I take a deep breath The air is glass Slicing through my lungs I’m choking I lay my head down The bed is made of nails Piercing through my skin I’m weary I drift off to sleep Hands grab at me in the black Ripping at my sides I’m petrified I awake and grab a glass of water The acid stings on its way down Blistering my insides I’m suffering I smile in the mirror A twisted reflection appears My teeth clatter in the sink Surv...
Girl watched Bear disappear into the woods and felt terrible about hurting him. Clearly, she had touched a deep nerve. She waited for him to return, even sitting on the edge of the rocking chair for a time. Finally, she sighed and went back into the cabin, fixing some breakfast for herself. Once done, she returned to the porch, settled on the rocking chair, and waited, knowing that there was nothing else she could do. Som...
Focus on the beauty, the geometrical phenomenon of frozen water in spectacular crystallized form. Each one appears different from the next and captivating to behold. And while these minuscule bits of ice appear white due to the diffuse reflection of the whole spectrum of light through each tiny facet, they are actually quite clear. As she sat staring out the window into the great expanse of snow, she allowed herself to dr...
The events that would end in the major’s death began to unfold long before Christmas Eve. This I know only retrospectively: until the moment the major was shot, none of us could have predicted it. One thing you learn during wartime – more than at any other period, perhaps – is that while you may sense an imminent threat, or shiver with foreboding, it is only afterwards the connections that contributed to an event become c...
Tina felt the bedsheet peel away from her skin as she sat up. She was covered in a sheen of sweat from head to toe. Her hair was damp and matted. Even at midnight with all the windows open and no clothing but panties, Tina could not seem to beat the heat. It was making sleep more and more difficult all the time. For days, the city had been caught in a heatwave. The temperature had cracked thirty degrees Celsius on each of...
Charlotte Hale hated that she had to gather wild berries. It wasn’t that gathering wild berries was hard. It was that gathering them was not hard and at sixteen, she felt like it was demeaning. Her eight-year-old stepbrother, Albert, was perfectly capable of the task. So she could not, for the life of her, understand why she had to be the one to gather stupid frickin’ wild berries. “I need them for the salad, Char,” her m...
The impact was sudden and fierce. But the fear didn’t set in until I saw the vehicle that rear-ended me rolling toward me. “I’m not ready to die,” I prayed out loud. Then I closed my eyes and let faith wash over me. When I opened my eyes again, the silver SUV was inches from my door. Miraculously, it was standing on its side instead of on top of me. I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding and let fat tears roll...
Pop! Pop! Pop! She flung herself off her bed, hitting the ground with a thump! Two black furballs became airborne, startled by their human's sudden movement. Thankfully, cats always landed on their feet. Her pounding heartbeat annoyed her as she struggled to listen for more pops. As a further upset, her constant companion, Anxiety, screamed, "You're gonna die! You're gonna die, woman!" Becoming one with the carpet, she l...
Victor's first act of survival was completed out of sight of his forever family. It must have happened sometime during the year or so he had been alive. But that history was lost in the mists of time. Puppy time is mistier than people's time. In any case, he was a stray. And he had been sent to the shelter to wonder what the whole thing was about. It was in the colorful days of October when he got lucky. His Boss-to-be ha...
They say that war is hell, it is. It’s a hell I unwittingly chose. I was fifteen at the time. I lived in a little known northern town in England. Not much happened in my town. The men went to work down the mines, the women stayed at home. It was all quite simple really; I could tell you all about it on a single page. Then the war came and everything changed. I watched as the men went off to war, my father included. They t...
Characters: Ellie Carmichael Early thirties, Information Systems Technician Tom Carmichael Late thirties, Life Support Systems Engineer Yinzi Chen Mid-forties, Project Manager Joe Green Late-twenties, Communication Officer Liz D’Souza Late-twenties, Supplies Officer Tyrone Symonds Mid-thirties, Construction Manager Sophie Carmichael Five years old SCENE ONE Lights up DSR. Ellie peers through a large telescope faci...
The ship sank.It wasn't like it is in the movies. There were no fancy explosions or any of that out of control pomp and circumstance. After three days at sea, it simply slid beneath the glassy surface of the water like a retreating shadow at dawn. There were two survivors floating in the turpentine waters at the time of the sinking, both girls, one with white-blonde hair and star-filled, blue eyes, and the other a red-hea...
If I had known herI would have askedHow does a heart break We are not born with excess bits and piecesTo be broken offGiven away hereLeft behind therePressed between the pages of a favorite bookLike a flower barely resembling what it once wasLifelessA pale and dull hue of what should have been Everything is so necessaryCodependentThe smallest absence can devastateA tremor can take things away from youThe use of a handOne...
"Miss, Vena! Welcome back!" "Aye, Vena. It's been a while sweet heart." "Yo! Vena! Over here!" "Molo, Vena. Kuye mzuzwana, abe na?" "Hey, Vena!" "Welcome back, miss snake. What'll it be tonight?" "I told you," Vena replied. "It's not snake. It's Vena. Give me a caipirinha." "You know I can't do that," the bartender replied. "Besides, even if I knew how to mix that, a girl your age shouldn't be drinking alcohol." "Come on,...
Hate was such an unusual thing. Hate could be applied to so many things: enemies, animals, emotions, random people, freedoms, abilities, on and on unto infinity. But for Alex, hate was the emotion he felt whenever an entire place seemed against him. Navigating the maze of buildings proved far more difficult than necessary. Despite meeting only a few people and creatures along the way, just exiting the street that held him...
