The Czars if Halloween part 1

Its October and that means Halloween stories every week! this is Czars of Halloween part 1, part 2 should be out by friday. I'm doing two stories this week because I only get five Halloween stories to tell this month and i don't want two weeks of the same story. So here is Czars of Halloween. Enjoy!

Hallows End has always been home to the many monsters and spirits of Halloween. But beyond Hallows End, through the Haunted forest and up on the top of Pumpkin patch hill, stands the skull fortress. The inhabitants of the skull fortress are the Czars of Halloween. They are the best of friends and together they rule and protect the land of Halloween. This hasn’t always been the case, the Czars weren’t always friends and they certainly weren’t always czars. Like everyone else, they started as children.

            The two Czars, who were named Nyx and Poe, grew up in Harvest town, a small town in the Autumn forest. The two boys would fight over everything, but the one thing they had in common was their love for Halloween and the yearly celebrations held in Hallows end. Since Hallows end was surrounded by the Haunted forest, the two boys couldn’t get to the town by themselves, so they would have to wait for the Hallows end celebration when villagers from Maple town, Harvest town and Pumpkin Patch would gather together and travel through the forest. Everyone knew the way and with so many pairs of eyes to watch for danger the forest was forced to behave and let them pass.

            So it was on these Halloween nights that Poe would put on his skull mask and Nyx would wear his pumpkin mask. They would dress in all black and retrieve their trusty travel bags from their rooms, and then they would rush outside and join the others in the exciting walk to Hallows end. Nyx had a travel bag that was orange and green and Poe had one that was black and white. The bags were souvenirs from their first time in Hallows end. They used the bags to smuggle Halloween treats and knick-knacks back home when the celebration was over.

            Every year the boys would wait and every year they would have the most fun ever when Halloween rolled around. They were always so excited about Halloween, that for one day they forgot their rivalry and got along. Back in Harvest town, they would fight and argue. For almost the entire year they were enemies. Nyx would even go so far as to throw snakes at poor Poe.

            As the years went on the boys grew and the fighting was less frequent. They both were about eighteen at this point and began to work in their family’s farms. The mundane life of a farmer began to settle on them and for a little while they began to wonder if they would ever get to live in Hallows end or would they be forced to ‘grow up’ and be farmers like their parents. One day while Poe was cutting tall grass a bizarre looking was traveling up the road past his farm. The man wore a black and purple top hat, a black coat with tails, white shirt, black pants and carried a huge bag on his back full of the most random assortment of things. This was a little over weight, he had a long mustache and a big smile. Poe was going to ignore him, but then he spotted trinkets that looked like they were from Hallows End. Poe ran down to meet the man “Excuse me, sir. What is all of that stuff you are carrying” Poe asked. The man’s smile seemed to grow even bigger than before “Well, young Sir, I am a trader and these are my wares. My name is Gransom the great and I things from all over the world” Said Gransom. Poe didn’t stop to ask about the name because he was too excited about these exotic wares. “Well I noticed you have things from Hallows End and I love Halloween. So could I take a look at them?” Asked Poe.

            The merchant set his large bag down and pulled on a rope, the bag opened and all of his wares fell out and landed in neat orderly piles, sorted by region and size. Poe was impressed. Gransom went over to the pile of objects found in the autumn lands, maple syrup, apple peeler and various pictures and painting of trees and scenery. Poe wasn’t impressed. To him these things were ordinary and though Hallow End was so close to his own town, it was also exotic because of how difficult it is to get there. Gransom continued to look through his things without saying a word. Then he found something. “Aha!” Said the man. “I have just what you are looking for” Gransom held out a compass in the shape of a skull. “This will help you cross into Hallows End any time you want” Gransom said. Poe would have been happy just to buy a jack-o-lantern mask or something, but this sounded way better. Poe paid for it and then ran off to find Nyx.

            Nyx was resting under a tree drinking maple syrup when Poe found him. “You lazy butt, get over here and look what I’ve found” Poe yelled to Nyx. Nyx stood up and walked over to Poe, and brought his maple syrup with him. “What is it you deranged lemur?” Asked Nyx. Poe was about to punch Nyx, but decided there was no time for that. “Look at this. I just bought it. It’s a compass that will help us go to Hallows End whenever we want” Poe said holding out the skull compass. Nyx looked at it with awe and began feeling just as excited as Poe. “Poe, I take back some of the bad things I’ve said about you. Lets go as soon as we can!” Nyx said.

            That night Nyx and Poe traveled to the edge of the haunted forest and Poe pulled out the compass. Instead of pointing north, the compass seemed to point toward Hallows End. With a deep breath they two stepped into the forest and began following the arrow on the compass. It was only once they could no longer see the exit that they began to realize that if the merchant scammed them and they were holding a fake compass, they would be in real danger. It was like jumping into the ocean before you know if your boat floats or not. Since they were already in the forest they had little else to do but follow the arrow. Time didn’t seem to pass in the haunted forest, because it was always dark. The trees were gangly and gray and their branches seemed to reach out for Poe and Nyx no matter were they went. Strange sounds could be heard along with the ones you would expect. Owls, crows and frogs made their own noises, but then every now and then a loud “Gerrump!” could be heard or the sound of trees breaking and falling over. It was very unnerving.  The two wondered the forest for what seemed like hours, their journey seemed longer now than it did when they traveled with a group during Halloween, but they kept marching on.

            After many hours of traveling Poe and Nyx saw light up ahead, they ran up through the trees and jumped over rocks and large tree roots and when they came to a clearing they saw Hallows End up ahead. “We made it!” The both cheered. It was night and Hallows End was shining bright with orange lights, lanterns and torches. The buildings were all different shapes and sizes, some were bent weirdly, some had spikes on them, Pumpkins were by every doorway, strange looking people walked the streets and at the center of town was a giant Jack-o-lantern. Poe and Nyx made it and ran into town. They spent that night partying with monsters and maniacs and women that their parents would never let them go near normally. Then when morning came they would travel back to their hometown before they were missed. Since they had the magical skull compass they could go to Hallows End every night and that is just what they did.

Elements of the End

            The battle for the universe had started. Deus and the other dark elementals stood ready and eager for battle. The light elementals looked determined and were ready to finish this dispute once and for all. Every single one of the Elementals had the slightest hesitation though. They knew what was at stake. Being around for millions of years made if difficult to think about the possibility of no longer existing.

            Kaji was eager to continue the fight and get this war underway. He summoned a giant fireball and threw it at Terra. This was the spark they all needed. Fire engulfed Terra for a second before she moved her arms, gathered up the fire from her body and threw it on the ground like it annoyed her. Deus saw this and began laughing. As he laughed he charged in and rock spires began to spring up from the ground ripping holes in the land and throwing around anyone who was too slow to move. Seigh did a flip backward just as a spike rose up from where he stood. Delia was tossed into the air when she was hit by the spire, but then mid air began launching fire strikes down at the Dark Elementals.

            Kaji’s face was twisted into an insane smile. It was possible that he hated the Light Elementals more than he hated humans. Not even Deus hated the other elementals, to him they were just an obstacle. Kaji launched flames left and right, striking out at any Light Elemental he could see. A ball of fire hit Seigh, but then Seigh used the momentum to spin around and delivered a swift kick to Kaji’s head. The force of this kick was so hard it dropped the fire element and his head bounced off the ground on impact.

            Zephyr tried not to think about Aeolius on the other end of this battle and instead fought the others on his team. She moved faster than anyone else. Her formed moved through battle like the wind and she sliced the others with her spinning daggers. Terra lifted her hand and vines rose up and wrapped around Kaji once he was on the ground. then Terra winched in pain and realized she had been slashed on the back several times by Zephyr. Vines flailed in the air as they grew from the ground and eventually were able to grab a hold of the tricky wind element. The vines grabbed Zephyr and slammed her on the ground, but before they could do anything else, they were slice into thousands of pieces by Aeolius. It happened so fast though that no one realized he did it. Zephyr knew though.

            Aeolius moved his hands through the air fluidly and winds would strike out with razor blade strength. Morana reached into her salvaged pirate coat and pulled out two pirate pistols made of ice, this was all for show because she could make ice and water on command. The pistols began firing like a machine gun, but instead of bullets it was sharp ice blades.

            Ice blades whizzed through the air and struck Delia in the back several times. She returned by putting out her hands and causing a flamethrower effect. The flames rushed forward at Morana and engulfed her. Water shot out of the ground and calmed the flames. Morana snuck up behind Delia and tried to attack her again with ice blades, but a rush of waves blasted out from Seigh’s palms and the force sent Morana off into the forest.

            Deus used his power to free Kaji from the vines. Then Deus began hurling boulders. Large chunks of rock smashed against the ground all around the light elements and the boulder shattered sending chunks of rock in every direction. Aeolius was struck in the head by one of these stones and stumbled. Kaji took this opportunity to grab a hold of Aeolius’ face and set his head on fire. Aeolius struggled as Kaji continued burning him with fire. Then Kaji released Aeolius and his face seemed confused and scared. While Kaji was attacking Zephyr had turned on her own teammate and slashed Kaji’s throat, back and stomach area. Kaji stumbled back as he attempted to heal his wounds. Delia pounced on this opportunity and began hurling fire at Kaji. She attacked with everything she had. “DIE you bastard DIE!!!” She shouted as flames shot from her hands and sailed through the air, colliding with Kaji’s body and covering him with flames. By this time Aeolius had recovered and pushed his hands forward shooting a tornado blast of wind at Kaji. The fire element was hit with the fire then wind. the fire was put out and Kaji crumbled to the ground. All of the elementals stopped fighting for a second and watched as red energy and flames shot out of Kaji’s body. the Elemental energy swirled through the air then rushed into Delia. She had absorbed his energy and was now the sole Fire element in existence.

            Since she now held all the sway for the fire element, which meant the Dark Elements wouldn’t try to kill her. If both sides of a single element were to die, it would tip the balance and reality would break apart. Delia smiled as her body flowed with even more fire energy. Fire was on a constant burn all around her and her eyes glowed with the power of her fallen elemental. Deus sneered. “Your power means nothing to me! I am still the strongest!!” Delia smiled and launched a full on flame attack on Deus. the fire attack hit Deus but had no effect. Deus just laughed at Delia. “When you absorbed the fire energy it absorbed all of the fire energy everywhere. Including the energy that Kaji shared with us to fight you light elements. Which means even with all your power you can no longer hurt any of us” Deus explained. Delia growled.

            As Deus was distracted by his need to announce everything he was hit with a blast of water and rock from Seigh and Terra. Deus was knocked back by this but quickly recovered. Morana appeared as she rose from a pool of water and slashed Terra with an icy pirate cutlass. Terra recoiled and swiped at the ice element with stone bear claws. Morana was slashed across the face and stumbled back.

Meanwhile Zephyr and Aeolius stood off to the sidelines. They both had almost been severely injured in the battle and decided to wait it out. Deus saw Zephyr standing around “Get back in the fight!” He barked. “No! Aeolius and I are no longer part of the Dark or Light team. We are instead the Air team. The winning Elements will have both of our support. We will not fight each other” She shouted back and Aeolius just nodded in agreement. Terra and Deus both could have seen this coming, Terra was a little happy that there was some peace between elements, even if it was just those two. Deus on the other hand was not as happy and sent a cascade of rocks down on the two wind elements. This was a mistake. The two elements moved as one, dodging the boulders, moved past Deus then both struck him in the back with the full force of their powers. Deus was injured and sent flying and smashed into the ground. Terra wrapped Deus in vines.

The two air elements held off their attack. They didn’t want to tip the scales too much. With Deus wrapped up Morana stood back and waited to see what would happen next. Seigh stood ready to fight and Terra approached Deus. “Stop this now! we don’t have to fight anymore. Kaji is gone, this battle will only end in more death. I believe our air element friends have the right idea” Terra said. hoping to reason with Deus. She kneeled down and touched Deus’ face. “Please, I do not want to fight” She said.

            Deus’ rage increased and he broke out of the vines. “I am not a broken sparrow or a tormented man. I am an earth element. I helped shape this world and do not need pity from you!” He said. then brought the earth up around Terra and tried to seal her in a ball. Seigh ran to help but Morana struck out and kicked Seigh, then slashed him with her sword. The two water elements began to fight as Terra struggled to escape the ball.

 “I will not force you to choose sides between Deus and Terra, but please think about it. If you did get your way and everything returned to chaos and freedom. Would you really want to spend eternity with an all powerful Deus and Morana?” Aeolius asked. Zephyr thought about it. She just wanted to have her freedom and feel the shapeless energy of the universe like she used to. But this wasn’t the way to do things and if Deus won he would kill Terra and Seigh, whether he needed to or not. Delia was still there, but she wouldn’t be able to fight until Deus had absorbed Terra’s energy and by that time it might be too late. Zephyr put her head down. “Y-your right. I will never love humans, but as long as I have you, I will be fine” She said. Aeolius nodded and the two rushed in to help. In a split second the two air elements had destroyed the ball of earth and joined sides next to Terra.

            Terra struggled to stand up. Then she stared at Deus who was furious at this point. “Will you surrender?” Terra asked Deus. “I will!” Morana said quickly. Realizing things weren’t going in her favor. “COWARD!” Deus shouted then rushed at Terra and the others. The ground was ripped apart and rained down and stones were pulled from the deepest depths of the earth. Deus attacked with everything he had. Terra used her power over the earth to hinder Deus’ attacks and block the attack that he managed to pull off. Meanwhile Seigh, Zephyr and Aeolius all attacked with their powers. The full force of the air and the might of Seigh’ water attacks rushed at Deus. He was so busy attacking he could not defend himself from the attacks. A giant tornado of ice and water hit Deus with ferocity that hasn’t been seen in millions of years. The force of the wind and the razor sharp ice tore Deus apart, His screams of rage and pain were drowned out by the howling of wind and the rushing of water. When the winds died down and the water sunk into the ground. The mighty power of Deus flew through the air, spiraling over the earth and then finally shooting straight into Terra. Terra began to glow with the full power of the earth and the land began to heal and forest, which was torn up by Deus’ final attack, was now growing back. Slowly the world would recover and it would erase any evidence of this horrible battle.

            Terra let out a sigh of relief. Seigh and Delia cheered and the air elements held each other close, also so relieved it was over. Morana just grumbled a little then left.

So that is it. The universe now has a permanent path, for better or worse. The battle is over and decided and the humans never even knew how close they came to destruction.

The End.

Joseph Stephen's and the persistent summer

Pumpkin Patch, the spirit of Autumn sat comfortably in a reclining chair in Joseph’s house. He wore his usual black suit and white shirt with a tie. He reclined back with a newspaper on his pumpkin face and his hat on the ground. Then the door opens. “Patch, I’m home” Joseph said as he stepped through the door. He had just returned from work and had to leave Patch alone in the house. Patch woke up with a jolt. “huh…eh? Oh, Joseph your back. Welcome home” He said his eerie voice echoing through the air. Patch’s voice sounded like he was talking through a windy day with the light sound of leaves rustling in the background and his voice never came from his carved Jack o lantern mouth. Joseph thought this was weird, but never asked about it.

“So how was your day?” Patch asked. “Warm actually” Joseph replied. “Warm?!” Patch repeated back in shock. “Yes, it was rather warm out today. It seems like every other day is warm, then it goes back to crisp fall, then back to warm” Joe explained. Patch stood up and looked annoyed. “Come with me. We need to investigate” He said then marched outside. The air was warm with a slight breeze and the sun was beating. “This is most disturbing. The heat seems to come from the coast” Patch said. “I’ll get the car” Said Joseph. “No need. I have a quicker way” Patch replied. He snapped his fingers three times and a mighty gust rushed in. Autumn leaves danced in the wind and Joseph could smell pumpkin and cinnamon. The wind rushed over the two, it came on so fast Joseph had to close his eyes. When the wind died down he felt warm, almost hot actually and smelled the sea. He opened his eyes and saw the beach. An hour and a half drive was shortened into ten seconds. Patch was full of surprises.

“Just as I thought!” Declared Patch. Joseph looked and saw the beach and water was covered in happy people, enjoying the summer weather, even though summer was over. At the center of it all was July. She floated in the water nearby and laughed and giggled as the humans played and had a good time. “Summer is over, what is the meaning of this?” Patch shouted. A cold wind swept over the beach and everyone shivered. July glared at Patch. “These people are having a good time and I am only giving my warmth to this beach. So mind your own business!” She yelled back over the crowd of nervous people. “That is not how seasons work. Joseph and the others suffered through summer, so your warm weather friends can suffer through autumn. There is a time for everything. Besides, the wind carries the heat across the land. The trees will never fully change color and loose their leaves in this heat. Then when winter comes, the leafy trees will catch all the snow and the trees will all break and fall over” Patch scorned.

July’s face bunched up and blew a hot wind across the beach and Joseph stumbled backward. This was not looking good and the beach goers decided to pack up and leave before things got out of control. “You throw your weight around and chased away timid spring. But I am not bullied so easily! Your stubbornness will delay fall no longer” Patch yelled. The sky grew dark and rain began to pour down on the beach. Joseph wished he could have retreated with the others. Patch slowly grew taller and his suit swept away and turned into a shadowy cloak. His pumpkin face twisted and turned menacing. “If you wish to fight I will not back down to a bully like you” Patch growled as blades began to grow from his forearms. July looked terrified. “y-you don’t scare me. Everyone wants summer. Your being the bully!” She yelled back, less confident than before.

Patch crossed his arms and the blades became a long scythe. “Fine” He said then in a flash flew forward on the speed of the wind. He brought his scythe up and then struck. Hot air and flames rose up in front of Patch to block his attack. He recoiled and when the flames died down July could be seen floating off into the sky. “Fine, I will go, have your autumn. It wont be too long before Winter shows up anyway.” July sneered, then vanished into the clouds.

In a blink Patch was normal size and wearing his usual suit and tie. “Golly that was intense” He said with a smile. Joseph sighed with relief. “Lets not do that again” Joseph said with a laugh. Patch laughed too. “So whats next?” Patch asked. “I don’t know. How about we get some apple cider?” Joseph suggested. “That sounds wonderful” Patch said.

With Autumn back on track the two friends were whisked away on the wind and went off to enjoy some cider and maybe pick some apples.

Elements of Chaos

The fight for the universe has begun, slowly and quietly it has started. The Dark Elementals stand lined up facing Deus as he speaks. It is a cold and windy night, the elementals are on a beach somewhere in the world. The waves crash behind them as they stare inland at their self appointed leader. “The last few months, many of you have wondered what my big plan was. The light Elementals also believe I have a plan and are trying to prepare. The truth is I do have something in mind. I have created the ability to fuse small amounts of our powers. I will lend a small portion of my power to you all, in return, I will get a small amount of each of your power. This way, we will be able to kill our elemental counterparts without our elements canceling each other out” Deus said, his eyes wide with excitement and madness.

“If we kill any of the light elements. Wont their power be lost? That would upset the balance of everything” Said Kaji, not wanting to fade away because his other half was destroyed. “Yes, we cannot break our bond without both of us dying” added Morana. Deus smiled. “Yes, you are right. In the past we have not been able to kill the other elements because it would send us into oblivion. But with my new power, we can each now absorb the fallen Elementals! So each of us will be whole again, but without having to deal with our obnoxious other halves personalities. Once we get them out of the way, we can then destroy all life in the universe and return to our original forms” Deus explained.

Most the dark elementals cheered. Zephyr did not. She wanted to be rid of the humans that she hated so much, but she hoped that one day when the Elements returned to free flowing energy, Aeolius would be there with her. She didn’t want his power she wanted him. Not wanting to seem like an outcast she let out a halfhearted cheer. Which fooled everyone but Deus. Deus knew she would be a problem, but didn’t know how big of a problem, or how to deal with her. Unfortunately Deus needed one of every element to proceed with his plan.

Everyone was then taught the technique to transfer Elemental energy. Deus explained that once they all transferred a little of their power to the rest of the group they would be able to absorb the fallen elementals automatically, because this technique would change them enough to do that.

The ceremony began and each elemental focused, then their bodies exploded into elemental energy leaving each elemental a floating ball of energy. Kaji’s body, for instance, burst into flames and now he floated there as a large ball of fire. Once they returned to their most basic forms, they began sharing energy. Everyone gave a little piece of energy to the rest of the group and in return got a little back from everyone. This wouldn’t effect their powers, but it would give their attacks more of an edge.

Elemental energy floated rapidly around the beach, swirling glowing light being transferred into Elementals. No one was around to see this, but if they did, they probably wouldn’t believe what they saw.

Once the energy was absorbed the dark elementals returned to their human states. “I feel stronger!” said Kaji, as he punched and kicked in the air. He could summon flames like normal, but his fire was so charged with Earth, water and wind energy that he could burn another fire element without a problem. Deus smiled. Everything was going according to plan. Now all they needed to do was defeat the Light.

Almost on queue the elements of light appeared. Terra had become worried that Deus would do something drastic and she decided to find out first hand what he was planning. Since Deus was one of the most devious of the elements Terra decided they should all go together. As soon as the light elements appeared Deus began to laugh. He was indeed taken by surprise, but to him it was a good surprise. “Wonderful! This saves me the trouble of hunting you down myself” Deus said as he clapped his hands together in a show of pure joy. His smile was as twisted and deranged as his mental state.

Terra felt like she had just played into his hands but wasn’t sure what was about to happen next. Aeolius looked at Zephyr with concern. Zephyr had her head down and seemed ashamed. She now possessed the power to hurt any of the elementals and though she didn’t have a problem with killing other elementals, she knew if a fight broke out between two sides, she would have to either switch sides or kill Aeolius, or more painfully, watch someone else kill Aeolius.

The other elementals didn’t share Zephyr’s concern. Kaji grinned ear-to-ear and looked as happy as Deus, but for a different reason. Deus was happy because he was closer than ever to achieving his goal. Kaji was happy because he would finally get to put an end to his annoying other half. The two sides stood in a stand off and Deus opened his mouth to speak “This is a turning point for the dark elementals…” He began to say. Then Kaji summoned a fireball and launched it at Delia with all of his force and hatred for her. It was a direct hit and Delia flew backward as she was engulfed in flames. She lay sprawled out on the ground, burnt and injured. She mustered her strength and stood back up, ready to fight. “ok, so long story short, we can hurt you now” Deus muttered quickly.

Terra was shocked by this turn of events. She didn’t know how Deus accomplished this, but she knew they would all have to fight for their survival. Terra took a battle stance and the earth around her rose up like a snakes head, sitting still ready strike. Deus moved his arms outward and the earth rushed forward like a wave and crashed down on the light elementals. Terra blocked the attack with her earth strike and the others blocked with their own powers.

Delia’s hand’s ignited and she rushed at Kaji with fury in her eyes. “You’ve doomed yourself by picking a fight with us! Now you and your dark weakling friends will perish” Delia swiped at Kaji with claws made of fire. Kaji stood there and laughed but wasn’t laughing when Delia sliced deep wounds into him. Kaji’s face twisted into rage and he attacked her with a blast of fire. “Stupid bitch!” He shouted rapidly shooting fire at her. Deus saw this and realized by combining their powers to hurt the light Elements they also destroyed their own resistance that they had to their own element. He didn’t bother explaining because it seemed everyone else saw this and understood the basic idea.

Now that the two groups of Elementals could hurt and kill each other, there would be a huge open battle and when the dust cleared the fate of the universe would be decided.

The Incredible Stories of Joseph Stephens - the Autumn Arrival

It is almost September and summer is coming to an end. While some might be sad, others rejoice at the start of the fall season. I am one of those people who jump for joy at the start of every fall. I love fall and everything about it. Though I try to make the best of every season, it has always been in the fall that I felt truly happy. Its hard to describe it, I know fall is a yearly event, but every year I feel very excited and a little surprised. Like an old friend I haven’t seen in a while, returning and staying for a bit before having to leave again.

It is sort of like this one story I know about a man named Joseph Stephens. Joseph Stephens, or Joe was at home, sitting in front of the air conditioner. His shoulders slouched and sweat dripped down his face. Summer that year had been unrelenting and horrible. The days were scorching hot and the nights were too warm and humid. It was too warm to sleep, but also too hot to be alert and active. So Joe sat, trying to stay cool as his air conditioner rumbled and let out a long electronic “Rrrrrrrrr” as it ran.

Cool air poured out of the loud metal box and rushed past Joe’s face. Just then the doorbell rang, but all Joe heard was “Rrrrrrrr”. A few minutes later, the door rang again. Joe heard the distant ring of the door over the sound of air rushing past his ears and the loud “Rrrrr” of the metal window box. Joe rushed to the door. He would have felt bad if someone took time out of their day to see Joe and just ended up standing on the hot pavement outside his house. Joe opened the door and smiled “Hello?” He said. then his eyes grew wide when he saw who it was.

In the doorway stood a tall, thin man. The man wore a black suit, white shirt, a thin black tie, a black fedora that didn’t quiet fit his head and was not wearing any shoes. Also his head was a pumpkin. His face was a carved Jack-o-lantern face that could move into different expressions just like a human face. “Pumpkin Patch!” Joe said in excitement. Pumpkin Patch, the pumpkin headed man smiled broadly and stepped into the house. “It is so wonderful to see you! Its been what, nine months since we hung out?” Joe said as the two of them walked into the living room and sat down. “Yes, its been far too long” Said Patch, his voice was deep and echoed through the room, which made it sound like the words weren’t coming from his mouth at all, but the air all around them. Knowing Patch, it was entirely possible that this was the case. “So can I get you anything?” Asked Joe. “Just some water please, the trip here was a scorcher as always” Patch replied in a shaky voice.

Joseph handed Patch a glass of water. Patch set down his large black briefcase and held the glass with his two thin hands, which seemed to be made of wood. Like his hands were just three sticks that were held together and came out like long fingers that could somehow bend like human fingers. Patch was actually made of sticks, straw and a pumpkin, so he was more of a scarecrow in a business suit. “So can you stay?” Asked Joe, hoping that he would be able to spend some time with his friend. “Yes, I should be able to stay for about three months, but we shall see. It seems some years I get held up by summer and other years I get pushed out early by winter. So let us just hope for the best” Replied Patch. “I am so excited. I will let you rest for the moment. But I can’t wait to hang out and do all sorts of fall stuff. We can go apple picking, make all sorts of delicious food, take walks and prepare for the holidays!” Joe said getting excited as a kid on Christmas.

Patch just laughed “First things first” He said. he stood up slowly, as he did it sounded like twigs cracking and leaves rustling. “not as young as I used to be” Patch said with an embarrassed smile. “Heh, who is?” Joseph replied. “Ok, now that I’m here we should get down to business” Patch said finally. He opened his briefcase and set it on the ground. Bats flew out of the brief case and swarmed around the room then flew up the stairs into the attic. The bats settled down once they found a nice place to hang. Next out of the briefcase was a cold gust of wind. Autumn leaves came tumbling out and swirled all around Patch and Joseph. The door suddenly flew open and the leaves left. When the commotion died down Joe noticed Patch’s closes were now different. He now wore a brown cloak that draped over his whole body, underneath he wore a plain white shirt and brown pants. He also had a pointed black hat, like a witches has but less colorful and smaller. “Now that we prepared, its time to call in the Autumn and tell summer its time for fall” Patch said then marched out of Joe’s house with a determined look on his face.

Joseph followed Patch outside and looked up. Patch and Joe looked up at Joe’s roof and saw a very large overweight woman sitting on Joe’s house. She took up the entire roof that she sat on. Not because she was so fat, but because she was a giant, who also happened to be fat. “Hello Joe!” Said the large woman sitting on Joe’s roof. “Hello, July” Joe replied in a not so enthusiastic voice. July was pleasant enough, but she generated heat like you wouldn’t believe. Part of the reason it is so hot in the summer is because of the sun, the other reason is because every year July leaves her home in the clouds and comes to ‘visit’ Joe. While July ‘visits’ all she does is sit on his house and complain at the neighbors. Then this chases away timid springtime, the easter bunny, and all of the cool air. Since July is the daughter of the sun, she emits so much heat that it creates the summer time and makes Joe’s house unbearable to live in.

“It is time to leave, July” Patch announced. July stopped smiling and gave Patch a dirty look. “Oh its you again” July sneered. “Come on, we can’t have another long summer that lasts four months like we did last year” Joe said, getting annoyed. “Well, ok. I suppose I should go…” Said July with a pout. Joe nodded to Patch, then Patch lifted his thin arms in the air and summoned an autumn wind that blew around, getting colder and colder. Leaves twisted and twirled through the air and looked like they were dancing. July shivered “Oh my, it is getting too cold here for me. I suppose it is time to return home. Its been fun” Said July. She then puffer herself up and floated away.

            With July gone and Patch there to take her place, the weather instantly became cooler. Joe ran inside and shut off his air conditioner and grabbed his hooded sweatshirt. “Its good to have you back Patch” Joseph said. “its good to be back” Said Patch.

Elements of Air

It was a peaceful day in the town of hillcrest. The sky was blue and clear, the sun was out and the weather was warm. People walked and drove their cars all around town going on with their daily lives. Zephyr was walking down one of the many side streets of the town, just passing through. She wore a black shirt, a leather chest piece with dagger holders in the back, black pants, brown boots, black leather glover that only cover the hand and go up to the wrist, and an elegant gray cloak with gold lining. Zephyr was an air element that sided with the dark elements. Despite her dark disposition, she didn’t look like a mean person. She had light skin, very light blonde hair and gray eyes. She looked youthful and somewhat approachable. Though wearing a cloak did make people think she was weird.

Annoyed and frustrated with having to use legs, Zephyr trotted along, traveling to her other dark element companions for some kind of meeting. She could easily just fly or teleport but her other half Aeolius the light Air element insisted she should walk more. He hoped that if she walked among the people she might see what he saw and learn to appreciate life for what it was. Elementals didn’t get tired, they didn’t need to sleep or eat so Zephyr could walk for eternity. She didn’t like how slow it was though. Also since she didn’t understand humans or their laws, she also didn’t pay attention to traffic signals, signs or people yelling for her to get out of the road. As she walked down a particular side street she was met with a crowd of people. It must have been a popular time of day or traveling route because suddenly fleshy creatures were everywhere. “I will kill Aeolius for making me do this” Zephyr seethed under her breath. Then as she was trying to calm herself some urchin pushed past her and snagged the gold ring she wore on her finger. It was pure gold and sparkled like the sun, so to a pick pocket it was worth going out of their way for.

 Zephyr noticed it immediately and before the thief could take two steps the air began to sizzle with electricity, not the sky just the air around Zephyr and the male thief. Then before the thief could blink the electricity in the air surged through his body. within a matter of seconds the man bumped into Zephyr, grabbed her ring and then was instantly electrocuted and turned into ash. The crowd was startled and looked around at what had happened. “Shit, I’ve killed one of the meat creatures. Now the rest are scared.” She muttered then quickly tried to escape. She was trying to make a quick get away when she walked right into a police officer. Before he could say anything he too was instantly zapped into dust. Zephyr could feel her anger growing. “Damn slow, stupid, fleshy creatures and your solid forms. Nothing graceful or pleasant about the lot of you! Why does anyone as beautiful as Aeolius care if you live or die!” Zephyr screamed. Everyone heard this and was a little worried. The clouds started to darken and the winds grew stronger. Zephyr stood and seethed rage and wind began pushing people around. Thunder and lighting cracked the sky and rain began to pour down. “I will abolish every last one of you vile beasts! Say hello to oblivion!” She screamed over the storm. Then let out an insane laugh.

Then before things got worse a second figure appeared out of nowhere. It was Aeolius (A-Lee-Us) the air element. He wore blue robes with a light yellow lining. He had dark skin, black hair that was so dark it was almost blue and bright blue eyes. He seemed to be a young man, even though he was just as old as the other elementals. Aeolius also wore a golden ring on his left hand ring finger. Unlike the other elementals, the air elements were very close and recognized that though they did not always agree they didn’t want to be apart from each other. So Aeolius convinced Zephyr to wear the ring, like a wedding ring, to show that they were always bound together. Though they never went through an actual human wedding of any kind.

The harsh weather was calmed and held back by Aeolius. The sky still looked gray and ominous though. Aeolius looked at Zephyr with his normal loving gaze and calm peaceful smile. “I am sorry for putting you through this. I didn’t think this would happen. It is my fault for asking you to walk. Please just calm yourself” Aeolius said. Zephyr released her control of the weather and the sky returned to normal, bright blue with a gentle breeze. “I lost my temper again. I can’t control it” Zephyr said, seeming a little disappointed in herself. “No, you are doing your best. If the light elementals ask me about this, I will cover for you. It will be fine” Aeolius said then smiled. His smile warmed her heart. The two looked at each other lovingly, then kissed.

Meanwhile the humans had retreated back into their homes. They had no idea what was happening. Even though it would be tough to blame two individuals for the change in weather, Zephyr and Aeolius decided it was probably best to leave. However before they could leave, Deus the earth elemental appeared. He wore a white buttoned up shirt with the top few buttons unbuttoned, the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his shirt wasn’t tucked in. he also wore black jeans, black boots, a green earth pendant given to him by Terra and this time he also wore a long green jacket. The jacket came down to his ankles and looked kind of like a trench coat or something worn for wind and rainy situations. “Zephyr. I always liked you best. THIS is my kind of fun. I don’t understand why you burden yourself with worrying about what a lesser air element thinks” Deus said gesturing toward Aeolius. Zephyrs head snapped forward and her teeth were barred. “I may wish to return to the old ways of chaos and freedom, but that doesn’t mean I need to fight my counter part. Also know that you and I only share one set of ideals. So don’t ever compare my other half to anything lesser than he is or I will tear the earth from your flesh and see how much power you truly have!” Said Zephyr her teeth gritted. Deus began to laugh. “Truly, truly my favorite. None of the other dark elements would have the nerve to threaten me” Deus replied still laughing. Aeolius still remained calm, but looked a little less peaceful and carefree as normal. “what business do you have here?” asked Aeolius.

“None with you!” Barked Deus, his jar almost unhinged as he yelled. The next second his face looked normal and he was smiling again. “The chaotic elements need to have a discussion” Deus said politely to Zephyr. “Yes, of course, the meeting” Zephyr replied. She looked at Aeolius “I will see you later. Thank you again my love. We will talk soon” She told him with a smile. The only time she ever smiled was when she spoke to or looked at Aeolius and though Aeolius always seemed happy, they only time he ever felt truly happy and whole was when Zephyr was around. Then with her final goodbye she disappeared in a gust of wind. Deus let out a tired yawn and melted into the ground. Aeolius stood around for a minute then he too vanished into the air. The three elements had gone and the humans poked their heads outside trying to see if it was safe again.

Calm is the night

Hello! I had a sudden urge to try a different writing style. not sure how good it is, but at the very least it is a nice change of pace. enjoy!

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Calm is the night. The room I stay in is lit with only but a candle. I stare off into the endless darkness and it haunts me. Still it haunts me to this day that I be subject to such horrors. With the passing of my family and fiancé the night grows longer and ever more dark. While others might turn to drink I try to resist and hold my own. I would be a fool to dull my senses, as it might seem like a sweet escape for now, I believe it would only further my own agony. When the light of dawn arises I would feel a sickness in my head and stomach, and still the nightmares would not be vanquished.

            The days are no more comfort, I toil away and labor for my simple pay. I wish to busy my mind with other things. To distract from the sorrow that is my life, but alas to no hope. I would be glad to be rid of the pain, if only someone else would take it from me. But no manner of kindly word, daily distractions or nightly gallivanting can sooth my savaged heart.

            When the world turns pale and I feel there is nothing else, I ponder my own demise. I wish for it, I wish to be rid of this world and its infinite sorrows. But no matter how I wish and hope, my heart still beats and my lungs still take in air. My misery fills my head with death, but I cannot bring it upon myself. I know not what I have to live for, but still I cannot do the deed. Perhaps I am a coward, too fearful of what lies on the other side, too healthy for death to take me, but too craven of a man to go seek him myself.

The hour grows late and I grow tired. I feel as though in the entire world, I am the last one to sleep. It is only at such ungodly of an hour that I become wearier than I am broken hearted. So with that I will end this. To my bed I shall go as I hope that I will one day rest and dream a peaceful dream.  

Elements of Fire

            Delia walked the lonely deserted streets. Rain poured down over the entire city. thunder rumbled in the distance. Each raindrop that hit Delia burned up and turned to steam. She had natural red hair, green eyes and light skin. She wore a mild orange jacket, a red shirt, brownish tan pants, orange scarf and brown shoes. She looked like she was dressed for an autumn day, as she dressed warmly and wore colors that might remind someone of autumn or fire.

            Delia stopped and looked up at the sky. Rain continued to fall, but her face remained dry. “It’s funny. We burn so brightly and we claim so much power, but we anything special?” Delia said out loud. A tall slender figure stepped out of the shadows. “How did you know I was there” Asked Kaji the fire element. He wore all black, jeans, boots and hoodie with the hood up and it was zipped up in the front. Underneath he wore a white t-shirt. He had bright red hair that stuck up and looked crazy and red eyes. “I can always tell when your near” Delia replied. “well to answer your question. We are special. We made this world, we let the humans and other animals live on our backs. So yes, we are” Kaji replied. Not sure how this wasn’t obvious. “Spoken like a true follower of Deus. “Oh how sad for us to be chained and burdened by the humans. We used to be so powerful. Remember how great chaos is?” Delia said doing a mock impression of Deus.

            “Your pitiful” Delia told Kaji. Kaji was smiling, but now his face turned into a sneer. “watch your tongue. At least we still remember who we are!” He yelled. Little sparks of fire jumped off Kaji as he grew angry. “who you used to be. All of the elementals are powerful, but we don’t do anything. Its been millions of years of the same argument, yet you call the humans petty. I wonder if we are special. All we had to do was just stay still long enough and the world formed by itself. We didn’t create life, we just have to not get in its way. We are giants among mice, but who is stronger, the giants who do as they please or the mice who hold on for dear life and build something out of nothing” Delia said. Kaji just stood and listened to her. “Your not going to sway me. I don’t care if the humans are determined. We should be the rulers, we should do as we please!” Kaji replied.

            Delia just smiled and turned away. “I am tired of this” She muttered. Kaji walked back into the alley. He was tired of the rain and the cold. “I was enjoying a nice hot beach and I went to hang out at a sauna. It was nice. Then I get ordered to keep an eye on you. I’m pretty tired of YOU” Kaji grumble. Delia stood in the rain started to laugh. “Yes, do as your told. For Elements that love chaos you sure take a lot of orders from Deus. Meanwhile the ‘uptight’ and ‘peace loving’ elements pretty much do as we please. Delia smirked. She loved messing with Kaji. He thought he was such a ladies man and despite other elementals being drawn to each other, Kaji and Delia were the exception. Their personalities clashed and they hated each other. Morana the water element acted like she hated Seigh, but secretly was just as much drawn to him as anyone else. Kaji and Delia legitimately wanted to kill each other.

            Kaji’s hands clenched into fists and fire burned all around his body. “You watch your tongue witch, or I’ll-“ Kaji began to say, but Delia cut him off. “You will attack me? Our battles end up being a duel, every time. I would love to take you apart, Dear Kaji, but I can’t” Delia explained. Kaji was very prideful and Delia was always digging into his ego, this created even more tension. “Just you wait, I will find a way to end you once and for all” Kaji threatened. Not able to stand Delia’s presence, Kaji vanished in a burst of flames. All that remained was a scorch mark where he stood.

            Delia disappeared too, shortly after Kaji left. In a serene forest setting, Terra sat on a stump, leaning forward to pet a chipmunk. Delia appeared in a whirl of flames and the chipmunk ran off. “Sorry” Delia said as Terra gave an annoyed look. “I must talk with you, I do not know who else to turn to” Delia said. “Sit down, whats the matter” Terra responded. “I think the chaotic elements are planning something. Kaji was spying on me and even threatened me like he knew something big was going to happen. This was not his normal kind of threats either” Delia explain Terra listened and nodded. “Yes, I see. I talked to Seigh earlier and he seemed concerned by Morana’s behavior as well. I tried talking to Aeolius to see if he heard anything from Zypher about what the chaotic elements are doing, but he wasn’t sure. Since Aeolius and Zypher are so close the both seem out of the loop. No one trusts either of them with sensitive information” Terra explained. Delia sighed. “those two love birds, its like their heads are always in the clouds” After saying this Delia and Terra were silent for a moment. Then Delia forced a cough and said “No pun intended”

            “I will watch for signs and will alert you and the others if I suspect anything further. The best we can do is wait and see. I just hope nothing happens. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Humans, light elements or even the dark elements. I wish we could live in peace” Terra said, then let out a sigh. Delia nodded then vanished in a puff of smoke. Terra’s mind was burdened with what might be but still she smiled and then resumed her attempt at befriending that chipmunk.

Elements of Water

            Morana (More-Anna) was sitting at the edge of an old pirate ship. She stared off into the gray bleakness of the sky and let her feet dangle in the icy waters below. The ship was just a relic of days of old, half sunken and forgotten in some arctic wasteland that humans dared not to go. She loved it. Morana wore black jeans, thick black boots, a gray pirate shirt from the seventeen hundreds, a dark blue pirate captains coat that hung down to her shins and a matching captains hat. Elementals could wear anything they wanted because they could change their appearance, clothes, skin color, shape, gender, as they pleased. All elementals stuck to one form though, they all decided on a preferred appearance long ago. Morana had black hair, gray eyes and pale blueish skin. She looked like a young twenty something girl, who was also a pirate captain, that freshly drowned. It suited her fine.

            Elementals were immortal and they didn’t need to eat or sleep, so they had a lot of time on their hands. Most of the chaotic elements would keep to themselves in quiet solitude, staring off at their favorite scenery. Most do. Kaji the chaotic fire element did things a little differently, as for the peaceful light elements, they were another breed altogether. Morana let out an annoyed sigh and crinkled up her face like she smelled something foul. Just thinking about the light elements made her sick. She couldn’t believe that they were all once from the same element. One element kept popping into her head though, Seigh the water element of peace and light and all that sickening nonsense. Morana couldn’t stop thinking about him, she couldn’t decide if she loved him or hated him more than anything she had ever hated before. “erraaah!” She screamed throwing her hand out in frustration. An iceberg was lifted out of the water and thrown off into the distance by this one gesture.

            While Morana sat and fumed, Seigh was probably out having the time of his ‘life’. Interloping with the humans, eating their disgusting food, laughing and acting like one of the lesser beings. Morana couldn’t sit still any longer. She jumped into the water and vanished from sight.

            All elementals could detect other elements, so Morana knew exactly where Seigh was. She appeared on the beach. It was annoying bright and sunny. People dotted the beach with their towels and sun umbrellas, they were a blight on the landscape and Morana wished she was allowed to do something about it. How easy it would be to wipe this beach off the face of the map. Morana scanned the area looking for Seigh, then she saw him. He wore a light blue tanktop with a dark blue wave pattern, tan shorts with a little turtle keychain attacked to his belt loop and was barefoot. He usually had an even skin tone but was tanned from all the time in the sun. Well, elements didn’t tan, but Seigh wanted to fit in, so he gave himself tan lines. Seigh had light brown hair and piercing crystal blue eyes. He was at a beachfront pizza shop eating all sorts of horrible human food.

            “Wow, dude, this is good!” Seigh said as he leaned back in his chair. At his little table was two beach bunnies wearing hardly anything and a familiar fourth person. The fourth member of the group was wearing almost all black, black jeans, boots and hoodie, with a white t-shirt underneath. He had bright red wild hair, the kind you would only see coming out of a bottle of “Insanity red” hair dye and bright red eyes. His whole eye wasn’t red, just his the iris was red. He was almost passable as a human. “Kaji! Seigh!” Morana yelled. Her anger swelled up and an icy cold breeze swept over the beach. Kaji the fire element of chaos and Seigh the water element of peace were not only hanging out together, but also were in the company of human females. Kaji and Seigh both turned in alarm. The two girls slinked away. Morana looked crazy and violent and anyone in the immediate area decided to back away.

            “J-just in time for the party!”Seigh said with a goofy smile. Kaji kicked Seigh from under the table. “Shhhh!” He said. “What the hell are you doing?” Morana yelled. The beach cooled down immediately and the waves began growing unstable. “we were hanging out. No sense in being bored for eternity like you and Deus!” Kaji snapped standing up. Before Morana could say anything, Kaji vanished. The only trace of him was the smell of smoke. Just had the same stupid smile on his face. “Who who, relaaax. We don’t have to be enemies. Like Kaji said, we were just letting off some steam” Seigh explained then began to laugh. Kaji was letting off steam. It was funnier in Seigh’s head.

            “I can’t believe we used to be the same element” Morana said angrily. “Why do you even care what I do?” Seigh replied. “I don’t!” She said quickly then kicked the table. Morana wished she didn’t care, it would make things so much easier. She was so distant and cold about everything else, but Seigh was her weakness. He was the only thing that could bring her temper up like a raging storm. It was probably because they were now separate elements. “All of the elementals must be this way about their counterparts” Morana assured herself. “Dude, not Kaji. He doesn’t even like Delia. I don’t think she likes him either” Seigh replied. Morana realized she was talking out loud and not thinking these things to herself. “Arrrg!” She yelled. A spike of ice jetted out of the ground and destroyed the table in front of Seigh.

            “One day I will be rid of you! You and all the annoying humans that you love so much” Morana threatened. Then melted into the ground like ice on a hot day. Only a puddle was left where she was standing. Seigh looked a little worried. “Dude, that sounded bad” He said to himself. It wasn’t clear if Morana was just threatening out of anger or if the chaotic elements had a plan. Seigh also vanished from the scene in a splash of water. He had to talk to Terra, see if something big was going to happen.

Elements of Earth

This is a new series of short stories i am writing. I don't know how often i will post these stories but it will probably be something like four or five parts over the next two months with random stories mixed in. something like that. depends on where my inspiration takes me.---

            When the universe was still new the elements of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, raged out of control. The elements had consciousness, but weren’t bound to any form and existed without the hindrances of ‘reality’. The elements were both one mass of swirling energy and individuals all at once. To some of the elementals this chaotic movement and unlimited use of power was wonderful and was freedom to do as they pleased. Others saw this chaos as a bad thing, with the universe in a constant motion and as the elements thrashed about in freedom, it prevented life from growing. So the line was drawn, some elementals wanted more to spring forth, they wanted to grow life and help it prosper, the others just wanted to be free and lash out with their unlimited powers as they saw fit.

            So for the first time ever, the elements broke apart. The mind of the elements varied in opinion and personality, to say it plainly. But never did their views conflict so harshly. The ‘light’ elementals favored life and saw how it could bloom if only the power of the elements could be limited and tamed. The ‘dark’ elementals saw this as insane and couldn’t understand why they should cradle a weaker species such as life. The freedoms of the higher beings were to be bent for the needs of the weak and struggling.

            The two elements began to fight over who was right. The battle took place before time was created, but if time was such a thing, the battle would have lasted for centuries. After much struggling the side favoring life had won. The dark elementals surrendered their power and did as they were told. The very moment the elements restrained their power, life began to grow in the universe. The Earth elements worked together to create a cradle for life to begin. The wind and water nourished life and the fire kept the earth spinning and warmed the life. Pretty soon the elementals had created planets and stars and even agreed on a set of rules for a proper reality. Life thrived off these offerings and grew and was beautiful. Content on what was accomplished the elementals broke off into individual forms and went off across the universe.

            Trees swayed in the wind and the afternoon sun warmed the grass. A man named Deus (Day-us) sat under a tree and stared up at the sky. His eyes were dark and menacing and he looked at the beautiful landscape and the lovely weather with a mix of annoyance and boredom. Deus was a thin man, pale with brown hair and piercing green eyes. His hair was shaggy and he had a little facial hair. He wore a white buttoned up shirt with rolled up sleeves and black pants and a small green pendant that was attached to a thin chain that he wore around his neck. He seemed ordinary enough and people usually left him alone, which is what he preferred.

            As Deus was staring up at the sky a small shadow was caste over him. He looked to see that a girl had walked up and was now staring at him. She gave a cute little smile when Deus noticed her. “Terra, why do you insist on coming here?” Asked Deus. Terra was a cheery girl with tanned skin, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a light green sundress and also wore a green pendant around her neck. “I know how bored you get. So I came here to cheer you up!” Terra replied. Deus groaned in annoyance. “you come here every day and every day you insist that I cheer up. Isn’t it enough that you and the others got your way, must I also be happy about it?” Deus replied.

                        Terra sighed “You don’t need to be happy, but what is the point of being miserable all the time? Besides you know you love spending time with me” Terra said. “Ha, you must have become delusional over the last million years” Deus scoffed. Terra pretended to pout. “Fine, be that way. But if you didn’t like me or want me around, why do you wear that pendant I made for you?” Terra said slyly. Deus was caught off guard and needed a minute to respond. “It is too complicated for you to understand” He said quickly. The truth was, Deus didn’t have an answer but didn’t want to seem soft.

            Terra sat down next to Deus and the two of them were silent for a while. Then Deus finally spoke. “Do you ever miss it?” Deus asked, sounding sincere for once. “Miss what?” Terra asked. Deus just let out another sigh. “Miss being free. Wild and unchained, no longer stuck in these bodies, these personal prisons” Deus replied. Terra thought for a moment. “Sometimes. But those are selfish desires. Nothing ever came out of that kind of chaos. This way is better. I mean, look at all the wonderful and unique things that grew on just this one planet alone” Terra replied. “Parasites. They leech off our power and don’t even realize who they owe their lives. We are mighty elements and yet we suffer so inferior beings can exist” Deus said. He was starting to get riled up and Terra knew where this conversation was going. “You need to live with it, you need to adapt. Dwelling on these thoughts wont do you any good. Besides if you wanted to go back to the old ways you would have to go through me” Terra said. She was beginning to get annoyed now. Deus hesitated before speaking again. He hated humans and all life that lived on earth, but he remembered once being one with the other elements. To turn on them would be like turning on his family. So once again he was at a stand still. “Get out of here. I am tired of your intrusions” Deus finally said. Terra stood up and left in a huff.

            Deus swelled with anger. All of the other elementals were close to him, but Terra was special, before time and before life, Terra and Deus were one powerful being. Earth, was their name, but in order to create a planet and sustain life they needed to split up and break off sections of their power. If they stayed one being their combined power would wipe out life whether Earth wanted to or not. So when they split, Deus felt a piece of his body or soul was missing. Not only did he feel incomplete but his literal other half no longer shared any of his ideals. He was unable to do anything else but brood and plan. He thought about every angle and how he could somehow return things to the way they used to be.

Summer landscape

Everyone has their own favorite season, some show such delight in the summer months, I prefer the cool autumn days. Even though i dislike summer and dread every hot summer day, there is a small part of me that sees the appeal.

 I have lived a hundred different lives and in the deepest recesses of my memory I imagine a beautiful summer landscape. I sit outside in the sun and instead of shrinking away back into the shadows, I look up toward the sky and bask in the heavenly glow. There is a long endless bright green field, the grass blowing in the gentle wind and the sun shining brightly off the surface. the trees stand tall and soak up the energy provided by the sun and the bugs hum a playful tune as they fly from flower to flower. everything is green and lush, the plant life thrives and i am in the middle of it all, observing with a big smile across my face.

Beyond the fields of green and the tall trees is where the ocean meets the land forming a beach of bright gold, with speckled rocks and seashells dotting the land. the ocean waves rush up the hot sand and then retreat, making such a pleasant noise as they go. The sun shines down on the water and the ocean sparkles. The sparkles of sunlight mixed with the deep blue of the ocean is such a serene sight that anyone who sees it would be silenced by its beauty. I sit on the hot sand and a cool wind blows up from the waves. it keeps me cool and has such a relaxing fragrance. I stare out at the endless ocean, the water goes off into the distance as far as the eye can see. it looks like it goes on forever. not only does the ocean stretch outward, but then i think how deep it is too. From going outward into the distance and then going down deep to the darkest depths, my mind is boggled by the sheer mass of it all. People swim happily on the surface of the water but how many of them think about how much life is just under their feet, how many thousands of species live in the infinite depths of the ocean.

The ocean doesn't go away when summer is over, but it is the summer sun that draws us to the waves. It is in the summer the common man is truly able to appreciate its beauty. Just like the beach, the fields and trees do not go away. the seasons change and so does the colors of the grass and leaves, but the endless stretching fields do not disappear and the strong standing trees do not retreat into the ground.

Summer days have the sound of birds and cicadas, the nights have crickets, owls and frogs. Summer nights are special to many people as well. The hot air has relaxed to a warm breeze and fireflies can be seen everywhere. Little bugs that up close seem so ordinary, but to view them from a porch is truly magical, little lights that dance in the summer air. The glow such a mysterious green, even when you realize that they are just bugs the magic is still not lost.

There are so many reasons to love the summer, from flowers and trees to bugs and the ocean. I think back to these past lives, the days that i used to bask in the summer glow, Old memories of a different life. I appreciate being able to see why others enjoy summer so much, but there is a time for memories and a time to live in the present, and for now I still can't wait for the fall.