The grackles brawled while the bluejays bullied, the mourning doves cooed, and the goldfinches waited.

Ben vacillated between believing he was dying and thinking he was just a hypochondriac.

It was just words strung together seemingly at random whenever he went off-script.

The spring brought renewal, rebirth, even in isolation.

Jason wondered at what point he'd end up jettisoning friends for their views or if he'd just ignore their stances instead.

She felt more like the worn and faded photo than the youthful face staring out from the image, all wide-eyed, trusting, unknowing of what lay ahead.

The humming needle slowly revealed the image that would over decades eventually fade like a memory until it was no more than a blue amorphous blob.