“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

The ominous lenticular cloud, black as night, darkened the mid-day sky and my upbeat mood. It appeared out of nowhere as we started the mile long descent from the crest of Topkok hill, to the sandy shore of Cape Nome on the Bering Sea.

Ten days, a thousand miles, had taken us from the city streets of Anchorage, over the Alaska Range, through the Interior, down the Yukon River, to the coast. Now the sparkling blue waters of the sea marked the near finale of the arduous Iditarod race. With only 50 miles to go, we were at the mercy of this last section of exposed trail, notorious for sudden, extreme storms and perilous winds.
So close, the end.
Yet, so far.

I woke up hungover again, and to be honest I don't even know how. Every day it seems to get worse. I get more hungover and forget more and more. If it doesn't stop soon, then I don't think I’ll be alive anymore.

August 17, 2005, two murders, Mr. and Mrs. Haddin were executed. Though they were married, they were murdered at different spots, at different times, and in different ways. Yet somehow, I feel as if the two are connected, as they are husband and wife. People shrug it off, like it never even happened. Yeah, it did. People assume they aren't related, when any detective, would at least think that. I know they do think it, but they won't admit it.

On this morning
a morning thick with dew
leaves of Nasturtium
and Lady's Mantle glitter
candied with droplets
that cling in a globular crust
to each hair
and dangle around the edges
of each leaf

"Betelgeuse, we are not juicing to my parent's house." The obviously annoyed woman stood in the kitchen with both hands on her hips, as she shook her head at her husband sitting at the table.

The poltergeist's bottle green eyes turned up from his newspaper and gave her a pointed look with raised brows. "Why the hell not?"

A sigh fell from her pink lips, before she answered him. "I'm not that far along and we don't even know if it's safe for me and the baby. I don't want to risk it, Betelgeuse." She didn't mean to make it seem like his power would hurt them, but the truth of the situation was that she shouldn't even be pregnant. She didn't want to do anything that could jeopardize the pregnancy.