The sunshine loved her cheeks. Imagine a wildflower planted right next to a busy sidewalk—face toward the sun, conversing with bees, colorful petals waving to passersby. That flower was her. A pedestrian’s day was made just a little brighter for having seen her; folks often left her presence wearing a fresh smile. I happened to … Continue reading On Samantha Sader →

Crackling energy bit the air at her approach and it was hard to miss her entrance. She had a way of striding into a room, as if into a castle under siege, she here to vanquish the enemy’s champion fighter. For armor, she wore a dark smile and snapping eyes, her sword the lightning dancing … Continue reading On Katie Byrne →

Some described her as 'bright' and 'bubbly,' and I supposed she was, most of the time. I happened to know she had a flickering blue flame trapped in a corked glass bottle, one small enough for her to hang from a delicate chain, which she wore around her neck, hiding the whole ensemble beneath her shirt.

In a quiet back way, I met a colorful alley cat. Or, I should say, I stumbled right over him. He'd been basking in the sun in plain sight, minding his own business. Yet I, in my absentmindedness, hadn't even seen him.

He was a steadfast guardian of all he held dear. An appraising look at the approach of a challenger. A dismissive smirk if he found you wanting; a quiet laugh when you measured up. If you didn't get distracted by the long eyelashes, you found he had clever eyes, the sort that could pierce you down to the depths of your soul. I daresay I made it a point not to test him too often.

There was a mother bear in the language department at my university.

When I was still a small creature, she steadied me on the back of a horse, like a solid anchor at my back, one that could never be unseated. The day I held the reins for the first time, she placed her hand over mine to help me guide our mount. If I fell off, she picked me back up, dusting me off and checking for injuries.

If my sister was a tree, then this woman was the wild wind in her branches.

At first she was a friendly face, existing in a liminal time, just outside of everyone else's clock. I'm not sure when she arrived, but it was sudden, with a splatter of toner ink on my purse and profuse apologies. (Personally, I thought it made the thing look cool and grungy.) Once she did show up, however, it was as if she had always been around, a half hour's conversation I could sometimes look forward to at the end of the day.