A needle can cut deep,

I’ve cut myself once or twice without meaning to

nothing sharp ever means to cut you, it just happens

and I’ve cried over it more times than I can count

that harmless needle,

so small and so fragile

has stopped me from going out today

whether I am too fat, or too skinny, or too in-between

I can’t go far without taking that needle and etching out the lines on my belly

I wan...

There’s only one way to play the game.

Strike hard. Strike fast

A pair of dice roll onto the mahogany desk, bouncing off each other and clattering in opposite directions. The pieces land on two numbers: a three and a six

The room seems to quiet. Air vents let out a cool whistle and the players are baked in flourescent lights. Everyone is collectively holding their breath.

People in the crowd...

It’s easy to underestimate elderly people, especially elderly women. With their small size and soft-spoken voice, of course the world is going to overlook them. Cast them aside. Ella has worked with elderly people most of her lfie and she makes the same mistake. And it’s not until she meets the woman with the red scarflette, does she realize how dangerous these women can be

It’s a hot Sunday afte...

Steam shoots out of the kettle and envelops the kitchen in a deep gray smoke. It climbs into the air and hangs over the kitchen staff like a storm cloud. But people ignore it. Most people ignore it, at least. Working in a fast-paced kitchen requires a “steady hand and a thick hide”, as Chef Jerkins would always say

Steady hands. Thick hide. Harry repeats the words to himself as he stirs a pot ful...

Again, I am awake

not dead, but awake

my eyes are not open

my body is not warm

yet I am awake still and the limbs that cling to me are nothing but weights to an already heavy creature

Again, I am awake

I wait till sunrise

for something new to snap me out of it

rouse me from this dream and bring me to someplace else

Again, again

I. Am. Awake

I will not go silently or let them carry me away into a...