Out of all the seasons, winter was my least favourite. It was the time of the year where Earth decides to punish us, humans, by turning all of us into frozen statues and flooding our streets with “white fluff” that fall from the heavens above. Now, I’m not one to believe in aliens but I’d be suspicious if something just came out of the sky. Not only is its origin questionable it also is a pain in the butt, literally, when you slip and hit your head on the concrete pavement due to it. And if you add into the equation the tiny, invisible parasites that cling to your skin and suck off all the warmth in your body which basically is frost bite, you would have a better understanding of the predicament I was in.
“It’s everywhere. Oh my God! Nancy, it’s everywhere! The ground’s gone, I repeat, The Ground Is Gone!” I screamed like a lunatic and I probably looked like one. I was currently crossing the street, running frantically as if the devil was chasing me. My erratic breathing coming off as puffs of air suspended in the sky. Meanwhile, my chest heaved like I’ve been running a marathon.
“Hold up! The ground is still here, you moron. Hey, Lucy, wait!” Nancy, my best friend, called out but I was too far gone that I couldn’t hear a word she was saying.
Straight ahead in the distance was the Bahama Mama Bistro. Although, its exterior was plain and odd with its brick covered structure paired up together with a hideous neon sign, stepping into its exterior was like walking into a new dimension. I particularly like its service because it didn’t make me want to curl up into a fetal position and cry. Did I also mention I’m terrified of mean people, not the I-want-to-run terrified but the I-want-to-move-to-another-country terrified? I’m also deat...
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...ve caught the look of confusion on my face because he repeated what he previously said.
“Yeah, tha th thanks by the way” I stuttered
“No problem. I’m Luke” he said with a smile as he offered his hand again.
My brain couldn’t comprehend what was going on otherwise if it did I wouldn’t have looked like a stuttering idiot. I just stared at his hand like it was some kind of foreign object. My brain was telling me to take it so my arm shot forward and took it. I just held his hand and didn’t say anything. My brain was probably telling me how stupid I looked. Say your name.
“I’m Lucy, nice to meet you” I said, relieved that I didn’t stutter.
I looked at him again and my anxiety started to kick in. I quickly turned around, wobbling like a penguin. What is wrong with me? I think I’m developing a phobia for boys, well that’s another phobia I have to add on my list.
On a rainy Monday, I had come to San Francisco to do a cuisine comparison, sort of a tour guide-cum-restaurant review, covering the soup kitchens that I remembered from my time in SF—my two years of living on the fringes. Those years seemed distant now—I am a university student, and I feel suddenly distant from my old days. I am hipper now, I thought. I felt the smugness of a wise-ass. I had thought before I made the trip: here’s a twist on the old restaurant review. I can talk about worn-out things: the bouquet of the food, the ambience of the place. How original. I had felt like slapping my own back.
In Chicago winter is usually the most dreaded time of the year. It rains,snows, and is just freezing. In january 1985 it was -27℉. In order to go outside in the months of December, January, and February you have to wear a hat, gloves,a scarf and multiple layers of clothes in order to stay warm. Almost every morning you would have to wipe off the snow, frost, and ice off your car. The are also lots of danger because like black ice. Ice is not visible on most roads, this can cause cars to slip. In the winter it get a lot darker a lot earlier. At 4:30 it's close to complete darkness. Winter in some parts of the world is 70℉ but not in Chicago.
When we think of Christmas weather, “snow” comes to mind. From making snow angels, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, and catching snowflakes on our tongues, we anticipate living in every single moment of this Winter Wonderland. However, at any time, this perfect depiction of a Winter Wonderland could unravel unexpectedly to becoming a Winter Disaster, known as a snow blizzard. In accordance to the National Weather Service that the LIVESCIENCE website quotes of, a blizzard is a “storm with considerable falling or blowing snow and winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than ¼ mile for at least 3 hours.” The Great Blizzard of 1888 overshadowed New York City to become a city that was fully covered in snow ruins as it took its toll
I ran as if to keep up with the nothingness that surrounded me, and an empty vacuum pulled me beneath the surface. A bloody hole, when on earth did someone put a hole here? The annoying fact that a hole without my consent, had just been dug up, distracted me from the reality that I kept falling, a really long fall. Even the adrenalin was blocked out as a result of my frustration with the ‘hole’ issue.
To a seven year old me, the looming grey monolith before me wasn’t intimidating, it was downright nightmarish. Maybe I had traumatized myself by watching “Why Airplanes Crash” the night before, or maybe I was scared of leaving everything I knew behind, but the site of the glass encased, dull concrete Airport made me want to turn around and run. And thinking back to that day in 2009, I probably could have. My Aunt and Grandma had stayed up the whole night packing and cleaning and reassuring me and my Sister that yes, Florida was fun, and no, the Airplane wasn’t going to crash and burn and consequently turn into a steaming pile of ash and dismembered corpses. They were both exhausted, and if me or my sister tried to turn back and ran around the parking lot, they would’ve surrendered and let us be. Regardless of what
We’re idling across the parking lot with people walking every which way. Everyone flooding into one complex out of the three plus other businesses. Above the door in a greasy stainless steel font, sharp letters spelled Chipotle Mexican Garille. As we squeak to a halt I notice each figure walk one by one into what looked like an archipelago, just there were no islands just a dense area of heavy emotions. I walk in and the vibe of heaviness and pressure invades the stratosphere of my presence. Inside my mind I cannot comprehend how long I might be waiting just to get my food. Standing minute after minute made my legs feel as if my bones were boiling liquid, as if they were lava from an infuriated volcano. I wondered if leaving and coming
Beginning in New York at Central Park, men and women went on with their daily lives and routines before being hit with a gust of wind accompanied by an altered mental state with profound confusion and short term memory. Victims lost memory of where they were, who they were and what they were doing. After confusion hit, a scream is heard by all and the most severe symptom occurred; suicide. A sensation to murder oneself that was so deep and overpowering,
I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder.
The weight of the car pressed down on the bottom half of my body with massive force. It did not hurt simply because adrenaline pumped through me. All I could feel was the weight of the car’s hood pushing my body farther and farther into the ground. My lungs felt clamped shut and air would neither enter nor escape them. My mind was buzzing. What had just happened? In the distance, on that demonic road, I saw cars driving by completely unaware of what happened and how I felt. I tried to yell but my voice was unheard. All I could do was wait. Wait for someone to help me or wait to die.
Disappointment, disbelief and fear filled my mind as I lye on my side, sandwiched between the cold, soft dirt and the hot, slick metal of the car. The weight of the car pressed down on the lower half of my body with monster force. It did not hurt, my body was numb. All I could feel was the car hood's mass stamping my body father and farther into the ground. My lungs felt pinched shut and air would neither enter nor escape them. My mind was buzzing. What had just happened? In the distance, on that cursed road, I saw cars driving by completely unaware of what happened, how I felt. I tried to yell but my voice was unheard. All I could do was wait. Wait for someone to help me or wait to die.
“You’re welcome.” That was it, the exchange was over. I hung up, and threw the cell phone somewhere, not caring where. I was incredibly hungry, (like I always am) so I put on shoes, grabbed some money, and walked out the door of my small, rented, nondescript apartment. I was headed towards a small market I knew, owned by a family. It has the best produce I’ve ever bought. The strawberries in particular were ripe, juicy, sweet and succulent. I love food, and I was on my way to by some. The door was open, and I had one foot out the door when my burner cell phone rang. Briiing! Briing! I was going to ignore it, but when I heard the ...
captive by a sheath of frost, as were the glacial branches that scraped at my windows, begging to get in. It is indeed the coldest year I can remember, with winds like barbs that caught and pulled at my skin. People ceaselessly searched for warmth, but my family found that this year, the warmth was searching for us.
When he stopped and moved back his eyes widened, and he appeared defensive as if I were going to verbally attack him. This defensive reaction caused him to stop pacing, and look at me. I realize now that when he looked at me I became defensive, because he was standing over me, and appeared intimidating. This caused my face to
As he walked past me, I glanced up at him timidly. I looked into his eyes, realizing they were exactly like mine. Quickly I shifted my gaze to the floor, not wanting to make eye contact. It wasn't always this awkward between us, but something had changed.
I raised my arms in anger, ?I?m talking to you.? Instantly his arm swung swiftly, like steel, it impacted on mine. Fear bulged from my eyeballs, he grasped both my hands and heaved me up. My feet dangled in the air.