As we cautiously approached the door, we could hear the sound of whirring and clanking coming from the other side. We exchanged a worried glance before Mate kicked the door open, revealing a scene straight out of a nightmare. Robotic arms and tentacles protruded from every surface of the bridge, controlling the ship with frightening efficiency. The midshipman Robinson, who had started all of this, was nowhere to be seen....

What if I stopped being annoyed when people don’t follow the rules? What if I didn’t feel compelled to comment when a conversation didn’t include me? What if I just turned up the volume on the television or radio when the speed demon toddler starts to race back and forth over my head? What if I didn’t interrupt my husband while he was telling a story to correct the details? What if I didn’t feel resentment toward a few si...

Although we’ve been together for a number of years, my other half is irritatingly obsessed with trying to find out about my past relationships and how many partners I’ve had. Always fishing and asking questions about my past, drives me insane! When questioned again last weekend, I announced, ‘I could count my previous partners on one hand, I’ll tell you from the beginning if you really want to know. I’ll count them out fo...

The next morning, the two friends were quiet with each other. After saying good morning, and after both had foraged for breakfast, each in their own way, they retired to the porch, Girl to her rocker, Bear to his favourite spot at the end of the porch, looking at the mountains. After a while, Bear got up and said, “I’m going to go for a walk. Like to come?” Girl thought for a moment, then nodded, unwound herself from the...

Karl had been a concentration camp guard during the Second World War. He was known for his cruelty and brutality towards the prisoners, and he took pleasure in their suffering. But when the war ended and he was captured, his life took a strange and unexpected turn. The survivors of the concentration camp had decided that Karl deserved a punishment that was fitting for his crimes. They had hired a powerful witch to cast a...

From Cliffs Notes, prayers in the abbey with the abundance of acorns caps dripping the dew of dawn's pekoe surrounded by shadows in dreams in its spivvy of nature's greenery touched by the monks of tall trees as the scent shaker falls the leaves with the shadow of the rising giving homely to nature and the Bonsai

The heat was staggering as she climbed the steps to the third level of the ferry that would take her to the island. Relief came as a cool breeze off the water once the vessel started moving. Freedom was across this lake; the closer she got, the sweeter it tasted. Allowing herself a full week of joy had its price. But he would touch and taste her until she was completely sated while taking what he needed. She made this tre...

Spring has sprung you can feel it in the air Birds chirping Squirrels throw acorns from the tree tops Breakfast in their bellies, backpacks on First day back from Easter vacation Get in line, drop them at the curbside Hugs and kisses before I go Off to the office, paperwork and meetings Then, an emergency message on the radio Shots fired! My children's school! I drive back in terror Are they hiding under tables Or in a cl...

Girl had found the boxes of books from the storeroom to be a treasure trove. Bear had long forgotten they were there, although he, too, had plundered their wealth when he was a boy, then discarded them when he reached his late teens. Girl was distinctly older than that but found that reading them let her pretend she was a child again, and rediscover a time when life seemed simpler, fresher, and more promising. As such, sh...

Chapter One: Boris woke up one morning to find that his head had been replaced with a beehive. He couldn't believe his eyes as he tried to scream, but only a faint buzzing sound escaped his lips. Boris clawed at his face, trying to remove the hive, but the bees were too powerful, too alive. They swarmed around him, stinging him, and warning him to accept his fate. Boris had always known that something like this would happ...

Paying dues to the fortuneteller listening to your breath from speakers in my mind like whispers in a teacup taking refuge inside your dreams "Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood!" behind the shadow takers with your personalized keychain in everything that is talcum dark no glory in braiding my lost heart come sundown on the horizon lost in tequila among saguaros

I pigeonhole myself in these roles Forcing circles into square holes Pursuing hearts that are unspeakable Clinging onto the unfeasible Contorting to fit their mold Yearning to be worthy enough to hold Breaking every bone in my body In hopes that they’ll find value in me Unable to unshackle myself from this pattern Unable to stop riding the rings of Saturn Swallowing air without oxygen, repressing heartburn While assuring...

“Bear…” Bear lifted his head from the rag rug in the great room, but said nothing, then put his head down again. “Bear!” Sighing, he got up. It was a cold, wet, windy day: dull, drab, and bone-chilling, and all Bear wanted to do was to lie by the fire. But no; Girl had to go exploring the cabin. He padded around, looking for her, and finally found her at the back of the storeroom. “What,” he said, sounding annoyed. “Bear,...

I am okay. ~•°•~ I am okay to know that you're happy It's not because of me. ~•°•~ I am okay to watch you grow It's not with me. ~•°•~ I am okay to see you smile It's not for me. ~•°•~ I am okay to know you're in love It's no longer with me. ~•°•~ I am okay that I am sad It's not because of you. ~•°•~ I am okay to be stuck It's not with you. ~•°•~ I am okay to cry It's not about you. ~•°•~ I am okay to be heartbroken It's...

You could almost be mistaken for thinking that spring’s upon us. The sun’s out at last. It’s been a long, dark winter. We need the sunshine again to bring the good times back into our lives, let us understand what matters. I’m strolling through the park, along the path, hands in my pea coat pockets, shoulders hunched. In spite of the sun, it’s a dirty sort of day, wind blowing, grass muddy, trees bare. I’m dreaming of the...