20

She felt the rhythm of the music, the throbbing beat. No need to listen for it, no reason to pay attention to the song.

19

The view from the front door of the crashing, slanting rain captivated her attention until the thunderclouds passed.

18

Hail stones clicked and tapped Morse code across the roof and skylight.

17

A restless excitement, active boredom.

16

The headache took up residence and would not leave.

15

The pain in her arm lessened until it was a single spot of soreness on her shoulder the width of a finger.

14

The light above her head flickered as she turned the page.

13

The more she read, the more she wanted to read. The more she watched, the more she wanted to watch.

12

A half hour later, the paper cut no longer stung. Looking at it under a lamp, she saw it had already healed over.

11

Shadows moved just out of sight. Not a trick of light, not sleep deprivation.

10

Anger spread through her like a poison. Her head throbbed, stomach churned, body ached.

9

Fireworks, lightning, and thunder mingled in the night. Flashes and rumbles from opposite sides of the sky.

8

Applause and cheers flooded the theater as the movie credits scrolled. The cast and crew couldn't hear them, but the feedback was sincere.

7

No matter where she sat in the house, she felt a draft.

6

She underlined any words, phrases, or sentences in the novel that she could connect to her own life and would think about why later.

5

Fwoosh! The flash burst in the room,
a harmless bolt of lighting.
One moment distilled on film,
one story in a four-by-six.

4

If her mind screamed loud enough, she wondered if he would hear.

3

The novel throbbed in her hands, a heart beat of its own accord.

2

Moonlight spilled through the window blinds, streaked across her bed.

1

If I start thinking
in haiku form, syllables,
will I speak that way?