This keeps bears away, right? you asked, holding mosquito spray.It's for bugs.AND bears, right?No, just bugs. I shook my headBut then how come more people aren't eaten by bears?Do you see any around here?No, but they're really sneaky, you said, scanning the low brush.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

You taught us university physics in grade eight and said we were stupid when we didn't get it. During one class, though, you talked about being a Japanese orphan during WWII. None of us had had grenades strapped to our backs. Suddenly, I could see the kindness in your face.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

I had always thought of you as my friend's kid brother until that one night at the end of a party. You and I found ourselves singing an impromptu song together at the bottom of the stairs in a jumble of coats and grinning wildly. Cooperative singing is spiritual glue.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

We carpooled to school and were friends in the car, but you rarely acknowledged me outside the vehicle. When you complimented me on my outfit one day, I realized that I was dressed just like you. It scared me how easy it was to lose myself to what amounted to trivial affirmation.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

When I saw you a couple of years after graduation, all freckles and curls and a wide smile, you seemed so full of the future, and I realized I was lackluster at best. I yearned for a life I could not yet possess and wished I had known you better.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

You managed to question the text's validity while still giving the right answers in Sunday School . I admired your will, but it was when you told the story about boys kicking mud on you and you asking that they also muddy your other side that my estimation reached reverential heights.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

I once saw you as being a character. You were unlike anyone else I knew. Now, years later, you have remained unchanged aside from the palpable bitterness that slowly swells within you. It hurts to leave people behind when they've done nothing, and it's the nothing that makes the difference.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

You had this seriously sexy librarian thing going on. You worked in a used book store, wore your hair up, and had glasses that hid your gorgeous eyes. You traded clothes with a friend one night on a dare and let your hair down. I stuttered to say your name.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

You are the first person I consciously thought of as ugly, and it filled me with guilt. I searched your features for some hidden beauty – your widely-spaced teeth, wiry hair, fat nose – and couldn’t’ find it. This bothers me still, as though you are the marker that reveals my flaw.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

What’s this? I asked, fingering a bullet lying on the desk.That’s a sniper bullet, he answered.My name’s engraved on it.Yes, it is.What would happen if I took it?I have a whole box in my room.Damn. I wish I’d stolen it when I had the chance.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

Why did those guys call me gay? you asked.Your t-shirt is tight, purple, and has a silver appliqué, I said.But I'm not girlie, am I?You're flapping your hands and giggling.Is that effeminate?Some people just can't drop their stereotypes, I said, trying to smooth things.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

You are the one person with whom I can never make things right. It will pain me until I die. I loved you truly, and, in the face of that, I still did everything I could to destroy your beautiful faith. The things I did will never sit right me.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...

While we waited for a teacher, you suddenly launched into the story of your horrific history of abuse by your father. We were not friends, and your sudden storytelling alarmed me. When you said you'd moved away from him, I was relieved. I feared involvement with you, a near stranger.I am a participant in x365 and Blog 365.contact | suggestion box | archives | best of | search ...