She counted. One. She could hear the steps coming closer. Two.

Puffs of breath could be seen

coming from his mouth. Three. He stopped beside her. Four. She pulled the trigger of the gun.

The wolves stopped in their tracks, sizing up the mother and her cubs. It had been over a week

since their last meal and they were getting desperate. The cubs would make a good meal, but there

were high risks taking on the mother Grizzly. A decision had to be made and the wrong choice could

signal the end of the pack.

It's always good to bring a slower friend with you on a hike. If you happen to come across bears, the

whole group doesn't have to worry. Only the slowest in the group do. That was the lesson they were

about to learn that day.

His parents continued to question him. He didn't know what to say to them since they refused to

believe the truth. He explained again and again, and they dismissed his explanation as a figment of

his imagination. There was no way that grandpa, who had been dead for five years, could have told

him where the treasure had been hidden. Of course, it didn't help that grandpa was roaring with

laughter in the chair next to him as he tried to explain once again how he'd found it.

They argue. While the argument seems to be different the truth is it's always the same. Yes, the

topic may be different or the circumstances, but when all said and done, it all came back to the

same thing. They both knew it, but neither has the courage or strength to address the underlying

issue. So they continue to argue.

It's always good to bring a slower friend with you on a hike. If you happen to come across bears, the

whole group doesn't have to worry. Only the slowest in the group do. That was the lesson they were

about to learn that day.

of brownish liquid. "Sir, you will undoubtedly end up in a drunkard's grave, dead of hepatic cirrhosis,"

it informed me virtuously as it returned my ID card. I glared as I pushed the glass across the table.

It was a weird concept. Why would I really need to generate a random paragraph? Could I actually

learn something from doing so? All these questions were running through her head as she pressed

the generate button. To her surprise, she found what she least expected to see.

Colors bounced around in her head. They mixed and threaded themselves together. Even colors

that had no business being together. They were all one, yet distinctly separate at the same time.

How was she going to explain this to the others?

There are different types of secrets. She had held onto plenty of them during her life, but this one

was different. She found herself holding onto the worst type. It was the type of secret that could

gnaw away at your insides if you didn't tell someone about it, but it could end up getting you killed if

you did.

It seemed like it should have been so simple. There was nothing inherently difficult with getting the

project done. It was simple and straightforward enough that even a child should have been able to

complete it on time, but that wasn't the case. The deadline had arrived and the project remained

unfinished.

She wondered if the note had reached him. She scolded herself for not handing it to him in person.

She trusted her friend, but so much could happen. She waited impatiently for word.

Hopes and dreams were dashed that day. It should have been expected, but it still came as a

shock. The warning signs had been ignored in favor of the possibility, however remote, that it could
actually happen. That possibility had grown from hope to an undeniable belief it must be destiny.

That was until it wasn't and the hopes and dreams came crashing down.

"Are you getting my texts???" she texted to him. He glanced at it and chuckled under his breath. Of

course he was getting them, but if he wasn't getting them, how would he ever be able to answer? He

put the phone down and continued on his project. He was ignoring her texts and he planned to

continue to do so.

Her eyebrows were a shade darker than her hair. They were thick and almost horizontal,

emphasizing the depth of her eyes. She was rather handsome than beautiful. Her face was

captivating by reason of a certain frankness of expression and a contradictory subtle play of

features. Her manner was engaging.

He had three simple rules by which he lived. The first was to never eat blue food. There was nothing

in nature that was edible that was blue. People often asked about blueberries, but everyone knows

those are actually purple. He understood it was one of the stranger rules to live by, but it had served

him well thus far in the 50+ years of his life.

There are different types of secrets. She had held onto plenty of them during her life, but this one

was different. She found herself holding onto the worst type. It was the type of secret that could

gnaw away at your insides if you didn't tell someone about it, but it could end up getting you killed if

you did.

There was something in the tree. It was difficult to tell from the ground, but Rachael could see

movement. She squinted her eyes and peered in the direction of the movement, trying to decipher

exactly what she had spied. The more she peered, however, the more she thought it might be a

figment of her imagination. Nothing seemed to move until the moment she began to take her eyes
off the tree. Then in the corner of her eye, she would see the movement again and begin the

process of staring again.

Stranded. Yes, she was now the first person ever to land on Venus, but that was of little

consequence. Her name would be read by millions in school as the first to land here, but that

celebrity would never actually be seen by her. She looked at the control panel and knew there was

nothing that would ever get it back into working order. She was the first and it was not clear this

would also be her last.

This is important to remember. Love isn't like pie. You don't need to divide it among all your friends

and loved ones. No matter how much love you give, you can always give more. It doesn't run out, so

don't try to hold back giving it as if it may one day run out. Give it freely and as much as you want.