“Let’s sit in the grass in the shade, over there on the hill, across the way.” She sighed, looked around and reminded herself that no one was with her. She had gotten accustomed to talking to her boyfriend Ian, during their daily walks. Then later–after– she talked to him in her head, and sometimes, like today, she spoke to him aloud. She paused, noticing the slowly swaying leaves from the gentle breeze, heard the whispering and faintly she thought she heard Ian say, “that’s a good idea”.

She smiled to herself as she took a seat in the plush green campus grass. It wasn’t often she could hear his voice, it took effort on her part–it had been three months since she’d spoken to him. She finished her muffin. She tipped her bottle and let the water swirl in her mouth before taking in more.

Today was going to be a long day and she needed to stay hydrated. Not only did she need to keep her routine, but she needed to continue to pretend that she didn’t know what happened to Ian and she needed it to be believable. Today was an important day.

**I decided to do a writing exercise today and begin a story with a small inspiration. I was told I sounded “poetic” recently (the first line is my personal verbage) and I found this cool, as I normally consider my writing much less awkward than my speaking.

Books read this week: Radium Girls by Kate Moore, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Quote: The closed doors and rejections you encounter in your path do not decide your fate. They simply redirect your course. You must keep moving because life’s detours can also be meaningful.