pmcoltrane

Someone said "love one another." And following generations preached, scribed, and proselytized the words. Translated, retranslated, exegeted the words. Built a #mythos around the words. Schismed, fought, killed for the words. So much easier than living those words. #vss365

But I'd rather be in that far off place Sand and grit between my toes Rain stinging my face Buffeted by the salty breeze With you by my side Than here under the cloudless blue skies Sipping sweet tea in a sunny yard alone #vss365 #sand

"Alecia." Diamond and rose gold shine in candlelight. His heart pounds. "Will you marry me?" Eyes misty, she smiles and whispers, "Beep boop dee-DEE!" "Huh?" The world spins. He swipes blindly for the snooze button. A groan. "Now I have to do this over again." #vss365 #ring

#vss365 #romance #10words #hangtenstories Watching her remove my ring a month after my death.

The launch was a go. Cameras filmed the lift-off. For the first time in 50 years, humans were going to the moon! We watched the rise of the rocket into a cloudless sky, and with it our hopes and dreams. #scififri #lift #rise

"Working late?" asks his secretary. "It's past seven." He nods without looking, #pen gliding on ivory stationery. "Roberts' retirement party tomorrow. He gave 20 years… I can give twenty minutes." His hand and pen form looping calligraphy. "For Outstanding Service" #vss365

No small step for #man or woman. Ten million horse-drawn crate of thunder. #vss365

Wine swirls as she rants about his juvenile pastimes, his hopeless plans. I think of the twinkle of joy in his eyes. She recalls the other… the one that got away. I close my eyes… and hear him #exalt my name with a slow whisper. #vss365

He spent nights in the dark. Fretting. Strumming. Picking. 10,000 little skills make music. And 10,000 hours make an expert. Electrical signals #conduct the string vibrations to the amp. Air conducts the sound to his ears. Science, not superstition. Not strangers. #vss365

A tiny speck, our world in the window. Mountain, ocean, steppe, desert, and savanna. Every monsoon, gray thunderhead, white-out blizzard, red #sprite. Just me plus three, in a tin can afloat in blackness. Earth has never been so far from me. Nor ever the Moon so near. #vss365

My uncle was reminiscing about the disco days. Was it really 50 years ago? he said. Everyone used COBOL then. Your grandfather would go out and dance all night. The rent was cheaper, too. #vsstimetravel #disco

The music lingered long after the band packed up their instruments and went home. It echoed in the empty chambers of my heart and in the corridors of my mind. Last call, I said to the man wearing a black fedora and an #illusive smile. Join me, he said. #Satsplat #vss365

Opportunity knocks but once, I tell myself. My choice: be bound by #illusive fears and shadows of doubt... or take one small step out of my comfort zone. "Hey. I've seen you here." I smile. The mirror smiles weakly. I can do this. Try again. "Hey..." #vss365

"Army ants sometimes lose their way and #revolve in a never-ending death spiral until they die, never able to escape the pattern." She didn't look up from her phone. "Did you say something." Sigh. "Nothing important." #vss365

I couldn't open the pod bay door. Push don't pull, she said. But how do I close it again? #scfifri #open #close

"Isn't it strange the variety of experiences that #fascinate us? A famous celebrity. An elegant dinner in a fancy restaurant. A witty story." "So what fascinates you?" she asked. He smiles and holds her gaze. #vss365

Rain spattered on the window. In his heart the #tempest grew as he picked up the tempo. Is she even into guitarists? What's her song? He played, better each day. But thought… Does practice make perfect? Or was this the stranger's doing? He let the B major chord ring. #vss365

"What's the word?" "No decision." A sigh. "Half want invasion. Send in the fleet. Take over. Coerce them." "And the others?" "Covert ops. #Frustrate their ability to threaten us." "Both awful." "True, but we can't let this… Earth… threaten the greater galaxy." #vss365

"You're so aggravating," Jess lashed out at him. "I should kick you out." "I support this," Erica said flatly. "Every boyfriend I have thinks I have a crush on you!" Nick raised a hand. "As an alternative? Why don't we just date?" "I #endorse this," Erica said. #vss365

Unlike other scientists, he believed the signal from Proxima was a message of friendship. Others urged caution, but his belief did not #waver. He keyed the transmitter. His reply left Earth on the Hydrogen-α line at the speed of light. In five years they would know. #vss365

On the equinox she drank a glass of wine. All season she'd thought about the #divide between winter and spring. Shivered in the cold dreaming of bright sunshine on her face. She left a handwritten letter on his pillow, then stepped one last time across the threshold. #vss365