worlds apart

Body heat flowed from his chest, enveloping

her in its warm embrace like a fire crackling

in the cozy fireplace during break, melting

chocolate and roasting marshmallows and

with sticky fingers placing it between

graham crackers. His eyes scanned the pages,

his blue-and-white plaid boxers tickling her

arm as she rested on her usual spot, his

shoulder more comforting than the ragged

blue elephant she’s slept with since birth.

She fiddled with the dog-eared page she had

marked at breakfast, diving into the fictional

world, the map laid out before her in structured

words and sentences, her personal treasure map

to the author’s imagination, adorned with myths,

fire-breathing dragons and a courageous young

hero. Gasping at the events unfolding before her

eyes, the wheels turning inside her head, she

tugged his sleeve but he barely moved, too

involved in his own story. She leaned back,

noticing that though they shared each others

body heat, their minds were worlds apart.

-Madeline Wahl