This along with others can be found on my online portfolio. PM me if you'd like the addy.
-----------------------------------------------
I step out into the warm sun and look around. Everything looks great. This will be a good day.
"Hey - whatcha doin?" The voice comes from behind me and I spin around. It's my friend Despair.
"Nothing much right now. Let's play!" We run down the street together laughing and yelling as we go. We slow down in front of an old, gray run-down house.
"You want to go?" I ask Despair.
"No, it's your turn today."
"Okay, back me up."
I take a few steps into the yard onto the dead dry grass and the door opens. Our friend Depression is standing in the doorway waving to us.
"Come on," I say, "We're going to play in the woods." Depression almost cracks a smile (something I've never seen him do) and runs down the sidewalk to meet us.
We walk side by side through the town, waving to those we know, saying "Hi" and introducing ourselves to those we don't.
Depression kind of hangs back. He's never been really social. Sometimes he'll come out of his shell and talk to people, but he usually keeps to himself. Despair is okay. He tries to have fun, but many times he'll just give up, throw his hands and go, "What's the use?" I laugh when he does that and I've even begun doing it myself. Sometimes it's just easier, he says, when something is hard just to give up on it. He's right. I noticed that when I give up on something I don't have to worry about completing it. It's a whole lot easier. Despair does that a lot though.
We come to the edge of the woods and I smell the fresh scent of grass and trees. I love coming here. Although the sun shines everywhere, there is no grass in town. My whole front yard is nothing but sand. Not the fun kind you can play in. If you step into this sand, you start to sink down. I call it sinking sand. Some of my neighbors call it life. That's a dumb name for sand, but I suppose they have their reasons.
Despair and Depression look at me and say together, "Hide and seek?"
"Sure!" I reply. "Isn't that the usual?"
"Okay," Despair says, "We're on one team, you're on another."
"Hey- that's not fair!" I protest as they pat each other on the back. Those two always get to be on the same team, and they always team up against me!!! They begin to count as I take off sprinting through the woods. Great. Those two against me again. They always find me. I can never escape them when they find me. I need help. I need it bad. I need it? My thoughts are cut short as I run -SMACK- right into someone standing in the middle of the trail. We tumble a few times and when we stop, I get to my feet, ready to let someone have it for standing in my way. My hard stare is softened when I look up at the prettiest girl I've ever seen.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yes, I'm sorry. What about you?"
"Oh I'm fine. Not even a scratch."
"That's good." I'm relieved to hear that. "Hey, you're new here aren't you?"
"Yes," she replies, "My name is Hope."
She puts her hand out and I shake it. I hear footsteps running up behind me and that could only mean one thing.
"We found you!" Despair and Depression both yell at once. My heart sinks. I never win at this game.
"Hey guys, I'd like you to meet someone." I step aside to give them a good view of Hope. "This is Hope. We kind of ran into each other."
Despair and Depression both grow wide-eyed and take a step back. The faces they are making and the noises they mumbled remind me of Fear, but he lives down the street and I don't play with him anymore. He always played tricks on me and made me afraid to go into the woods. Hope stepped up beside me and asked if she could play.
Despair opened his mouth first. "I need to go home. I have a project to finish and I've put it off too long."
"Serves you right," I said jokingly.
Depression piped in, "I need to leave, too."
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"It's nothing," he says gloomily, "I'll be fine."
And with that he hung his head and ran back down the street with Despair on his heels.
"You hang around some strange friends," Hope says.
"Yeah, but they always come around when no one else will," I say.
Hope and I play the rest of the day together. She is fun. Every time I want to just give up like Despair has taught me, Hope comes along and urges me to try one more time. And you know what? It works! I really like having Hope around for that, but it kind of makes me mad at Despair. Was he lying to me all this time? Maybe he needs Hope, too. The next day I step outside and there is Hope!
"How long have you been out here?" I ask.
"I was here all night," she says.
I laugh because I don't believe her, but I don't want to tell her that and make her feel bad.
We start walking down the street when I notice Despair. He is standing on the opposite side of the street watching us. "Hey Despair! Come on, let's go play!"
He hesitates at first, but when I ask some more, he comes along. It's funny, though. He seems to keep his distance from Hope. When we come to Depression's house, he is already standing outside. We wave for him to follow us and he scurries down the walkway and falls in line behind us.
We played in the woods a lot today. I feel better now that Hope is on my side. Hide and seek isn't the same. Despair and Depression have a hard time finding me. Sometimes they do, but most of the time they can't. Eventually Despair throws up his hands yelling, "Forget it! Forget it! I can't do it! I give up." He turns and goes home. Depression stands there in shock staring at him. He looks at us, then to Despair, then back to us.
"I'm sorry," he says, "It's my fault." He hangs his head down and leaves after Despair.
I stand there with Hope, dumbfounded. "What happened?" I ask.
"Despair couldn't win and Depression couldn't get to you so they quit," she replies.
"What a bunch of babies," I say, "When they won, I didn't do that. I didn't act that way."
Hope looks at me and takes my hand. "Every time they won you acted that way."
I don't understand that, but I don't let on. So I just nod. She's so smart sometimes. It makes me feel like she knows things I don't.
"Hey," she says happily, "I have a friend I'd like you to meet."
"I don't know. Despair and Depression really need me. I feel like I let my friends down."
"It's okay," Hope replies, "They'll find new friends. They always do."
I am about to ask her how she knows so much about them when I hear someone calling her name. I look to the edge of the woods and see the second prettiest girl in the world (Hope is the first) running up to us.
"Hi, Hope! I've been looking for you!"
Hope smiles and pulls me to her side, "I'd like you to meet my new friend."
The girl flashes a model smile and extends her hand. "My name is Grace. Nice to meet you." I shake her hand and blush. She is so nice. She starts right away talking and including me in on the plans she and Hope have for the day. No one has ever been so kind to me. We spend the afternoon talking and playing together. We help people in town. We carry groceries for the little old ladies. We even help a little girl get her cat down from a tree. I feel good being around Hope and Grace. But still I have an empty spot left by Despair and Depression. I have seen them around town, but now they ignore me. Just like I'm not there. I think that is pretty rude because we have been though a lot together. They always used to hang around me. But with them gone, I feel lighter than air. I know it sounds funny, but it was almost like I had to carry Despair and Depression everywhere. Now that they are gone, I feel open and free. But there is still that big, empty hole.
Grace was so nice and caring that she notices me staring after Despair and Depression, and asks what was wrong. She seems like she wants to help, so I tell her everything. About my two friends, about our time together, and about that big, empty hole inside of me. She smiles and puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Tomorrow," she says, "I'll help you to fill that hole up, okay?"
I agree.
The next day when I step outside, I notice something strange. My sandy yard has begun to turn to soil. I have a few sprouts of grass! I am so happy. I run out and lay down on a small patch of it. I hear giggling and I get up fast. Hope and Grace are standing there on my sidewalk watching me. Next to them is a man. He has shoulder length hair, a moustache and beard, and the gentlest eyes I have ever seen. He looks nice enough, but he is dressed kind of funny. I mean no one in this neighborhood wears a long white robe and sandals. I walk up to them shyly, embarrassed for making a fool of myself in the grass. I apologize to Hope and Grace. They smile and say it is okay.
Grace looks at me and says, "I want you to meet someone. Remember I told you I'd help you fill up that hole inside of you?"
"How could I forget?" It was still there when I woke up, but Despair and Depression aren't really on my mind this morning.
"Well," she says, "I'd like you to meet Truth."
I stick out my hand and Truth sticks His out. I pull my hand back, shocked. "What happened?" I ask.
I look at Truth's hand, at both of His hands. They both have a hole the size of a large nail, all the way through.
"Does it hurt?" I ask.
"No, not anymore," He says, "Once it did. Right here." With that, He points to his chest, right at His heart. I begin to feel a little easier now. His voice calms me and I feel the hole inside me filling up. We talk for a little while, and I get a little bolder.
"Truth," I ask, "Who did that to You? Who put those holes in Your hands?"
He smiles a gentle smile, and putting His arm around my shoulder; we start walking down the street together. "Who put these here, you ask? Another friend, my son. A friend named Love."
-----------------------------------------------
I step out into the warm sun and look around. Everything looks great. This will be a good day.
"Hey - whatcha doin?" The voice comes from behind me and I spin around. It's my friend Despair.
"Nothing much right now. Let's play!" We run down the street together laughing and yelling as we go. We slow down in front of an old, gray run-down house.
"You want to go?" I ask Despair.
"No, it's your turn today."
"Okay, back me up."
I take a few steps into the yard onto the dead dry grass and the door opens. Our friend Depression is standing in the doorway waving to us.
"Come on," I say, "We're going to play in the woods." Depression almost cracks a smile (something I've never seen him do) and runs down the sidewalk to meet us.
We walk side by side through the town, waving to those we know, saying "Hi" and introducing ourselves to those we don't.
Depression kind of hangs back. He's never been really social. Sometimes he'll come out of his shell and talk to people, but he usually keeps to himself. Despair is okay. He tries to have fun, but many times he'll just give up, throw his hands and go, "What's the use?" I laugh when he does that and I've even begun doing it myself. Sometimes it's just easier, he says, when something is hard just to give up on it. He's right. I noticed that when I give up on something I don't have to worry about completing it. It's a whole lot easier. Despair does that a lot though.
We come to the edge of the woods and I smell the fresh scent of grass and trees. I love coming here. Although the sun shines everywhere, there is no grass in town. My whole front yard is nothing but sand. Not the fun kind you can play in. If you step into this sand, you start to sink down. I call it sinking sand. Some of my neighbors call it life. That's a dumb name for sand, but I suppose they have their reasons.
Despair and Depression look at me and say together, "Hide and seek?"
"Sure!" I reply. "Isn't that the usual?"
"Okay," Despair says, "We're on one team, you're on another."
"Hey- that's not fair!" I protest as they pat each other on the back. Those two always get to be on the same team, and they always team up against me!!! They begin to count as I take off sprinting through the woods. Great. Those two against me again. They always find me. I can never escape them when they find me. I need help. I need it bad. I need it? My thoughts are cut short as I run -SMACK- right into someone standing in the middle of the trail. We tumble a few times and when we stop, I get to my feet, ready to let someone have it for standing in my way. My hard stare is softened when I look up at the prettiest girl I've ever seen.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yes, I'm sorry. What about you?"
"Oh I'm fine. Not even a scratch."
"That's good." I'm relieved to hear that. "Hey, you're new here aren't you?"
"Yes," she replies, "My name is Hope."
She puts her hand out and I shake it. I hear footsteps running up behind me and that could only mean one thing.
"We found you!" Despair and Depression both yell at once. My heart sinks. I never win at this game.
"Hey guys, I'd like you to meet someone." I step aside to give them a good view of Hope. "This is Hope. We kind of ran into each other."
Despair and Depression both grow wide-eyed and take a step back. The faces they are making and the noises they mumbled remind me of Fear, but he lives down the street and I don't play with him anymore. He always played tricks on me and made me afraid to go into the woods. Hope stepped up beside me and asked if she could play.
Despair opened his mouth first. "I need to go home. I have a project to finish and I've put it off too long."
"Serves you right," I said jokingly.
Depression piped in, "I need to leave, too."
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"It's nothing," he says gloomily, "I'll be fine."
And with that he hung his head and ran back down the street with Despair on his heels.
"You hang around some strange friends," Hope says.
"Yeah, but they always come around when no one else will," I say.
Hope and I play the rest of the day together. She is fun. Every time I want to just give up like Despair has taught me, Hope comes along and urges me to try one more time. And you know what? It works! I really like having Hope around for that, but it kind of makes me mad at Despair. Was he lying to me all this time? Maybe he needs Hope, too. The next day I step outside and there is Hope!
"How long have you been out here?" I ask.
"I was here all night," she says.
I laugh because I don't believe her, but I don't want to tell her that and make her feel bad.
We start walking down the street when I notice Despair. He is standing on the opposite side of the street watching us. "Hey Despair! Come on, let's go play!"
He hesitates at first, but when I ask some more, he comes along. It's funny, though. He seems to keep his distance from Hope. When we come to Depression's house, he is already standing outside. We wave for him to follow us and he scurries down the walkway and falls in line behind us.
We played in the woods a lot today. I feel better now that Hope is on my side. Hide and seek isn't the same. Despair and Depression have a hard time finding me. Sometimes they do, but most of the time they can't. Eventually Despair throws up his hands yelling, "Forget it! Forget it! I can't do it! I give up." He turns and goes home. Depression stands there in shock staring at him. He looks at us, then to Despair, then back to us.
"I'm sorry," he says, "It's my fault." He hangs his head down and leaves after Despair.
I stand there with Hope, dumbfounded. "What happened?" I ask.
"Despair couldn't win and Depression couldn't get to you so they quit," she replies.
"What a bunch of babies," I say, "When they won, I didn't do that. I didn't act that way."
Hope looks at me and takes my hand. "Every time they won you acted that way."
I don't understand that, but I don't let on. So I just nod. She's so smart sometimes. It makes me feel like she knows things I don't.
"Hey," she says happily, "I have a friend I'd like you to meet."
"I don't know. Despair and Depression really need me. I feel like I let my friends down."
"It's okay," Hope replies, "They'll find new friends. They always do."
I am about to ask her how she knows so much about them when I hear someone calling her name. I look to the edge of the woods and see the second prettiest girl in the world (Hope is the first) running up to us.
"Hi, Hope! I've been looking for you!"
Hope smiles and pulls me to her side, "I'd like you to meet my new friend."
The girl flashes a model smile and extends her hand. "My name is Grace. Nice to meet you." I shake her hand and blush. She is so nice. She starts right away talking and including me in on the plans she and Hope have for the day. No one has ever been so kind to me. We spend the afternoon talking and playing together. We help people in town. We carry groceries for the little old ladies. We even help a little girl get her cat down from a tree. I feel good being around Hope and Grace. But still I have an empty spot left by Despair and Depression. I have seen them around town, but now they ignore me. Just like I'm not there. I think that is pretty rude because we have been though a lot together. They always used to hang around me. But with them gone, I feel lighter than air. I know it sounds funny, but it was almost like I had to carry Despair and Depression everywhere. Now that they are gone, I feel open and free. But there is still that big, empty hole.
Grace was so nice and caring that she notices me staring after Despair and Depression, and asks what was wrong. She seems like she wants to help, so I tell her everything. About my two friends, about our time together, and about that big, empty hole inside of me. She smiles and puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Tomorrow," she says, "I'll help you to fill that hole up, okay?"
I agree.
The next day when I step outside, I notice something strange. My sandy yard has begun to turn to soil. I have a few sprouts of grass! I am so happy. I run out and lay down on a small patch of it. I hear giggling and I get up fast. Hope and Grace are standing there on my sidewalk watching me. Next to them is a man. He has shoulder length hair, a moustache and beard, and the gentlest eyes I have ever seen. He looks nice enough, but he is dressed kind of funny. I mean no one in this neighborhood wears a long white robe and sandals. I walk up to them shyly, embarrassed for making a fool of myself in the grass. I apologize to Hope and Grace. They smile and say it is okay.
Grace looks at me and says, "I want you to meet someone. Remember I told you I'd help you fill up that hole inside of you?"
"How could I forget?" It was still there when I woke up, but Despair and Depression aren't really on my mind this morning.
"Well," she says, "I'd like you to meet Truth."
I stick out my hand and Truth sticks His out. I pull my hand back, shocked. "What happened?" I ask.
I look at Truth's hand, at both of His hands. They both have a hole the size of a large nail, all the way through.
"Does it hurt?" I ask.
"No, not anymore," He says, "Once it did. Right here." With that, He points to his chest, right at His heart. I begin to feel a little easier now. His voice calms me and I feel the hole inside me filling up. We talk for a little while, and I get a little bolder.
"Truth," I ask, "Who did that to You? Who put those holes in Your hands?"
He smiles a gentle smile, and putting His arm around my shoulder; we start walking down the street together. "Who put these here, you ask? Another friend, my son. A friend named Love."
I'll have to post some of the dreams I've had here too...
