I never would have thought my best memory would come from a day when I awoke before daylight, but here we are.

It was about 06:00 when we set off from the school that day, a total of twenty-four students, if my memory serves. I was in a car, not with strangers, but with people I didn’t know so well. They played music that wasn’t quite my taste, and my breakfast consisted of a sandwich that had been sitting out since the night before. The two hour ride was loud, dark, and cold, but I was so excited.

Finally, we arrived in the daylight at the foot of a mountain. It was crazy how fast the German grass turned to Austrian snow when I wasn’t paying attention along the drive.

Nervous and unsure of myself, I followed my friends to the rental station, got equipped with some skis, and we were off! Up the gondola! Evergreens ever so carefully dusted and piled with snow passed below us as we continued up up up! At the top of the mountain, we ran into the others who went quickly slipping down the slopes.

I struggled putting on my skis, and after a quick lesson from a friend, I panicked and froze at the top of the slope. What was a kid from the desert thinking, trying to ski in the alps? The context of it all was rather comical. I’d only ever seen about two inches of snow until just earlier that month, and I’d never even had the guts to rollerblade down anything steeper than a driveway. What was I doing at the top of a mountain full of fresh powder?

Back to the bunny hill it was.

Patient but antsy for some real skiing, my friend suggested we find some of the others. After another interesting set of events, we found a pair of our friends - one she could go down the run with and one with the same shoe size as me interested in swapping skis for a snowboard - if only for a little while.

Back to the bunny hill once more!

I taught him what little I knew about skis, and he held my hands as I fell on my face trying to stand on the snowboard. But we both thoroughly enjoyed the switch and were even joined by his friend who had split off before. (My ski-teacher friend found someone more on her skill level and whooshed away with her.)

So, there we were, a beginner on skis, a first-timer in the snow, and a second-time snowboarder, carefully maneuvering our young-adult selves around toddlers on the practice hill. But we happily spent the afternoon gliding down that little hill atop an Austrian alp, joking and helping one another with what little we knew. At 15:00 when the “magic-carpet” (conveyor belt) stopped, we took some pictures then rode the gondola back down - joking all the while.

We arrived back at the school just minutes late to dinner - time enough to get some much needed food - then we all warmed up with a shower, went to bed after many tiring hours of wakefulness, and that was that. Our day trip to the Alps.

Many things could have ruined that day - a discouraging start on the skis, losing my voice for two hours at the top, a malfunction of the straps that wouldn’t release my feet from the board, my utter lack of layers against the cold, any number of the hard falls I took when I tried to stop, or the fact that I never built the courage to go down the actual slope.

But remembering that day, that late January Saturday, with fantastic friends and a gorgeous view... Man, I’d love to go back to the bunny hill.

((That’s an actual photo from that day))

I used to feel so utterly alone. The tempuratures rose at alarming rates. I cried and I cried. Was this the end or was the sun in my eyes?

I used to hate my very existence. Even sturdy trees began to waver in this heat. Who was I to withstand? My very existence decided to melt before my eyes.

But then I saw a sunset more beautiful than my eyes had ever known. Orange engulfed every surface as the evening sun began its descent. The trees and buildings became nothing but silhouettes before the stunning backdrop of a sky. A swirling cloud of neon burst up from the horizon and guided my eyes to the stars slowly waking up as a afternoon turns to twilight somehow.

A cool breeze blew away that warm orange light, and the cool blue night took hold. But the fact that something so beautiful exists gave me hope.

If a sunset can take place every night without fail, and if the stars shine out for me, I can trust in a love that's more beautiful than any sorrows or misery.

I've had a rough time, but I've made it through this day. Maybe when you come, you'll make a sunset to carry us far away.

We'll be far away from the troubles of the steaming midday sun, and we'll get to admire a sunset for ages before the day is done. And when the stars come out, the day will be but a memory, a ghost of some horrible past. The moon will be our guide, and we will be together at last.

"A brilliant light flashed in the sky." page 222 of The Seventh Door by Bryan Davis

I grabbed the flashlight from my dresser drawer and rejoined my friends on the bed. With the strong storm rolling in, we probably wouldn't get to watch a movie like we'd planned.

I lay back and sighed as my friends kept going on about which instrument was superior. Natalie thought a cello, Reigha petitioned for ukulele, and Megan insisted on kazoo. As their discussion got more heated, I sat up and interjected my two cents.

"Obviously bagpipes, you guys."

Megan laughed, and Reigha smiled.

"Letting your Irish roots show?" Natalie asked.

"Scottish, but whatever," I said with a shrug. I glanced out the window. "That's some storm."

The three followed my gaze to the darkening four o'clock sky. Their conversation fell silent as all of us kept watching the dim scene outside the window.

"We should make some cocoa," Reigha suggested, "maybe gather some blankets, too. Make it cozy." She let forth a radiant smile.

"Oh yeah!" Megan exclaimed. "Emilee, do you have any marshmallows?"

I nodded. "Sure do." So, the four of us headed downstairs to begind making some hot chocolate.

We'd just finished heating the milk when the lights flickered out. Megan let out a yelp, and I searched the counter for the flashlight I'd brought.

"Dang," Natalie mumbled.

I turned on the flashlight and exclaimed, "Ta-da!"

"Emilee to the rescue!" Megan laughed.

"We can still add the chocolate and have some nice drinks," Reigha suggested.

So, we all added the chocolate and the marshmallows before heading back up stairs. At the top of the steps, the flashlight beam greeted my dad.

"I'm heading to check the breaker box," he said. "A surge may have tripped it."

"Cool," I said. "Be careful. My phone said the winds were pretty strong."

"Will do," he said with nod and headed off down the stairs.

As we passed my parents room, I saw my brother sitting on the bed with my mom, huddled around a small light box and talking.

The four of us kept going until we reached my room where we all grabbed our phones for extra light. Then we all huddled under some blankets I kept in my closet while we drank our cocoa.

"We should play some music," Megan suggested. "The pitter patter of the rain is getting to my head."

"I don't have any data to spare," Natalie said. "And I don't save music to my phone."

"Same here," I added.

"Lucky for you guys," Reigha said, setting her mug down and reach towards her pile of stuff, "I never travel anywhere without my ukulele."

I laughed. "You're the best."

"As is the ukulele," she said, grinning at the other two.

"Quick!" Megan exclaimed, tugging on Natalie's arm. "Pull out a cello from your bag! You have to prove her wrong!"

Natalie chuckled and turned back to Reigha. "Go ahead."

Reigha smiled and began softly strumming her ukulele. As her voice sang out the sweet melody, I recognized the song to be the one that the four of us had written while Natalie was living across the country. The chorus our fourteen year-old brains came up with was probably my favorite part.

As suns go down or school lets out

We're always together

Even if there's miles between

We're always together

I smiled at our silly friendship song as thunder rumbling outside and a brilliant light flashed in the sky. Watching Reigha's smile as she sang, Megan's head bobbing back and forth, and Natalie carefully watching the strumming, I realized just how together we were, and I'd never know how lucky were we to have each other.

How pleasant it is to feel again

or how pleasant I thought it would be.

I remember a soft hand in mine

and the fuzzy feelings of grass on my feet.

I didn't remember the shocks up my legs

with each labored step I'd take.

I didn't think of the aching each time I take a breath

and all this misery each moment I'm awake.

I never thought I'd feel again

but now I wish I didn't

because all I feel is this shooting, piercing.

I was numb to it before, how had I forgotten?

Sometimes I think I’ve lived too long.

When I look out at the busy streets of people going from here to there without end, I think back to another time when people strolled down paths, whistling as they slowly made their way. Or I think to a time in the future when people won’t have the need to do anything; they will only do what they deem fun and will have no need to hurry.

When I see all of the people on phones or staring at a computer screen, I think back to times before technology, before screens or pages or reading. A better time lay behind when people enjoyed each other and what they could make do with. A better time lies ahead when techonology will lead to an age of intimate interaction with only the use of devices.

When I look out at the problems I see today, I can’t help think of back then and one day. We are stuck in a time in the middle, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. Nothing anyone can do.

Yet I see more people smiling today than I have in any other time. More happiness, more comfort, less sickness, and less pain than anywhere else. Yet I still don’t think this is the best time that exists.

I’ve been so many places and to so many times, and when I think to them, I think I know what’s best. But maybe I’ve just seen too many things to enjoy what other people do. Maybe I’ve just been alive too long to appreciate the time in front of me.

A Squirrel arrived to his home to find a large hole in the side of it. Upon seeing the damages, he began to cry out, “My house is in ruin! No greater catastrophe could have beset me!”

An Owl, seeing the Squirrel’s dilemma, landed beside the damaged house. He saw the small extent of the damage and informed the Squirrel that his house could be fixed.

“My house is in ruin!” the Squirrel continued crying out, and he did not listen to what the Owl had said.

Later that day, a storm hit the forest, sending water through the hole and into the Squirrel’s house. Upon discovering the new damages, the Squirrel cried out, “My house is in ruin!”

The Owl, again, came at the Squirrels cries. “You need only to let the water dry.”

“My house is in ruin!” the Squirrel continued crying out, and he did not listen to what the Owl had said.

The Squirrel shut the doors to his house, allowing the water to soak into all that the Squirrel had, leaving his home in ruins. Upon discovering the new damages, the Squirrel cried out, “My house is in ruin!”

The Owl came once more to the Squirrel’s cries. He saw the great extent of the damage and told the Squirrel that nothing could be done now. The damage was too great.

Listen to advice so that problems will not get worse than they are.

Turkey in a coffee shop

Why's he here?

Who's he with?

Turkey in a coffee shop

Hide your drinks from him.

Hippo in a corner store.

Here he comes.

Watch your toes.

Hippo in a corner store.

What's he plan to buy?

Dog sitting high up in a tree.

How'd he climb?

Where'll he go?

Dog sitting high up in a tree.

He won't fall, I hope.

Horses in a swimming pool.

Can they swim?

Take a pic.

Horses in a swimming pool.

Don't drink that water!

Cheeta in a shopping mall.

Running fast

through the halls.

Cheeta in a shopping mall.

There to buy some shoes.

Peacock on the streets of town.

Watch him go.

Feathers float.

Peacock on the streets of town.

Prettiest thing you'll see.

Days are good and times are bad,

such is the way of life.

My ways are flawed, my choices worse,

and all I do is gripe.

Winter storms had trapped me in,

stuck in insanity.

Now rainy days of spring have come.

What is reality?

Pouring rains and gloomy days,

my mood begins to sour.

What I wouldn't give away

to come across May Flowers.

I'm not sure why every leaf must die,

moaning softly, extending to the sky.

One last chance to reach the clouds

before falling gently to the ground.

I'm not sure why every leaf must die,

turning all colors before it's time.

Triumphant orange and dazzling reds

before falling gently to the forest bed.

I'm not sure why every leaf must die,

crunched underfoot on sidewalks, and I

unknowingly, decide their fate,

stomping leaves as they await.

Raked away then thrown away,

those unsuspecting leaves.

Fallen and forgotten,

such is the life of these.

The heat begins to melt away.

The leaves began to change today,

and even now, they start to cry.

I'm not sure why every leaf must die.

(Un projet dans la classe de français d'écrire une autre chapitre pour le livre Le Petit Prince.)

Le petit prince arrive à une planète pleine des horloges. Il y a de très grandes horloges et des horloges comme s’ils sont pour les fourmis. Et au milieu des horloges, est un homme qui vraiment ressemble à une fourmis à côté de grandes horloges.

«Bonjour, dit le petit prince, pourquoi as-tu tant d’horloges?

— Je n'ai pas le temps de parler, dit l'horloger. J'ai besoin de synchroniser toutes ces horloges!»

Le petit prince regarde l'horloger pour une fois. L'horloger court d'une horloge à une autre à une autre et il vérifie l'heure sur chacun d'eux. Quelque fois il ajuste l'heure et puis il court à une autre horloge.

«Pourquoi est-ce que tu fais ça? dit le petit prince.

—On doit toujours savoir l'heure correcte», dit l'horloger.

Le petit prince pense sur ça. Peut-être que c'est important de savoir l'heure mais ce que l’horlager fait paraît une perte de temps.

«Pourquoi est-ce que tu n'as pas seulement une horloge? Ça serait mieux n'est-ce pas?

— Mais si j'ai seulement une horloge, qu'est-ce qui se passe si elle se casse? Je ne saurais jamais l'heure.

— Tu peux savoir l'heure général avec les couchers et levers de soleil.

— J'ai besoin de savoir l'heure exacte! pas l'heure général.

— Pourquoi?

— Parce que si je ne savais pas l'heure, je ne saurais pas quand je dois faire des choses. Je ne saurais quand ni manger ni dormir ni reposer. Alors je n'ai pas le temps de parler. J'ai besoin de synchroniser toutes ces horloges!»

La planète est petite et le petit prince ne voit ni un lit pour dormir ni une espace pour reposer. Il y a seulement des petits chemins entre les horloges. Et l'horloger ne rentre que à peine entre les horloges.

«Qu'est-ce que tu fais quand tu as fini ton travail de synchroniser les horloges? dit le petit prince.

— Je les synchronise autre fois. Toutes les horloges aiment ralentir après un temps», répond le horloger qui ajuste une horloge minuscule.

Le petit prince ne comprend pas les pensées de l'horloger. Il veut savoir toujours l'heure exacte mais il seulement perd le temps en synchronisant les horloges. Il n’utilise pas le temps bien qu’il veut savoir l'heure pour pouvoir utiliser le temps pour les choses correctes. La seule chose pour quoi il utilise son temps est synchroniser ses horloges.

Et il regarde le petit prince. «Mais je n'ai pas le temps de parler. J'ai besoin de synchroniser toutes ces horloges!» Il geste à toutes les horloges autour de lui.

«Les horlogers sont bien sûr très contradictoires», se dit le petit prince en lui - même en partant.

The Planet of Clocks

(A project in French class to write another chapter to the book The Little Prince.)

The little prince arrives on a planet full of clocks. There are very large clocks and clocks that look like they are for ants. And in the middle of all the clocks, is a man who really does look like an ant next to those large clocks.

"Hello," says the little prince, "why do you have so many clocks?"

"I don't have time to to talk," says the clockmaker. "I have to synchonize all of these clocks!"

The little prince looks at the clockmaker for a moment. The clockmaker runs from one clock to another to another, and he checks the time of each one. Sometimes, he adjusts the time then he runs to another clock.

"Why are you doing that?" asks the little prince.

"You always have to know the correct time," says the clockmaker.

The little prince thinks about that. Maybe it is important to know the time, but what the clockmaker is doing seems like a waste of time.

"Why don't you just have one clock? That would be better, wouldn't it?"

"But if I only have one clock, what happens if it breaks? I'll never know the time."

"You could know the time in general with the setting and rising of the sun."

"I have to know the exact time, not the time in general!"

"Why?"

"Because if I don't know the time, I won't know when I'm supposed to do things. I won't know when to eat or sleep or rest. So, I don't have time to talk. I have to synchonize all of these clocks!"

The planet is small, and the little prince can't see a bed to sleep on nor a place to rest. There are only small paths between the clocks, and the clockmaker barely fits between them.

"What do you do when you finish your job of synchonizing the clocks?" asks the little prince.

"I synchronize them again. All of the clocks like to slow down after a time," responds the clockmaker, adjusting a tiny clock.

The little prince doesn't understand the thoughts of the clockmaker. He always wants to know the exact time, but he only wastes time synchronizing clocks. He doesn't use his time even though he wants to know the time to be able to use his time for the right things. The only thing he uses his time for is to synchronize his clocks.

He looks at the little prince. "But I don't have time to talk. I have to synchronize all of these clocks!" He gestures to all the clocks around him.

"Clockmakers are certainly very contradictory," the little prince says to himself as he leaves.