Marcus's Character Sketches

His frail figure struggles with the excitement of meeting one of his heroes. Pure joy gleams from his eyes as he whispers with complete adoration – “Spiderman”. A nurse mentions that he suffers from severe muscular dystrophy and doesn’t usually see him so animated. Nevertheless, the boy shuffles through some papers and lifts up his drawing of him and Spiderman playing together. 

Sitting on the sand, soaking in the last glimpses of sunset – “It’s about time. You ready?” He darts toward the ocean, feet flailing behind him like an Olympic sprinter. Knees raises high trying to cut through the giant waves as they overcome him. His body twists and turns as its thrown side to side from oncoming waves. I just sit there. Bewildered. A young child would have done the same, but he’s 26.

Sitting majestically on the porch with her yellow locks flowing in the wind. She sniffs at the air taking in the salty scent with each ocean breeze. Bundled with all fours wrapped in a blanket I placed on her earlier, she glances at each runner as they pass by – longing to join them. After several hours lying motionless, she climbs up letting the blanket slide off, slumping to the floor. Paddling to the door, turning and glairing, she pauses, waiting for me to open it. I get up and slide the screen open while including a, “here you go” as she walks past. She says “thanks” and walks in.

Buckets's Three Character Sketches

1.
He wears two shirts two work: neon green and neon orange. His mustache matches the concrete he pushed. Grey flecks shower his boots, pants, arms. His jokes are sharper than his trowel, honed from years of hard work and boredom. In his work truck lay a bed of Mountain Dew; in the truck bed lay a mountain of work supplies. He is the king of this unfinished house, his crown an indestructible hat.

2.
A nervous twitch jilts his glasses. His wide smile splits the stubble. He likes connections. His shirt matches my companion's name and he steadily slides Hall and Oates lyrics in his comments to recognize mine. Younger than his age, stronger than his looks, he patiently awaits for his own recognition--that we are more than missionaries, and he is more than an investigator.

3.
She walks in spray-tan, like the others. Her fair holds extravagant curves and whirls. Though her black dress sparkles with jewels, she can easily disappear into the mob of competitors. Bolder than her clothes is the wedding band. What is a source of pride in others is her stumbling block to finding a dance partner. But when she adorns it during her routine, her smile beams brighter than skin and garb, and I cheer her on even louder.

Kendal's Character Sketches

Seeing the sun up ahead, she had no fear of freezing. Reaching crowded trial of trees, she noticed the sun peeking through. Light creeping slowly through the leaves, warmed her conflicted heart with ease.The bodies of the leaves full of color, perplexed her mind like thunder.Thunder of the storm she was facing. And the thunder of each cloud that was covering. Each step over the rock-covered ground felt lighter as the leaves empathized with her and her trouble.

As I turned on the light, the creature's shadow projected larger. The light turned him a dark red brown and his details were clearer to me then. Such a simple creature with such complex features.The hairs on each of his legs were as fragile as he was.To think, we have the same creator brought things to light. His story is so different than mine. I didn't know of his travels, but I knew he was just alive as I was until I took that away from him.

She appeared to be a confident soul from Guatemala City, Guatemala, but her heart was in need of much repair. With a halfway bright countenance and smile, she moved forward. Having been raped as a small child, she still carried a large pile of rocks on her back. The difference for her when compared to others who suffered from something similar was that she could still see the light and hope that came only through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Ana's Character Sketches

1. Maxwell effortlessly crawled on top of his changing table. “Watch this!” He yelled as he jumped routinely onto the floor, avoiding any Paw Patrol figurines that covered it. Within five seconds, he was already in position for his next attempt. “Catch me now!” Before I could get ready for his flight, he was already in the air. I stumbled forward to catch him before he landed on the ground.

2. “Okay, guess who’s in my algebra class?” Rebekkah sprinted through the front door, and without even attempting to slow down, she began again, “Amanda! She even tried to talk to me. Apparently, she forgot that we weren’t friends anymore.” They had an on-off friendship since fourth grade—middle school did nothing to help remedy their friendship.  

3. The aroma of wet dog filled the white Honda after a recent lake trip. Nothing could separate Laura from her German shepherd “Gabbilious” (or who everyone else referred to as Gabby). She had always told everyone that no dogs would be allowed in the house because of the hair—it all changed with Gabby. Soon dog hair started appearing in the bed, which surprised us all, as Gabby was Laura’s fourth dog.