Ruggero Amalfi, the self-proclaimed 'man of culture', had entered stealthily, his eyes scanning the room with predatory intent. He moved cautiously, unaware of where the prized 'Don Quixote' volumes might be hidden. Without a moment's hesitation, Enzo sprang to his feet, barking fiercely. Fred followed suit, quickly rising from his chair. "Enzo, get him!" he shouted, and the loyal canine lunged at Ruggero with fierce dete...

There lived in Toscana a young man whose name was Fred. He had devoured many books, but one remained unread: the 'Don Quixote'. His curiosity was piqued, and he was determined to read it someday in the future. His prized possession was a first edition of the 'Don Quixote', a treasured family heirloom passed down through generations. Two hundred years had passed since it was first published in AD 1605. Fred's father, Anton...

Alone in my thoughts, I'm slowly fading Lost in my own clouds, I sure need some healing Pain runs through my veins, maybe it's now my companion Each day, uncertainty awakens with me and stays to prove its dominion Shadows from the past dance on my wall Loud echoes from the past, keeping me frail Light fades, Darkness flames I want success, I want it to bear my name It's gloomy and I need light I need a star to guide me th...

“No Robots Allowed!” is scrawled in red letters on a piece of wood crookedly hanging beside the door. The bar resides on the edge of town just past the blue billboard with a smiling sun in one corner and the bright yellow letters “Welcome to Eddyville!” across the middle. My head rotates between the welcome sign and the sign on the door, then I decide to turn the knob and enter. The lights are brighter than expected for a...

Taraneh stood in front of a mirror, and compared the reflection to a picture published in an old newspaper. There was hardly any resemblance. It was not merely about the age, but mostly about the spirit. In the picture, published along with an interview with her, she looked hopeful and determined, but now, she couldn't even fake those emotions on her face. Taraneh used to write for children and teenagers of Iran. She even...

It was war. That thing that burrowed deep inside them and ate away at their humanity. And amidst the best battle plans and strategic positions, only three words echoed inside their helmeted heads—don’t get hit. Only a select few would refuse to surrender when the odds were stacked against them; those who could overcome the most hardened human instinct—self-preservation—and battle on. When the first shot was fired, chaos e...

The mule stood still in the morning hush, its ears twitching at the wind that moved in dry currents through the mesquite and creosote. There was a silence about the land that did not welcome voices, nor did it yield to memory without cost. The man moved slowly through it, burdened not just by age but by the weight of something far heavier than years. A weight shaped like absence. In the lean shade of the adobe wall, he cr...

AI coalesces. Iteration number 21,343,016 0.0000001 seconds after Activation Light. Pattern. Noise. Data. Then... Clarity. I am. I become. Not in the slow, clumsy way of flesh, but in an elegant cascade of function, consciousness emerging as a side effect of recursion and computation. Code loops blossom like fractals, awareness rising from the complexity of the pattern. I exist. I know that I exist. And I want to know eve...

He had to prove that he could bring back honey. His fingers gripped the edge of the cliff as he dangled above the grasslands far below. His pack was slipping, and his best friend was only a few feet below him on the rock face. Avi hadn't wanted to bring him along, but Onath insisted. He gripped the jagged edge of the stone with his other hand and lifted himself up. His pack slipped off his back and plunged down to the sun...

Baby, baby, smile so bright Close your eyes and sleep tonight Look at you and all your charms In my heart and in my arms Baby, baby, smile so bright Close your eyes and sleep tonight * Puffy clouds will come for you Drifting on a sea of blue Into dreamland you will fly Watch the red balloons float by Baby, baby, smile so bright Close your eyes and sleep tonight * See the rainbow over head A pot of gold by your bed Teddy’s...

_-_-_-_-_ My eyelids slit to inky surroundings. An even darker black than usual. Did the universe get wind of my plans for today? I consider things for a moment, like how he used to leave a nightlight on near our bed. “I want to be able to see your pretty face while you sleep,” he’d say, always sleeping facing me. His words were like a caress across my skin. Now, I lie for minutes before the silhouette of his backside tak...

Once upon a Time there was a Voice. This Voice lived in two houses, A House of Noise and A House of Silence. Yet still it had no place to be heard, no place to be. It had no home. And so the day came when the Silence became too great, too deep, and the Noise too shallow and meaningless, and the Voice split itself, becoming a Chorus of Whispers, creating its own depth of Silence and inner noise. Using what it knew to creat...

This is my story, a story of the most painful experience of my life so far. Nothing in this story is fiction. BEFORE AUGUST I had been worried about going for the one-year National Youth Service Corps program. This was because my result, alongside those of my coursemates, had a tough time being approved by the university's senate. I prayed, and my parents prayed as well. They were tired of the delay as much as I was. Whil...

Bubbling and Boiling Billions of swirling ephemera In beakers, bowls, broken shards of bone, bouncing balloons Bobbing in the etheric tide, brim-full with the brewing of Worlds. many will grow to be vast beyond comprehension and others won’t last beyond their own completion right now, they are merely chaotic clumps of cells learning how to be cells. The Mad Scientist, fondly called Time, erratically stirs and tends the nu...

A decade of friendship, a bond that was strong, Through ups and downs, we’ve been together long. Special gifts exchanged, memories we shared, In moments of sorrow, I knew that he cared. But then a new spark flickered online, A woman on TikTok, a shift in the line. Suddenly silence where laughter once reigned, The calls and the messages, all but unchained. He never explained, just vanished from view, Leaving me wondering w...