"It just hurts!" I sob into his shirt and, somewhere in my mind, immediately feel bad. He'll have to clean his shirt.

"I know." His voice soothes. "I know. Do you want to talk about it?"

My boyfriend is craddling me in his arms. They're wrapped around me protectively, as though he can save me from physical pain. But right now... it's the mental pain that is the problem.

I shake my head, burrowing deeper into his embrace. He smells sweetly of pine and smoke and I dimly remember that he has only recently come home from a camping trip. "Just hold me." I whimper.

"Always." He pulls me closer, resting his chin on my head, a movement I have always found comforting from him. We stay like that, him slowly rocking me back and forth. I don't know how much time goes by. All I know that for the first time in my memory, I finally have someone that I trust.

Meet the fictional character of your dreams but have them hate you or meet the fictional character of your dreams and find out that you hate them?

No loopholes. They will hate you for eternity but you still love them dearly or you will hate them for eternity and everything they do will drive you absolutely crazy.

It swallows you whole.

You want to cry.

You want to fight.

You grow tired.

You grow strong.

It paralyzes you.

It strengthens you.

Have you done what I have dreamed?

Or have things not worked out the way I believed?

Have you been to all the places and seen the world's beauty?

Or have you given up on your childhood dream and moved on to practicality?

Do you still believe in the One that created you?

Or have you moved on from that too?

For it is not something you should leave behind.

I know things were hard but you're stronger than the enemy that faces you.

So spit the blood from your mouth, stand up and brush yourself off.

Lift your head and fight back.

You can't do it alone so ask Him for help.

And go do what I dreamed you would.

Some people remember the day when dogs ran through the earth. They were kept in households, used for guarding and as pets. They were humanities protectors, keeping them safe from danger.

Dogs were valued by men and women all over the world. They were given to each other as gifts, used by the government, the army, the police force.

Until the Plague.

The protectors turned into the predators and they turned on their owners. The dogs, once beloved by all, were now feared and killed on sight. The government created machines to wipe them out, machines that took on the role of the dog.

These machines did the job better than expected and it only took a year before the entire dog species was declared extinct. The people celebrated, declaring that they were saved and that the government was their hero. But their joy was short lived.

Realizing the efficiency of the weapon they created, the government began to rule with an iron fist. Tearing apart all the hope the people once had, enslaving them to do the government’s bidding.

They mined the earth beneath their feet until nothing was left. No gold, no silver, no coal, no oil. Nothing. They turned on the trees, cutting them down one after the other until none remained. With nothing to clean the air and nothing to get from the earth, the environment slowly began to die. Sand took over the grass and the sun burned hotter than ever.

Cities began to crumble, people began to revolt. Realizing the mistake they made, the government no longer knew what to do. But they did know that this was not the way they were to be overthrown. They sent the new dogs into the streets, allowing them to take out anybody who dared defy them.

With this new show of power, the government knew they had gained control. The people were forced into slavery once again, rebuilding the cities into something from history. Clay houses where there once stood marble mansions. Hard dirt streets where pavement was once layered.

The government took control of everything.

There are many things that are terrible to do to another human being. Torture, murder, lie, cheat, abuse, rob, the list can go on and on. Is there really an end? I could say any number of those things. But I will choose one that has happened to me.

You sit beside them during class. You talk to them at lunch. You know them and they know you. They don’t always make it obvious right away, that they judge you. That they don’t like you.

It happens one day. You’re in a gym class and you are excluded, pushed out. Last to be chosen, never get the ball unless by chance. You’re young. You don’t realize. Until you get older. Less people speak to you. More people bully you.

And you begin to realize, day by day. They don’t like you. Not because they know you, but because they don’t like the way you look. It stings but you try to ignore it. Until one day. You’re open. And a team member sees you. And then they look away, and pass to someone who isn’t.

The sting that you had managed to snuff out for all those years ignites again. And this time, no matter how hard you try to put it out, it stays lit. You tell people it’s no big deal, you’re used to it. This is how it’s been for as long as you can remember.

And slowly, the pain begins to fade. And then you’re pulled from your school. You miss the few friends you had there, so you email them. You remember how they once said that they read your last email. But when you never recieve a reply... you realize. They weren’t the friends you thought they were.

And this sting that you have quelched twice before, wants to light. But you refuse. Holding back the tears, you go about your day. But you know that eventually you will break. But until that moment, you glue the cracked pieces together and refuse to let anyone see how much you want to cry.

The worst thing you can do to someone is ignore them.

If he was a colour, she decided, he would be green. Not because it was her favourite colour, but because it oh-so-perfectly suited him.

It was the colour that you see in nature. The kind that makes you think, “how beautiful”. But when you get closer, wanting to admire it’s beauty and splendor, you realize that the handsome shade hides a toxic poison.

You want to leave it alone, leave it be. But the beauty draws you back. And when you touch it, the leaves are soft and welcoming. You don’t realize until it’s too late that the poison is destroying you.

He was the colour green.