Personal Narrative-She's Smoke

It is true in life that everything happens for a reason. It is also true to say that sometimes it is all about being in the right place, at the right time. There was never a more prominent example of this than a traumatic summers evening, only a few years ago.

I heard a feminine voice call out to me as I blazed out the front door. "Good morning Amber! Oh, where are you--" I cut her off with a sharp slam. I couldn't look back. With each step towards my car, I inhale painful sobs of air. I feel as if I don't know who I am, as if I was that 18 year old girl hearing the news of his death for the first time. I couldn't think of the name that belongs to me, or any one else but my father. Any face my subconscious offers had the resonance of a total stranger, then was replaced with the haunting image of

On a Saturday morning, around 10am, my family was getting ready for my niece’s (Maritza) 4-year-old birthday party. After 12:30pm we were already at my sister’s (Adele) house, ready to give my niece a hug and her annual present. At the moment Maritza wasn’t home, so I stalled for a bit. Chatted with their neighbor, few high school friends, and their wife’s. Finally, she showed up along with her father. The first person she hugs is me, I’m her favorite uncle, according to her, as she hugs my legs and looked up and says, “hey uncle J.” I replied “hey?” with a bit of a curiosity on my mind. Her lip had a big red lump. I managed to not ask her what had happened on her lip. I’m thinking it’s a “I fell down” type accident. The party went off, and

It was dark and alone and I felt the need to cry. One by one everyone I have ever loved showed up. My mom, my sister, my late girlfriend, my grandma… I could go on. Their eyes were on me and only me. I was the only stimulus in the room. The yelled at me. I was irrational . I had put them in a situation where they didn’t even know me anymore. I was the monster under the bed and I was the reason why people were scared. They yelled so loud to the point where I didn’t even know if they were screams anymore.

Ignoring me, he continued, "She broke up up with me because I bought her a simple neclace for her birthday not the diamond bracelet she wanted."

“Petlon get in there,”Coach said. At first I was like what does he mean. I was confused because at the time Eli was a better center. I figured I should hustle out there and give it my best try, so that’s what I did.

"Junior year is the year you find out who you really are." That's what I have heard from previous juniors in my two years of high school. I had started to believe they were right but didn't want to settle with it until it happened to me. I have been friends with Ally since we were pre-school age. We had briefly lost touch for the past few years but began to reconnect once we had more classes together. After her first day of softball practice, Ally came to me and said, "Kelsey, the new girl on the softball team, is just so annoying. Like, I can't stand her."

I don’t know how to continue now that she is dead. What could I have done to stopped her ? Nothing I guess. How does one keep moving after something like this. She called that night me and told me she loved me. I said I loved her and told her to go to bed because it was late. What would have happened if I stayed on the phone? Things might be different. We could be eating popcorn and watching horror movies right now. But now my life is a horror movie. Everywhere I go reminds me of her. I can't function in school. They thought that a week would be enough time. Going back to a place where I have so many memories with her has just made it worse. I met her here. Right here.

I became a little obsessed with her. Whenever I took out her photo my head couldn’t stop from tilting and my eyes couldn’t stop from peering closely because the image itself was awe-inspiring in its simplicity. She couldn’t have been more than four at the time it was taken; her dark ringlets fell close to her waist and she was young enough to where the strands looked as fragile as the dandelion she held gently in her hands. Her mouth was forming a smile as the white tufts drifted away. Of course, it’s a still image, but I felt as if I was there in the moments following the snapshot, when she giggled and reached for the little seeds floating away, a brazen grin on her face. Who knows what she wished for. Her eyes were the type that stayed sad even in the lightest of times, and sometimes when I glanced

Me and my cousin Roxanne were close. She lived in the country, so my sisters and I would go to her house every Thanksgiving and play in the small woods that she had in her backyard. So many wonderful memories that I will never forget. Growing up, we would share each other’s secrets and promise each other not tell anyone. We would tell each other what was bothering us in our families, how we feel, the guys we dated, and the guys that broke our hearts. Over the years my sisters, me and Roxanne kept ourselves busy with school, church and our jobs. We grew apart and stopped talking to Roxanne less because of how busy we were. Sometimes we would not have thanksgiving at Roxanne’s house and have Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house. The last time we were all united, we noticed Roxanne had changed

The adrenaline poured into my stomach; as I recalled the day I was sentenced to what I considered, my purgatory. I pictured me on the edge of the table, a catastrophically frightened 17-year-old child. Distinctly I remember my white Jack Purcell’s, dangling above the dirty clinic floor. I had snuck down there with my money from working a burger- flipping job, and made the appointment. The random shift doctor, never made eye contact, and kept typing away while he retrieved a handful of standard pamphlets. “You really should consider talking to someone, an adult”, he recommended. I was paralyzed with fear, and nodded in compliance. “Well this isn’t uncommon for a circumstance like this. But don’t feel bad, you will be ok.” I recalled my breath stopping, “ You wont be able to have children though.” I felt ill, panicked, and queasy. He dryly continued “The assault left a lot of scar tissue.” I couldn’t move or speak. If I could have, what would I have said? I was in uncharted territory. I was frozen into stone. All my fears in life, known and unknown, were there, crowding the space in that room, and I was alone. I had choked back the well of tears, which would later become familiar friends through out my adult life. I walked down the corridor of the medical clinic, numb. I don’t even remember the next few days. No one in my life found out until years later, why I changed so much. I didn’t have the heart to tarnish the image. Their hopes and dreams for me, soon vanished. I was an Honor roll student, an athlete, and a naive Southern Baptist virgin. I was a typical, Southern raised, Norman Rockwell, smiley-faced country kid. It was all gone, with that one moment in time. A stranger’s heartless insanity, and violence, was now my

I walk back to the camper quarters or as we call it, The Loud House, I see Williana and Sandren talking. Then Sandren leans forward and Williana leans forward. Then they kiss! I should have known. Man! You know to me Sandren looks kinda cute, with his tattoos and short hair, with all those 216 pounds of muscle! He was a girls dream. And now Williana is Sandren’s girl. I feel so stupid! I should know by now, heck I should have known by day ONE! The way he held her close, the way he hugged her goodnight, the way they talked! UGH! Now I’m in bed. I look out the side and see a picture taped to the ceiling of our bunk. It’s Sandren’s. Could my life get any worse?! I saunter down to the cafeteria. I see Sandren sit down. He looks depressed. I see Williana sit four tables away, she was crying. Now that I recall… I did hear loud voices outside the Loud House… Maybe! Just maybe, Sandren broke up with WIlliana!

Strumming the strings of her lute, she entrances the crowded travern. She casts spells upon others, using only her voice and sheer charisma. She smiles, regaling them with tales of brave knights and fearsome dragons, or beautiful maidens with flowing golden hair. Someone tosses a coin at her, and it lands near her dancing feet with a metallic clang. She nods in appreciation, but never misses a note or bar in her song. The bard continues this way until closing time, before rejoining the others in her band of theives. Leaving satisfied that her pockets are heavy with jangling

The dozens of colorful cards, floral bouquets, and pink and blue teddy bears overflowing the makeshift table made it look more like a well - stocked gift shop than a hospital cart. Mylar balloons, trimmed with ribbon ringlets announcing “It’s a boy!” and “It’s a girl!” obscured all but a small corner of the picture window’s mountain view. Through this corner I could see snow glistening on Pikes Peak, even though it was summer, which looked like a vanilla Dairy Queen cone topped with silver sprinkles.

May She’s a graceful misery destroying everything in her path. She wants it all: the demons, the darkness, the beauty, the passion, the mayhem, the destruction.