_The flowers bloomed higher than ever before_

_Up to the heavens they seemed to sore_

_They exploded like fireworks in the night_

_With all their red, what a beautiful site_

Margaret looked at the beginning of her poem, she was satisfied with the beginning but had no idea where it would go next. The flowers were blooming higher than she had ever seen before. They were reaching to the sky beyond t...

Standing before the altar deep within the jungle, Jara gazed upon the statues adorning the small hill. _He_ bowed before them, thinking of himself as one of the Gods. He began chanting the sacred words, “Oh ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant,” repeatedly. These were the sacred words of the Gods known as Humans.

There were many of them. One was a man wearing a hat and carrying brightly colored to...

Milay had much to be thankful for and laid food from his garden upon the highest point of the city to offer them. After he laid down the offering he stood and began to pray. His family had been allowed to prosper even though times along the town he lived in by the sea was struggling. He knew others could not afford the food he was laying out, but he knew if he prayed the gods would provide. He kne...

I lay on the bed looking up at the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling, swinging back and forth. It is creating shadows on the wall. The ceiling fan is spinning, creating a light breeze that would make me feel calm but causes my head to spin. I feel isolated and alone. How did I get here? This room feels cold with no color to the walls. I need to get up and walk around. There is a single wi...

John opened the door to the abandoned storage room in the asylum, a creak echoing through the room. The chief resident had sent him up to clean it out, preparing it for new patients being transferred. However, the rumors of its haunting, stemming from a child’s death ten years ago, made him dread the task.

Stepping inside, John surveyed the room. He was grateful for the daylight hours, as the eer...

The police stood, stunned, as they surveyed the mutilated bodies lying on the living room floor. Detective Burns recognized the couple as Mike and Jenny Bennings, along with their parents, Brian and Joyce. The unthinkable had happened in their seemingly quiet town. He turned to his partner, Detective Jones, and made a decision. “I’ll go tell their parents,” he said, heading back to his car to make...

The flight over from the United States had been a long one for the Johnson family so when they landed at Heathrow airport, they couldn’t wait to get to the new home that Bob, Janet and their two boys Billy and Jack were moving into. Bob had inherited the new home from his grandparents earlier in the year after they had passed away., but he had never actually seen it though he was told it was huge....

Ahhh I sighed…sweet relief from the pain. Living with cancer sucked and the constant chemo treatment, well let’s just say left me feeling empty. I had followed the bright light and am on my way to those pearly gates but wait this isn’t the gates I suspected why is there a set of stairs with no hand railing going down.

I stood frozen and scared. I know I had done everything a good person does. I...

The girls were screaming wildly and stuffing dollar bills into the strippers’ g-string, making Marty a happy guy. Among them was Betty, the bride-to-be, who was the most ambitious. She had even grabbed his privates once, and Marty was certain it wasn’t an accident because she gave him a smile with a wink.

It was interesting because when the women entered the club, Betty was the quietest one. She ...

The usual commute home was plagued by traffic congestion and a standstill. Jerry yearned to escape the confines of the car. He had just finished a grueling twelve-hour shift, not for the money, but to complete a project. Sometimes, working for hours helped him distract himself from his life’s complexities. His recent life had become intricate, and thoughts of his ex-girlfriend lingered in his mind...