paradise

The big willows hung low to the ground if to bend down and talk with me. My family was sprawled out in the soft cool grass below. The feeling of love was so strong as I gazed upon this beautiful scene. The sun was sparkling through the long hair of the willow tree upon the cards laid out infront of us. We were gathered in a circle hiding smiles behind our cards as excitement built up as I watched my dad draw the next card. Lying on my stomach feet up and sweet grass smells filling up my head my only concern being my desperate need for a king to complete my hand.The moment of truth ....and it was a six of spades. My brother eyes darted back in fort from his cards to the six and in a quick second blurted out " ooh mine!"I rolled on to my back as i listened to my aunts playfully tease him for his giant handful of cards. I stared up at the giant willow and her long flowing green hair playing with the sun. I was enjoying this easy summer moment in this magical relam of the willows embrace. A bubble from the real world sheltered behind the willows branches surround by people I love.

2 gold cards

She was a major flirt. Renne Bingley, a familiar name to the entire male population. Rene was tall thin and had a giant mouth. Big pillowy lips that could give Angelina Jolie a run for her money. Not only was her mouth physically large but she talked and gossiped with it again in large proportions. But she was not only this image. Renne had different dreams than to just be that "it" girl. Since she was a little girl, Renne loved the circus. She watched the ring man absorb attention and show off the amazing tricks and skills of the performers. This was when she new she wanted to be a genetic anomaly,to have 3 eyes,breathe fire, be a clone, or maybe just a twin. There were a set of twins in her 3rd grade class at the time. Maxie and Maddie, they were the coolest kids in the class,  hands down. They wore matching outfits that everyone wanted, cool embellished sleeves or feather boa lined pants. It was like they dressed from a funky dress up box everyday. In comparison Renne wore a pressed navy dress with a sweater everyday as dressed by her mother. She only got to admire the fun style and attitude of the twins from afar, their spirit paralleled to the atmosphere of the circus and she was drawn to them. Unfortunately she never got to befriend them because as soon as she drew up the courage to invite them over for a play date she got wind of news that they would be moving to France due to there parents new job placement. So they disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, in the wonder and excitement just as the circus did every fall as school started back up.

Late night text

It all started with a late night text. 12:30 am, ding! I stopped painting my toe nails to look up at my phone as it lit up and your name flashed across the screen. I carefully placed the bahama blue coated nail brush back into the nail polish and screwed it on tight. I picked up my phone to read the text. It started with hey (winky face)  upon the start I new that this was not a good sign. Red flags were popping up in my mind. A sure sign of either a booty call or drunk text. I slowly proceeded to decipher the rest of the message that was litered with misspellings and lack of necessary punctuation. "hey ;P, u up cutie". I would not be responding,  technically i was not "up", in fact I was sitting down. In addition I had no desire to have a vapid chat with someone who only absorbed information till the age of 10 then choose to see all else as irrelevant. No sir, try somewhere else. As the minutes ticked by I couldn't stop thinking about it. I huffed, and after a painful flashback to the mere week previous to the day my boyfriend dumped me, I decided to reply. "yeah haha", what am I becoming. I looked down at my reply with embarrassment, why did I do that.

soulful song

Dancing with my mom to Mambo #5 while we waited for the pie we were baking to finish cooking. The music was streaming loud through out the house and I could feel the beat pulsing in rhythm with my heart.  I would shake my hair and jump on the square ottoman pretending to be Lou Bega himself listing off his list of ladies around the world. My mom would grab my hands and we would do a mixture of the twist and shaking our hips with the beat. We would swing our arms and put on swanky faces while inhaling the sweet aroma of the apples baking in the oven. A single song that transformed out moods from boring to sassy and swinging, a song that was an essential part of my childhood and a treasured memory.