Sweet Dandelion

by Micalea Smeltzer

“My sweet, Dandelion. May you always be as free as the birds, as wild as the flowers, and untamed as the sea.”

It’s my favorite food and I swear I could live off of it. Honestly, the food pyramid is a triangle, so is pizza, therefore all you need for a balanced diet is pizza.

“Sometimes we have to hurt to be reminded that the best things in life bring us joy and pain.”

“It is what it is.” That’s what I keep telling myself anyway. As if I repeat those five words enough the reality will hurt less.

“Yeah, a lot can be learned or enjoyed in the pages of a book.”

“I want to fall in love.” His eyes darken in color, but I don’t miss the small step he takes away from me. “When I was lying on that floor, wet from my own blood, screams echoing everywhere, I knew I was going to die. The only thing I regretted in those brief moments before I lost consciousness was the fact that I was never going to know real, soul-crushing, forever love. I wasn’t going to walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams. I wasn’t going to hold my child in my arms. I wasn’t going to grow old with someone.” I have to pause and catch my breath, also allowing myself to take a moment to keep the tears at bay. “It was the simple, ordinary things I was going to miss out on that hurt the most. At the end of the day, those things might seem mundane or unnecessary to some, but to me it was all I wanted. So, I guess if I was going to put anything on my bucket list, falling in love would be at the top.”

“It’s nice to be lost in another world for a little while. But we can’t forget reality forever.”

Logic is a fickle beast when it’s your heart on the line.

Shouldn’t might be the worst word in the English language. It implies not to do something, but is also opened ended.

“Life clips our wings,” I murmur softly, wiping condensation from the side of the water glass. “Everyone tells you to dream big, but then society does everything it can to keep you grounded.”

He laughs, but his eyes don’t. He smiles, but his eyes don’t. And I can’t help feeling like I broke my best friend’s heart.

The dark and quiet have no labels. They judge no one. Within the darkness you can hide a multitude of sins. The problem is when the light comes again.

This is what a kiss should be. Something you feel through your whole body.

This is the kind of kiss I’ve seen in movies and read in the books he’s let me borrow. It’s a kiss that changes things. There’s no coming back from this.

Innocent touches shouldn’t matter, but when there are real feelings behind them that’s when it becomes a problem.

“Fuck, this conversation is making me sad. Put a movie on or something before I get depressed and build a fort.” “A fort?” I raise a brow. He laughs. “When I was a kid, any time I got sad or in trouble I made a fort. I don’t know why.” I give him a look. “Are we too old to build a fort?” He snorts. “You’re never too old to build a fort.”

Quietly, I admit, “That day is always going to be a dark cloud over me, isn’t it?” He shakes his head. “No, baby. That dark cloud is going to turn gray, then it’s going to clear off, but here’s the thing—we need the rainy days to appreciate the sunny ones. So when those bad days come around, don’t dwell on them. Use them instead to remind yourself of all the good you have.”

“He’s hot, I have eyes. Sue me.”

My mantra

“If you dream small you’ll never even touch the ceiling.” I give him a soft smile. “But if you dream big you might be lucky enough to touch the sky.” He takes my hand, crossing our fingers together. “Let’s take over the world then.”

“Love is scary. I think that’s why so many people are afraid of it. But it’s worth it.”