One Summer's Evening

Pinks, purples and oranges mix on the horizon as the sun begins to set, looking more brilliant than a master painting. The two race to the car and she wins, effectively calling dibs on driving. The key is turned in the ignition and the engine rumbles to life. Peeling out of the parking lot, she laughs and rolls down the windows, euphoric. In the passenger seat, he simply smiles his calm smile and turns on the radio.

She opts to take the back roads instead of the interstate, their desertedness encouragement to accelerate. The wind whips her long hair about her face, but she takes no heed, devoting her energy to belting along with the music blaring from the stereo. Their glances meet and her contagious grin prompts him to add his tenor with equal enthusiasm.

No feeling can quite match it. They are on top of the world, just the two of them. Cool wind blows in their faces, scented with honeysuckle and the promise of rain. It doesn't even matter what's on the radio; they sing with zeal, whether they know the words or not, making up lyrics when necessary.

It's grown quite dark now and as they pass a vast pasture, she stops, suddenly, and kills the engine. Only by the glow of the almost-full moon can he see her raise her arm and point. All across the field, tiny pinpricks of light fade in and out. Thousands upon thousands of fireflies illuminate the night, more beautiful than the most extravagant Christmas displays. It's like magic and a nostalgia for childhood fairy-tales sweeps over them both. Thunder rolls in the distance, but neither makes a movement to leave.

In the silence, her hand finds his and when their fingers twine together, they know contentment. And in the moment that he pulls her out to dance in the field of fireflies, they know joy.

An Epic

Sunken treasures, lost legends, secret passages.
Daring rescues, narrow escapes, life-alerting moments.
Distant planets, dimensions, kingdoms.
These are adventures. These are the experiences of heroes and heroines.

People who start out ordinary but inevitably end up becoming...more.
A boy who just wants to get through middle school, a girl who was only playing a game of hide-and-seek, a young man who is satisfied to sit at home and watch the clouds float by.
Somehow, they all overcome their fears and doubts to do great things.

They're all stories, but there's an inherent truth about them.
Something that keeps them alive and fresh for generations of audiences.
And I wonder for a moment.
Maybe there is a talking frog in my backyard.

All that I know for certain is that I crave it.
I need it like the moon needs the sun.
Wanderlust rises in my heart and I'm off.
Forgetting, for a while, reality that lurks nearby.

Why can't life be more like an adventure?
An epic tale rather than a ho-hum day to day existence.
Why can't I ride a dragon, talk to a lion or face an evil villain?
Why can't I become the hero that the books are written about?

Dive

Standing on the edge of a cliff, teetering with indecision.
Far below, waves crash and churn, anything but inviting.
An icy wind cuts through bare skin and a faraway gull laments.
It's time to choose:
Leap or Run, take a chance or play it safe.
Pulse thrumming, mind racing, rise up on tiptoes.
Eyes squeezed closed in fear of what's to come.
One last inhalation before giving over to gravity.
Cold air whips past on a never-ceasing downward race.
Hair flies wild and eyes open for a peek with one psuedo-comforting thought:
This is a decision that could end in disaster or serendipity.