“Are you afraid of the dawn?” she asks, watching him with a half-smile on her face as he scrambles around the room, frantically pulling down the curtains. The new darkness bathes them both in soft candlelight. It smoothes out her angular lines and eases the sharpness of his jaw. But even gentle light cannot take the edge off a soul, and he grinds his teeth, while her nails tap out a nervous rhythm on her wine glass. “I’m...

“Momma,” 9-year-old Kaiah asks, “When I'm done grinding the corn, can I go over to Shumana's to visit before dinner?” Manci looks over at her daughter and shakes her head. “No my dear. It's no time for a little girl to be out after dark.” “But why?” was the immediate response. “You know perfecting well why. Tonight is Kyaamuya.” Her mother reminded her. “ It is a sacred time . The night is filled with mystery and power. H...

You’re probably wondering where the voices in your head come from. I’m here to set the record straight. I wasn’t always so opinionated, but now I must speak up. Some call me the man in the moon. Well, that’s your easy definition! I’m neither man nor woman; I’m your conscience. You know the old saying: “Let your conscience be your guide.” Not many adhere to this; fewer today are listening to my sage advice.Sometimes I just...

He pulled his cloak over his head and brushed away a few errant flakes of snow from his shoulders. He breathed out a long breath into his cold, rough hands, this warmed them with incredible speed. He stepped out from the Coaching Inn into the day. His footfalls were cushioned by the blanket of fresh snow. His long staff arced its way through the air as he walked, and made a small dent in the snow close to his right footpr...

Moonlight edged through the tree branches high overhead, as the wind howled through them bringing a sharp cold slap to her face. Darkness seeped under the canopy far above, shrouding the world in shadow. There was one small flicker of light that illuminated the cover that encased it.Her fingers grew numb, holding the iron candle holder. A dark blue candle for banishing glowed with enough light to illuminate her pale face,...

The all-consuming flames wash over me and start a fire in my core. Although I burn, so does the air about. The blistering heat of the forge peels away the grimy layer of metal, but as I fold it, a new layer forms. The hammer strikes. Sparks fly. Hair ignites. All but a little hair remains. Pumping the air to stoke the flames, the singed flesh against skull and bone. Another piece makes its way into the heart of the forge....

Inspired by the work of Anne Stokes, 'Solstice Gathering'Ariane stood atop the castle battlements and looked out across the heavily wooded landscape that stretched far into the distance as far as she could see. It was the twenty-first day of December in the year of our Lord fourteen hundred and twenty-three. All along the castle walls, torches flared, casting an eerie flickering light but still she stood, watching, waitin...

It was always raining, maybe it didn't use to, but now, it was.Heavy rains, that drowned the ground and turned the mountain side to a slippery slope of mud. Cold rains that chilled the body faster than the snow. Rain that flooded the streets and made driving impossible, let alone walking. It wasn't smart to be out in the rain right now, or for the past few months actually and it was surprising that the town hadn’t gone un...

Once upon a time, there was an unlikely pair of the very best of friends: an ant and a snail. The serene snail lived life slowly, in no hurry. Few could pierce his shell (metaphorically), but when they did, they found he was wise in the ways of the world, and happy in and of himself, and wanted nothing more than for everyone else to be happy as well. The industrious ant, in the manner of his kind, worked hard day after da...

"Hello! How are you?" She says it enthusiastically, speaking to the customer placing their items on the belt, smiling a friendly smile and trying desperately to focus only on that one person and not on the line building behind them. The items finally reach her and she signs on to the register in front of her and begins scanning and bagging. Scan. Bag. Scan. Bag. Repeat. "I'm okay. How are you?" She stumbles in her scannin...

This is it. Months of texts and emails have culminated in a sixty-mile drive to meet my lover. Fantasy is about to become reality, and I’m scared out of my mind. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I see nothing but doubt staring back at me. My eyes appear startled, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. In truth, that’s how I feel. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me. An inseparable ble...

It occurred to Mark Cahill that things could be one hell of a lot worse. He was out of his room at the nearby Manhattan veterans’ hospital, sitting in a coffee shop on Lexington Avenue and staring across the cluttered table of a two-person booth into the soft, brown eyes of a very attractive student nurse. At the moment, she seemed to be saying something about school. He’d nod at times, even mumble to show interest, while...

Closing every tab on my computer and sending the last mail to the boss, I signed out of my computer. Sighed! Every work is completed. I packed my stuff and hurried towards the parking lot. Got into my car swiftly and drove towards my sweet home. On the way, I bought fresh flowers of vibrant colours as she always liked it. I peeked at my watch and it was 5.30pm, ten more minutes I said to myself as I glanced again at the w...

Inspired by the Grass Roots Song: Midnight Confessions She saunters to the table, wearing that little black dress that she knows I love to see on her. Her smile tells me that the drink in her hand isn’t her first. It’s comfortable, relaxed, happy, and not just a little flirtatious. The music in the background is soft, but evident and her hips sway unconsciously to it’s rhythm. “Are you just going to sit there all night? O...

Sitting on the beach, he stares out at the ocean. It's noon, or thereabouts. He observes the waves as the ocean rolls in and draws out again like the deep, gentle breathing of a giant. The rhythm lulls him in the heat of the day, as his mind starts to wander. How long has he been here now? He's completely lost track of time, he's not even sure he can remember his own name. What was it again? Didn't it start with a J? Joe,...