SodaPop

Walking along a dirt road, I saw a bird freeze mid-flight. 
I paused my steady, mud-ladden plodding,
and the rhythmic crunch of gravel at last fell silent. 

To me, friendship is polite smiles and obligatory chuckles, it's a small wave as you cross paths in the hallway. Friendship brightens my day. It can help me forget the sting of a wrong answer or the anger of a morning bicker.

Yes you have schoolwork and sports practice, but your brother is so tired from school, you have to do the laundry and dishes and walk the dog on your own. But there's no time-. And make sure to play a game with him later, he misses you.

It was ok that I was missing my best friend's birthday. Really, I promise it’s fine. She promised it was fine. I still felt guilty, even though it wasn’t my fault.

Did you look at me and see sloping hills dotted with gentle flowers?

No, I am the palace of marble that lies within.

With looming spires and a polished crystals

Yet never frightening, never cold.

On the day the tower fell, I was about to enter the subway tunnels to head home, to my apartment in the heart of Chicago. When I heard a bone-chilling scream. It was filled with anguish and despair. That scream pierced my heart, forever changing me.