Another year bites the dust.

As the new year rolled around she promised herself she'd do better this time, like she did every time.

Another year already half-forgotten.

The playground's treachery had moved online.

He squandered his last years wondering about what might have been.

The tears came after the smoke cleared.

Be thankful.

For a day or two around Christmas, Charlie was a real gentleman, but the rest of the year he was a total dick.

It was only her terrible fashion choices in photos from the 90s that made her realize just how much time has past.

The more they tried to dress up the lies, the more threadbare they became.

The more he had to do, the more he was able to get done.

He prayed that like Saul of Tarsus the president would see the light and turn away from his evil ways.

Like a dog licking its stitches, Clare's mind continually returned to the night that destroyed their relationship.

It always seemed impossible until it was achieved.

The layers of lies formed the foundation on which to build a better life, she thought.

Hank had learned over many years that honesty was the rotgut whiskey of friendship since it burned going down but would eventually soothe the pain.

The birds waited impatiently at the windowsill.

The old man struggling at the gym had once been the toughest guy around.

And a child-like bully will lead them (the sheep). 

She couldn't bring herself to kill the mice in her house so she called an uneasy truce hoping to wait them out.

Nostalgia was killing the future.

The ratings and reviews for the end of the world worried the advertisers.

His younger days filled with hangovers had prepared him well for old age.

Even the aliens gave up on humanity, labeling the planet a no-fly zone.

We had become locked in a life-or-death struggle between apathy and anger.

Schtick and schlock were the nation's last defining traits.

William wondered if it was possible to simply run out of words.

His heart was like a blackbird against the dull gray sky soaring above a field of winter white.

Her ideas of what a snow day entailed were based on childhood memories and greatly interfered in her getting any work done away from the office.

The terrior of our land lent everything the taste of blood.