Oh, the demons

And so, in that sunny afternoon, she kneels down and pats the beagle on its back, tenderly, lovingly, affectionately. Forcing a smile, she leans down and whispers gently, "It's time for you to leave." 

"Why?" Beagle questions, its head tilting to one side. "I thought you and I were good together."

"Good?" she repeats in disbelief, "Try great. Perfect. Which is exactly why you need to go."

Beagle stares at her face, her two pigtails, her big blue aqua eyes. It wags it tails, still excitedly clueless. "But...why?"

"Because you're harmless. Because of your ability to be affectionate. Your passion to be nice, your goal to make me happy, to accompany me whatever mood I am in." The girl stops herself, sighing. "I need a Doberman instead. Big, burly, mean. A killing machine, they say."

Beagle looks confused. "It will hurt you. It will not protect you with affections like what I've been doing all these times."

"So then I know I can fight back when he bites. Then I wouldn't be swimming in guilt every time I realize I said something nasty. Because it won't have the same amount of patience as you do," she smiled. Oh, the fakeness of her smiles recently. The nonexistent layer of sincerity. "You belong to some other seven year old who will be glad to adopt you with open arms, no questions asked."

Finally getting the hint, Beagle's tails stops wagging. Its huge, puppy eyes cast downward. 

"Hey," she whispers and closes her eyes as she kissed the top of its head, feeling his fur tickle her nostrils. "There's nothing like you and I."

Jerking back, she swallows hard and places the puppy in the huge dollhouse. It has everything Beagle will ever need - chewy bones, meaty snacks, bottled water, and her favorite old blanket. 

She wants to make sure it leaves with its best, most favorite surroundings. 

She painfully ignores its whimpers as she makes her way back to her house. She cannot afford to take one last glance. There is no such word as 'last' in our dictionary, remember? The least I can do is keep that promise.

Closing the door behind her, she leans against the wooden door and sighs deeply. 

Door locked, windows closed, walls back up. Time to install a new alarm.

You can really hate your best friend sometimes.

D: "I really, really miss [insert name of place]"

C: "Do you miss the place, or do you miss the feelings when you were there?"

D: "....."

C: "Uh-huh, consider me your emotional autocorrect from now on."

***

"That's even worse."

(On the subject of pros and cons in leaving a person.)

X: "OK, you know what, it all comes down to this. This always works for me so let me ask this to you, loud and clear, once and for all - can you live without him?"

X: "It's a quick, yes-or-no question."

Y: "I think so. Yeah."

X: "Err........ really?"

Y: "The problem is, I doubt there is anyone I can't live without." 


boom. 

one of the best 'stories' I've ever read.

Brilliant. 

"You don’t normally enjoy this.  You’ve got a security system installed because you don’t trust people in your home. It staves off thieves who try to steal your belongings for a quick fix...Every once in a while a thief attempts to break in, but your security system works wonders."

It's too cold for you here.

"I wanna shelter you

But with the beast inside

There's nowhere we can hide

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide."

- Imagine Dragons 

After a long, thick silence, she asks,

"Okay. What if I don't want to be brave?" 

And for the second time in his life, he falls into a longer, thicker silence. 

because I bow to this man's words.

Some memorable blurbs from Mr Geiman:

“You don't have to test everything to destruction just to see if you made it right."

"Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that witches are often betrayed by their appetites; dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always; hearts can be well-hidden, and you can betray them with your tongue. "
- taken from Instructions 

“I miss you', he admitted. 
'I'm here', she said. 
'That's when I miss you most. When you're here. When you aren't here, when you're just a ghost of the past or a dream from another life, it's easier then.” 
― taken from American Gods

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” 

And my favorite one so far:

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”