This week’s theme is “Cool.”

Joey’s Interpretation: The gentle glow that precedes dawn emanates between the blinds, casting a soft light within the room. I get up, dress, and head down stairs, my loyal companion at my heel. After bundling up, we brave the cold and set off for a morning walk. The whole neighborhood sleeps beneath a solid frost. We meander silently, breathing in the cool air and enjoying the quiet. There, down along the rock wall, a single flower, freezing and dying, covered in ice. How beautiful and how sad; in a day or two, it will be gone, consumed by the winter. But experience tells us, it will return, someday soon.

Rey’s Interpretation: The last time I stepped onto these familiar sands, I was wearing flip flops and shorts. A wide-brimmed hat protected my squinting eyes from a blaring sun. This time, the wind whipped up off the surf and forced me to pull the fleece coverup tighter across my chest, to hide my shiver. It was cool.