Author's Note: This vignette was written for a Coursera class. The assignment was to "paint a picture" of a place or person in three paragraphs - basically a description exercise.
When I miss it, I see waves. The ocean tugging at my toes like a friend grabbing my fingers, inviting me to play. Sibilance - omnipresent reassurances echoed in tree-leaves all night. A rainbow, a full arch painted behind a sun-bleached building. A rainbow of faces, girls in long skirts and dyed auburn hair, boys in lavalavas. A medley of languages, my languages and others, a harmony of accents. Cold ahi poke on warm rice; fog pressed against the plastic lid.
When I miss it, it was a tsunami drill. It's a blanket of humidity that suffocates you slowly. It's 3 AM and the only light is the white Facebook background on my laptop screen. It's a friend just a bus ride away that I know I'll never go to. An albino mouse dead in the corner of her tank. Red bleach leaking from a tarnished water bottle. Lemon and salt and cleansing fire.
Most days, lukewarm breeze through the louvers that didn't close. Polite Mormon smiles. Trees with perfect nooks for climbing, bumpy bus rides into town, sisal-paned walls with chalkboards. Diet Sprite and lemongrass tea.
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Tidbits
Short StoryShort works, school assignments, and freewrites that don't deserve to be their own book. I've ordered them from best to worst. This collection is also published on FictionPress; however, the chapter order is different. Section I - Stand-alone Storie...
