He is already there when she arrives, waiting for her on the other side of the glass, holding a red, early summer rose. She watches as he mouths Hello.

"Hi," she says.

He holds the rose out toward her, touching it to the glass. She reaches for the ros…

“Why are you here.”

Wasn't it obvious? There were lines around the block to sign up for the E.D.C. and had been ever since the attack that melted southern California. “To fight aliens, same as you.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice but knew…

I saw the fat man with a beard again today. He had been a stranger kind enough to lend me half of his table at Starbucks. People are never that nice and honestly I thought it was a ploy to talk to me. Nope. He didn't interrupt me once while I was studying…

My dad has aged a lot in the past few years. It was probably as gradual as the rest of us but I'm noticing it more now. His walk has become more of a shuffle but he's strong enough or perhaps willful enough that he doesn't want any help. That's fine. It w…

Pyretta! Dear Pyretta, Sapphic Fire!

Of all the souls I've known, I love yours best--

Affection and compassion fill my breast

Whene'er we are together. I admire

Your courage, perseverance, and your power;

Your gentle reassurance when I'm stressed

And ins…

Story is marked as mature

I shall not end my life and hurt you worse,

Despite the ideation in my mind--

How cruel an act! If reason I can find,

I'll fix it in my head, beguile the curse.

.

No healing comes from lying in a hearse,

I know. There is no need, so don't remind;

If we ca…

Today I broke a friendship once again

It lately seems to happen every day

I try so to be kind, but what I say

Hurts lovely people, causing grief and pain

.

How come? It truly goes against the grain

I long to be a nurturer, and pay

Respect, attention--Sadl…

Today my nails are red; so are my shorts,

And, as I shaved my arms at CCH,

That colour flowed again. And, glad to see

My blood come dripping down, I slashed again.

Oh, fire-engine red looked fair to me--

.

But then I thought back, and I bit my tongue,

Rec…

I did my best. I did my worst.

Somehow, these two were one.

"I'd never wish to hurt you, Dear,"

I call, and aim my gun.

.

Oh, can I even learn from this?

Or will it still recur?

I try to analyze my sins--

They scatter, melt, and blur.

.

Perhaps self-love …

I don't get you. I don't get me.

I should give up, as you can see.

Thanks for the friendship; thanks a lot.

I'm here, where ev'ry day's too hot.

.

Don't follow me! Don't hold me back.

My kindness changes to attack.

Please save yourself while you still…

Max stood at the edge of the curtained window and stared out into the dark of the garden, searching for any sign of the creature. His eyes darted here and there looking for more substantial motion than the shivering of hedges, or the swirling interplay of…

Sloughing off the tide of years, Ixcar came to his senses very slowly. There had been darkness and now there was light. Such light it was, appearing first as a horizontal line that separated one darkness into two. The line widened and grew in intensity un…

There aren't many frogs out and about now, being late autumn and all. By this point, most have already burrowed into the mud to hibernate for the winter. As the ground around them grows colder, their bodies will eventually freeze into solid blocks of ice …

"Give back my magic!" Ruta called. She forced herself to get up.

"Oh, no. I won't. I'd much rather keep this. Look at how lovely it is!" She twirled.

Ruta attempted to catch her, and the girl bounced away.

"Let's try out these new powers, shall we?" She…

“I'm tired.” she said.

Her words sent a jolt of recognition through me. Not just the words and their flat tone, but the familiar darkness they masked. It was so easy to rely on exhaustion as a crutch because it was so easy to be exhausted these days. Any…

There are no sensory nerves in your brain; you cannot see, feel, smell, hear, or taste anything that goes on there. By the time you first became aware of the Story, it had already insinuated its tentacles throughout your brain and it was far too late for …

"L-- Lori said--"

Layla sighed. "She was wrong. There is at least one known survior. I can only help if you will allow me to, though, Miss Richards."

"Don't think I really--"

"Believe that? You've seen me kill a monster in a single strike and yet you d…

Layla marched through the snow, creating deep footprints. She despised this girl. Or-- she did. Everything she did was intentional-- there was no curse forcing her to act. But she was Rosa's friend. Rosa saw something in her. Risked her life for her.

S…

She was one of those monster people Ruta had heard of. She'd never actually seen one. She prepared an arrow and let it fly, but the small girl easily dodged.

Ruta shot several more arrows, but the girl dodged them, too. "Just let me hit you, you stupid th…

There's no experience quite like it.

The rush of being free...

...

She'd done it. She'd actually done it. That lingering pressure in the back of her mind-- gone. She didn't have to worry about the fight being worth it anymore, because it was.

...

Ri…

Story is marked as mature

Ruta stepped through the portal and onto one of the scattered little islands. Her golden hair, clothes, and tiara all shimmered with each movement she made. She summoned a golden bow, and pulled back the string, and a golden arrow appeared.

She let it fly…

It was his need that broke me. I knew what it was like to be in a position where there was no other options than to ask for help even if I didn't take it. For him to be here now, asking me for help, it spoke of powerful desperation. In it, I could see a…

Story is marked as mature