Moving Forward

-One-

Clouds of steam unfurl from the heated red mug next to me. The smell of chocolate wafts through the air, the scent of warm sweetness drifting out into the world from my window. If you squint enough, it looks like the steam rejoins the other clouds in the sky.

I love the color red. From my red mug to my rose red painted walls, even my comfortable red sweater. Where there wasn't red, there was white; a white desk, white trim, white bed comforter. I consider dying my hair red with a streak of white, but I didn't want to run the risk of looking like I'm 'trying too hard', as my friend Sarah would say.

Sarah keeps me in check from masking everything I own in red. Kind of like how parents of a goth kid keep them from painting everything they own black. Sarah enjoys red, but I think she prefers when it's not vibrant. The color red and chocolate was how we became friends in kindergarten. I was the overly quiet child, so when Valentine's day came, everyone was surprised how a hidden switch was flipped and the quiet child became the noisiest kid one would meet. I was also that kid that brought gifts for everyone since my mom said it would be a nice thing to do. I gave Sarah chocolate, she complimented my red shirt. In an instant we became friends.

I take a sip from the mug and taste the warmth of the hot chocolate slide down my throat. I continue to gaze out the window, getting lost in my imagination. In a second, I can see a light blue, lengthy dragon fly along the sky. Instead of cookie-cutter suburban houses, there are taverns and shops of medieval appearance, with a setting sun making way for two moons in the sky. I smiled and immediately looked down to start sketching what I saw in my sketchbook in front of me.

I have found the best inspiration comes from looking outside the window when the sun is either setting or rising. Great for taking pictures and great for drawing pictures. Before I can get too into drawing, however, my phone buzzed with a message.