‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

Just one creature was stirring- it wasn’t a mouse;

The shackles were hung by the chimney with care,

In the hopes that St. Nicholas would never leave there;

My parents were tied down, restrained in their beds,

While drug induced nightmares danced in their heads;

Sister in her kerchief and I in my mask,

Had just settled our brains for our...

My world was small, but stable. The view rarely changed in meaningful ways. Every day, the same sun breached the same window, filling the room with its brilliant light. The light marched across the same carpet with deliberate slowness, unhindered by any stray obstacle left in its path. It cascaded over toys, books, and cast aside clothes with ease until it reached the window once more and retreate...

She waited, but her love never came. The promise was made - “I’ll wait for you” - not knowing the consequences it carried. The woman she loved had been struck down in battle, fighting for a cause she didn’t believe in. Now, the words that had been spoken could not, would not be broken. She let her grief carry her away in the hopes that she would perish. Her grief turned from a river to lake, from ...

Luna looked out over the dead city. They had known she was coming. She warned them. Their destruction was their own fault.

Her envoys had arrived weeks earlier to proclaim her arrival. They had been met with scorn and ridicule, resulting in their capture. She didn’t know what had happened to them after that, but she also didn’t care. They were expendable. More dirt under her feet.

And now, she...

“Do you have any more?” the customer asked.

“Return tomorrow,” the crone responded, pulling her cauldron from under the counter. “Do you know the cost?”

The customer nodded and backed slowly out of the small store. Bright sunlight flooded the normally dark room, revealing clusters of dried herbs, cloudy jars of mysterious liquids, a cage full of live frogs. An unseen hand pushed the door closed...