Phoebe 's Lunchtime Ritual Was Over

As Mrs. Mallard is up in her room, she sits in her comfortable armchair, exhausted and motionless. She could see out of her window in which everything around her is in bloom, spring has arrived. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all

I made my way to my aunt’s house. Her home smelled of fresh cut pine, and she offered me a cup of coffee with a cinnamon stick in it. I accepted, and we went to the kitchen table and discussed our week. As she talked, I looked out her kitchen table. A small oak grew in the front yard. Snow capped the birdfeeder beside her bird bath.

The branches of the willows brushed across the ground with the slight breeze that carried throughout the valley. Long grass swayed lightly, bending over the path to slide across the dirt trail. A howl could be heard in the distance, echoing through the air.

Sarah slugged through the early morning work and realized-too soon- that she needed to make a trip to the house. She made her way, clasping her arms around her for warmth in the cold November morning. Painted Girl’s borrowed sweater did not help dissipate the cold air, and neither did the lingering whiskey in her system. A light shone in the window illuminating Grandfather and Dingle, who sat at the table together eating pie. She watched as Dingle grabbed a juicy strawberry from Grandfather’s pie and nibbled at it greedily. Grandfather must have finished his hunt early, Sarah realized. She had hoped to avoid Grandfather today but nature called. There was no choice, either the woods or the house. Sarah did an about turn and went for the

She took a quick look around the last turn before the main street that led to the school. She noticed several boys and girls in the alleyways on both sides of the narrow street. It looked as if every class at her school, several young ladies and even her teacher waited for her in ambush. She ducked back before they could see her, hiked up her dress, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her in the opposite direction of the angry mob. She didn’t stop until she had found the forest path that she needed and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard no one in pursuit. The forest surroundings felt different for some reason and it frightened her. It had a forbidding feel to it this dawn like she had never felt in the past.

The indication of morning had approached; wind halted while the air became temperate. Morning routine of the birds, fetching food for their children, communicating with the others, hatching their eggs. Newly seeded grass shooted out, growing like weeds. The air reminded Mary of a camping trip when she was younger in Yosemite Park. Pinecones and trees gave her the happy memories, ones of her husband and her only child before the accident.

Once they were there, the quarter-mile trek to their place had to be made. It was a small, circular clearing in the cone-bearing woods. The area around the fire pit was dirt, for safety reasons. On the outskirts of the copper-colored dirt were five large, round logs arranged in a circle for sitting. Just a few feet beyond the logs, the forest began again in copious amounts of vegetation and growth, like an untamed lion. That night’s weather was just right. The cool air was

Lush red and orange leaves touched by morning dew fill the limbs of an old Oak tree, rustling as the wind slowly made her way by, teasing the edges of the leaves and tempting them to come with her. The weaker ones went, not realizing their fate, twirling in her presence, following as far as they could manage in the air, encased in feelings of happiness and freedom. Soon, however, the wind died down; causing the leaves to drop and crumble onto the ground. They couldn't express their feelings of remorse so they crumbled in on themselves, shutting out the wind. She came back at times, and some fell for it, the ones that hadn't learned their lesson, they followed her again. Each that did, were ripped to pieces. The tree, in the end, had been robbed.

He noticed the the trees near him were brushed aside, and even some were leaning. Soon he came into contact with a small fallen tree, pressed deep into the ground. William moved around the tree and gulped once more. “This giant does not seem smart, stepping on a tree. Hopefully it’s as dumb as a rock.” The shining sun passed through the tree’s above and he listened to chirp of the birds. Then the humming. “Wait,” he said. “Birds don’t

The air was crisp and clean, as it was a mild autumn day. Throughout the forest, the sounds of nature could be heard. Birds chirping, leaves falling off trees in the midday breeze. The calm sounds of the woods gave way to a new sound: the gentle humming of a young female wanderer, on a quest to visit her grandmother. She quite enjoyed the sounds and view of the forest, as it was her favorite thing to surround herself with as she was growing up in the village not far from the forest edge. As she strolled through the winding paths of the forest road, she thought of the wonderful experiences of the day ahead with her grandmother.

WILLIAM stood at the crest of a valley and stared down over his orchard. The trees stretched out in both directions in long, perfectly straight rows. The sun cut a path through thin, wispy tendrils of fog, and shimmered off morning dew that clung to the leaves and grass; the entire orchard glimmered. The apple trees reminded William of his former students at Beacon Academy, attentively arrayed before him, hanging on his every word. A crisp, late-October breeze swept across the valley, offering a subtle hint at the approaching winter chill. The trees were bursting with red and green apples, the branches bowing under the weight of the bounty. Men and women moved methodically between the rows, using three point ladders to reach the upper branches.

Running into the woods Sarah’s eyes fell on familiar sights. Trees she had climbed as a little girl, old trails her father had made, the old stream she loved to sit by and read poetry. Sweet, delicate memories flowed into her mind like warm, caressing fingers attached from loving angels, as Todd pulled her deeper into the woods. The world outside the community is exciting…but this is my home,” Sarah thought as Todd hurried slowed down to help her step over a fallen log

Lilly glanced down the row of cars all parked up under the trees. A chill moved through her. She brought her knees up to her chest, pressed her thighs against her rib cage and let her head sink down. She needed to find a place to stay. She needed somewhere to sleep and she needed to be able to get ready tomorrow to make sure Bobby saw her looking hot again. Because he would kick himself once he saw her all made-up in a nice dress and nice shoes. He’d feel pretty dumb for avoiding her this last year over a stupid pair of flip-flops. But how was she going to be that girl who turned his head if she spent tonight sleeping rough? Lilly closed her eyes and tried not to let it upset her. Puffed up eyes was the last thing she

Almost immediately after telling the readers about her first crush, the speaker, setting up for the second part of her story, begins to use vague phrases and abstract imagery to tell the rest of her story. The speaker remembers “lingering far past curfew [with the paperboy]” and the “gray [air]” that surrounded her (7-8). She tells of the “huge shadow of the hickory” that shrouded her with darkness, that allowed her to be in the shade (9). These vague details and the darkness offered by the tree’s shade allows for the interpretation that the speaker will soon fall asleep in the hickory’s shadow and begin to dream of the

The morning was average and one could already see the mysterious, milky light of the night mix with the interrupting brightness of the day. You brushed your teeth, slipped on your shoes, and had Nell fix your tie like any old Dawson Tax cubicle worker would do. “When do you think you’ll be home from the office, Mack?” “About 7:30, I’m working late.” “Aww. Okay, that’s not a problem! I’ll help Maddie with her project,” she said with a smile not wanting to let you know how much it meant to