Thursday, 1 October 2015

DARK?

The following short story was written by my daughter, Trinity Landygo (age 12)
It is up to me to draw something worthy of this piece.






The Fall

By: Trinity Landygo

*beep, beep, beep*
I woke up to the sound of my arm clock.
*beep, beep, beep*
Ugh! I slam my hand down on the top of it making it fall to the floor. Well, on the bright side at least the beeping stopped.
*beep, beep, beep*
I guess I spoke to soon. Well I guess I have to get up now. I stand up from my bed and make my way over to my closet. "What should I wear?" I ask myself out loud. "Hmmm maybe I should wear a dress today?" "Hahaha, that's funny!" I talk to myself as I pick out black jeans, a white shirt that says, "ok but first coffee" in gold and my black converse. I then go to my desk to put on my makeup and straighten my hair. Okay now time for breakfast! I make my way downstairs to make breakfast, only to see that my mom is already making pancakes. I thank her and then go and pour myself a cup of coffee with about seven-sugar cubes (my parents always say that sugar is bad for you but whatever) then go ad sit beside my dad at the kitchen table. I drink my coffee as he reads the paper and drinks his green tea. This is what happens every morning. The same old routine. Soon my brother, James, comes downstairs in his dinosaur onesie, even though he is 15 he doesn't care, I have tried telling him that it's not cool to wear a dinosaur onesie but he just won't listen to me. As soon as he comes downstairs my dad compliments him on his outfit, saying that the green really suits his skin tone, you might think that he is joking but he's not, and that's the worst part about it. He sincerely means it! "Ash" My mom calls, "your going to be late!" You may be thinking "is 'ash' short for Ashley?"  But no, 'ash' is not short for Ashley, it's short for Ashton! Ashton, out of all names why did my parents have to make my name a boys name? "I'm coming" I yell to my mom. Every Saturday I have my band practice. Yes, I am in a band and we are called After The Sunset, my friend Brinley thought of the name. I play guitar in the band, Brinley plays bass, my friend Cobain is the lead singer, Cobain's brother, Jack, plays the drums. We are really good and have gotten a bunch of small gigs around our town, but in two weeks we are playing at Brinley's mom's friend's cousins wedding. Confusing, I know, but this is our first big gig and we really need to practice so that other people can see how good we are and then we can get more gigs. We always practice at Cobain's house because her parents are well-known music producers so she has a huge soundproof music room and a recording booth. It's really cool! "Your practice starts at 9:00am, you better get going!" Mom shouts "I'm leaving now" I call back "bye have fun I love you sweetheart" "love you too mom"  I head out to Frank, which I call my blue 2002 Honda Civic. I know that it doesn't seem like a very nice car but, it's honestly my dream car, I love it so much. I hop in, start the gas and start pulling out of the driveway. Once I get on the highway I roll down the windows, and turn the music up loud. The song Fly Away by 5Seconds Of Summer playing. I start singing along like I usually do. Before I know it I am dancing while I drive, I hear my phone ring and I reach down to get it. When I look up I see the headlights of a semi coming straight at me and before I can swerve around it, it crashes right into the front of me. I feel myself tumbling, flipping over and over again soon, it stops but I can't move. I can feel the blood coming from my head, my phone is still ringing, but I can't move to get it. I can hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance, I am fighting to keep my eyes open, but I just can't anymore. I can feel my eyes closing as I slip further and further away into the darkness. You know how they say that when you die, you see all of your most favourite memories flash before your eyes, well I guess that's what's happening right now.

Monday July 13th, 2003
"Mommy! Mommy!" My brother shouted. He was only 10 at the time. I however was 15 and had just gotten back from my friends house where we were practicing for our band, although every single time I played a song I would always mess up, I couldn't even play a single chord! I was so upset when I got home. I guess my brother could tell that I was sad because he came up to me and asked "hey Ash, what's wrong? You seem sad" "nothing's wrong, I'm fine" I answered "Ash, I know you and I know that your not okay" "okay fine I just, I couldn't play anything right today, I just kept messing up and it was so embarrassing" "hey, it's going to be fine Ash, your an amazing guitar player and everyone knows that, I know that and you just had a bad day that's all."  "Thank you, youre a really good brother" he hugged me and said, "Well, I'm hoping to go eat some pizza and play some video games, so bye"

Wednesday February 4th, 2006
We loaded up in my dads old station wagon, me, my mom, my dad, and my brother hugged and kissed everybody goodbye. Auntie Roe, Uncle Max, grandma, grandpa, cousins, and finally Gary, he was an old family friend. Driving away, I just had to look back, auntie Roe was smiling, grandma and grandpa stood there with tears in their eyes, uncle Max, and my cousins just stood there, burning in the sun. Dad and my brother argued the whole 5-hour drive back home, yelling at each other, it felt as if there almost wasn't enough air to breath. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the day, sullen, mom heated up TV dinners, dad went to the store, and James, my brother sat at the end of the couch, just staring blankly at the wall In front of him, something he always did when he was sad. When dad came home, he sat in his old leather recliner, eating pistachios and watching The Wild West. While mom sat in her purple and green chair, she would sew tablecloths while listening to her E-books, but me, I just sat there watching everybody do their thing but not really knowing what to do. It doesn't seem like much, but we would always do the same thing, sitting there together all doing different things, but somehow knowing that we were all connected in some way was comforting to me.

Friday September 11th, 2009
I have always loved the feeling of my bare feet on the cool sand, underneath a full moon. Me and him, Danny, walking together underneath the shining moon, holding hands. It was 1:00am. We had been walking for a long time. We were having another one of our deep conversations; these conversations were always my favourite. We would always talk about anything and everything. We would lay down on the sand, still holding hands and just talk while we looked out at the ocean.

Sunday December 19th, 2013
I bent over to look at the rows of cupcakes in front of me. All of them look so good, I can't pick one. "Here let me help you" I looked up and saw a boy with curly brown hair and green eyes. He was holding out a chocolate cupcake with beautiful frosting. "Okay. Thanks, it's beautiful. Did you make it?" I asked him. "Yes, I did and thanks" he replied. I paid for the cupcake and went to go and sit down by the window. As soon as I sat down I tried the cupcake. Let me tell you, it was amazing. "Is it any good?" I averted my attention from the cupcake to the boy from before who was now sitting in front of me. "It's amazing" I smiled. "Do you mind if I sit down?" He asked. "No, not at all" he seemed like a nice guy. We sat and talked for the next hour. He was sweet, a little immature, but it's not like I cared. I looked for that I a guy. He talked to me like he had known me for years. He wasn't afraid to be himself.

Tuesday March 2nd, 2014
I didn't know where I was going, sometimes I would just walk. I loved walking, I would walk anywhere at anytime. It gave me time to clear my head, to realize what's important and to forget about the things that aren't important. Sometimes I would have somewhere that I was going, but this time I didn't know where I was going, suddenly I found myself walking in the direction of her house. I don't know why, but something inside me just told me to go there. I stop walking. I shouldn't be going there, after everything that she did to me, I shouldn't forgive her. She was such a horrible person, so mean. 'No keep walking, you have to go there. Just trust me' the little voice said. So I keep walking. 3250 Impala Ave. There it is. I walk up the driveway and ring the doorbell. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 if nobody answers in 15 seconds I'm leaving. 8,9,10. The door opens and there she stands, the girl who hurt me so much, bullied me. "Oh my god! Ashton! I thought I would never see you again! I am so sorry, for everything that I ever did to hurt you, I was just so jealous, I was going through a bad time I never wanted to hurt you as much as I did. You are an amazing person. I hope that you can forgive-" I cut her off. "Its okay, I forgive you"

Thursday November 23rd, 2015
I furiously typed on my laptop, desperately trying to finish my English paper. I still have no clue why I decided to take AP English. My phone started ringing, Brinley, my best friend since kindergarten was calling me. "Hello" "oh my gosh, Ashton, you won't ever believe who is staying across the street from me" "who" I asked "Michael Clifford" she answered "what! Are you serious!" Michael Clifford is in my favourite band, and I have always wanted to meet him. "I'm coming over right now" I hung up, got my shoes and made my way over to her house, let's just say that day was one of the best days ever.

Memories are what we are made of, well technically we are all made of cells, but memories make up our soul. The things that we remember will influence us in life some are good, and some are bad. But they are still memories. Memories are things that we will never forget, things that we will talk about, things that will follow us for the rest of our lives, but what we need to learn how to do is to leave the bad memories behind us. To learn to leave the bad pieces behind. I want to kick and scream but I am trapped. Floating. It feels like I am floating. It's like there is no way I'm able to put my feet on anything solid. Darkness. All I can see is darkness. I don't know where I am, but it is always dark, and frankly, it's terrifying. I have no feeling. I cannot feel my body. I am having trouble figuring out where I am, I mean I don't think that I'm dead because it feels like I have been here for a few weeks, maybe months but also when you die aren't you supposed to see some bright light? I want to move, I want to run but I can't, suddenly I can hear a long beep and I finally feel like this is the end. They were wrong, there's no bright light when you die, no miracle, just darkness. Never ending darkness.




Monday, 28 September 2015

"ART"







Across the canvas
My song plays
Desires I have sought
People I’ve betrayed
Dreams that never stay
I move way too fast sometimes
Barely catch a glimpse
Of this prismatic light
That seems to follow me
Finished for the keepers eye
Started only just for I
Begin anew
And hope this time
My dream will come to life
When once again
The ache draws near
My ache the brush
The lust
The plan
Beyond the paint
The colors sweet
The plan
I yet to meet
Don’t touch the keys
Don’t touch the brush
The paint will do the talking
Allow myself
Hear the music
Face the day
Sing tenderly
A song
Only I can hear

My work is done
The paint has dried
I have it all
It’s just a song
A melody that cant be wrong
Again I draw
And paint and sing
What am I?
With my Art
I am everything


Nothing left unsaid

Monday, 21 September 2015

FRESH







FRESH

Fresh fruit
Fresh vegetables
Fresh flowers
Fresh sheets…

My mother called yesterday
“What are you doing?” she asked
Her voice hoarse, of course

When you are 89 years old coughs don’t just linger, wickedly taking away your voice. Sometimes they stay for the rest of your life.

“Laundry.” Was my reply

“You are always doing laundry,” she stated.
Less hoarse
More aware
Of me
Wasting water
Wasting away
Folding fresh sheets once again.

“You create work” she went on “changing sheets every couple of days.”

When you are 89 years old the children you have loved so dearly for so long can do no wrong.

She laughed as I explained…

“Oh but I love fresh sheets, Mother.”

You
C
L
I
M
B
Into bed
As your body hits the mattress you
Stretch one leg
Then the other
Your head
Finds the pillow

As you inhale you realize that
Nothing
Is igniting old thoughts
You are here
In this moment
With
Fresh
Sheets

Who can describe the feeling?

I am not even going to try

That’s what fresh sheets do to me

They take away the thoughts that stress my body and contort my heart then fuel my mind so it goes looking for more unwanted thoughts to think about.

With fresh sheets surrounding me
I rest
I reflect on nothingness
And soon
I am fast asleep
Floating peacefully
Through my dreams
About…

Fresh fruit
Fresh vegetables
Fresh flowers
Fresh sheets
And my mother calling me to ask what I am doing.




Tuesday, 8 September 2015

FOUND




FOUND

I placed my heart inside a box
Locked it with a golden key
Dug a hole in my back yard
Threw it in and watched the rain
Cover what was left of me
A body with no feelings
Oh so free

That night between my cotton sheets
I could not pray
I could not sleep
I listened to the thunder roar
The lightening streaked the floor
But nothing mattered
Not anymore
To what was left
Of me

The next day I awoke
A fresh new day before me smiled
I missed the beat
Felt no defeat
Drank my coffee
Like it was wine
Then took a dive into the day
No feelings there
To sweep me away

Along my street I dared to walk
To the neighbors did not talk
They were feeling way too much
I no longer knew the lingo
Didn’t want no human touch

That night I sat before my grave
Dug a small hole
Feeling brave
Grabbed a feeling, just to see
What the night may hold for me

I dreamt of bluebirds
And their song
Listened all night
Was much too long
But, upon awakening I felt peace
“A feeling is just right,” I thought
I felt release

The day it turned out wasn’t bad
I didn’t smile but wasn’t sad
My feeling led me through the time…
I placed my body on the grass
It was nice; I found a dime
Lucky me, I felt just that
One feeling definitely was enough

Clutching silver in my hand
I began to understand
That I would have to dig my whole heart out
If I was to learn
What this thing called life is all about

So that night I went outside
With a shovel at my side
I sat too long
But I felt strong, and I began to dig away
I needed feelings here to stay
I dug until the stars were in the sky
Staring at me with curious eyes
I dug until a feeling took a leap
I then went back to bed to sleep

The next day I embrace the sun
Embraced the rain until it was done
I sipped my coffee
Played with thoughts
Picked up the phone and made a call
But that was not all I did that day;
I bought a shovel big and strong
Dug with unwavering force all day long
I opened my box up with the key
Took my heart out and set it free

I felt the pleasure in my chest
I felt tingles, I found rest
And when at last I fell asleep
Every feeling did I keep

The good, the bad, the nagging ones
Those that hurt me for so long
Then I gave them all a kiss
I slept through the night
In a wondrous bliss

My heart now keeps me in the place
I want to be; the human race
I live my life for those who pray

For heart felt feelings every day.