authenticity

  • Priority

    “You forgot something.” “I have my keys.” “Not that.” “Phone?” “In your hand.” “Coffee?” “Also in your hand.” “Then I have everything.” “You forgot yourself.” There was a pause. “That was dramatic.” “It got your attention.” “I am literally standing here.” “Physically, yes. Congratulations.” “Are we doing this today?” “Apparently. When did you move yourself…

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  • Dirty Windows

    Opinions should only come from people who are living the life you want. Everyone else should be a spectator. But spectators are rarely quiet. They sit comfortably in the ruins of their own choices and shout instructions across the fence about how someone else should rebuild theirs. Turn left. Leave. Stay. Forgive. Walk away. Try…

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  • The Un-vacation

    Everyday starts off like an ordinary day until it isnt. That’s probably how most things happen. Nobody wakes up Tuesday morning expecting Tuesday to become the reason they start looking at plane tickets by lunch. The coffee tastes the same. The computer turns on. The same people need the same things they needed yesterday, except…

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  • A person who sits with their demons long enough realizes that they are all teachers wearing masks. I used to think they came carrying pitchforks. Turns out they arrived holding mirrors. Funny how disappointment always introduces itself as punishment until enough years pass for you to realize it was simply an instructor with terrible bedside…

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  • Palace Standards

    There is a strange thing that happens when someone is offered two invitations. One arrives on thick paper, sealed in wax, written with careful hands. It is an invitation to a palace. The walls are tall, not because they are meant to keep people out, but because what lives inside has value. Every room has…

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  • There is an old tailor’s shop that almost no one remembers anymore. The walls are lined with thousands of pairs of scissors. Some are polished silver. Some are black with age. Some have blades so sharp they can separate silk without leaving a thread behind. People wander into the shop every day carrying pieces of…

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  • Wearer of the Amulet

    There are people who wear jewelry because it matches the outfit. People who own drawers full of glittering things that are changed with the weather, the season, or the occasion. Gold on Tuesday. Silver on Friday. Diamonds for the gala. Plastic beads for the beach. Nothing wrong with that. Adornment has always been part of…

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  • Waiting Room 7

    There is a waiting room that every person eventually finds. No one tells you where it is. No one hands you directions. One day life simply walks you through the door, takes a seat beside you, and says… “You’re going to be here awhile.” The room isn’t fancy. The chairs are comfortable enough to keep…

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  • I don’t normally wake up on an average Tuesday looking for trouble. Tuesday is usually reserved for coffee, ambition, and pretending emails don’t exist for another five minutes. But every once in a while… Pettluyah clocks in for her shift. She doesn’t work often. Only when absolutely necessary. Today she adjusted her sunglasses, smiled at…

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  • The carnival had closed hours ago. The lights still blinked. The music still echoed from speakers no one had bothered to shut off. Popcorn drifted across cracked pavement. Prize booths sat full of stuffed animals that no one had won. The mirrors inside the funhouse reflected empty walkways. Yet one attraction somehow still had a…

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