The light of the crystal chandelier that hung fervently above the hoard of bodies- flickered ominously. It casted unmoving shadows across the walls, headless shadows albeit, for all the guests lay face first in their plates of salmon filets and asparagus.

The bride though, danced ethereally through the hall, her elegant laced gown trailing behind her. As she danced she sang an ancient hym...

Guilt sat up against a large stone, his knees pressed to his chest, his arms wrapped firmly around his shins. He looked beyond the ashen field, beyond the charred pines and shrubbery and gazed at the lone old oak.

It towered the destruction, leaving the ruins as an image of triumphant victory. Guilt was in awe. Not even a burnt limb sat on that ancient tree.

He felt as if he and the old oak were...

I’m not sure when the darkness surrounded me.

I remember a soft light before it, a warmth caressing my skin. Now I was alone, my feet floating below me, not able to reach any type of solid ground.

I should have panicked, should have called out for someone…anyone, but there was this overwhelming feeling of happiness. Pure and unconditional.

I existed there, in the void, for what felt like eterni...

A sheer wind rustles the blades of grass beneath us, the warmth of his body shielding me from the chill nonetheless.

He leans his head closer, nestling it right in the crook of my neck. I can feel the sensation of him breathing through my shoulder. It’s shallowness putting me into a trance as I watch the clouds race by. This is peace, I think. If I’ve ever known it. It’s got to be.

I take my fre...

For years I have grown to know only the touch of the sun, the song of birds flocking the pine trees, and the hum of busy roads winding throughout the mountainside.

Nights weren’t filled with the beauty of stars or the sweet chirping of crickets. They were just merely the same as the morning before it. A sensory overload. You couldn’t crawl into bed and let the darkness take over. No-the sun will ...

Most mornings followed the same routine.

A fresh bowl of fat trimmings, small bones, and a sliced boiled egg laid out in front of the big sliding glass door, which previewed if the weather allowed a nice walk or not.

If weather did permit, a refreshing walk through the gated community, just long enough that my senior joints wouldn’t be affected.

Jim, my human, would carry me back inside our hom...

“Fucking pigeons. You’d think they’d be back by now.” Nicholai scoffed as he took a long drag from his rolled cigar. Puffs of smoke polluting the crisp Boston air.

I remained silent and rolled my eyes. I couldn’t bare much more negativity even if I shared his sentiment. Worry mixed with hunger grumbled inside me. Empty cans of beans and corn lay scattered on the rooftop and the sight of them only...

The door creaked open, revealing a long forgotten room. Hesitance filled the orphan’s stomachs but that feeling soon wore off. Hand in hand, they inched forward.

Tattered walls covered in remnants of cobwebs and dust still shown the yellowing wallpaper that was decorated with tulips and daisies. The children stood still in the entry way taking in each detail fervently.

“Why do you think they had...

Monitors beeped harmoniously.

Wires and IV bags decorated along side his bed.

He laid so still, a statue of a man, as if Medusa herself taken him as her next victim.

I sat in the chair located in the farthest right corner, just staring. Watching each time his chest would rise and felt as if it took a century to fall back down. His breaths were becoming strained and despite the state he was in h...

Horns. Sirens. A repetitive tapping?

Wake. Up. Simone! The thoughts urged through thick darkness.

“Wake up, lady! I ain’t got all day!” An unfamiliar voice filled with aged testosterone bellows at me.

My eyes force theirselves open and a wrinkled man with a tangled salt and peppered beard stares directly at me. So close even, I can smell the tinny stench of tuna on his breath.

I wipe the crus...