I don't know how direct I want to be. Do I spell it all out from beginning to end? Chronologically, sparing no tiny detail? Or do I speak in abstract metaphors leaving everyone frustrated and confused? What’s the middle ground? Is there a middle ground? How do I...

A simple life, that’s all I wanted.
A quaint, but lovely house. The type of home that was delivered via train in the 1930s. A mix between craftsman and ranch, not quite enough to fully fit into either category, kind of like me...

“Good God! Make it stop!” My mind screams as my fingers fumble for my phone, eyelids still glued shut. “Why are alarms so ANNOYING?!”

Well, they wouldn’t work otherwise... Hell, they barely work for you now.

“Ugggh... Okay time to get up, you can do this.” I say to myself.

What a great pep talk, a grand effort to simply get out of bed.

Dramatically, I throw off the covers, acting as if the universe is slighting me in some way, forcing me into this grand cosmic scheme... but I think it’s just called existing…

Or is it?

They say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree... well, I’ve got mixed feelings about that... Because if that makes me an apple, I don’t know how closely I want to be associated with the tree. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the tree is fine, there’s nothing all that bad about it, like it’s not evil or anything. I don’t know, there might be some ulterior motives, strings attached- with what the tree offers, but I don’t think it comes from a malicious place. However, the thing about the tree is, you don’t really know what to expect. Will it be beautiful or ugly? Will it provide refuge or extend its branches and harm those within reach?

I don’t remember much from childhood, but I do remember the uncertainty, the unease, the confusion. But how could I have known that anything was off?