"ready, set, go." teacher sets the timer as pen hits the paper, making up people she wishes were real so lessons could mean anything at all.

I knew a boy named Optimism, but reality broke his wings and taunted, "fly away boy, find your way home." Some days, I watch the clouds float by and I'll see a shape that makes me hopeful; I think about Optimism and giving up.


I knew a girl named Cold, and one day she fell in love and found herself basking in the gold of summer. She learned how to dance that year, and she started to cry on roof tops. I go hiking some summers now and I see flower petals floating in the wind. They'll hit my cheek sometimes, and I'll think of Cold and how it feels to find light.


I knew a boy named Dreamer, and one day he believed in an alleyway that promised a ticket out. He threw himself in, only to be chewed up and spit back out; broken. Whenever it rains, I'll sit on my counter and chew beaten mirrors, thinking of Dreamer and beautiful bits.