There the corpse is.

So pale.

So empty.

It’s odd seeing a human being with no life in it.

No soul.

No warmth.

Their once shiny red hair is now dull and matted to the blood puddle pooling around it.

Their once bright green eyes now have faded to a brown.

Their once happy face now still.

Still like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

But they don’t jump into action.

They only fall into death’...

My bare feet pound against the forbidden island that my mother warned me to stay away from. I didn’t listen. It was so enticing. The dense forest of palm trees and green swayed in the distance of the mainland’s coast. The land bridge between me and mystery was so short. All I had to do was walk across.

And I, being the idiot I am, did.

Palms and bushes slap against my skin and face as I push past...

My swimsuit straps pull on the tops of my shoulders. I reach my hand to my back and pull on the tight fabric. It snaps back against my skin and sends tingles up my neck.

This is it. The race of a lifetime. Tokyo awaits.

My eyes feel like they might pop out of my head; my goggles are tightened to the point where there is virtually no chance of them slipping off my head.

I jump in the air, slap my...

Kindness radiates through their skin and illuminates the faces of those around them, for they give to others the light that shines within more than most; they give love, appreciation, and acceptance, even if they are going through a hard time....

Judy; a name so unfitting for you.

It’s average it’s normal; not anew.

You are crazy, as crazy as they get.

You ate all my pencils; how could I forgot.

It’s a miracle that your still living!

With all that junk in your stomach; just sitting.

Your fur is so soft; something I simply adore.

Your so majestic for someone who literally eats off the floor.

You hate the rain, balloons, anything loud, an...

Light explodes from under the gray clouds; bursting with color and heat.

The light glows like the sun, but fails to reach my skin.

The detonations roll like thunder into the sky, and muffle the cheers of people below whose faces I can not see.

The warmth radiating off of the light show calms me; as if I’m covered by blankets on a cold snowy night.

The strong smell of fire and smoke rises into th...

“Honey?”

“Yes?”

“You . . . You know how sometimes Sunny used to get those little thorns stuck in her paws?”

“Yeah.”

“And you know how she’d collapse on the couch, panting and drooling after she’d get to tired after playing fetch.”

“Yes, Mommy! I remember.”

“Well . . . Sunny’s . . . Sunny’s gone to a place where those things never happen. A place where she never has to worry about hurting her fury ...

Nature has taken back what is rightfully its own. The mist plumes around me as I sail; to anywhere and nowhere.

The peace that wraps around the muggy bog holds my boat steady. The silence is so very much appreciated, but so foreign.

I wait.

And wait.

Will there be a pull on my line? Maybe not. A place this quiet can’t have much life at all.

There are no birds chirping.

There are no frogs creakin...

“I promise you, we are going to get out of here.”

A whole crowd of children surrounds me. They’ve been here for their whole lives . . . . The Ranks have been holding them here, lying to them about what is outside these walls. Saying the world is nothing. Nothing but a lethal wasteland. The truth is that there is a utopia waiting for them to come home. The truth is that the Ranks want to train them...

‘Don’t leave me.’

‘You say that every time I leave!”

‘I don’t want you to forget.”

‘As if I’d forget your name?’

‘That’s it!

It’s perfect!

I’ll write it down.

My name in ink;

Black and brown.’

‘Don’t be a fool.

I won’t forget.

I’ll repeat your title . . . .

Let’s make a bet.’

‘I’ll say your name one thousand times.’

‘Will you really?

I bet you’d much rather die . . . .’

‘No, my love.

I’ll ...