Journal Entries

No "A" Allowed

Joseph didn't like squirt guns
He didn't like swimming
He didn't like the pool
He didn't like bees
He didn't like flowers
He didn't like the sun
He didn't like picnics
He didn't like being hot
He didn't like mosquitoes
He didn't like the outdoors
He didn't like bonfires
He didn't like sleeping in
He didn't like relaxing
He didn't like shorts or flip flops
He didn't like sunscreen
Joseph despised summer.

Pictures of Animals

He used to send her pictures of animals.
They'd come unexpectedly
when she was at work
or just waking up
or shopping for clothes.
And they'd come when they hadn't spoken yet that day.
He used to send her pictures of animals.
Once, it was after a nightmare
where she woke up struggling to breathe,
and once it was while they fought.
He used to send her pictures of animals.
They'd make her smile and laugh.
They'd make her forget what was wrong.
He used to send her pictures of animals.
He used to.

"It happened that green and crazy summer when…"

It happened that green and crazy summer when Frankie was twelve years old. It was the summer he would later think of when he thought about how great summer was. The particular day he thought of was always the same.
He was headed down the street toward the park, about 10AM. He could already hear the shrieks of little kids at the water park even though it wasn't in his line of vision yet. The change he had for the ice cream truck jingled in his shorts pocket. He was walking quite quickly, because he knew if Nigel didn't get there in time, someone would steal their tree.
As he got closer, he saw a figure perched in amongst the branches and relaxed because Nigel was there. Frankie slowed down his steps. It was already getting hot. When he reached the tree and began to climb, he started talking, as if picking up the conversation he and Nigel had never finished the evening before. When he got no response, he stopped his ascent and looked up. The figure he had taken for his best friend Nigel was a girl.
Nigel never showed up that day. He had come down with the flu.
That was the day Frankie met his secret friend.