crisply
It's a crackling park. Branches bristle, evergreen needles scritch, mulch grinds underfoot.
enchanter
The branches wave about the tree's crown as if it's casting a spell.
frantic
In everything, she chases love, sincere unflinching love, withheld from her as a child and longed-for decades later.
loosening
Shoulders relaxing as I settle at the table with a glass of sparkling wine.
masquerade
Forehead-slapping moment when the words I've rehearsed come out costumed in a different meaning and tone.
nonfulfillment
"They don't know how to write," he says of his students. "They don't care. They think they have nothing worth sharing. Maybe they don't!"
worrying
Sucking on cough drops as the wind nips my cheeks and throat.
