"What I want most in this life is to make you think, to push you to the limits and to always be there when you need me most. I want to challenge you, but more than anything, I want you to know that you are loved and you can do anything, no matter who you are or where you come from."

"When you're tired, when it hurts, when you want to give up, that's when you know it's time to work harder, to push further and kick it into full gear. You're the only one standing in your way and it's not time to rest just yet."

"Another City"

Another City
By Corey Elmore

I opened my eyes
And I was borne into a new city
With different streets and new faces
A city with you.

Somehow, you found me
And gave existence to this place
Where it is just you and I
And I fall into a clumsy state of disillusion

And I knew
This was not only meant to last for now
But forever and for always
Until we say good-bye
And then good-night
And until the next day
When it all starts once again
From the beginning
New as if it had never happened at all

"Charles, My Love..."

Charles, My Love…

            As you already have come to learn, Chantelle most certainly was not an ordinary candle.  She may very well have looked like one and she might also have smelled just like the candle your mother bought the other day, but, you must understand, there is more to life beyond what we see and what we smell. 

            Chantelle had thoughts and she had feelings too.  You’ll find it hard to believe, but Chantelle also had a heart and she knew exactly what love was.  In fact, she thought about it all the time and it always made her so happy to watch Susan, the salt-shaker, and Pete, the pepper-grinder, together at suppertime.  They would talk about beautiful things and they simply went together, but Chantelle always said she was too busy for love.  She worked much harder than Frank, the fork, and Karen, the knife.  After suppertime, Frank and Karen were taken to the kitchen to be washed for the next day, but Chantelle burned brightly all night long. 

            The truth is that Chantelle was already as happy as she could be, because she lived to be the best and the brightest candle and she did it very well.  She took her position at the Mason family’s table very seriously, indeed, but everything changed the night Charles came along.  Who is Charles, you wonder?

Well, Mrs. Mason told her husband that a proper table-top should always have two candles, not just one, and so it happened that Charles, the new candle, arrived that night, much to Chantelle’s surprise.  Charles was very handsome, indeed.  He was blue and his scent was blueberry.  Of course, Charles was a new candle and his Light was much brighter than Chantelle’s.  Chantelle couldn’t help it.  She looked at Charles and all she felt was jealousy, after all, her only dream was to be the best and brightest. 

Chantelle and Charles sat in silence until Mr. and Mrs. Mason left the table.  Chantelle broke the silence and said, “You know?  Charles, is it?  I absolutely loathe the smell of blueberries.  They just disgust me.”  This, however, was untrue.  Chantelle loved the smell of blueberries more than anything.  Before Charles had a chance to say anything at all, Chantelle turned her back on Charles and when she did, her flame blew out!  Poof! 

What was Charles to do?  Well, let me tell you, he did the first thing that came to his mind.  He leaned over and kissed Chantelle and set her aglow once again.  Her eyes opened, bust she said nothing.  Instead, Charles spoke and he said “Chantelle, your dreams are my dreams too.  We are a team.  We are a pair.  If we work together, we can bring more light to the World, and together we will shine like the brightest lights.” 

“Charles, I lied” said Chantelle.  “I love the smell of blueberries.  You understand me so well.  Forgive me, please.” 

“A million times forgotten, my dear”, said Charles.

It was then and there on top of the Mason’s table that Chantelle realized something.  Perhaps she wasn’t so busy after all for a little bit of love.  Charles leaned over once more and kissed Chantelle again.  He wanted to give her all he had. 

She looked at Charles and she said “Charles, my love…”

            “Yes, my dear?” replied Charles.

            Chantelle smiled and said, “That is all I have to say, because that is what you are.  Charles, my love…”

The End

Chantelle

Chantelle

Perhaps you will find this story a little hard to believe or maybe a little bizarre, but it is true… or so they say. Love can be found anywhere and between anyone, and so it happened that Susan and Pete found themselves in love.  They simply went together, you see.  Susan was a salt-shaker and Pete was a pepper-grinder.  At heart, the two were very different, but they shared the same goals and dreams: to make supper taste just that extra bit better.  

Of course, Susan and Pete lived their whole lives together on top of the Mason family’s table.  They spent day after day and night after night beside one another, but they had never spoken a word.  In fact, they really didn’t know how to speak, given the fact that they were but a salt-shaker and a pepper-grinder, but I think you need to know that when it comes to love anything and everything is possible.  

Now, if I’m not mistaken, I believe it was the night that Susan and Pete first met Chantelle when it all began.  Chantelle was beautiful, a beacon of Light in an otherwise dark room.  Yes, she was a candle, you see.  She was pink and her scent was strawberry.  She was new to the Mason family’s tabletop and she liked how she matched so perfectly with their table-cloth.  She was happy to be there.  Mr. Mason set Chantelle aglow that night to surprise his wife, but little did he know, he also gave Susan and Pete the surprise of their lives. 

Indeed, the smallest bit of Light is stronger than the deepest darkness and Chantelle’s beauty illuminated everything.  It even caused Pete to speak to Susan for the first time.  What made him speak, you wonder?  

Pete looked at Susan and saw his reflection.  He saw everything that he was illuminated in her bright silver reflection.  “Hello, who are you?” asked Pete.  Susan was startled.  She opened her eyes and saw Pete. She saw her reflection, and, like Pete, she saw everything that she was illuminated in his bright silver reflection.  

“I’m… I’m Susan.  I am salt”, she said.  

“I’m Pete.  I am pepper”, replied Pete.  

Once they began to talk, they couldn’t be stopped.  How many years they had gone without talking!  How blind they were to the fact that they were so similar!  All they needed was a little bit of Light.  A little bit of Chantelle.  

That night, Pete and Susan fell in love.  Chantelle’s Light burned brightly into the night, and she stayed with them always.  

“Lie with me. Lie down with me and tell me beautiful things”, said Susan.

“I’d love to.  Close your eyes”, said Pete. 

            They stayed this way forever, together.  They would talk.  They would laugh, but most of all, they would tell one another beautiful things.  They owed it all to a small, pink candle, named Chantelle. 

The End

Not Alone

When I lay my head down, you're there with me, even though you're not.

Valentine's Day.

Looking back on the day gone by, it is not about the love that you once had and lost and it is most certainly not about the lack you feel within and around yourself. It is about love, plain and simple. To say that you deny Valentine's Day is to say that you do not believe that you are loved and that love does not exist in this World. Love, like Light, is everywhere. Happy Valentine's Day. ♥