w h o o s h

S w i s h

Of the cars passing by as if it were a movie.

But not the same sounds.

The first time he heard the whoosh it was calmer, and his hands were sticky. And wet. And red. And warm.

Now his hands are cold. But they’re still wet and red. But they’re terrible cold. The chill of the handcuffs making goosebumps on his pale skin. Pale and red.

“You okay back there?” Asked the off...

I think it’s better never to have

Than to have and to lose, said she

He chucked in anything but glee

It is worse to never have experienced anything

Even if you lose it all, at least you had it, shared he

But she retorted cleverly

But can a burdened heart carry on

Knowing it lost all it’s once had, murmured she

His laugher broke free

But can an empty heart live on

Knowing it has never ...

There were so many things that he wanted to say. It was his mother that was currently bellow his feet.

There were so many things, but so little words. His throat hurt, his eyes burned.

His fingers ran down the edge of the cool tombstone.

Maria Reiner

Let your soul live forever

1960-2021

Beloved mother, wife

He almost laughed when he saw the words on the tombstones.

She was not a mother. Sh...

“The world will burn, Nicholas Schneider! I tell you! This world will burn! Just see! That’s why I will become a firefighter! And save the world!”

Annabeth Kidman ran around the playground, wearing her father’s firefighter hat. The hat was far too big and fell on her eyes. It didn’t phase her.

Nicholas watched as she often scared the kids. She jumped up to them and asked if they were in any need...

‘Call declined’

Lyra groaned, hearing the receiver say “please leave your message after the beep”.

She called again, for the 4th time.

“Hey, Sam, it’s me. I don’t know if you know, but someone got murdered on the apartment complex you just moved into. Be careful okay. Call me back.”

Lyra sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Still no answer?” Officer Gray asked, leaning against her desk.

“Nope,” she...

The nausea crept up her throat from the pit of her stomach; the realization that yesterday was real.

It was hard to describe her pain. It was hard to write about it.

Her pain was more than a dictionary could contain. It was more than the 26 letters of our alphabet could describe.

It was the pain of a mother with a dead daughter.

Her pain was beyond language.

She didn’t even cry.

She didn’t ...

Niamh was the kind of girl you never forget.

She wasn’t very “pretty”, according to society’s standards, nor was she good at anything in particular.

She did not have any talents (unless touching her nose with her tongue counts and doing a cloverleaf tongue).

Niamh was the type of person you’d see and maybe not even notice.

But once you talked to her, you’d never forget her.

She was the type of...

It was a pleasure to burn

The fire danced about the forest

Hephaestus was angry

The fire licked the trees

It burned the leaves

And ash like a blanket in the air

It was a pleasure to kill

Let his liquid anger out

His large hands were charred

Hephaestus was livid

His powerful hand was hitting the earth

His lips cursed the god’s above

***

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury...

Her soft fingers pressed against the cold piano keys. They made a soft noice as she did. It was sad.

Kreisler’s Liebesled. Love’s Sorrow.

It seemed appropriate. She hummed along to the melody she was playing.

Her tears rolled down her face and into the piano keyboard. But she didn’t stop her playing.

Her fingers moved quickly, urgently, as if in a desperate rush. A desperate rush to finish th...

He was perfectly happy.

He was perfect.

He was happy.

He was perfectly happy. He has been perfectly happy since he got them.

He wasn’t always happy, of course. He was quite sad, at some point. He wasn’t sure when. He wasn’t sure just how sad he was. He was just… sad.

He didn’t try to remember those times. They were so muddled. Like trying to stare into his memories through dirty pond.

He was ...