Chapter 3 Ten Years Earlier in Tipharah
I, Magnolia, will write this as how I imagined it. As Peter stated, this occurred ten years ago, when he was the youngest prince of Tipharah.

It's funny how a melody
Can sound like a memory.
It's strange how a simple song
Can, somehow, be louder
Than a gong.

I still remember the sound of your voice.
I still remember your choice,
To leave me for her,
And yank me off, like a
Stubbornly clinging burr.

Why do I still wish you were here,
When you've been gone for more than a year?
Why do I still think you will come,
Refusing to let go,
Even when I know you are gone?

Here I am writing about modesty again. I feel like my last essay on the topic could be easily misconstrued, and I tend to use ApricotPie as a place to practice articulating what and why I believe, so, here we go again.

There are aching hearts
waiting,
hoping
for brand new starts—
broken lives
hurting,
stinging
under the weight of it all.
They call
with a voice that travels
far beyond
the seas:
in vain.
They echo,
bouncing off the walls
of stony hearts.

CHAPTER 28: BUSY DAYS

CHAPTER 25: TRIPPIN' IT

“Wait, wait, Brody, you forgot your tie!”

Brody rolled his eyes with a weary smile. “Yeah, I’m not wearing a tie.”

Dante’s jaw dropped as he looked down at the Italian silk tie in his hands. “But…this is Chiara you’re going out with. I like her and I don’t want your barbaric ways scaring her off!”

Brody laughed, looking down at his phone to check the time. “Her barbaric ways are what attracted me in the first place, D! Besides, we already agreed to make this as casual as we can. We don’t need any undue attention. Neither of us appreciate it.”

Sorry for how long this is! Contains a minor kiss scene, so you're aware. Also mentions a first date NOT in a public place (a hike) and I want to say that, if I felt uncomfortable in any way, I would have terminated it. But I don't normally advocate not meeting in public, and wanted to make that clear! Also, the next few chapters are a bit chaotic, in the sense that they jump around in their time-frame a lot. I tried to keep it as steady as possible, but I'm sorry for any confusion on that note. Sarah

Chapter 2 Singing and Supper
The next morning and for the first time in my life, I picked up the plank with a smile on my face. Yet, the inside of my stomach fluttered like butterflies. What if he changed his mind? What if he found another girl? Dulcina would undoubtedly be grooming herself this morning for any possible suitors. What if she caught his eye? What if he did not like our game yesterday? What was he going to make me promise?

Like milk when once gone sour,
Love lost is lost forever.

I just made that proverb up. 

I don't even believe it, but what if that were a common saying? What I'm thinking about right now is the power of comparisons. We all have lots of comparisons at hand that we use to figure out what's going on in our lives, and it seems to me that whatever is in that arsenal of comparisons that come to your mind, carries a lot of power in your life.