Velvet Verbosity

And then we all stood there, collectively holding our breath as we waited to see if the roof would hold. The metal groaned, and then…held. We laughed nervously about the monstrosity on the roof all the way home, but I was mostly quiet as I calculated how many work-study hours it would take me to pay for a new roof.

The trees stand stiff against a slate sky, stripped to their bones, the leaves of summer gone brown and decaying in heaps around their roots. It is November again.

She has a couple of scars on her left hand. Unrelated, but both from burns. These tiny little flaws bother her. It bothers me that they bother her. The way even the most beautiful creature can only ruminate on a few and barely noticeable blemishes. As if she loses points for this. As if everyone [...]

My mother says that’s when you pull out the baby pictures — to remind yourself why you did this to yourself. You know. Voluntarily gave birth to people you would have to live with, be responsible for, and who would spend several years thinking you were annoying at best, the scourge of the very earth at worst.