u s e y o u r h a n d s

The cat realized, after months and months, just how rabbitty her friend the rabbit could be. And though she still wanted to bat around with her lepine companion, he ran far, far away. The cat, now alone, licked her paws, swished her tail, and chased after life on her own. Her old friend the rabbit spent his time in his burrow, missing the light and shade of the forest and everything she could show him.

As she swam toward the surface, Allison wondered if her experiment was to backfire. A shallow breath, a deep dive. Her survival would be due to math, not miracles. And as her lungs burned for air, she pumped and kicked up. When Allison’s head broke the surface, she gasped and sputtered for just a few seconds, then calmed. She was alive, this was a summer pool party, and she was no spectacle.

Phillippa rang the bell. Timothy came to the door with peppermint tea and the rest of her clothes. For three years after it was final, Phillipa couldn’t even chew mint gum without her nose getting stuffy.

Faustus never realized how angry Clotilde was until she tore up the floor board by board and walled herself into the bathroom. He broke five hammers, four fingernails, and three hearts getting her out.