I pull on my coat and my scarf underneath.

 It's another frosty day in New York City.

 I stop at a crowded Starbucks and buy a coffee.  I take a sip

 Not quite ready to brave the weather.  The beverage

 Warms my insides and leaves me feeling chirpy.

I step outside and almost fall on a thick piece of ice.

 I look up hopelessly as a couple stares at me.

Chapter the Fourth

It was the day after Elvina had made her plans to depart, near noon.
Brodie fingered one end of the envelope Elvina had given him. People had begun to notice her absence by now, though no searches had been started, and no one would suspect she had left the castle altogether. Only he and Aiva knew the truth.
He bit the inside of his cheek. Elvina hadn’t told him expressly when to give her parents the letter, so he was depending on his own timing.

Fingers touch the keys
Lightly pulling sounds
From the humming strings within
Like the flakes falling from the sky
Notes swirl through the air
Landing on fingers, eyelashes and noses
Touching hearts
Bringing smiles
Wistful thoughts
Hands brush across the keys
Briskly running upward
Like the ocean waves
Notes rise, rushing to the shore
Splashing toes and feet
Touching hearts
Bringing smiles
Wistful thoughts
Fingers fly over the keys
Soaring over
Like birds in the air

My Cat’s Schedule for the Day:

Flashbacks (3)

Bridget couldn’t remember ever feeling this bad.  Too tired, too hurt to move; even crying was too much work.  She wanted to die, but even that was too hard for her to do.

Note: This is by no means a complete essay... there are many issues to consider when pushing for/advocating homeschooling for everyone. Yes, I believe it is biblical, but the way the world is right now it is not possible for everyone to homeschool. Yet we cannot just sit back and say the world isn't ready, because unless we start to change it, it never will. Start with what we can do, leave the rest to God.

I stand and shiver,
it is just the way I live now.
The tide is closing in,
it is drowning my burning heart.

Clouding thoughts,
a foggy life.
I feel like you were a dream,
your intense blue eyes.

Laughs have flown,
my smiles gone.
You wear yours for her alone,
She’s the one you’ve found.

No clarity of any kind.
Like the winds in the cove
you haunt my mind.
You have made me unknown.

My sunny days
now dark and arresting.
Drenched in grey

Evil brooding
Darkness spreading
Deep foreboding
Of horrors ahead

Armies of darkness being deployed
They march to a haunting rhythym
Confident their plans shall never be foiled
Their leader remains within

They hardly guess, they cannot know
Of the light that has invaded
Ignorant of the fact that by someone so small
Their borders have been penetrated