M is for Masquerade

Tish pursed her lips and glanced over at me. "What do you want, Jackson?" 

"Why?" 

"Excuse me?" Tish looked highly offended, but I had learned that everything was not as it appeared on the surface. "Why did you act that way to Kam?" 

She batted her long eyelashes at me, ones that had captured the minds of so many men. But it wouldn't work on me so easily. "I did what I needed to do."  

I shifted in my leather seat. "And that meant convincing Kam that Jenny committed suicide because of him?" 

She nodded, raising her eyebrows. "It was for the best, Jackson. Surely you know that." 

I stood up and traced my hands against the polished gun that stood on the self behind me. "What I wonder, however, is why you care so much. Why are you working so desperately hard to prove that Jenny died that way?" 

She, too, stood up, and struggled for an answer. "I just do, alright? Jenny was a business partner of mine, and I care about what happened to her."

Tish seemed to sense that it was dangerous for her to continue being in my house. She held her chin high and turned around, walking towards the door. "I'm afraid this may be the last time you will see me for a while, I must leave to visit my... godmother." 

There was a bang, and she turned around, clutching her bloody stomach. Tish mouthed one word before falling over. 

Why? 

I put the gun back on it's shelf and murmured her an answer, knowing that she couldn't hear me anymore. "I did what I needed to do." 

~Mikaela

F is for Fair

"But it's not fair!!!" 

How many times have we all said this line? Probably more times than we could ever count. I know that, in my life, it's easy to see how I'm getting screwed over. Because there are situations where I actually am. 

But I can also see places where I have been given something I didn't deserve/earn. My new bed. The food I eat freely. The car rides to all of my various events. The summer camp I get to go to. The classes I take. 

Is it "fair" that I get those things? Well... no. We, as human beings, have a natural tendency to look at the negatives. But, when something isn't "fair", remember the things that you didn't deserve, yet were given to you anyway. Suddenly your issue isn't as big of a deal, or is at least easier to tolerate. 

~Mikaela

C if for Character

I hate how much character has been devalued in today's society. Call me old fashioned, but I'm a fan of chivalry and am sad when I see how women have shoved it away and men have stopped offering it. I mean, it's not that women can't take care of themselves; it's showing affection and kindness, and well... character. 

And it goes above just manners. It's the heart behind it. When manners are gone, it shows a lack of care for anyone other than self. The every-day things mean so much. 

But if they're gone... where is kindness and love? True love for others just can't exist if you won't lay yourself down and put other people first.  And love should be producing character. 

Simply put, life without love sucks. For everyone. 

~Mikaela