Birdbrain: The Birds in My Head

There are these birds in my head and they fly around and around my brain. They're all different colors. They're incredibly colorful. Brilliant blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and so on, are the bright colors of their feathers. And they fly around to keep me from doing my work; they fly faster and faster so I can't get anything done. Sometimes, they fly outside of my head too. They go out my ears and fly around my head, but they never fly directly in front of my face. I can just see them out of the corner of my eye. Just enough for me to notice them. Just enough to make them hard to ignore. 
These birds aren't actually loud. In fact, they normally don't even make any sounds. But sometimes they can make white noise. Sometimes its like a buzzing. It could be because they're flying so fast. Other times I can see them out the corner of my eye and I can't hear them, but I know they're making sounds.
There really isn't much I can do to make the birds go away. Sometimes I drink water in hopes of drowning them, but that can backfire because, at times, they think I'm creating a makeshift birdbath in my head. Sometimes I lie down and hope they get sleepy. Sometimes I embrace the birds in hopes of them feeling suffocated enough to leave the nest. 
When the birds finally stop flying before they die of exhaustion, I become tired like I am one of my winged friends. When they stop, I can relax and let my brain rest.  Of course what do the birds do? They perch in my head, waiting for the next time they'll take flight.

Bunbury Music Festival

You were so close. Every time I thought about you, a rush of excitement would electrify my whole being. My soul, my soul was eagerly awaiting the moment we would meet. I, with an anxious demeanor, would approach you, you with your arms opened for me would lure me in, beckoning me to join the fun without speaking a word, but in our own way of communicating I would know.  Because fun is what I needed. I knew this. You knew this. Everyone knew this. Fun. Freedom. Independence. What I needed exactly.

It is an art. An expression. A culture of it’s own. Life. People. Atmosphere. This is what I want to experience. This is what I should be experiencing. This is what you were offering me. But slipping happens. You slipped right through my fingers. We really did not stand a chance. We were stupid, naive even, not to realize this until it was too late. We were far too late and you were far too out of reach. You are still far too out of reach.

Alas, all I can do is hope—imagine what could have been. What should have been. When I think of you, there is a pain in my chest, a hole in my heart where you belong. In a perfect world, we would be together, united with joy and drunk with happiness. I would look at you and know that this moment, this experience, could never be taken away.

My Snowball

Snowball is my stuffed animal cat from my grandmother that I have had since I was three years old. Her fur is white and lost its fluffiness years ago from going through the wash too many times. She has some patches where her hair is worn down and most of her stuffing has made its way down to the lower half of her body, giving her a pear shape. Her black glass eyes are blank yet endearing and have seen more than most toys her age. She has lived in Germany, Iowa, and Ohio and has seen the calm tulips of the Netherlands to the busy streets of Chicago. She’s been on a plane and through airport security more times than she can count but refuses to eat airplane food unless it’s sweet. She doesn't care for green beans but ate them anyways when I, as a little girl, didn't want to eat mine. She’s been to plenty of slumber parties and has had her fair share of trick or treating. She waited at the hospital when I got my tonsils removed in the first grade and she stays close to me, even when I’m sick. She has patiently listened to me yell and cry about things that are insignificant now. She has been there to wipe my eyes or to be used as a pillow. She tells me I’m smart when I struggle in math and she knows I’m a hard worker.  She reminds me too take a deep breath and take a break sometimes. She’s wise beyond her years and, although her expression never changes and she cannot speak, she has her own language that only I can understand.

Snowball and I have gone on many adventures through the years and there are still more to come. Although I am becoming more independent and Snowball does not come with me everywhere, she is always waiting for me on my bed when I get home to tell her about my latest journey. I have not grown out of Snowball and I don’t think I ever really will, but our relationship has evolved. We have both grown.  She’s still my sense of comfort and security but in a different way. I don’t need to bring her with me to the store and she stays at home on most days, but I still rely on her.  She’s still available for a hug at any time and she still goes on airplanes with me. She helps me with my new challenges in life and will be there sitting in my dorm room, waiting for me when I get back from my first day of college. Even now, she is always up for a new adventure and will silently guide me through my obstacles in life. Though we are both older, I know I will forever be that little girl who loves her stuffed animal cat, Snowball.

Valentine’s Adventure in Wonderland

ONCE UPON A TIME...

in a beautiful land far, far away, lay a town named Jelsa.  It was on an island surrounded by a magical sea where ships from foreign kingdoms soared across the waters bringing goods for trade.  In this town, lived a very special family called the Perisutti’s.  They were important because the father of this family was an artist named Marko Perisutti who helped establish Jelsa. The youngest of the Perisutti children was his son, Valentine.  Every morning, Valentine would swim in the enchanted aquatic with mermaids and fish of every color before he chimed the golden church bells, awakening the slumbering island creatures. He loved his paradise but when he was just sixteen years of age something terrible happened.

A war erupted amongst different lands, trying to take over the magical sea that was Jelsa’s for so long.  An evil ruler sent a wicked sea serpent to bring anarchy to the island.  The Perisutti’s knew it was not safe for young Valentine to stay in a place so treacherous.

The family remembered a story that was told to them by a mermaid who swam all over the world.  She had spoken of Wonderland, a utopia where anybody could flourish into everything they could desire. So it was decided that Valentine would go to Wonderland with his uncle to escape the monstrous state of his paradise.

That night, when the evil sea serpent was asleep, Valentine and his uncle got on one of the ships that would be traveling to Wonderland.  Before they left, Valentine said goodbye to his family, not knowing if he would see them again. The journey was long but they were filled with the thoughts of anticipation for the different places they would see.

As they approached their new home, Valentine saw the lights and excitement of Wonderland.  He and his uncle tiredly walked off the ship as an elf asked them questions in a tongue they could not understand.  Fortunately, another elf could speak their language and, after many questions and exams, they were on their way to a fresh start.

Valentine spent some time with his uncle, learning the language and culture of Wonderland, until he moved when he acquired a job.  He was a servant boy for an elegant castle where he met important beings of Wonderland.  He met kings and queens, princes and princesses, emperors and sultans, sorcerers and angels.  But the most important person he met was a beautiful maid-in-waiting named Clara.  Valentine and Clara fell in love and married.  And...

THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

THE END.