They rushed out the door, grabbing anything and everything they could think of they might need. There was no time to double-check to make sure they weren’t leaving something important behind. Everything was thrown into the car and they sped off. Thirty minutes later they were safe and that was when it dawned on them that they had forgotten the most important thing of all.

Sitting in the sun, away from everyone who had done him harm in the past, he quietly listened to those who roamed by. He felt at peace in the moment, hoping it would last, but knowing the reprieve would soon come to an end. He closed his eyes, the sun beating down on face and he smiled. He smiled for the first time in as long as he could remember.

It was supposed to be a dream vacation. They had planned it over a year in advance so that it would be perfect in every way. It had been what they had been looking forward to through all the turmoil and negativity around them. It had been the light at the end of both their tunnels. Now that the dream vacation was only a week away, the virus had stopped all air travel.

“What is the best way to get what you want?” she asked. He looked down at the ground knowing that she wouldn’t like his answer. He hesitated, knowing that the truth would only hurt. How was he going to tell her that the best way for him to get what he wanted was to leave her? Barbara had been waiting at the table for twenty minutes. it had been twenty long and excruciating minutes.

He had done everything right. There had been no mistakes throughout the entire process. It had been perfection and he knew it without a doubt, but the results still stared back at him with the fact that he had lost. Since they are still preserved in the rocks for us to see, they must have been formed quite recently, that is, geologically speaking. What can explain these striations and their common orientation?

He ordered his regular breakfast. Two eggs sunnyside up, hash browns, and two strips of bacon. He continued to look at the menu wondering if this would be the day he added something new. This was also part of the routine. A few seconds of hesitation to see if something else would be added to the order before demuring and saying that would be all. It was the same exact meal that he had ordered every day for the past two years.

It was supposed to be a dream vacation. They had planned it over a year in advance so that it would be perfect in every way. It had been what they had been looking forward to through all the turmoil and negativity around them. It had been the light at the end of both their tunnels. Now that the dream vacation was only a week away, the virus had stopped all air travel.

What was beyond the bend in the stream was unknown. Both were curious, but only one was brave enough to want to explore. That was the problem. There was always one that let fear rule her life. I recently discovered I could make fudge with just chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and a thick pot on slow heat. I tried it with dark chocolate chunks and I tried it with semi-sweet chocolate chips.

He had done everything right. There had been no mistakes throughout the entire process. It had been perfection and he knew it without a doubt, but the results still stared back at him with the fact that he had lost. They say you only come to peace with yourself when you know yourself better than those around you. Derick knew nothing about this. He thought he had found peace but this was an illusion as he was about to find out with an unexpected occurrence that he actually knew nothing about himself.

Welcome to my world. You will be greeted by the unexpected here and your mind will be challenged and expanded in ways that you never thought possible. That is if you are able to survive…