Joseph Stephens and Winter's fury

            Joseph Stephens sat in his house shivering. It seemed like an eternity since his good friend Pumpkin Patches left and winter came along.

Old man winter was an unpredictable fellow, coming on strong and inviting himself in and lazily lingering into months that didn’t even belong to him. He was a jolly fellow in the holiday season but by January he was more like the drunk uncle that wont leave your house after a Christmas party. Joseph Stephens knew all too well, both the drunk uncle AND the persistence of Old man winter. “Isn’t it time for spring? It is march after all” Joseph said as he shivered. Winter was asleep in the rocking chair using his blue robe and slippers. His long white hair ran down to the floor and tangled into the rocker as it went back and forth. “Oh yes, I should be going. Just another five minutes” Said Old Winter.

            Outside of Joseph’s house was a timid little bunny. “E-excuse me. I think Easter is approaching and I-it should be nice and green for the spring.” Said the little furry brown bunny. Spring tail the rabbit was basically a talking rabbit that made flowers grow, but every time he tried to revive the flowers Old Man Winter’s cold air breath would make the flowers retreat back into the ground. As winter slept cold air would escape from his mouth as he exhaled. Spring would never arrive if the silly old king of winter stayed.

            “Ok, Winter wake up!” Joseph said jostling the old King of the snow and ice. “Who DARES?!” Shouted Old man winter. He stood up quickly and cold air blew in every direction. Cold air followed Old man Winter, when he slept it was chilly, when he was awake it snowed, when he was angry it made blizzards. Snow began falling inside and outside of Joseph’s already drafty home. “I will go where I please and when I please!” Said Winter as his voice became that of the howling wind. His appearance changed from that of a sleepy old man to an enraged Wizard who had power of the elements. Springtail the Bunny retreated into a hole under Joseph’s house. If Spring wasn’t going to stand up to winter, Joseph would have to. “That’s ENOUGH!” Joseph said and he pushed Winter with all of his might. Old man winter stumbled backward and hit his back against the wall. This jolt brought him back to his senses. “Oh…I am sorry Joey. I didn’t mean to lose my temper again. It is good of you to let me stay at your house. I-I should leave” Winter said sounding ashamed and a little dazed. “tell Spring I said goodbye and I’m sorry” Winter added as he collected his things and put on his fuzzy blue winter hat. A knitted hat that said “Winter #1” on it.

            “I will, goodbye and sorry for shoving you” Joseph said, though he wasn’t really sorry. It was just better to stay on friendly terms with the seasons because they come back every year.

            A rush of wind blew through the house and then went out the window, taking Old Man Winter and all of the snow with it. “You can come out now” Joseph said. Spring Bunny poked his head out cautiously. “R-really? Thank you Mr.Stephens” Said Springtail. “Don’t mention it. go do your thing and spread the Spring season. And maybe try to be a little braver around Winter” Joseph replied. Springtail nodded and smiled. Then hopped off. Green grass and flowers sprung up behind the magical little rabbit, then a warm breeze blew through the town. The smell of freshly grown flowers and rain floated through the air. Joseph smiled, took off his sweater and went inside. It was finally spring, he would enjoy the pleasant rain, the cool breeze and the sunshine while he waited for his chance to see Pumpkin Patch again in the Fall.

Beauty in everything

Beauty is all around, even in a world that sometimes feels full of darkness and evil, beauty can still be found. It can be found in nature, brief moments when the sun shines through the trees just right or on a rainy day when the sound of rain on the roof and calm cool breeze in air come together and make a beautiful scene that can’t be described or recorded, only experienced.

Beauty can be found in the human race too. Too often people misuse the word and say “what a beautiful woman” but in reality she might be hot, sexy or attractive. If you saw someone who was truly beautiful in appearance you would know what it really looks like, after you recover from being stunned by it all. Attractive women are in magazines, beautiful women are scattered through the world like a spice. Then there is the beauty within, even those without stunning appearance might be so internally beautiful that they almost seem to glow. You can feel it when they talk and you can see it in their actions. They are the type of people that make you want to be a better person.

There is beauty is science too. From street lamps or city lights glowing in the distance on a dark night, to impossibly long numbers that seem incalculable. It is beautiful how random and complex the universe might seem or how unique DNA can be.

Some beauty makes you stop and think and some makes you smile. You might be able to find beauty so great that it can make you rethink your life. You might even see something so wonderful and perfect that you can’t stand looking at it. The sheer purity of it might make the ugliness of the world seem worse by contrast.

So no matter where you are, if you are observant enough and take the time, you can find beauty all around you and hopefully it will help you see the world in a better light.

Fall Pysche

The winter has affected my psyche. I sit in my chair with my back to the window, I know its cold and snowing outside but I refuse to acknowledge it. Like a severed head on your floor, you don’t want to look at it, but you know its there. No matter how much you lie to yourself you will still have a severed head on your floor.

            While many hope for the warm days of spring, I wish for the cool rainy days of spring. The cool crisp air that makes me feel alive. There are two seasons with such weather, early spring and the middle of autumn. Even though autumn is my favorite season I try not to think about it during the winter. In the months of January and February, Autumn is more finished than it is arriving. To think of autumn now would be wishing for a huge chunk of my life to be whisked away, simply to enjoy the shortest season of the year and then be forced to endure winter all over again.

            I know not to wish my life away, but occasionally I will hear a song or smell a fragrance that reminds me of autumn. Something deep in my subconscious will light up and I will be stunned by my memories of the season. I have heard that people always remember the best parts of their past and some things should be left in the past. Nothing can live up to your expectation of that one moment you had all those years ago. I would say this is true, I will keep my memories as they are, just memories. The Fall season is the exception. Every year it is just as wonderful as I remembered it. The feel of the air, the sights, the smells, it all takes me back to a simple time and life seems joyous. Never in my life would I even think to use a word such as joyous, except in the Fall.

             Autumn is almost magical, the trees seem to explode with color. Bright vibrant colors of red, orange and yellow. Autumn is like a bright burning flame or fireworks in the sky, quick, beautiful and memorable. The season that takes the lush green of the world and explodes with colors most places on earth don’t get to ever see. Then just like that, it is over. The cool crisp air is gone and replaced by a bitter wind. The world seems much darker and you just want the light back.

            So for the sake of my short human existence I force myself to see the light in each season. Spring is a solid companion, it never disappoints. It is friendly and inviting, and is a nice change of scenery after a long winter. Spring might give way to summer too easily, but spring is still a friend of mine. Summer and Winter are more like unwanted house guests, Strong and fat, they throw their weight around, bullying the transitional seasons. Despite their arrogance, I try to enjoy their company too.

            Here I sit, writing my stories and dreaming of autumn. I listen to music that reminds of the fall and try to ignore the bloody head of February weather.

Maybe if I try really hard I can convince myself it is a more pleasant season………………………..

Happy Halloween everyone!

Empty House

            On a snowy night I sit at home. Alone again. The feeling of sadness and exhaustion washes over me as I look around at my ruined house. There was no grand fight, natural disaster or even a break in, this was destruction from a wounded man.

            Sadness and frustration filled my head and that led to anger. Anger led to rage and that led to destruction. I sit on the floor as sadness takes hold again. I feel like a dog chasing his tail, running in circles and never getting anywhere. I feel like I spend my days beating my head against the wall and when the pain is too much I explode and then start all over again. I do not know how to break this cycle, how to feel better. I know happiness is possible but it seems so far away.

            I dream of a happier day as I continue to run in circles. No one is forcing my life in any direction, I am doing this to myself. I continue the cycle of pain and then get angry when I get hurt. I realized I had a problem when I started spending most of my money replacing my cheap furniture on a regular basis.

            I don’t see any outside help, no one is trying to get into my life, and no one seems interested in helping me. They see me like they would see an old empty house. They take a look, they might even peek their head in the window, but no one goes inside. My life isn’t a shelter for the weak or a place to warm up. But if someone took the time to turn on some lights and maybe start a fire in the fireplace my empty house of a life might seem a little cozier.

            No one wants to put in the investment and so I am stuck doing it all myself. The only time I might get someone poking their head in the door is the few times I get a nice fire going for myself. They see the warmth and want to be apart of it, but if the fire goes out they leave as fast as they came.

            So sit on the kitchen floor of my actual house, staring into the living room at all of the broken furniture. Chairs I need to replace, a new couch I need to pay for. It will give me something to do, something to distract my mind for a little while.

            Until I find someone willing to help me rebuild my life or gain the energy to do it myself, I will continue to feel like an empty old house with broken furniture in the living room.