Avenue of Imagination

Photo provided by Parul Kashyap Thakur

     Sunlight dancing through the canopy of trees provided a kaleidoscope of flickering shadows on the forest floor.  It was one of the reasons Cassie sought sanctuary within its fragrant depths.  A safe haven, here she could escape, blend in, and find refuge.

     Surrounded by towering oaks, she felt protected.  She sang, danced, and chased shadows.   Her imagination unleashed, she penned stories and created illustrations of the beings she imagined lived there: unicorns, dragons, and fairies.  

      Years later, the avenue of towering trees were woefully replaced by condos and street lamps.  Illusions gone, only memories remain of that distant enchanted place.

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That One Crazy Friend

 

     A song playing and I am transported.

      Stunned, I quickly crank the volume losing myself to the beat. 

      Tears glisten in my eyes, as I belt out the lyrics. Priceless snippets of you flood my senses:  dancing on tabletops, mooning the student body at the pep rally.   I even remember the aftermath of that one crazy night that began with shots of tequila, stealing the Mackinac Island Ferry, and ending in a night in jail after your speech to the cops that you were Jack Sparrow.

  I’d sacrifice everything to experience reckless insanity again with you just one last time.

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Dinner and a Show

Photo prompt courtesy of  BAR

     Annaliese and Nick raced with their parents trailing behind to the monkey exhibit.  The animal encounter was scheduled to start in exactly 2 minutes.  A crowd had already gathered to watch and the young family jockeyed for the best position.

 

     Meanwhile, two zoo keepers clothed in regulation khaki shorts and forest green polo shirts moved amongst the monkeys distributing corn cobs.

“Gus, mind your manners!  People are watching!”

“Aw, mom! People are always watching, and I am starving!” Gus scrambled to capture a few loose kernels that had fallen from his mother’s cob.

“Gus, don’t you DARE eat off the ground in front of company.  Wait for another cob.  The people will give you one.  Be patient!”

“5 second rule. No time for patience!  Every monkey for himself!” Gus squealed as he lunged.

     His mother chose to ignore his antics, preferring to enjoy her dinner instead.    After all, she knew you only fought the battles you could actually win.   Gus licked the ground, enjoying every last kernel oblivious. 

     The crowd watched transfixed.  The monkeys ate, then raced to their perches, swinging on the ropes, scaling the tree, and providing the entertainment the crowds had ultimately come to see.  Cameras snapped, cell phones raised in salute, to capture the moment for later, to share in Snap Chat, Face Book, or Twitter to the less fortunate souls who couldn’t be at the zoo today.

      Annaliese and Nick clapped delighted, while their parents encouraged them to move on to the next exhibit with the rest of the crowd.  More animals to see, more ground to cover, and only the beginning of their day at the zoo.

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Never Ending Winter

     It seemed winter would never come.  November became December, and still snow evaded.  If only snow had floated leisurely from the sky, if only the temperatures had plummeted, then perhaps I could have been a little more inclined to get into the spirit of Christmas.   A white Christmas wasn’t to be and soon the New Year dawned. 

     Once the holidays were a memory, the snow arrived, the wind chill factor became a daily concern, and barely into the new semester, snow days were inevitable and midwinter break was officially lost.  And so winter begins; now, I am longing for spring.

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