I need you here with me

But you give no guarantee

I need you by my side

But all you’ve done is lied

Why do I try so hard?

When you don’t care at all

I’m not okay. Not really

What have I done wrong?

I’ve been hiding the truth

Because I know you’d disprove

Every time I grow stronger

You start feeling bitter

Why do you try so hard?

To stop me from smiling

It’s not okay. Not really

Nothing. ...

The buds bloom vibrantly. A cold breeze of wind gently caresses my face. The sun shines. I faintly smell ripening apples.

It only succeeds in making me feel worse. The truth is, I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all.

I stare solemnly at the small garden that’ll wither and die when I leave. I look at the crop of yellow daffodils, the symbol of new beginnings.

I inhale sh...

The truth can be complicated

The smiles and the laughs

Are they genuine or fabricated?

Or am I just being daft?

Everyone constantly judges

They’ll have secret misinterpretations

They will hold onto a grudge

When you had the best intentions

Hating you for what you said

When they don’t let it show

Fake niceness filling you with dread

Suddenly you really don’t know

Are they a true friend or not?

A...

I’VE BEEN BETRAYED

I sit there and reread those words over and over. It seems like a simple enough way to start. Good hook, matches the prompt, and all. A thousand things could come out of this one line; a thousand beasts slain, a thousand friendships made (or broken), a thousand ways this could go.

And now I have to write.

I AM RUNNING THROUGH THE FOREST FOR MY LIFE. I CAN BARELY BREATHE FRO...

You have a loud voice, but maybe it’s triumph——

Triumph to grab all the attention in a room

Triumph enough to shove all your doubts away and face anything head-on

Triumph enough to make an impact unapologetically true

You never follow directions, but maybe it’s daring——

Daring to do things whichever way you want

Daring enough to look at our angry faces without fearing

Daring enough to be able to ...

No. No, no, no.

I can’t believe this. I can’t become Queen in place of my gracious older brother. Of perfect poised Queen Cecelia. I want to go back to a few weeks ago, to where everyone was here, Amy was innocent, and I was content knowing that I would always stay seventh-in-line to the throne. But more than anything in the world, I want to be somewhere else. Anywhere but in this room.

My kne...

New hopes are coming

Old hopes are crumbling

Will I become better?

Will I become smarter?

Will I show change?

Will I (finally) become taller?

Probably not

That’s what I feel a lot

New questions are arising

Old questions are ongoing

Will we finally stop isolating?

Will a mask stop fogging my vision?

Will the flights stop being cancelled?

Or will more variants leave us broken?

New responsibili...

I can feel it before it happens. The pounding in my ears, the subtle sway of the floor, the pressure building up. And just like that… the laughter dies down. The chatter stops. Everything goes silent.

No one should be moving. No one except me.

It was the click that surprised me and made me turn. I didn’t expect to see someone strutting around, gaze high up, moving. And at the sight of her, I p...

The differences between us

They’re black and white,

they’re brutally gray,

and here to stay

Me and you

The things you’ve faced

You found jewels laced with poison

You found love that came broken

Your heart became frozen

Nothing went as planned

And then you withdrew

I don’t know anything about the

poisoned,

broken,

frozen,

pieces of you

I don’t know anything about you

It’s so differe...

Pounding. Blurriness. I rub my temples slowly. Doesn’t help. My head’s all over the place. Like it’s been trampled mercilessly. Like it’s crashed it’s contents. Like it’s been swallowing waves. Waves of darkness.

Pieces of memories haunt me. Shattering glass. A dark chess board. A pacing girl. A wake of darkness. Knees buckling. Unblinking stillness and then… screaming. But more than anything? F...