"It contains your greatest fear." The kingfisher perched in the branches above me preened its green and gold feathers with a long beak and a self-righteous air. "I can see into it. Want to guess what's inside?"

Undulating waves of cotton candy pink and sapphire blue filled up my vision, shifting, swirling. Like gazing into a sunrise and finding it could dance. Over and over, the display stole my breath, made my heart sing. Dizzying me with euphoria. I desired nothing more than to keep watching; I wanted desperately to look away. … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Accessory to Conceit →

White surf hissed against a pebbly black shore, curling around my toes in a wash of cold spray. Secrets from distant lands washed onto this ancient beach, catching on pebbles and snagging within tide pools. Collected and kept here where few knew to seek them. The older secrets rested further up the beach, but the … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Pebble Prophecies →

A thick cloud came to rest over farmland and countryside, shading the afternoon in sepia tones and muffling the distant sounds of highway traffic. To avoid a wide, unnecessary loop of interstate, I was cutting across an open field, boots squishing in mud from overnight rainfall. Yellowing grass swished against my knees, soaking my pants … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Ghostly Guardian →