What makes you think this is going to stop me?"
"As you wish, Crystal Man," said the figure before turning and walking away.

As promised, the figure returned exactly a year later.
"Hello again," said the crystal man, offering a smile. The figure raised a hand to her eyes, for the silver vision before her was somewhat blinding.
"So, are you ready to face yourself?"
"I have already, and I am much better of for it. I must thank you, for I realise now you've given me a gift like no other."
"I have?"
"You see, I'm much happier now than I ever was running. Being like this, the crystal man, it reminds me to reflect," he said, "and I think, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay this way."
"If that is your wish," said the figure. Happily, the crystal man nodded and with that, the figure turned and retraced it's path.

Questions

A strange feeling or a good one, Sirena couldn't decide. Probably both. But not being able to find the words... It was definitely a strong sensation, and as it flowed through her, she felt something. Something strong. Something powerful. She felt... She felt something she didn't know how to describe. She felt something that she didn't remember feeling in a long time, if she had at all.

As person after person opened up at her support group, Sirena was blown away every time. That they were comfortable enough, that they seemed to trust her enough to let her in on these things. Such personal things. But, they were all there for a reason, she supposed, yet still... And as she heard all these stories, these heartfelt, emotional stories, she started to not understand. She understood the people's stories, they made sense. What didn't was what had happened to them. Each and every single one of them. Rejection. But... why?

Sirena couldn't stop thinking about it and the thoughts, the questions lingered in her mind long after she'd left the support group. Why? It didn't make sense. Why did all these people, who seemed so lovelyt and so nice... Why had they all been rejected? And more importantly, when had they, as society, as people, stopped simply accepting. When had people started to notice the differences between themselves and others, and judge them for it? And why? Why did it matter? Questions, questions so many questions. But, she still didn't understand it and she doubted if she ever would. Why would someone apart just because they were different? It didn't seem fair.. What's wrong with someone having a different skin colour to your own, or a part of their body that doesn't work where yours does?

Though she had these many questions, Sirena realised that they wouldn't be answered. Sometimes, people were cruel, and there may be an explanation, in some cases, but whatever it was, it never seemed to make up for what they'd done. She just happened to be the type of person who cared more about who people were on the inside rather than their exterior. Maybe that's why it didn't make sense to her. Maybe that's why it seemed unfair, though as much as she wanted to, there didn't seem to be anything she could do. Apart from continuing to try and focus and care more about a person's insides. And if that was all she could do, then so be it. At least she could do something.

Power Of Friendship

"It's great!" Millie said, a large smile on her face that reached her eyes and made them bright.
"Is it for real though? I mean, how?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah," Millie answered. "I know. It seems too good to be true, doesn't it? I mean talking to animals! It's like The Wild Thornberrys... Only, real." Caitlin said slowly.
"It only works with Angel," said Millie, sighing quietly. "It'd be great if it worked with other animals too, but..." She shrugged. "You know, I guess you can't be too greedy."
"No. You've got to be grateful for what you've got," said Caitlin, nodding.

"But how did it happen? I mean, you couldn't always talk to Angel... Could you?"
"No, but I found out about this guy. He's got a super power. He can give the person the power to speak to an animal who they share a strong connection. It costs though."
"What?"
"The guy, he says that all magic comes with a price. It's taxing on him, when he uses that power so you have to prove that you and your animal are worth him using his magic, his power, on you."
"How?" Caitlin asked. "How do you prove it?"
"There's a test. So I had to take Angel in so he could see how we interact. Then he talked to her, I think part of his power is that he can talk to any animal. Then, I went in and answered a couple of questions. If you pass those stages, there's a little fee and that's it."
"Do you think Petal and I could do it."
"You know what? I think you could. I mean, you two seem really tight," Millie said. "This test is a real test..." The two friends started giggling a while before Millie could continue. "A real test of the power of your friendship. I think the friendship you and Petal share is really powerful. So go, give it a go!"

"Millie! We did it!" Caitlin said excitedly over the phone. "I can talk to Petal! Really talk to her!"
"That's awesome Caitlin!"
"But how did you ever go without it?" Caitlin asked in a whisper. "How did you ever not talk to Angel?"
"Honestly?" Millie asked. "I don't know. I don't know how I ever managed it, and I can't imagine ever going without again."