MEGGAN BAUTISTA Reverse Reality

REVERSE REALITY

By Meggan Bautista

I’m starting to believe it what they’ve told me all my life which is that I can’t choose my own fate I don’t believe I will live a happy life because how I want to live who I want to be is unobtainable but I will never say that it is going to be easy they told me it is not possible that I can change the world, it’s what I tell myself, that in my hands opportunity is nonexistent it will not be a good house a good career a good family that I end up with I will make sure the other way around not the fate I create will be what I become I can’t do it can I

RETURN TO SENDER

By Sage Whitney

Dear May, You were there. You were in the forest. You felt the dampness. You experienced the stillness. We were tied to each other with rope so as not to be lost from each other. You remember, we were naked. We were huddling together for warmth in July. You heard those sounds, you were sure you heard them before. You remember it. You remember the feeling. You heard the whispering. You could smell the decay from the moss and leaves on the ground all around us. You remember it, so you must have been there. Right? Returned to sender.

Dear May, You were there, You must have been. You remember how long it felt. You heard the rustling in the distance. You felt their presence. You heard them sing to us. You saw the lights. You remember. You trusted us. You loved us. Returned to sender: Do not contact again. Dear May,

You were there. You remember dying that night by the lake. You remember watching our souls leave our bodies as the current pulled us downstream. You remember making love in the sky that night. You do remember... Right? Returned to sender: The authorities have been alerted. Please do not contact again.

Dear May, So you really don't remember. You don't remember the most significant event of our lives. I find that hard to believe. You were there.

Dear Donte, I do remember. I remember driving to your parent’s lake house I remember singing along with the radio during the long drive. We never made it to the lake house. I remember wandering the woods until our feet bled. We were trying to outrun the fog. I remember studying the changes in each other's faces. Your lips pursed differently and your eyebrows curved upward. I remember when the fog finally caught up to us. I remember the drop in temperature. I remember how tightly we held each other. We were shaking. I remember the taste of burning plastic in the air, And the lights in the sky. And the beings who taught us how to love ourselves… Yours forever, Daphne