Pen-Or-Sword

   Iah* was high in the sky, yet in the princes' chambers, lamps burned brighter than Ra. Magicians and medics worked feverishly to save the young prince from what seemed his inevitable fate. Hidden in the shadows, far from the braziers burning merrily away, the High Priest stood stoically watching the scene. His narrowed eyes only just conveyed the emotions battling for control over his thoughts; fear, rage, worry… to name a few. Wincing, he remembered the scene of the fall six Iahs ago.    The young Ser's giggles echoed off the stone mud-brick walls, growing louder as they neared him, and the child whippe

    And from my window, I gazed at the beautiful sight: a hill far away. I remembered the day's mother and father would force me to picnic with them at that very spot. Then, it had seemed totalitarianism and cruel on my parents part, but now, trapped as I was with the tantalizing sight of that gorgeous hill so very close, yet out of my reach, it was an aspiration that would never come true. Lately, emotions weren't something I felt like I used to. More often than not, I looked into the cracked mirrors that were the walls and found myself with a deadpan. Which did not surprise me; nothing did now-a-days.    A ghostly portrait of my parents

They led him out of the room for the autopsy. Sidney offered to take him out for coffee, afterwards. There was, hiding implicit in the offer, a suggestion that they might want to sit together, talking quietly. Not about the case, but about emotions. Female things, soft and squidgy and in general pointless. He didn't want to talk. They parted in front of the station, brick on concrete on glass doors. "If you need anything, just call me," she said. She'd taken her hair down; it looked younger, less professional. "Yeah," he said, nodding and lighting a cigarette. He knew, already, that he wouldn't call her. If he wanted information, he'd g

His cell phone rang at about 1:00 in the afternoon, and he dragged himself wretchedly out of the warm nest of blankets, indignant at having been woken up. Maliciously bright sunlight burned through his eyes and stung his brain, and he groaned and thought to himself that it couldn't possibly that important, why couldn't whoever it was wait until later. He knew he should have turned it off last night, but his mental faculties had been too degraded, or so he estimated, and probably still were. After a lengthy scrabble with one hand on the bedside table, he grasped the smooth curves of the offending mobile and flipped it open. "You've reached

There was once a woman named Terra. She was a dedicated mother, who provided her children with everything they would ever need: food, shelter, medicine… But as all children do, they rebelled—violently. They hacked off her gorgeous hair, left gashes in her beautiful skin, and covered her in rancid trash… And still, she loved and provided for them. Then one day, they found their drug. It was black, sludgy, sticky, poisonous, yet they treasured it. Becoming addicted, they breathed it, burned it, adored it. They'd pay any cost, whether it be loss of life, harming themselves, or slowly killing their mother. Over the years, Terr

There once was a little girl. Lost and alone in a dark, dark place, she was lonelier than lonely ever could be. She would cry, and sniffle, and run and run and run… But, it was a never ending dark place, no matter how far, or how fast she ran, the end never came. There was no light, nor life. The little girl did not know what death was, but at that point would have gladly accepted it. There was only one thing that could comfort her to some extent. Her dreams. The little girl had the most beautiful dreams. Dreams of candy, of life and love, of a well connected family. Of music and books, of friends, sisters, and animals… B

I've been watching you. You smile, you chat. You're gentle To the ones who surround you. Those popular ones, With minds much too small. But I can see in your eyes, You're not happy with that. There's something more you want to be. Something you wish you could change. Come with me. I will guide you to change.