The car ride to my house is silent 

Save for the soft hum of the radio 

I feel your presence beside me 

But I decided I couldn't have you long ago 

It comes with too many issues 

Where conflict still lies unresolved 

It’s him who first fell hard for you 

And I swore I wouldn’t get involved 

But the thought crosses my mind that he’d never know 

We're all alone in the dark of the night 

And my heart beats too loud in my ears to think 

Of anything but how you’re smiling so bright 

I wasn’t expecting you to take my hand 

It's cold and clammy intertwined with mine  

But it sends fire through my entirety 

And I think maybe it’s not asinine 

I'm not a fool for wanting this 

Or for my heart skipping a beat 

But I feel foolish and naïve 

As it leaves me frozen in my seat 

Still, you bring me back to reality 

When you give my hand a squeeze 

I reciprocate the pressure 

Which puts us both at ease 

We still don’t meet each other's eyes 

Too scared of that confrontation 

And the silence gives us enough room to breathe 

But not enough for conversation 

It feels too long before we’re at my house 

And we start to say our goodbyes 

We share an embrace before you go 

And that’s the moment we finally lock eyes 

Thus begins our secret rendezvous 

We continue our romance in quiet 

Both afraid of getting caught 

Scared of his admiring gaze catching me beside you 

But every time you smile at me I know it’s not all for naught 

You smile at me gently when no one’s looking 

And take my hand when we’re hidden in the dark 

Each moment with you feels like heaven 

With each touch there is this spark 

That was six months ago 

Today we live like strangers 

And it’s him not you my sorrows now 

It took him a long to time to forgive me when he caught us 

But when you left, we grew back together somehow 

I must admit you had me there in the beginning 

Your soft smiles and gentle eyes had me fooled 

But I see it now that it was all a trick 

Though I know you weren’t trying to be cruel 

I just read it all wrong 

I was blinded by first love 

I put you on a pedestal 

And held you high above 

You never asked to be up there 

Or to have my heart 

But, still, I let you have and break it 

Right at the very start 

His comfort is a double-edged sword 

He tries to hate you for me, but lust still shows itself 

Still, I understand why he continues to long for you 

As I still do myself 

So, like I said, we live like strangers 

And I'm left empty while you seem fine 

But if you’re ever willing to give me your heart 

I'll still let you reclaim mine 

We were there, Oh! We were there

Energy boosted, all sources of weariness gone,

We were in front of the magnificent beauty, and I was suddenly not at all moody

It was so huge, so large, so enticing to see, for it was a wonder to be

So intriguing the structure, it looked so beautiful, eye-catching, a wonder!

The tickets were bought, the artistry was sought

But wait! That was only the start

What I saw inside was the most engaging

For there was a passage of water with fountains, there were no mountains,

But still trees lined around with thousands of birds,

And the reflection of the structure so cool and clear,

As I got closer, the intricacy of the formation became bolder,

It was an awe-inspiring scene,

The marble so white, gleaming as the sun shone bright

Its color so pure, made it a worthy tour

Something so captivating, a scene never to be forgotten

Shah Jahan made it for his wife, it became his most prized possession for life

I will never forget this scene for the rest of my life

For it was something not describable by words,

A beauty beyond imagination, that I hope keeps a lasting impression

on all future generations

A man is depressed. He goes to talk to his friend about his troubles. They sit outside and the man says that each day is the same for him. The joy he had in the past disappeared. The friend said nothing for awhile, reflecting on the friend’s life. He then told the man to go into town and see the circus. The circus would make him happy. The man went to the circus. He was not happy. When he told his friend this his friend said nothing for awhile, reflecting on the friend’s life. He told the man to see a clown. The clown would make him happy. The man went to see the clown. He was not happy. When he told his friend this the friend took a piece of paper and a small container filled with ink. He threw the ink onto the paper. He asked his friend what he saw. He said he saw a mess. A waste of ink. A black area. The man said that he mentioned not once the white part of the paper, the true beauty left unnoticed. The paper showed how he viewed his life.

              WE THE PEOPLE

Will Gladly Kill Each Other To Remain

              WE THE PEOPLE

It was like any other normal Friday, or so I thought. Bring Bring there went that artificial bell.  Yes, the last period of the day. All I could think about was nature club I couldn’t wait to go.  As the class walked in quietly (which was strange) we all took our seats . Mr. Figmen’s room was small and plain he had no vibrant colors, everything was just, boring, like him. I was glad my seat was next to the window because I only had to worry about three other people instead of four.  Mr. Figmen stood by his desk right in front of the black board and continued, “Today we’ll be learning about Max Andrew Jackabee or as you hooligans-,” he just started laughing like it was the funniest word ever. “So as you hooligans like to call him, the Lonely Lumberjack.”

The classroom shivered.  Mr. Figmen started to pass out a picture with a passage about the Lonely Lumberjack. What he looked like before was very different then what I had  imagined. He was tall and young in the photo, brown eyes, light brown hair and was thin. All day I had heard rumors spread about him. I didn’t think he was real I thought he was made up like Bigfoot, but then again, no one had really known if he was real.  They had said he ran away from society for thirty years and whoever comes near him he takes. As the class went on I started to dread going to nature club more and more. Today was different, I couldn’t get the image of the Lonely Lumberjack out of my head. I nervously opened and closed the locket Kate had got Jackie and I.

On the way down to the woods there was a creek and to the creek there is a small gravel hill, where I normally slip and fall.  

“Hey, wait up!” Jackie screamed. I turned around just in time to see Jackie's dark brown curls bounce and the Earth go dark, and then there went that patronizing sound that I hated so much.  It was like a microphone blaring. I woke to find myself on the trail which was quite odd, but I didn’t think much of it, Kate was about three yards away whining, “ Hey come on, let's go,” She yelled Jackie was right behind me pushing her way through.

Later on, we started to find sticks and leaves to complete our fort. Anyway, we had finally sat down and started our homework and as in us I meant me.  I didn’t have that much homework that day it was only to draw a diagram and to read. I had loved drawing and Science. Our fort looked like a long triangle kinda like a Toblerone candy bar.  Jackie and Kate were going on and on about how Jeremy lent Jackie a pencil, boys are overrated. I had finished my diagram and started to read my assigned book for reading.

“Hey Earth to Kenzie.  Where is your diagram,” Kate said.   Oh, here it comes I thought.  I looked at their paper and it was blank of course.

“Hey, could you help us with it your really good at it,” Jackie said. I hated when they asked for my work, but instead I had given them my diagram from last month.  I had not been able to get the image of the Lonely Lumberjack out of my head it was like he was crowding my brain with nasty thoughts. Snap went a twig. My heartbeat went from eighty five to 5,000,000 in four seconds.

“What was that,” I whispered, but in a tone that sounded like screaming.

“Omg Kenzie it's probably just an animal. I knew you were lame, you're such a baby,” Jackie said in disgust.  I looked down at my paper as water filled my eyes.

“AHHHHHH!” Jackie screeched like bloody murder. Jackie got up through our fort to the ground and sprinted to who knows where. I stared at her as her tiny legs disappeared. I looked over to see Kate curled up in a ball under sticks and leaves that used to be a our fort. Her long blonde hair had been covering her deep dark brown eyes.

“Hello, Kate, hi, hey, what's wrong, what did you see?” I said acting like a dog wanting to be noticed.  

Kate crawled to my feet looking up like a puppy wanting food and she softly stated, “the Lonely Lumberjack.” I didn’t believe her, all of today they made it seem like it was no big deal and made fun of me for it.  They made me feel like a bunch of crap. I pulled Kate to her feet and she fell back over to the ground, limp as could be.

“Kate we don’t have time for this we need to find Jackie,” I stated more grown up then ever which was not the case. “And next time I’m scared don’t make fun of me,” I had said it and surprised myself.  Everything I wanted to say before suddenly wanted to flow out of me, but something had stopped me, it was like a dam holding back a river.

“I know... I am so...sorry how will you… ever forgive me,” Kate was making puddles under her feet with tears and gasping for air every two words she spoke.  Her tears were rushing down her face like a person in the aisle of a store on black Friday.

As we walked I could see clouds rolling in faster than usual.  Kate kept sobbing. We kept walking as the fall breeze got tangled in my wavy brown hair. The birds that were once playing in the sky hid and it had brought my thoughts back to the road. Things got worse when I had found a fork in the road and knew we would have to split up and by making that decision it would disobey ever nature survival seminar I took. I looked at Kate and saw her eyes fill with sadness.

“I don’t want to split up, what if he gets me?” Kate said, crying her eyes out.

“Kate, I promise you will be safe just run and call me if you need anything.You will be fine” I stated.  She nodded and started running with trembling lips and a face so red that would soon burst into a stream of tears.  As I ran, fog started coming in and I felt like I was getting even more lost. Bring bring this was the 5,000,000th time she has called.

“Yes,” I answer with annoyance in my voice.

“So I found the way out but the police are here saying they are looking for… Max Jackabee.”  Kate said cluelessly. I started to panic once more. Again her voice started getting choppy.

“Kate that's the Lonely Lumberjack!” I screamed to her and continued walking back.

“Wait really oh,” all I heard was a long pause until I realized my phone lost reception.  I kept wandering trying to find the right path back and ignored my conscience saying when lost stay put.  I eventually couldn’t see five steps in front of me the fog had took up the whole forest and became it. I then started to pick up leaves and sticks until  I was left with a makeshift shelter and I rested there.

I woke up and an hour had past.  I guess gym must had really tired me out then.  My backpack had been crushed from being used as a pillow and my phone was buzzing up the whole time until it died.  I got up and dusted the leaves and dirt off of me. I brushed my long wavy brown hair behind my ears. I pushed my glasses up my nose and looked at the sky it was a bright blue like there was no storm at all.  I turned around and got a glimpse of what seemed to be a face. I wasn’t startled. I was relieved. I knew it had, had to be an officer that had finally found me and would take me home. But boy was I wrong.

I turned around and paused I saw a better look.  He looked just like the picture Mr. Figmen had given us, but he had a confused and angered expression plastered against his face.  It couldn’t be, but it was, the Lonely Lumberjack he charged at me, my mind was running fast but I was still, but soon enough it caught up with me. I could feel the wind swoosh through my hair I screamed and ran a whole different speed that I had never seen myself go.  I of course had hit a dead end. A couple steps ahead was a cliff if I stepped any closer I would surely fall down into the creek. I shuffled my feet balancing myself on the edge which was not a strong suit. I looked around to see if there was another way out or around but I was stuck.  With one swoosh of his arms I fell back. It felt like I had been in slow motion. I looked to the sky with birds flying high and that's when I felt the crash of the bitter cold water envelope me into the abundance of creatures and bitterness. I tried swimming up but it felt like I was being dragged down with weights I suddenly realized I was breathing and it was not human at all I started to think I was a mermaid but that thought erased from my thoughts very fast.   I shut my eyes really tight and saw images of Kate and then Jackie. I reopened to see I was still in the water. The cold water made me feel like it was pricking me as I stayed there in my thoughts I could feel my whole body go numb. I struggled to reach the top, but then I finally reached the peak of the water.

I opened my eyes once more.  So many thoughts filled my head. That lead to more questions my brain couldn’t comprehend. I was so lost.  I wanted to cry but there was none left. I looked around with a painful soreness. The spot I was in looked familiar.  I hadn’t moved an inch from where I had fell earlier which seemed like forever ago. I turned my head some more and with it came a catastrophic pain down my neck and through my body.  I saw Kate screaming. She had looked like she was in trouble. I hated the fact that I wanted and needed to help her. Even after all she and Jackie had done to me. I looked to see my resources on what I could do.  I saw my lunch box and the things in it scattered around and it just as wet as me. I suddenly noticed that I was sopping wet. I put it all together in my head realizing that’s what made me wet. I looked to the sky as usual. Nothing changed. I heard nothing only saw the birds flying around having fun.  I could have been having fun too if I wasn’t in the position I was in. I was wishing this would all blow over and I could run home, but I couldn’t. I finally had heard

“Let me go! Stop it!, Mackenzi don’t let him get me and take me away,” Kate screamed.

I was dreading to find out if this was real or not but I knew I couldn’t take the chance of her getting captured or whatever.  I tried standing up but I could barely move my neck. I limped to Kate. I was slightly worried. I looked at the huge rip in my pants and a huge cut on my leg.  I kept limping, my bones felt like they would crumble into today's ritz crackers I had, had for lunch. I finally reached Kate when... Jackie jumped out at me. She was laughing along with Kate.  I crumbled to the floor for rest. I can’t believe I just got played. Kate and Jackie did one of those cliche high fives where they both jump up and hive five each other.

“We so got you! Did you actually think I was the Lonely Lumberjack?” Jackie obnoxiously laughed.

“More like Lonely Lumberjackie,” Kate laugh while Jackie gave her a glance of shut up and then just stared at her.

“Aww widdle Kenzi you should've seen your widdle face it was so priceless,” Jackie continued.     

I had, had it I went through so much today and they kept treating me that way. I must have had an upset look on my face because.

“Oh Kenzi did we hurt your feelings.  Maybe they wouldn’t of gotten hurt if you stayed asleep,” Jackie laughed.  My dam that had once held back that flowing river had just broken.

“Stop it! Just stop!” They seemed shocked that I had that in me. “ I am sick and tired of you guys being complete jerks. I have done absolutely nothing wrong what makes you think you can treat people that way.  All you give me is grief, grief, grief, and I am sick of it and I am done with the way you treat me!” I kept screaming. I didn’t know what light turned on inside of me, but I could never had, had the guts I did then.  

“You have always been jealous of me not only are you a scaredy cat but a copycat too!” Jackie tried to insult me,but it got knocked down by my makeshift wall of confidence.

Why would I ever want to be you, know wonder why everyone at school hates you I wanted to scream back. I then realized I would be just as bad as her. Kate looked ashamed of what she's done but she kept quiet.  

“You will just come crawling back!” Jackie yelled. I just looked at her and shook my head.

“No I won’t.” I took my friendship locket off and through it into the creek.  As it sailed through the air I felt the sign of freedom and the twinkles of the sun's rays bounce of the metallic pendant.  All the hatred had left my body. My clenched fists released and finally let go of my breath. I turned back to real life. They were astonished by my behavior. I soon ran as fast as I could and it wasn’t fast for being injured. It was more or less a skip. I sat on the wood chips in the park. I had played with the wood chips and started shredded them into splinters of wood out of frustration.  I focused on the wood, my thoughts were all around me my actions and thoughts took over me and I laid there as the birds chirped and trees swayed, and all I could think about was, what's next, but I could only imagine.

The Accuser-

The sun rests in the sky above me, punishing and cruel, it does nothing but bring perspiration to my forehead. My insides remain cold and empty, the perfect rendition of a barren chopped up forest covered in frost. My fingertips could freeze Medusa faster than her own snakes turned against her. I shiver, my legs like lead refuse to move, I think I have been here for hours, but my clock shows only a difference of minutes.

I lick my lips and taste the salty bitterness of sweat on my upper lip. I use the sleeve of my hoodie to wipe the sweat on my face away, and the fear that rips through my body and threatens to take control is greater than normal. I cautiously make sure that my shirt doesn’t come up with my hoodie and none of my stomach skin is exposed. The building watches my process. SKIN. SKIN. SKIN. blares in my head. The court’s glare penetrates my body and I almost double over and heave.

This will never end?

Roberto “Bernie” Alies-

That ungrateful…

I should have known she would take advantage of my kindness, but she was just so appealing. She was practically begging for it. The slight slur of her words told me she was too drunk to not punch and kick as much as she would sober, but too sober to not forget everything like she would drunk.

“Don’t worry. Your case is set and solid. I don’t know why she would take you to court about this little thing, it’s not like she didn’t want it. You know with all this Me Too stuff lots of women are getting besides themselves...” my best friend, Leonardo,  rambles. He has been pacing up and down the room, so I can’t tell if he’s nervous or irritated.

“This is why I prefer obedience not feistiness,” he sighs while sinking into the chair opposite from me.

I smirk, “You didn’t seem to mind her feistiness the night I brought her around.” He leans back in his seat and huffs. He closes his eyes and rubs the fainting bite mark on his finger, a smile slowly spreads on his lips. He opens his eyes and when our eyes lock my smirk grows, I know exactly what he was thinking about.

The door opens loudly and Lea walks in. My beautiful girlfriend. I lick my lips as I stare at her and like usual one side of her mouth lifts. When my smile doesn’t drop the other side of her mouth lifts so she is fully smiling. In her small voice she says, “It’s about time. They said Ally has just arrived.”

Lea heads towards her seat but I beckon her towards me. She hesitates but when I raise my eyebrow she obeys. Her hands twitch and when she walks over to me I grab them, she looks surprised which makes sense- I don’t usually hold her hand. “I don’t ever want to hear the word Ally come from your mouth again,” My grip on her wrist tightens but unlike before she doesn’t speak out or whine. Instead she closes her eyes tight and nods her head.  

I look at Leo and smirk, he’s always saying that Lea would leave one day. When she sits next to me I put my hand on her thigh. Her breathing seizes. She looks at me slowly and her flinch widens my smile. I don’t see how she could leave me since I constantly remind her of the fact that she can’t survive without me. How could she leave someone who loves her so much?  

The Court Reporter-

I thought transfering to this court after my move would make everything easier. I would work closer to my friends and wouldn’t have to take 5 different busses to get to and from work every day. How is it that I only depend on one bus to get to and from work, yet I still managed to be late. I definitely owe Julie lunch for covering for me.

A group of people walk in. One is a short female that looks Hispanic. She keeps her head down. One is a natural blonde and tall, he has a few moles on his neck but you wouldn’t have been able to see them if he wasn’t wearing a white v-neck. The other male looks a little older. The corner of his dull green and hazelnut eyes are wrinkled and he walks with a certain confidence- maybe it’s arrogance.

This is going to be an interesting case.

Then another group of people walk in- two women. One white with long brown hair, her eyes have fire in them.

The woman next to her wears a buzz cut, her eyes a warm brown. She sports a hoodie and a leather jacket that is too big on her and covers her fingers. I literally can not stand to look at her- how can she be wearing all these layers with this heat? If it wasn’t for the cool air blasting from the A.C I would have already died twice.

Everyone sits down and I lean back in my seat. What's up with the atmosphere? It’s like there’s a divide in the room. The two males try to stifle the laughter booming from their mouths. The ladies seem so serious, though, it’s probably their time of the month. I roll my eyes and think, girls. The Hispanic lady sits like she’s waiting.

The Judge starts scrambling papers around and I can tell he is about to start the court session. I pick up my phone and quickly rush to turn it off but a snapchat bubble pops up at the top of my screen.

THING ONE is texting…

I sigh and glance at the judge but shrug my shoulders. I click on the THING ONE and almost die of laughter. Raysheen has been texting me Birdbox memes since we watched the movie together. I text him a quick laughing emoji and then another text saying that this one is my new favorite before quickly turning my phone off.

The judge starts the process and my hands start to fly, typing every word that comes out of his mouth. My hands go eerily still once I hear what the male is being accused of.

The accused (he charmingly insisted we call him Bernie) is the first to be defended. Defended? A feeling curls through my body and my hands twitch with disgust, but I don’t do anything, it’s not my place. This is why I scribe for the lower courts- so I don’t have to deal these things.

The first person to go on the stand is Leo. “I have known Bernie since we were in diapers. I don’t believe that the accusations about him are true. He would never disrespect a woman like that. Not to mention he loves Lea so much... Out of all the girls Bernie has ever dated, she has been around for the longest. I don’t think Bernie would jeopardize that.”

He is asked the usual question and replies quickly, without doubt.

Where were you at 12:00 am on Friday the 10th of February?

“Me and Bernie had went clubbing for a little and then we had came back home. Once home we stayed up a little, but lately Lea has been getting tired easily so she went to sleep before us. ”   

Was Alicia Hayes in your apartment that night, yes or no?

“No.”

The questioning continues. I force my hands to go faster as if it’ll make my lunch break come any sooner. Lea takes the stand. She’s dead calm but her hands twitch uncontrollable. For a moment she stalls, her eyes widen a little bit but then she’s talking vibrantly. I trace my eyes to where she was looking and my quest leads me to Bernie. His smile reminds me of the cheshire cat. I look away.  

Time passes and before I know it Alicia is on the stand swearing on the bible. The blonde -Leonardo- snickers and rage fills me, but I quickly remind myself that I simply write down the proceedings. I don’t have a say on this issue.

Her questions are different.

Can you please walk me through the events of February Friday the 10th.

She touches her fingertips to her face and I thought the word Medusa escaped from her lips, probably not. “I had just found out that I would be working on Valentine's day so me and a friend decided to celebrate early. We went to the Club Flames on Washington Avenue. I had two drinks maybe 3 but not more than 4. I wasn’t walking around drunk, I was just a little tipsy.”

The judge starts to talk, startling me. I don’t know why.  

“How do I know this evidence is credited and can be used.”

Alicia blinks as if she never thought those words would come out of the judge’s mouth. She lets out a few heavy deep puffs of breath and her eyes glaze over. In a whisper she says, “my friend’s testimony is after mine,” he voice sounds cold, sharper than ice. “May I continue?” The judge gives a sharp nod and she takes a deep breath in.

“I was heading towards the bathroom but I bumped into Ro- Ro-” she closes her eyes and the shaking deepens to a point that is noticeable but still subtle enough that we all pretend not to notice it. “Roberto.” The way she says his name- not like glass or a knife but like a poison, one that takes its time spreading through your organs, leaving you with nothing. “He said he wanted to help me but I told him I didn’t need his help. He- “ another deep breath, the trembles deepen, “he grabbed my thigh and said that I was begging for his help.”

“Ms. Hayes, what were you wearing on this night?”

Alicia’s head snapped up to look at Judge Falasco, “I’m sorry judge but I fail to see how that is important to this trial.”

Alicia continuous with her description and when she starts to shake and her words start to become dark, I go to my happy place. A startling thought brings me down, Lea shook too. Lea seems to control it, she seems above it -shoot- she seems to be ruling it. Alicia is drowning in it. If you listened to her voice, smooth and calm, you wouldn’t know it. I wonder if that means Lea is drowning too?

By the time Alicia leaves the stand the shaking has stopped, but she is staring blankly into nothing. She reminds me of Raysheen when he’s off his antidepressants. I make a mental reminder to talk to him about how he’s doing mentally and move that to the back of my mind. My hands keep moving rapidly and my stomach rumbles- it is so close to my lunch break. My hands are starting to hurt so I take turns typing with one hand while stretching the other. Alicia’s friend takes the stand.

“Where were you while Ms. Hayes was talking to Mr. Alies?”

The woman- Sherwin-  says, “I was trying to get to the bar. Alicia told me she was going to the bathroom.”

“Has Ms. Hayes ever been one for the dramatics?”  

Sherwins runs her hand through her long brown hair and squints her eyes. “I believe her wholeheartedly… Alicia isn’t one to go home with strangers and she never drinks past her limits. She came home the next morning with scars.”

I decide that I like Sherwin. As the judge asks her question, her tone stays respectful but her eyes say it all. After her questioning the judge declares a five minute break to make his decision.

I know that after these five minutes, It’ll  be my lunch break, so I see no need to keep my phone off. Turning my phone on, I scan the room. Sherwin and Alicia are gone. Both the attorneys and Bernie’s crew remain. I pay no mind to them and focus on defeating level 122 of Candy Crush. I spend a few minutes playing Candy Crush before Sherwin walks in with Alicia. I want to talk to her but what do I say? I haven’t really studied the case so I don’t know if she could be lying. My mind flashes to this article I read about a man that was falsely accused- his life was ruined. That could be Bernie. I shake that thought out of my head. If he really did that to her, her life is already ruined.

I shouldn't dwell over something I have no control over. I try not to think about anything as the judge finally lifts his head. “I pronounce Roberto Alies -the accused- not guilty.”   

Wow.

The accuser

I’m stuck loading at 99%. People are leaving, why are people leaving? We’re not done yet.

Sherwin looks at me, shoulders slumped and a angry look on her face, “I’m sorry,” she whispers. Sorry about what, I want to say but the weeds in my mouth stop me. Bile is rising in my throat and the world is tipping. I need to go to the hospital, my heart is beating too loud.

The paralyzing fear I felt when I realized I would be breathing the same air as him has returned. Oh God, this will never end.

I gave it my all, yet my all still wasn’t enough.

100%

My heart sinks inside of me. A pressing weight pushes my chest down- suffocation. I rub my hand on my chest and my body sags on the chair. No weeps. No pained groans. Silence is its own sound.

It hurts again. Nothing new.

Lea- “One Day”

He loves me.

Agnar would be executed the next day. He’d killed several people but didn’t care. He thought about this as he shifted against the cold stone cell wall. He was getting restless.

Agnar had tested his chains before to no avail, but something about today felt different. He glanced through the bars to see if the guards were paying attention, but they were nowhere to be seen. Agnar pulled at his chains and jumped when a crack echoed throughout his cell. He’d pulled free! He climbed up and out the small window, reveling in his newfound freedom.  He paused as he thought this. The people he killed would never get a chance like this. He tried to reason with himself, but as he stole away into the forest beyond, he couldn’t silence the nagging voice in his head telling him he’d been wrong to kill them. He kept walking deeper into the forest, struggling to ignore the voice until he no longer could, and collapsed onto the forest floor, his eyes shut tight. When he felt a poking in his side, he opened his eyes to the stone of his cell, and heard a guard’s voice from above. “It’s time.”

The setting sun glared at Naphtali as he trudged along the overgrown forest path. He knew that delivering the package for Master Alvah would take several days, but this forest truly seemed to distort time. He shifted the satchel that held the package to his other shoulder and scratched absently at the magic-suppressing seals that decorated his wrists. If those cursed seals weren’t there, Naphtali could have easily used his pyromancy to create a flame to light his path as he continued onwards, but as it stood, the seals prevented him from doing so. Instead of continuing on through the darkness, he would have to find a clearing in which he could spend the night. Almost as if sensing his thoughts, the forest seemed to open up before him as his path led into a small clearing. As he set about lighting a small fire, Naphtali knew that he was already lucky enough that Master Alvah had allowed him to leave the castle in order to make this delivery. Most servants never left the castle after they were bound into service by one of Master Alvah’s seals. But the material he carried with him was valuable, which was why Alvah had sent him to deliver it instead of using a post hawk.

Naphtali sat down by the small fire and took the spellbook out of his satchel. Just because the seals didn’t allow him to use magic, it didn’t mean that he lost his interest in learning about it. He read the castle’s spellbooks whenever he could, rarely deterred for more than a few days by the punishments he received for getting caught sneaking around the library. Plus, this spellbook was rare, almost completely unique if what he overhead earlier was correct. It wouldn’t hurt anyone if he read a few pages before he slept through the night. And so Naphtali leant back against a tree near the edge of the small clearing, opened the book, and promptly got lost in the words.

Naphtali wasn't sure how long he’d been reading before he fell asleep, but as he blinked awake in the late morning light, he knew he’d read for far too long. As he became more aware, he noticed two important things. Firstly, the weight of the book had disappeared from his chest, where it had lain all night after he fell asleep while reading it. Secondly, he could hear breathing from something else about a few paces away. Naphtali froze. If whoever (or whatever) was over there had damaged the spellbook, he would be in the most trouble he’d ever been in in his entire existence. Master Alvah would probably kill him upon his return. He briefly considered running away, but knew that any attempt of it was futile, since the seal Alvah had placed would allow him to simply teleport Naphtali right back to the castle. He sighed inwardly and resolved that he’d have to try to get the book back undamaged.

Praying that whoever else was in the clearing hadn’t noticed him stir, he shifted slightly, as though he was still asleep, so that he faced the area where he heard the breathing more directly. He heard the breathing pause as he began to move, but he forced himself to settle back down as if he was asleep and hadn’t noticed. After a few seconds, the breathing resumed, and Naphtali heard the unmistakable sound of paper on paper. Was this other person reading the book? If so, why then had they not just taken it with them and fled the area so that they wouldn’t get caught? Naphtali pondered this for a second before deciding that whatever this person’s logic was didn’t matter to him, and that as long as the book was unharmed then he could probably get it back easily enough. He opened one eye slightly and had to stifle a gasp.

A few feet away from him, lying on the ground, was a creature, the type of which he had never seen before (Not that surprising, since Alvah’s servants were forbidden from interacting with any of the magical creatures in his menagerie). The creature Naphtali found himself staring at couldn’t have been larger than a puppy. It certainly appeared to be a puppy at first. At least until Naphtali opened his eye a little more and noticed the wings, the oversized tail, and the antennae on its head. It was lying down with its head in its paw, tail swishing lazily around it, as its orange eyes wandered over the lines of the book. As Naphtali watched, the creature flipped over to the next page with such familiarity that Naphtali would have assumed that it had read many books before this one, if not for the fact that Naphtali had never heard of any creature similar to this one that could read.

Rather unfortunately, the creature chose this time to glance back up at Naphtali, and their eyes met. Naphtali jumped up from his reclined position to try and grab the spellbook, but by the time he was on his feet the creature had, with lightning speed, snatched up the spellbook and bolted for the trees. Naphtali grabbed his satchel and took off after the strange creature, intent on retrieving the spellbook. As the two crashed through the underbrush, the small creature pulled farther and farther ahead of Naphtali, a sliver blur flickering and weaving through the trees and ferns towards a nearby river. Suddenly it screeched to a halt. As Naphtali continued to barrel towards it, he could see that it was looking around frantically, its paws empty. It must have dropped the book! Naphtali slowed down, eyes scanning the area for any hint of the ornate cover of the spellbook peeking through the flora, intent on finding it before the small silver creature could. They spotted it at the same time, a flash of gold amid the leaves. Their eyes met once more before both of them dove towards it. He wasn’t as fast as this small thing, he knew, but the book was closer to him than it was to the creature. If he could just get there first, he could continue on and forget this ever happened!

His fingers closed on the edge of the book. He had done it! He had gotten the book first! Naphtali looked up from his prize, only to find himself face-to-face with the strange creature. It had managed to grab the other side of the book, and its orange eyes glittered intelligently as it sized up its opponent. Naphtali blinked, and was suddenly pulled upwards. It took him a moment to register what was happening, but by then it was already too late. The creature rose upwards, its wings flapping madly as it took to the air. This caught Naphtali by surprise, and his fingers slipped off of the book. The small creature darted through the air towards the river, making a chittering, almost laughing noise as it flew. Naphtali followed on foot, frantically looking for a way to cross the river and get his book back from this strange creature. He wished again for his fire magic, which he could’ve used to hurl a fireball and knock the creature out of the sky. As he grumbled, he spotted some rocks dotting the river and sprinted towards them. He scrambled across, trying to keep an eye on both the rocks and river below him and the escaping creature. As he reached the opposite side of the river, he looked up just in time to see the creature’s tail vanish into the trees. He sprinted over to where he thought the creature had entered the brush and paused. There was no sign of the little silver creature. Naphtali half-expected to see it’s glowing orange eyes peering out from some bush or tree, mocking his inability to capture it. But there was no sign of the orange eyes, nor any traces of silver fur.

Naphtali now had three options. One, accept the loss of the book and return to Alvah, which would almost certainly end in death. Two, give up and try to run away. This could maybe be successful, if it weren’t for the fact that the seals on his wrists would allow Alvah to teleport Naphtali right back to the castle if he was gone for too long. Some runaways found ways to lessen the effect or hide the seals, but the very presence of the black swirling marks would mark them as runaway. This was also dangerous, as runaways often had bounties put on their return. This would most likely also end up in death, or a life of running and hiding.  Three, Naphtali could venture into the forest looking for the creature. He didn’t know what was in the forest, didn’t know which way the creature went, and the longer he debated with himself the father away the creature could be. He could die in the forest, but he also could find the book. That was his best chance. Steeling his resolve, Naphtali began his trek into the forest, alert for any signs of the creature. He knew rudimentary tracking magic, but the seals kept him from using it. He also didn’t have any of the materials he would’ve needed, but that was besides the point.

    The greenery was much thicker on this side of the river. Naphtali crept along, alert for any signs of danger or the small silver creature. Every chirping bird or rustle of leaves sent his hair on edge. Suddenly, a silver flash of movement from the underbrush to his left! Naphtali froze, instantly on high alert. After a moment of stillness, Naphtali turned his head towards the bush and found himself face-to-face with a pair of glowing orange eyes! Surprised, Naphtali stumbled backward, landing sprawled in the dirt. He glared up at the eyes but before he could move they had vanished back into the bushes. Naphtali sprang to his feet and whirled around, trying to spot the tiny creature. He quickly spotted its long tail dangling from a tree a few dozen feet away. He barreled towards it, desperate to try and catch up. As soon as he got near the tree, the tail whizzed up and out of his sight, disappearing into the leaves and branches. Naphtali swore and leapt as high as he could, grabbing onto one of the tree’s branches and hauling himself up. He could spot a silver shape lurking around above him, and Naphtali began to climb up the tree as fast as he could, using the branches to boost himself up higher until he was near the top of the tree, almost able to grab the creature. Moments before he could, the small silver thing whirled around and leapt off of the tree and into the air, spreading its wings. Just as Naphtali realized that the creature no longer had his book in its arms, he heard a splintering crack from below him and looked to find that the creature had broken several of the branches below him, which meant that Naphtali would have to find a new way down. He glared are the creature, which had flown back up and hovered just out of Naphtali’s reach, grinning and chittering. Naphtali realized with a surge of fury that this little creature was toying with him!

Naphtali was completely fed up with his situation. This tiny little thing had stolen his book while he was sleeping, led him on a wild chase through the woods and up a tree, tried to strand him on top of said tree, and now had the audacity to float there and mock him. With a shout, Naphtali snapped off one of the thin branches near his head and threw it at the small creature with all his might. The branch smacked the small creature right between the eyes and it dropped a few feet in the air, stunned, before blinking and looking at Naphtali, taken aback by his sudden attack. Naphtali yelled again, throwing another small branch at the creature.

“Give me back the book!” Naphtali screamed as the creature ducked out of the branch’s path. “You have no idea what you’re doing taking that book! Damn you!” Tears began to form in his eyes as he tried to yank another branch off the tree to throw at the little flying menace.

For its part, the creature looked at Naphtali, and an inkling of what might have been guilt flickered across its face. It flew a little closer to Naphtali, and stopped when its gaze was drawn to the swirling, black magic-suppressant seals that decorated Naphtali’s wrists. It looked surprised, then angry, then sad, all in a the span of a few seconds, before turning and flying down to the ground, landing near a bush a few yards away from the tree Naphtali was still in, and disappeared into the greenery.

Naphtali, tears still pricking his eyes, began to make his way down the tree, placing his hands and feet as carefully as he could, feeling utterly defeated. He hopped past the last few branches into the clearing at the base of the tree, and felt a surge of anger as he noticed the end of the creature’s silver tail disappear into the bushes around he clearing. He started after it, but froze when he noticed what was lying in the center of the clearing. It was the spellbook! Naphtali ran over to the spellbook, tears blurring his eyesight as he picked it up and checked for any damage. The spellbook was completely unharmed! Naphtali couldn’t believe his eyes. Before he could stop himself, he thought how the little silver creature must have been very careful with the book as it ran so that the book wouldn’t be damaged. Naphtali picked up the spellbook and turned to leave, but as he did his eyes spotted some scribbles in the dirt next to where the spellbook had lain. Leaning over to get a better look, Naphtali’s heart froze when he realized the scribbles were letters. The scribbles in the dirt read, “Sorry. Be free soon.” right above a detailed copy of the seals on Naphtali’s wrists.

Clutching the spellbook to his chest, Naphtali stood up. There was no sign of the creature, but Naphtali had no doubt that it was nearby, still watching. Drying his eyes, Naphtali took a deep breath. “Thank you.” he said, before beginning to walk away. He paused at the edge of the clearing. “And, uh, sorry for hitting you with a branch.” With that, Naphtali turned and left the clearing, intent on delivering the spellbook and keeping himself alive.

On the other side of the clearing, a pair of fluorescent orange eyes watched Naphtali disappear. “Be safe.”

Mystery Island

Here we are, on a cart with a connected sail, wondering what will come after the fog we see ahead. As we journey along, “Mountains!”, he excitedly yells. I look over, and I do indeed see mountains ahead. In the distance, on the mountains, I spot a quaint little castle. “Looks like it’s fit for a princess.”, I say to him. “Shall we see?”, he asks. “We shall.”, I respond.

We continue to journey along. Unfortunately, Just as we think we are approaching land, it appears that we end up farther and farther away. After a hard and long  journey, we finally reach this mysterious island. Suddenly, we feel and hear a large ‘thump’. We soon realize that we have crashed into the island. Water immediately starts to flow in to our cart. My first reaction is to jump out, so I do. I grab onto his arm and pull him with me as fast as I possibly could.

Lucky for us, we jumped out just quick enough. We look out just after our jump to see our broken cart, sinking and sinking, carrying all of our items along with. “Nothing else we can do here than explore, right?,” I say to him. He agrees with me, with a sad tone. We now see the quaint little castle that we saw earlier. Now it is realized by both of us that what we thought was a quaint little castle is now a large elegant castle. Through the windows we can see every light turned on but no people. Just the bright-colored lights.

Heavily breathing. Him and I. Climbing up a mountain to get to this mysterious castle that we have yet to discover what lies within the walls. Once we finally make it all the way up the hill, “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” he says to me. We have to go in at this point after all of our journey and effort to get up here. Luckily, I was able to convince him to come into the castle with me. We walk into the castle and all of the lights turn off. No sound coming out from anywhere. “1. 2. 3.,” I count in my head so I don’t panic. Right after I say 3 in my head, a spotlight shines on both of us. We look at each other and the light goes away. Next thing we know, the light is shining up on an elegant stairway with a man dressed in a suit walking down the stairs.

We look at each other and start to back away. “Don’t worry! I am not here to hurt or scare you, I am here to welcome you to the ‘Island Castle Hotel’,” the man says approaching us even more. We stop walking and just stare at him for a while. The man scoots to the left and a podium with four buttons shows up. Each of the buttons has a state on it. “What state did you come from?,” the man asks us. The buttons say: Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, or Louisiana. I press the button that is labeled ‘Oregon’. He gives us a very suspicious and mysterious look. “Tell me when you are ready.,” The man says quietly. We look at each other because we could not hear the man very well. “Ready?,” we ask and suddenly the floor beneath us drops and we drop along with it.

I now see and feel him and I moving down these slides that take us into a room. I ran directly towards the door just to find out that it is locked. Suddenly, a light starts flashing and we hear a voice from a speaker saying “You now have 60 minutes until you are stuck in here. Forever,”. We are now panicking and walking around the room when a box falls from the ceiling and hits me in the head. He opens the box and picks up a note inside. The note says “Here is your first key. Open a door, but choose wisely,”. I look around to see six doors, each labeled with a number. 1, 34, 26, 99, 45, and 8. We take a very long time discussing which door we should open. In the middle of our conversation we hear another voice in the speaker, a different voice than before.

“30 minutes left! Better decide which door to open! Remember quicker is better,” the voice says. “Quicker is better? What is that supposed to mean?,” He asks me. “Don’t know but let’s just open every door and see which one works,” I respond. We open every door but nothing works. That is until we open door number 99. I walk into room 99, with him following me behind. After we walk into room 99, we realize it is not just an ordinary room, maybe not even a room at all. I look forward to see a hallway with flashing arrows pointed ahead. I assume that he has seen the lights by now, he does look very amused. We both sprint down the hallway all the way to the end. We do only have 10 minutes remaining at this point. After a while of running, we end up back in the same room that we entered the castle from. We both look at each other and scream.

Then we see someone who looks familiar. A tall mysterious man. As he approaches us more we now see that he is the man that sent us into the room earlier. “Congratulations!” he says, “You have made it out alive and you passed the test too! Let me take you to your new room!,” At this point, we are so in shock that we just follow him. Without any question. The man leads us up to our new room. He tells us that it is our new home. There was no way for us to get back to Oregon so we decide that we might as well stay in this castle.

Since we are now planning on staying in here forever, we try to make the best of it. It was fun and all getting served by all the waiters and waitresses there but it just didn’t feel like home. We both missed Oregon very much. Soon later, we got very used to the whole thing and started enjoying this new lifestyle of ours. And here we lived happily for the rest of our lives.

The end

“Do you wanna go shopping with me?” my sister asked, pressing her needle-thin thighs together and angling herself to emphasize a tiny bulge of fat. “Baby weight is killing my wardrobe.”

My sister, thirteen weeks pregnant, was poised to be the most insufferable mother in the history of mankind.

“Sure,” I said. I drove us both in my Honda Civic with the big dent in the front. My sister's lip only curled a bit. 

In the Old Navy racks (normally, my sister wouldn’t stoop so low, but their elastic waist pregnancy pants are to die for. and it’s not like she’s keeping them any longer than she has to) my sister asked me how you’re doing. Never told her that we ended, couldn't. My sister would lord that over me, tell my mother so they could do the lording together.

I had to think of a lie fast.

So now, she thinks you’re in Italy for a semester, working as an intern in some exclusive, expensive-sounding art museum I made up on the spot. I told her you’re staying right on the coast. How’s the weather there?