Crescent Farms

Mist lingered through the night air, light rain pattered onto the farmer’s wooden roof and the crescent moon cast dim light down on the wheat field below.

Robert lived and worked on his farm miles from town. He was relaxing in his comfortable, blue chair after a hard day of work. Robert looked up from the book he was reading when he heard a “thumping” sound coming from his field. “Thump thump” the sound was steady and unlike any sound Robert was used to. “Thump thump” continued the sound making it hard to ignore.

Robert stood up from his seat, closed his book, set it on his wood end table and walked toward the door. He opened his door and peered outside. “Thump thump” continued the noise. The sound was louder now and clearer with the door open.

Robert followed the thumping sound and was led into his wheat field. It was Autumn and his wheat was tall and almost ready for harvest. The sound was always the same “thump thump” then silence for several seconds, before it happened again “thump thump”

Robert walked to the middle of his wheat field where he found a glowing orange light. “thump thump” went the noise, and the light pulsed with the beat of the thumping. Robert walked carefully up to the light and found a large pumpkin in the middle of his field. He stared at the pumpkin and waited. “thump thump” went the sound and the pumpkin pulsed with light in sync with the sound.

Robert decided to leave, glowing pumpkins and strange noises couldn’t lead to anything good. Before Robert could leave he heard the loudest thumping yet. A ghostly figure with a shovel slammed his shovel into the dirt “thump thump” echoed the ghostly shovel “Wheat?! We need PUMPKINS!” Yelled the ghost. His voice was shrill and turned Robert’s blood cold.

The giant pumpkin burned with a bright orange light as a fiery Jack-O-Lantern face appeared on it. The ghost flew straight at Robert and brought his shovel down on the poor farmer. “thump thump”

One week later the whole town was surprised by the mysterious disappearance of the farmer and newly grown pumpkin patch on his property.

Happy October!

Story writer

Joe slammed his glass down hard onto his wooden writing desk. The whiskey swirled in his glass then burst from the cup when it struck the table. Whiskey spilled on the desk and soaked his papers.

 He went back to typing on his typewriter, the whole time thinking about the person he lost. It had been a while since he said goodbye and even though he was the one who walked out the door he still hurt just as much as if he was the one who was abandoned.

Joe screamed and cursed, all of the noise and anger meant nothing as he yelled alone in this empty house. He took another drink of whiskey and tried typing but his words were becoming more erratic. Her face and voice drifted through his head making it hard to think and making it even harder to speak. He tried to fight back tears, he knew he was perfectly allowed to feel any emotions that he wanted to but he was the one who left. There was a preconceived notion that the person who leaves in a relationship is the bad guy but sometimes staying is more painful than leaving. While it hurts being left, sometimes it is actually harder to be the one who leaves.

 When you wake up one day and you realize that your relationship has been stagnating for a while you know that to stay would be toxic, and end up hurting for both people. Joe didn’t want to hurt her, the pain he caused her felt like a dagger through his heart but staying wouldn’t have been healthy for either of them.

 Joe took another drink and laughed at his own emotional stupidity, he didn't regret leaving he regretted that he had to leave. He didn't want to leave he wanted to stay, he wanted things to work out and he wanted life to be good, but that's not the way life works.

His phone started to ring as he tried to continue his writing.  He put his face in his hands and listened to the phone ring repeatedly. The phone finally stopped and as soon as it stopped, it began to ring immediately after. He did not want to speak with anyone, he was in too much pain and his nerves were too raw to share any of this with anyone.

 The phone kept ringing and ringing, Joe couldn’t handle the needy grasping for his attention and in a rage he stood up and knocked the phone to the ground. The phone flew off the stand was unplugged from the wall and crashed to the ground.

Joe felt like he had been ripped apart, it felt like he had cut off his own arm just to save the rest of his body. Logically it made sense, but that doesn't make it easier to cut off your own arm. It also doesn’t help if your arm could get right back up after you cut it off and then tried to strangle you to death every time you looked at it. Joe was emotionally wounded and missing his other half and thinking about it made him feel worse. He wondered if having his arm actually removed would have been easier than moving out and never being with Her again.

Happy memories of times they shared flooded through his brain, he slammed his fist down onto his desk out in anger and sadness. As he thought about the good memories the bad ones started to flood in just as fast as if his brain was trying to remind him why he left in the first place. The mixture of anger from having to leave, being reminded of the bad memories and missing the life that could have been, Joe stood up and kicked his writing desk. The desk flew backwards his typewriter crash to the ground and his bottle of whiskey shattered releasing the Amber liquid all over his hardwood floor. He sat on the ground surrounded by broken memories, shattered dreams, broken promises and broken possessions. He wanted to tell himself that things would get better and logically he knew they would but emotionally he felt that he had been stabbed in the heart. It felt so real that no amount of logic could explain away the feeling a chest wound or fatal injury. Anyone who said that emotional trauma is not painful has clearly had a heart that died a long time ago.

 The next morning Joe’s alarm clock went off with a loud, annoying series of beeps. The alarm clock sang out to the world that it was morning. If there were any piece of furniture that deserved to be kicked and knocked to the ground it wouldn’t be the phone, the desk, his bottle of whiskey or even his typewriter, it would have been the alarm clock. Yet the reverse was true and while his beloved possessions lay strewn across the floor, victims of his rage, the alarm clock chirped happily and comfortably atom his dresser.

Joe slowly stood up and rubbed his face trying to get the sleeplessness out of the eyes. He stretch his legs, walked to the bathroom and took a very long shower. After his shower he walked to the kitchen and drank several cups of coffee then headed out the door to greet his day.

No one in is day-to-day life knew or would know about what had happened the previous night, they wouldn't know about the pain or the broken furniture, the wouldn't know about the lack of sleep or the cries of the pain from feeling like he was emotionally stabbed in the chest. He would smile to them, they would smile back and life would go on, boring life would go on.

The Window Tree

A gentle breeze blows in through the open window. The old-fashioned windowpane opened inward, it opened like a small door and the wind was causing the windowpane to tap gently against a kitchen chair. Small gusts of wind rustled the sheer silk curtain and caused the wooden windowpane to sway. The windowpane and the lining was painted white and the wall color resembled a cup of coffee with only a dab of cream in it.

 

            The window was part of an old, country house, it was well maintained but had been built over a hundred years ago. The land was peaceful and folks never locked their doors and on a nice night, would leave their windows open, windows free to sway in the breeze. The breeze rustled the curtains like leaves on a tree, the window pain swayed like branches and the cool spring air could be felt inside the house just as easily as it could outside. The wood that built the house and the wood from the window used to be a tree, multiple trees made up the house. Trees that all had a history of their own before being cut down and since the day that the trees were used to build a house, the wood of these trees gathered even more history. Time leaves its mark on everything in this world, alive or not. When the window was still a tree, it had one of its branches fall off in a storm. The Window tree was the home for a family of birds, a group of squirrels and more bugs than any human would care to think about. The tree had life of its own, but was also apart of the great web of life, woven together with all things.

 

            Now the tree is a window, this is not good or bad, it just is. The wood is not considered alive anymore but it still served a purpose within the woven web of life. The window had been built, painted, fixed, repainted, slammed shut and left open to blow in the wind. The window had a notch on the bottom corner where a young boy was testing how sharp his knife was. It was a little knife meant for whittling and cutting tangled fishing line and apparently also used for cutting a little slice into the wood of a window when no one was looking.

 

            A window doesn’t have memories and wood isn’t alive but the history of the house and the trees that came before it should give you pause. It is important to stop, even for just a moment, and think about where things came from and ponder the stories that a window or house might have ‘seen’.

 

            When going to an old house many people might think, “I wonder if anyone died here”. Instead it is important to ask yourself “Who lived here?”.

The World of Eroza - Part 1 The Beginning

            When the world was born life flourished across every landscape, weather was more extreme and beautiful at that time, than it ever would be again. The lush green of life, bright reds of the setting sun and the crisp blue of the sky were a sight to behold. The world was in its purest form. The Creator walked the land and felt proud of its creation, but the world felt empty. The Creator sculpted animals and insects from clay and stone. Just as the creatures were made they sprang to life of flesh, feathers and scales. The world spun in the great void for many years, never changing, always beautiful, always the same.

 

            The Creator had made trees, birds, beasts, insects, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Every day the Creator would make something new, and every day the new invention would please It. The beasts and bugs lived in the world but did not have an understanding of it. A rabbit would enjoy eating the Creator’s grass and plant life, but the rabbit didn’t stare at the sky in wonderment, the rabbit wouldn’t be awed by the power of a thunderstorm.

 

The Creator loved the world It created but It wanted more, It wanted something that would enjoy and appreciate the world just as the Creator did. So the Creator decided to make new races of creature. First were the stout folk, who were brought into the world out of the stone and given life by the flames from the center of the world. The stout folk came to life and were flesh and bone, but they never lost their strength of stone or the fury and passions of fire.

 

          The stout folk lived on the land, but being made from the stone and flames they yearned to return to the rock. The stout folk began digging tunnels and living underground. They journeyed on the surface of the world but lived under it.

 

The Creator was pleased with his creations, but still wanted more. The Creator made new beings out of wood and breathed wind into the creations, giving them life and making them flesh, blood and bone. The new creatures were the fair folk, they roamed the land at first but were called away to the forests. They hid away in the trees as the wood and wind of their birth called them to the treetops.

The Creator was also pleased with the second of the complex creations, but wished that there would be a creature that would live on the land and in the fields instead of hiding away in the tunnels and forests of the world. So the Creator molded the land dwellers, creatures destined to dwell on the land and all across it. The land Dwellers or just Dwellers, were made from clay from the land, sand from the shore and rock from the hills, they had wind, water and fire infused into their bodies and were soon brought to life. The new creatures were the most complex things in the world and as the first of the dwellers came alive, something strange happened.

 

The Dwellers were brought to life and now made of flesh, blood and bone like the first two creations, but the first dwellers were made of so much that every dweller began to vomit forth a type of waste. Black, purple and brown slime was expelled from each of the first dwellers. The slime seemed like it was trying to escape of its own will and even started to move.

The Creator was repelled by the slime and struck it into the deepest corners of the oceans, into the land and the sky. The Creator stashed away the repulsive slime so deeply that it would never be able to harm the creatures of the world.  

The dwellers were indeed complex and aside from the setback of being so stuffed full that they expelled slime, the Creator was still pleased. The dwellers lived on the land, they explored the forests and caves, they swam in the oceans of the world and appreciated the world just as the Creator did. The dwellers lived in the open fields and were friendly with the Stout folk and Fair folk. All was well with the world. 

The Creator watched the dwellers for many years to be sure that they wouldn’t expel any more slime. The Creator made a mental note to not pack so much into one being, next time a creature was made.  

 

The world spun in the great void, the Dwellers and the folk of Tunnels and Forests all got along. While the Creator and It’s creatures were living and prospering, something stirred in the sky. 

 

 

            The Dwellers changed to more suit the land, the Fair folk broke off into tribes and the Stout folk started clans. This change was not good or bad, it just was a natural part of the world and it fascinated the Creator. While the Creators favorite pets changed, so did the slime. The Slime buried deep in every corner of the world began to change to suit its environment. The world would not be the same when the sins of the Creator finally broke free into the world of the dwellers.

Tradewind Embarks

John Baines was a sailor on the ship “Tradewind”. This ship was a trade ship as the name implied and was very fast as well. The crew of the Tradewind was growing restless because they had not seen port in a month. Captain Mohardy stood by the helm and kept checking his spyglass as he looked for land. A lookout stood vigilant in the crows nest, but the captain was getting as restless as the crew.

“Land!” Shouted Mr.Peeks. On the horizon was a land that was full of red and orange trees. It looked like a forest on fire and with every breeze the leaves swayed and it resembled dancing flames on a candle. The captain and crew were awestruck by this sight. They had never been through these seas and each sight was new and exciting. John leaned over the railing to get a better look. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The whole ride into port the crew stared in amazement at the strange red trees. The captain understood their fascination, but they would crash if the crew didn’t all do their jobs as they docked. “Alright men, ye can gawk later. All hands on deck. Get ready fer port!” Shouted the captain.

  The crew of the Tradewind landed in the port of Honeyside. A small town by located at the edge of the Autumn Forest. In this land it was autumn all the time. Farmers almost always had wonderful harvests, apples, honey and maple syrup were always fresh and apple trees and maple made up most of the forest. The sailors looked at the place in wonderment, or rather hadn’t stopped. John grabbed an apple from a tree and ate it, it was the best apple he had ever eaten. “Captain, before we leave, I bet if we pick all the apples we see, we could sell them for a huge profit with no cost” John said. Captain Mohardy smiled and patted John on the back. “That my boy, is why you have always been my favorite” He said in a gruff voice. “Come on lads! Lets see what other bounties this place has to offer.

The Tradewind was docked in port, but no one came to see the new arrivals and there were no other boats in port either. After the excitement of the new sights died down a little John began to notice the little things like the lack of humans or animals in the immediate area. “there has to be houses around here. Wouldn’t just build a dock in the middle of nowhere.” The captain said as the crew left the port and began walking down a dirt path that they hoped would lead to town.

The shake of trees and the sound of loud stomping startled the crew. Everyone drew their swords. The captain had two pistols and John had a handcrafted longsword. Not something a sailor normally carries around.

The village of Honeside came into view. the streets were empty and no one could be seen in the houses. “I don’t like this” one of the men said. Then soldiers in black armor stepped into view. they were coming from the surrounding forest and there numbers kept growing. “Ok lads, I say we make a hasty retreat. Three of you lads, John and I will back out slowly and try to buy the rest of you time to get the boat ready and maybe fill a box or two of those apples if you can manage” The captain said as everyone slowly backed up. “What about the village?” John asked. “They be dead boy, we are but simple sailors, not the navy. So unless you want to join the poor sods in their graves, I suggest you follow my plan” Captain Mohardy said.

Most of the crew ran back to the boat as fast as they could. The armored soldiers had noticed the sailors and were advancing. “Are you ready for this?” Asked the captain, the remaining crew nodded and had their weapons ready. Captain Mohardy fired both off both of his pistols at the closest soldier. One of the sailors also took a shot, then everyone switched to their swords. The bullets hit the first soldier and made him stagger. Two bounced off and one got into the neck opening between the helmet and the chest piece, but the soldier didn’t fall over. The Captain and remaining crew kept backing up and the soldiers advanced. When the first wave of black armored figures were close enough John lunged forward with his sword and stabbed his sword right through the eye hole of one of the soldiers helmets. This made the soldier stumble but not fall. “what are these things?” John removed his blade and gave the creature a kick. The force rattled the soldier and made its helmet fall off. The soldier’s head was just a bare skull under the helmet. “Skeletons, w-walking dead?” one of the crew said. “stick to the plan!” The captain replied.

A cool breeze blew through the autumn forest, birds chirped and the sun was shining. On any other day this would have been a beautiful sight, but the sound of swords clashing and screams disrupted an otherwise nice day. “Try to knock off their heads” John shouted as he gave a skeleton a clean slice. He chopped its head off, sending the skull tumbling through the air. Without the head the rest of the body mysteriously puffed into purple smoke and the black armor clattered to the ground. “Ya know I might have made this place one of my regular trade routes if it didn’t have skeleton monsters in it” The captain said. John smiled “you are getting picky in your old age” John replied.

The sailors fought and continued to back up as the skeleton soldiers advanced. Every minute more of the creatures were jumping into battle. The skeletons were slow, but their blades were sharp and it wasn’t easy getting around their armor. One of the crew stabbed through the neck opening in the armor, the sword got stuck in the armor as it clattered to the ground. The sailor went to retrieve his sword but was stabbed in the back by a skeleton. John tried to go help his crew mate but the captain stopped him. “Can’t risk it. Too many mate” He said.

Finally they reached the shore. The ship was ready to go and the crew even managed to get a few apples into crates. Swarms of skeletons rushed the port, so the captain and crew decided to make a mad dash to the boat. A loud bang sounded out as a cannon from the Tradewind fired out. The cannonball struck the land and skeletons flew everywhere. The captain ran on board and started yelling orders. John helped the remaining crew on and then jumped on at the last minute just as the Tradewind was setting off. Skeletons tried to cling to the side of the ship but were quickly scrapped off by the crew. They slashed with their swords and fired shots from their guns until the last skeleton was left far behind.

“That was fun…where next captain?” John Baines asked. “Aye, somewhere a little more lively perhaps” The captain replied.

Writers block

            Edward Stitch scratched his head as he tried to think. He sat impatiently at his typewriter, a cigarette burning between his first and middle fingers on his left hand. Smoke swirled through the air, rising ever upward until it disappeared completely. Ed’s editor was expecting another book sometime that year but Ed was having a tough time coming up with ideas. Ed had short cut black hair and brown eyes, he wore a buttoned up white shirt that was only half buttoned and had a crushed collar.  Since he was at home he wasn’t wearing pants, just boxers.

            Edward stretched out, wondering how much longer he could delay is writing and how much longer this infernal writers block would last. Ed let out a loud sigh and reached for his drink. He drank down his mix of whiskey, soda and half melted ice. Determined to write something he began typing away. He hoped as he wrote, something would come to him. He hoped to get a brilliant idea. He just needed one idea, then he could build on it more and more until he had a book.

            “The toughest part of writing is getting that first sentence” Ed grumbled. He typed on his typewriter for a few minutes. Trying out different ideas and plots. “Sam was a builder by trade…” Edward began to write. “No, that wont do” he muttered, then pulled the paper out of the machine and crumbled it up. “Think, think!” he said, bumping his fist against his forehead. The cigarette he held with that hand sprinkled ash all over his desk. Edward sprang up and wiped the ashes off before anything was burnt. Then he continued to bump his forehead with his fist, but with his other hand, as to not make a mess or burn his house down with stray ashes.

            Ed felt like he had hit a wall and couldn’t get around it. The next step was to plow through it, keep trying things until something works. “Such difficult work requires another drink!” Edward announced and got up from his desk and walked to the kitchen. His bare feet slapped against the tile in his kitchen. The chill in the air that night settled on the tile, making every step through the kitchen make Edward wish he wore socks more often. Or had slippers just to walk through the kitchen with.

            After a few minutes Ed returned to his desk and sat down with a fresh drink. He cracked his knuckles and began to type again. Whether he finished by the deadline or not, it didn’t matter. Writing was his passion, it was his work and his hobby. He loved it and hated it all at the same time. Trying to write when he had no ideas or worrying about editing was like torture but being able to write pages and pages after being struck with a good idea was his ultimate joy. As long as he had his typewriter and a working mind, he would continue to write.

Quiet train ride

            Fog settled in the night air. All was quiet and still. In the distance a train could be heard chugging away. The sound grew louder and louder, soon bright lights pierced through the darkness and the roar of a train echoed through the trees. Then, in an instant, the train was gone.

            Jim stared out the window, looking out into endless darkness. If it were during the day he would have some lovely forest scenery to look at, but at this hour all there was to do was sleep. All was quiet in the train and the muffled chugging of the train was relaxing. Jim was lucky enough to get a compartment to himself. He was traveling on business through a mountain range to the next city over. It was hardly a hot vacation spot and the late night trips were usually pretty dead.

            To ward off boredom, Jim decided to take a walk around the train. He could walk up and down a few isles, check out another car and then his exciting adventure would be done. He stood up and went out the door of his compartment, he didn’t even take two steps before he heard a scream. Jim was much of a hero, but a mix of concern and curiosity urged him to go. He ran into the next train car, it was just two long rows of seats with a little isle in the middle. When Jim arrived on the scene he saw several passengers curled up in their seats, staring terrified at a strange man in the middle of the isle. The man had strange clothing, looked as if he had just come from a medieval festival. Wearing mostly green and brown, with pale skin and dark hair. The man looked as worried as the train passengers. In his hand he held a sword, it pulsed with a strange blue light.

            “He just appeared out of this air!” someone yelled. Another man entered the train car, pushing his way past Jim. This man wore a trench coat and a hat. “My name is detective Murphy. Put down the sword” Murphy said to the medieval man. Murphy was traveling on business and heard the scream. Train security wouldn’t be able to handle this situation so it was a good thing he was here. The swordman didn’t reply, so Murphy raised his gun. The guy with the sword didn’t seem to understand what was going on but knew enough to see Murphy was a threat. Acting on instinct the swordsman dashed forward and slashed, at the same time Murphy fired his gun. The sword sent a rush of energy out destroying the bullet and sending Jim and Detective Murphy flying back against the train car door.

            The swordsman looked terrified but held a fighting pose. Murphy drew his gun again and fired. The swordsman didn’t even see the shot, but now staggered backward with a bullet wound in his gut. “I-I am sorry” said the swordsman, looking confused. The blade he held started to glow, then the light spread and engulfed the swordsman’s entire body. Thunder crack loudly in the sky and a bolt of lighting shot down from the heavens, striking the train, it torn the ceiling off the train car and hit the swordsman. In an instant the swordsman was gone.

            Lucky none of the passengers were hurt and except for the trail roof, there wasn’t any damage done. Jim looked around bewildered. After a few moments when everyone calmed down, Jim finally broke the silence and said. “At least the ride wasn’t boring”

Winter road

            As I walk down this road, I wonder where the time has gone. I march, leaving behind a forest of autumn trees, pumpkins and rain-scented land. Ahead of me is snow as far as the eye can see. Peacefully it drifts through the air and lands gently on the ground, millions of tiny snowflakes dancing on the wind for a short moment before gathering together in mass. Cold wind blows in my face, as if trying to push me back, but still I march. 

            I’ve made this trip countless times over millions of years. The seasons change as I walk down this road. Spring starts the birth of a new year, then summer a time to enjoy the warmth you have in your life, Autumn is a time to reflect on your life and Winter is the end, a time to enjoy the time you have left with the ones you love. So I leave the world of the harvest and set down this winter road, to a world of holidays, celebration and warmth against the cold night.

            My mind drifts back into memories, remembering good times of winter and Christmas as I look forward to the new winter fast approaching. I love listening to the Christmas music that stays the same every year, yet never seems to get old. I crave nostalgia almost as I crave warm desserts.

             Traveling on this winter road is wonderful as it is difficult. The snow looks so nice in the daylight as sun shines off the ice, making it sparkle. Animals play in the snow and the fields of pure white are a sight to behold. When the sun goes down stars sparkle brightly across the clear night sky. The beauty of nature always impresses me, year after year. Though to say it gets cold and a little lonely out here is an understatement. The wind blows so harshly that I feel it cut through my coat and chill my bones. Walking through snow is also very tiring and when your walking alone, the journey seems a little tougher.

            Winter is so diverse, that might be why I like it so much. It is such a mixed bag of good and bad with so many different emotions to experience. So I make this trip down the winter road, walking my way through the season, headed north for the holidays. But now its time I leave you, but I wish to leave you with warm thoughts, thoughts of family, sitting by the fire staring out at the snow, bright lights, and delicious food.

            Have a happy holiday and I will see you again in the spring.

Mac's Choice

Death sat silently next to Mac. Death looked like a young girl with cold eyes, her clothes black and almost shapeless like they were formed from shadows. Mac was a twenty something year old man with a red hoodie and a bad haircut. Mac palmed his face with one hand, in his other hand he held a gun. The two figures stood silently in an alleyway in a big city. It was a city full of people, yet Mac never felt so alone. With so many people jammed into a city, would anyone notice if someone went missing, or if someone died?

“I don’t know what you’re waiting for, the answers won’t come any clearer” Death spoke, her words so cold that it chilled the air. Mac hesitated and seemed uneasy. “you act like its not a big deal” Mac replied. “I see it every day, so to me, it isn’t
 Death explained. Mac held his gun out and put it up to his head as his hands trembled. “Your life is pointless. What do you contribute to anything? You sedate your brain with television and beer, you work for a paycheck, not for the better of anything. Your paycheck only buys more television and beer. If you had any real friends you wouldn’t be standing in this alley with a gun, talking to yourself” Death explained. She reached out and ran a delicate finger down the side of Mac’s face. “Haven’t you ever heard of embracing death? I wonder why people don’t try it more” She said seductively. Her eyes just as icy cold as before, but her face was a fake pout as if trying to be cute. Mac looked at Death and cursed under his breath. Death wasn’t a women, it just decided to look this way for now. Even though the girl was pale and covered in black clothes and shadows, her dainty frame, round eyes and curves all made her rather attractive.

“You’re the devil!” Mac cursed, annoyed that Death was trying to seduce him into pulling the trigger. Death laughed “no my dear, I am not. If you ever meet the devil, you will know it instantly. Besides, I’m not making you do anything, I didn’t even lead you here to this alley. You bought a gun and walked here, I am here to collect you when your done” Death replied, sounding innocent.

Mac’s body continued to tremble. He didn’t want to die, but he had nothing to live for. Just being alive hurt. His body ached constantly and he was so lonely his emotional pain only seemed to add to his physical pain. He searched his mind for a reason to live, anything. He thought about friends, surely his buddies would miss him. They might at first, but their busy lives would sweep up their attention again. His family would miss him, but only because they liked to use him. He had a car and a little money so he would get phone calls when he was of use. Mac didn’t have a girlfriend and the last girl he dated was a bitch, adding to the list of bitches that Mac knew. He hoped not all women were terrible, but it was difficult to believe when he only met terrible people.

Mac didn’t have much going for him, so would he be throwing anything away if he died? People are born and others die, every single day. What is the worth of a human life, more importantly, what is the worth of Mac’s life? Mac didn’t have any answers. He didn’t want to die, he wanted his life to be better, but he didn’t know how to make it better and continuing on the same path wasn’t an option.

Mac tightened his grip on the gun as death watched, smiling softly to herself. Mac pulled the trigger and a shot range out. After one loud bang, the alley was quiet again. No one came running, no one noticed. The world moved on. The world continued to be a wonderful place for some and a terrible nightmare for others. Mac’s life had absolutely no impact on history, social events or the progress of the world. Yet if Mac’s life was so worthless why did Death show up personally to collect him? And when She did show up to see Mac hadn’t killed himself, why did she even care to persuade him?

Mac thought about all of these things before he pulled the trigger and when he finally did, the gun wasn’t aimed at his head, it was aimed at Death. Mac knew shooting Death wouldn’t do anything, but he made his point. Without saying a word, Death vanished, leaving Mac alone with his thoughts. He didn’t know what his life was worth now and maybe it wasn’t worth anything now, but he was determined to find out what it could be worth in the future and maybe he would then finally find something worth living for.

Hallows end Battle

Here it is everyone! the final Halloween story. This one is three pages long, so get a cup of coffee or cider, relax and enjoy!

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Night gently creeps in as the sun goes down and the lights are lit in the town of Hallows end. A gentle breeze makes the autumn trees sway and Jack-o-lanterns dot the landscape. The Great pumpkin lantern sits proudly at the center of town. With a large grinning face and a light that keeps the surrounding haunted forest at bay.

It was another cool autumn night in Hallows end and Halloween Jack and his friends were celebrating. “Heres to another great year of Halloween fun!” Shouted Trick, the lovable party girl. She was dressed in a revealing witches costume this year and held her glass of dark red wine high to toast. Halloween Jack raised his glass of pumpkin beer in the air and cheered. He was already drunk. Tonight he wore his orange cloak, black pants and shirt, striped black and orange boots and sturdy leather gauntlets with pumpkins on them. His black hair was a mess and the battle scars on his face stretched as he smiled. The third friend, Horror Bill just smiled at the two and sat silently drinking blood from a cup. He had a long black coat with pockets full of knives and various weapons.

The laughter and celebration continued on until a cold wind blew through creepy old house of Horror bill, where the friends had been partying. A cool breeze was fine, a chilly rain was expected, but a cold wind was unusual. “Ha! When did Hallows end suddenly become Frost peaks?” Laughed Jack. He chuckled drunkenly to himself for a few seconds before stopping and noticing the wind was getting worse. “This looks serious…” Trick muttered. Jack stood up from his chair, shaky at first then walked out the door. He looked up and saw snow starting to fall. He held his hand out as a snowflake landed gently into his gloved hand. “What the fucks this?” Jack said annoyed and sobering slightly. In the distance and snowstorm was brewing and it looked like it was heading toward town. “We need to check this out. I can’t have snow, its not even Halloween yet!” Jack declared.

The three friends ran into town, going to check on the Great Pumpkin Lantern. If it ever froze or had its fire put out the whole town would be engulfed in darkness and Jack wasn’t about to move to Cherry blossom hill, Ocean front retreat and sure as hell not going to Frost peaks. The storm was closing in and it was headed right for the center of town. All of the towns people hid in their homes as the storm got closer, leaving Jack and his friends the only three who seemed ready to stop whatever it was bringing the storm with it. “Snow never comes down this way, someone has to be responsible. I say we go into the storm and find out who it is. Then Horror Bill can eat him” Jack told his friends. Bill let out a quiet “Yes!” then the three ran from the town, headed right into the storm.

On the outskirts of town, two strangers waited. Orange and black portals pulsed behind them. The first was a man, undead with green hair and black clothing, carrying shovel. The second was a girl, looked shy, wore gothic clothing, had pale skin and red eyes. They talked at the snow began to fall around them. Jack stopped and smiled “did you guys come to defend the town?” the two turned and smiled when they saw Jack. “Yes. Its not just this town, but Halloween itself is in danger. I cannot have that. It is the one night a year I am free from my curse. I am the Gravedigger. Call me Graves” Graves replied. “without Halloween I will never see my love, John again. I’m Dylena, by the way. This day means so much to me, I am willing to fight” Dylena said. Jack smiled “Good to meet you. If Halloween is in danger we have to take this seriously” Jack said.

Up ahead the snow worsened, at the center was a man dressed in red, strange wizard from a far away land. “Your Town and the ‘Holiday’ that you celebrate is a disgrace. Letting fear and monsters run wild is dangerous and I am taking upon myself to protect everyone from you” Said the ice wizard, his voice booming and floating on the wind. He waved a striped red and white staff through the air and suddenly the ice and snow began to form into a monster. Frost the snow monster, growled as he sprang forth from the ground. He chewed menacingly on a pipe smoking pipe and wore a black hat.

Halloween Jack was about to inform this ice wizard of the error he had made, how Halloween wasn’t a dangerous Holiday but seeing the giant snow golem appear, Jack decided to let his sword do the talking. He pulled a jagged blade from his belt, adorned with a silver pumpkin on the hilt. Trick looked like a witch, but didn’t have any magical powers, Horror Bill was dangerous to humans, but was more of a predator than he was a fighter. “Jack, honey. I think we will wait this one out. Try not to die!” Said Trick as she scampered off with Horror Bill. Grave on the other hand was immortal and Dylena had enhanced strength and speed common among the people of her world.

Graves ran forward and flew into the air, Frost brought down his boulder sized fist to crush the Gravedigger, but Graves simply went transparent, went through the fist, turned solid and whacked Frost with his shovel. “You’re meddling with my only chance to see my family each year!” He yelled at the ice wizard. Frost stumbled backward. Dylena ran across the snowy ground with lighting speed and the grace of a cat. She pulled on a small rope tied around her waist and flicked it, it transformed into a thorny whip, which she used to lash the Snow monster with. Her eyes glowed and her gaze was fierce. “I will not go back to being an outcast. I have found a home and I plan to stay” She yelled, lashing wilding.

Jack smiled “I wonder if these two would like to replace my other friends” he chuckled then lunged forward with his sword. He stabbed it into the snow monsters chest, then slashed upward, cutting the beast up the middle. Ice shot out the wizards hand and struck Dylena, she fell to the ground, small icicles had pierced her skin then melted away. Jack was distracted and was hit with an uppercut from the snow beast. Graves struck downward with his shovel slicing off Frost’s arm. Jack got back to his feet and ran straight at the Wizard instead. Beating him was the only way to end this. Jack threw his sword, then jumped into the air. The wizard shot a blast of ice and wind to deflect the sword but couldn’t stop Jack as he came flying down. Jack pulled off his gloves, revealing a pair of shadowy claws. Jack’s face twisted into a nightmarish grin as he brought his claws down, slashing the wizard across the face and down his torso.

The Wizard gasped as he hit the cold snowy ground he looked at his golem for help. Frost had just punched a surprised Gravedigger across the field, but was now being choked and toppled by a wounded but very angry Dylena. She held her whip tight, as it wrapped around Frost and sliced him with the barbs. “Any last words, Nick?” Jack said with an evil smile. “How did you know my name?” Asked Nick, the saint of Frost peak. “I figured it out pretty quick” Jack replied, his claws dripping with blood. “Spare me, I am sorry. I need to take care of the people of Frost peak” he gasped. Jack seemed angrier at this reply. “what about the people of Hallow end? What about the lives you tried to ruin by attacking the Great Pumpkin lantern?!” Jack yelled. “From the peaks all I see of your town is darkness and all I hear are screams. It sounds like a horrible place” Nick replied. “From way up there, how can you truly know how a place is? Maybe you should try to spend a day in Hallows end before you decide to wipe it off the map!” Jack said kicking the old wizard. Halloween Jack just put his glove back on and turned away. “Get your snow monster and get out of here” He said.

Nick slowly stood up and waved his hand. The snowstorm died away and Frost disappeared into a cloud of light flurries. “I will leave this place. But we will meet again. I have not fully decided that your town is worth sparing” Nick said. Jack just growled in reply. The old wizard vanished in a gust of cold wind and transported back to his happy home in Frost peaks.

Dylena sighed, “Is it over?” Jack nodded. Graves floated back to the battlefield. “If Halloween is safe, then I will return to my Graveyard. I have work to do and a family to support” he said. Graves waved and gave a smile before stepping into a dark portal. Dylena smiled and hugged Jack. “we made a great team. Lets do this again sometime! Well minus the whole, destroying Halloween thing” she said. Jack laughed. “Next year, for sure” He said. A large transparent window appeared in the air, showing images of another world. “I better get back, John worries. He’s adorable like that” She said, then blushed and walked through the window, disappearing from sight.

Jack reached into his belt and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid. He had a long walk back to town and he planned to get good and drunk on his way. He would tell his cowardly friends that the danger was gone and with luck there would be enough time left over to celebrate the rest of Halloween night with cold drinks and a hot meal. Jack slowly walked away from the bloody snow covered field and toward Hallows end a land of Autumn trees, pumpkins, apple cider and Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Final hours

            I sit in my living room, lost in thought. The room is dimly lit, only a small stand lamp is on, I sit comfortably in the center of the couch, in front of me is a coffee table and on the other side of the table sits Death. He waits patiently, also sitting comfortably, but in a high back chair, matching the pattern on the couch. Death had walked in only a little while ago and sat down, a solemn look on his face. I was surprised to see that he looked like a man, not a skeleton. He wore a bowler hat, thin wire sunglasses, an old style three-piece suit, nice shoes and black leather winter gloves. He also had on a long flowing overcoat. His coat moved and swayed as if it were alive and every so often I could hear whispers from the dead coming from inside his coat. Surprisingly still, I was not afraid of him, I welcomed him into my home as if we were old friends. He didn’t say a word, he just sat, staring at me, hands on the arm rests and feet flat on the ground. His thin pale face not showing any emotion and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so he sat, waiting on me.

Some may say its best not to keep death waiting and to that I ask, “why?” It’s not like he can make me any more dead and I am confident that my place in the afterlife has already been secured long ago. So Death waits patiently. I might be inclined to stand up and follow him out of my home, but instead my mind wanders. It drifts back into my past. I’ve heard your life flashes before your eyes when you die, well maybe, but only if you’re in a hurry or didn’t have an interesting life. My life gently drifts in and out of my mind, like an aroma, a delicate breeze in the air that I can’t quite get a hold of.

Rain pours outside, I listen to it and relax as I am slowly being pulled back into the past. Rain falls rapidly from the night sky, I remember looking outside from the airport. My flight is delayed due to bad weather. I think about Charlotte waiting for me in Seattle, we were going to meet and I was going to propose. As the rain beat down on the building I felt my future with her being washed away. She didn’t know I loved her, not like that. We might have been dating, but I don’t think she ever truly knew how I felt. I didn’t get there till the next day. So much was dependent on me being there on time. Tears trickle down my cheek as I open my eyes, snapping back into reality. Death still lingers, still waits. He seems like a nice enough guy, I don’t know what all the bad reputation is about.

            It’s a funny thing memory, how I can remember one fleeting moment, some small detail like my friends shirt being a vibrant blue this one time at a pool party, but I can’t for the life of me remember yearly events, birthdays, anniversaries, ect. I remembers July the tenth, pool party at the house of my friend Roger. It was exactly three days before he got married. Though if you asked me when his anniversary was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, unless I thought of the pool party days before. I remember thinking, this is the last time I will be able to see him as a free man. Last time we get to hang out and act stupid like we used to. He asked me what I thought about his future wife, I lied and said I liked her, it was the first time I ever lied to Roger.

            My thoughts drift across my entire life, I could recall every happy memories or tragic tale in my life, but I don’t feel like it. I’m not one to dwell on the past. I think over all, I had a good life. I have few regrets and I never once had to beat anyone up. I think that’s an accomplishment considering the hardheaded people I had to deal with throughout my life.

            Time has no meaning for me now, I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here recalling my past, but I think its time to go. Time to see what the afterlife has to offer and find out if it’s as big of a deal as everyone says it is. So far, I’m not impressed. So I stand up and as if knowing what I was about to do, Death stands up at the exact same time. He smiles, happy I’m finally done reminiscing. I walk across my living room to the exit of my house, Death follows, his black coat flickering like flames and swaying as he moves. I open the door to my house, I stare out as the outside has been replaced with an endless vortex. Its hypnotizing and calming. I look back on my life one last time, smile at Death and step through the door. Death exits behind me, the door shuts and the room goes dark.

Update!

Due to illness i missed Wednesday's post. I will try to make sure i post this coming week, but if i don't you know why.

I will try to get things back up and running as soon as i can. Hopefully i will be able to share many more exciting stories with you all soon enough.

In the meantime, think about what kind of story you enjoy. have a favorite time period or type of fiction, let me know and i will try to make a story about it. 

Starlight Tree

In a port side city that bustles with activity from trading and fishing stands the Starlight tree. At the top of William hill, next to a small worn gravestone, is a sparkling silver and white tree. It even produced its own light, as if it was a star in tree form. The city thrived off its own merits, as it was full of skilled fishermen and crafty merchants, the it got a little push in the right direction from the Starlight tree. Once grown into a full tree, people from all over the land came to see it. This steady increase in visitors allowed the town to take advantage of the extra income in the town and build itself into one of the best portside towns in the land.

So the story goes, that a boy named William caught a star as it fell from the night sky and decided to plant it like a seed. For years nothing happened, until one day a tiny sprout came up from the ground. Most of Williams’s life had pasted by before anything grew from the starseed and it took another fifty years before it grew into a small tree. It was now one hundred and fifty years after the seed was planted and the Starlight tree has reached the size of an adult tree. The story about the tree and the man who planted it is still told in the portside city, yet no one knows why he planted it, or what the purpose of the tree is. Most people just figured it was a beautiful tree, but didn’t have any more of a purpose than any other tree does, others believe that there will be a time when the tree grows into its true potential and finally the mystery will be solved.

The portside city thrived and continued to grow for years. Time marched on, the seasons came and then were gone. The world changed, cities changed, people were born and they died, but the tree stayed the same. It stood on the hill, shining and undisturbed. People went to go see the tree, but no one ever bothered it and certainly would never cut it down. Its beauty inspired artists and attracted tourists. It was one of the biggest mysterious of the world and the more time that past the more of a legend it became.

The tree grew and took up most of the hill. At this point the tree was ancient and still stood after lifetimes. One day, on one summer afternoon, the tree sprouted fruit. Apple sized spheres that grew in a few days and then dropped to the ground. The fruit grew and fell in such a short amount of time, no one even noticed it had happened. After another day the little spheres began to open and crack like eggs, until finally something emerged. A strange new life from another world, born on earth. The little creatures had blobby translucent bodies, with a core that made them shine from the inside out. These new baby creatures cried out as they flopped around on the ground. As if protecting the small children, it leaned its branches down, covering the crying blobs of light. The whimpering stopped and the tree branches returned to their normal position. The little blob babies crawled onto the tree, seeing it as a protector. The tree swayed in the breeze and the alien children cooed. As the night went on, the tree began to fade. Its light and its shine all began to fade, feeding into these new life forms that were hatched from its fruit.

By morning the tree was nothing more than a metal tree. The Starlight tree was simply a metal transport that was filled with energy to create new life and continue a species if disaster ever fell. It took the form of a tree to blend in with the area, but the surging energy made it stand out. After hundreds of years, the tree fulfilled its purpose, to save a race of creatures, nurture them and send them back into space. As the tree fed its last remaining energy into the blobby aliens, it sent them out into a pod. A tiny spaceship that would keep them alive for years, letting out a signal as it floated through space so that one day it would be picked up by hopeful survivors of the species.

So after all that time on earth, becoming the center of attention and the inspiration behind art and legend, without anyone noticing, the Starlight tree fulfilled its mission and quietly sank into the earth, never to be seen again.

The Littlest Vampire

Sun burned bright, oppressive, hot and scorching. While others played in the sun and water, little Gregory stayed inside. Gregory was the littlest vampire, small and pale, with sharp fangs and a red cape that hung loosely on his back. His noble vampire parents moved to this land for opportunity and a chance to raise their child away from the stuffy old ways of the vampire clans. Because they moved so far, little Gregory was without any vampire friends.

The locals were werewolf and fish people families more than anything. Sure there was the family of zombies down the road, but they didn’t have much to say. The only thing they liked to talk about was ESPN sports center. Gregory didn’t know what that was, so often he stayed in his room and played with this skeleton dog, or go find his pet bat that lived in the attic.

It was summer and the fishhead family was enjoying the sun with the wolf people, they swam, played and ate grilled children meat. It looked like such a good time, Gregory wished he could play too. Once night came, he was allowed to leave the house, so he ran out to see if anyone was left to play with. Sadly, everyone had gone to bed, everyone except the Zombies, who were up late watching humans throw a ball through the air.

Little Gregory walked through the little town sadly, he was so excited to learn a new culture, away from other vampires, but without other vampires he didn’t have anyone to play with or talk about vampire things. The littlest vampire had just learned to turn into mist, though he could only do it for a split second, it made him proud. Though the other monsters couldn’t understand why that was so great.

As Gregory walked he saw a forest up ahead, it was a dark, spooky place and made his little vampire heart think of the old land where he was born. He ran quickly to the forest and smiled as the cool breeze howled and made the trees sway. The howling wind and the moving trees made the forest seem alive, and for a second, he didn’t feel so alone. He continued to explore the forest, but suddenly saw a light. Gregory didn’t know if he should investigate, his parents often warned him of monster hunters that prowled the forest looking for creatures to capture. Curiosity got the better of him though and he slowly crept, closer and closer to the light.

The light was from a lantern and was being carried by a mysterious figure. Gregory hid until he could see who it was. The figure got closer, but was quiet as a mouse. Gregory was nervous and wished that he could run home, but didn’t want to risk getting chased by the mysterious figure. After moments that seemed like forever, the figure came into view, it was a little floating ghost. He had a sad expression as he drifted through the forest, carrying a lantern that burned with a red spirit fire. “Hello” Gregory said meekly. The ghost moved quickly and hid behind a tree. “Who is there?” The frightened ghost asked. “my name is Gregory, I’m a vampire. My family just moved here” He replied, still very unsure. The ghost came back into view. “my name is Melvin, I’m the littlest ghost. I haunt these woods with my family” The two creatures went up to each other and smiled. Both Melvin and Gregory were so lonely but felt happy now that they found someone that had something in common.

The two littlest monsters sat in the forest and talked and laughed. Melvin didn’t have anyone to play with for such a long time because he would sleep during the day, which was just the same as Gregory. Melvin also knew how to turn invisible and was ever so proud. He was also very impressed that Gregory could turn into mist. The two friends played into the night, and when the sun began to rise they both had to hurry home.

Gregory couldn’t wait to tell his parent about the friend he made and could hardly sleep that day as he was so excited to see Melvin again. So from that day forward, Gregory and Melvin became the bestest friends and as they got bigger continued to talk and laugh in the haunted forest. So Gregory the littlest vampire would never be lonely again.

The End

Fallen Star

Wind whipped through the night sky, the sound of the ocean could be heard from across the town. William looked out his window and sighed, there would be a storm again. His father promised they would go fishing tomorrow, but if the weather didn’t get any better they would have to cancel their plans. As he looked out the window he saw a sparkling light shine through the clouds and fall into the water. It was the most brilliant light he had ever seen, even at a distance. Something urged him to go out and investigate. The storm was approaching and the waters would turn treacherous. If he wanted to find the source of the light, he would need to hurry.

William put on his boots and hurried out of his house to the docks, which were close. William was 17 and lived with his father, he had no siblings and his mother died from disease. He had gone fishing many times with his father, so he knew how to sail a boat and navigate on the ocean. Once at the docks he untied a little boat and paddled his way out into the open water. He was in a landing boat or a lifeboat, so he was careful not to go too far out. He decided to be careful, but if he was truly cautious he wouldn’t even be out in the water, at night, with a storm approaching in the first place.

He paddled out to where he saw the light drop and hoped it didn’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. With luck, he saw a faint glow and brought his boat closer to it. Whatever made the light was close to the surface of the water. William reached his hand into the water and tried to scoop up the object. He felt something and pulled it out of the water. It was a ball of light. Warm in his hand, solid enough to hold onto, yet at times it felt as if he wasn’t holding anything at all. As if it were light in solid form, but it couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay solid. Once out of the water, the ball of light started growing brighter.

Holding onto the ball of light the best he could, he made his way to shore. The whole time wondering what he had found and what he should do with it. Once on the beach he held the light up to get a better look at it, grasping it with his thumb and first finger, it was the size of a large coin and almost didn’t seem to weigh anything at all.

Suddenly images flashed into his mind, images of far off places and distant worlds. It was like his mind was taken over by a dream. He saw the night sky, but all around, surrounding giant floating structures. The word ‘space’ flashed into his mind. He was a simple son of a fisherman and the most advanced technology his town had access to was a fishing boat. Single shot guns were a new thing in this world, so William was having trouble grasping the concept of space, planets and spaceships. The metal structure was important for some reason, it had humans of all kinds living in it. As William stared at it through his vision, the space ship, or large structure exploded. He heard the cries of a hundreds of people all at once, then the next minute they were gone. This light flew from the blast and crashed to his world, into the water.

William snapped out of it and realized he saw all of this by looking into the light. The problem was he didn’t know what any of this meant, what the light was, or what he was supposed to do with it. Maybe nothing, maybe he wasn’t supposed to be meddling with things beyond his grasp. He wanted to keep it safe as it seemed important, but didn’t know how or even what he would keep it safe from. “what am I to do? I am only a fisherman!” William asked the ball of light, frustrated and emotional from seeing such grand sights and all the death from his vision. The light pulsed and the image of a tree appeared in his mind. “A tree?” he asked. Then thought instead of looking at the light as a star or something used as a light source, what if it was just a seed. He didn’t know what it would grow into, but he was determined to help.

William ran home and got a shovel. Then tried to think of a spot this little light seed wouldn’t be disturbed. He got an idea, then ran off into the fields. There was a grassy hill that overlooked the town, it was empty and people rarely went up there. It was perfect. He ran up the grassy hill, the night breeze blowing in his face, cooling the sweat on his forehead as he ran. He stopped to catch his breath, and then started digging. As he worked he heard the storm growing closer. Thunder cracked and lightly rippled through the clouds. He finally finished digging and planted the seed, then covered it with dirt. The rain started just as he was done. The rain came down hard and soaked the earth. William laughed with satisfaction at a job well done. Now the cold rain cooled him down from all the work he did for this little seed. He thought about how lucky it was that the light found him that it landed near someone that could help it. He wondered what would have happened if no one took it out of the water. Would it have washed up to shore or simply sank to the bottom of the ocean?

His mind ran wild with thoughts of what might happen next and could have happened if things had been different. The storm was getting worse though and William had to get home. He had a hard time sleeping that night and the next morning ran up the hill to check on the little seed. There was no change, so William went about his day. He had a hard time sleeping that night too and again checked on the seed the next morning. He knew seeds didn’t sprout up overnight, but this wasn’t a normal seed and his excitement kept getting the better of him. For a week he had a hard time sleeping as he was so excited and every morning he would check on the seed. This became part of his morning routine everyday. Though he luckily was able to sleep fine after a week or so.

Williams life went on, the average simple life of a fisherman’s son became the average life of a fisherman. He grew older, got married and had kids and every morning went up to the top of the hill to check on the seed. But the seed never sprouted and no one ever knew why William went to the hill each morning. As William got older, he told his children the story of the glowing seed from the sky, and told them that when they grew up to keep an eye on the hill if they ever got the chance. Time passed still and he told his grandkids the same story. The town grew and the story slowly spread. The story became a local legend and had some that believed the story and others that just thought it was a silly story told to children. Soon other parents told their children this story, but just told as a fairy tale, not told the way William told it, which was more like a set of instructions.

One day, William slowly made his way up the hill. He had gotten old and tired and didn’t know how many more times he would be able to visit his magical seed. He laid out on the grass and looked at the spot where he planted the seed all those years ago. He sometimes wondered if it was all a dream, but hoped more than anything that it wasn’t. He felt so tired, so tired from life and so tired from walking up that hill and began to close his eyes. Before he did, he saw a little sparkle in the grass. A glowing sprout sprang from the earth and shined as bright as a star. William at the age of eighty-five closed his eyes and smiled. The seed was growing and the town legend would live. To see the seed sprout was the only thing left he wanted to do before he died and now he could finally sleep at last. William closed his eyes and dreamed.

The sprout stayed a sprout for years more, but even such a little plant created great excitement in the town. It glowed night and day and the villagers finally had proof that Williams story was real. The town protected the little plant and put up a memorial for William on the same hill. It became William’s hill, home of the starlight plant. Which soon became the Starlight tree…but that’s another story altogether.

Birds

Recently, while driving I saw seagulls and crows in a parking lot. Both are scavengers and seem to hang out in parking lots or just anywhere they can find food. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them together though. Most people might just say “oh” and continue on their way. Its nothing special I suppose, but here is what I saw, this is where my mind took me.

It was a cloudy day, light rain, cold and sleepy. A single beam of sunlight broke through the clouds. The sky seem more dramatic, it was beautiful and peaceful. Circling the parking lot were birds, seagulls. They floated gracefully through the air and the sight of them brought my mind to images of the ocean and the peaceful sound of the waves. The seagull landed and quickly found a piece of food, it attempted to retrieve the food but was stopped by a crow. The intimidating black bird was a contrast to the peaceful day. The sight of the crow brought my mind to images of death and graveyards. Crows seem so ominous and sometimes threatening. The two birds fought and so began a war in my mind. Light and darkness, the peaceful ocean breeze vs. the sadness of death. The weather was warm, yet the wind was cold and it had been raining. The sky was cloudy, yet sunlight shone through brightly. Opposing forces clashed trying to take back the day, one fought for the peacefulness of a spring day, the other trying to bring a storm of thunder and lighting. The birds fought as if fighting over the end of the world. More crows and seagulls circled overhead, crying out and cheering on their comrade.

The drama of the scene ended abruptly as a car drove by scaring away all the birds. My mind was forced back into reality. The weather was a little strange, but it was just the change from winter to spring. The sunlight breaking through the clouds was just from the clouds shifting and letting sunlight through and the battle of light versus darkness was nothing more than two scavenger birds fighting over bread crumbs. All of this played out in my head in seconds, I reached my turn, took a right and as I drove away the parking lot and the imaginary battle disappeared from sight. It was another normal cloudy day, but for a second the world seemed a whole lot more exciting.

Arix and the Gem

A loud roar, shaking ground and suddenly light. Arix ran for his life through a dark underground tunnel, the light from his torch pierced through the overwhelming darkness. Arix was a young man with light brown hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. He wore a tan shirt that was ripped in several places, black pants, sturdy brown boots, a pair of goggles to keep dirt and dust out of his eyes and brown work gloves. He came from a family of carpenters and masons but instead of following in his family trade he became a treasure hunter.

           

            Arix ran for his life as a creature roared after him. This monster had been guarding or at least living with a rare gem. This gem would be worth a small fortune. Which wouldn’t matter if Arix died before he could sell it. The roars grew louder as the beast gained on the unfortunate adventurer. Arix reached into his bag with his free hand and pulled out the gem to get a better look at it. It was a large red gem the size of his fist and seemed to emit its own light, not enough to light a cavern just a soft glow that soothed Arix when he looked at it. After a few seconds of admiring the gem, he realized he had almost stopped running. The gem entranced him and he almost forgot about the monster. Quickly he stuffed the gem back into his bag and continued his run. He could hear the creature’s footsteps, it was right on his tail. Arix ran through the dark tunnels, taking turns and running down various paths, hoping to find his way out. He reached back into his bag, this time to grab his weapon. He didn’t want to fight, but would if he had to. No matter how fierce the creature, he would fight. Fight to see his family, to see the light of day again and of course to be rich when he sold the gem.

            The creature approached and Arix turned to face it, the light of the torch dimly lit the surrounding area. The monster stepped into view and Arix’s blood ran cold. The creature had a large thin body held up by spider like legs. The front of the body could move upright like a humans torso. The whole body and legs were covered in short brown fur, like a dog. Attached to the top of the body was a head, no eyes, no visible ears only a mouth, large and full of razor sharp teeth. The creature had rows of teeth that could probably even bite through stone. If Arix had seen the beast before he saw the gem, he might have just left it alone and went home. Then he thought, maybe if he gave the gem back. He wanted to be rich, but not enough to risk his life fighting a monster like this. Arix reached into his bag as the tunnel monster approached. He pulled the gem from his bag and held it up, instantly the creature stopped. It moved its head and slowly reached out for the gem with its creepy clawed spider legs. The gem seemed to lull the creature into a trance, like it had done to Arix earlier.

            Arix held the gem out, but kept it out of reach as he slowly backed away. The creature slowly followed Arix, subdued and focusing on the gem. It didn’t have eyes, yet the gem’s magic still worked. Slowly Arix continued to walk through the tunnel, he was nervous and was sweating. Suddenly the tunnel started to shake, it felt like an earthquake and pieces of stone ceiling began to fall. The tremors and falling stone shook the beast and he seemed to snap out of the trance. It realized it was being led and the thief still had its gem. The creature let out another roar and Arix took off into a sprint. He put the gem away and pulled out his weapon, a modified single shot pistol. This gun could shoot bullets, but also could shoot fire. Arix had made special combustion shots that would light things on fire. As he ran he loaded his gun. Rocks continued to fall, the creature was getting struck with stones and Arix had almost been struck several times. Arix finally ran into a dead end, it was a cave in, blocking him from the outside world. He turned as the creature closed in. Arix fired a shot into the darkness, the bullet zipped through the air and it a wall causing a burst of light and a splash of fire. He missed and tried to load another shot. Then a sharp spike flew from the darkness, Arix tried to dodge it, but was struck in the leg. It was a barb and as the creature stepped into view, Arix could see that the legs of the tunnel monster were covered in sharp barbs than it would throw. The beasts front leg jerked forward and another barb shot out, flying at high speeds. Arix dropped the ground and the barb embedded itself into the stone, right where his head was moments ago.

            Arix clutched his bleeding leg. The barb was sticking right through his leg. Arix used all his strength and pulled the barb out, a flash of pain swept over his body and cried out. His wound burned and throbbed and he hoped the barbs weren’t poisonous. The beast ran up at Arix and prepared to bring his clawed leg down to crush the boy. Arix finished loading his gun and right as the monster stood over him, Arix fired. The shot hit the beast right in its torso. Flames splashed across its body and caught fire to its fur. The monster backed up and roared in pain. It scuttled back into the darkness, hitting its body against the walls to put out the remaining fire.

            Now that Arix was safe, he would be able to crawl out of the cave. He wrapped his leg in cloth from his bag, then slowly began to move rocks away. It took hours, but Arix was able to get through the cave in. He limped through the caverns until he eventually found light. Light shone into one of the tunnels, Arix followed the light and found the exit to the cave. He smiled and began to laugh to himself. He didn’t think he’d ever see daylight again. From the cave he began his journey home, stopping to rest often. Once he got home he planned to rest and let his body heal. Arix had risked his life to steal treasure from a monster, the tunnel could have been his grave and no one would have known what happened to him. A sane man would take this as a lesson and maybe settle down to become a carpenter or mason, but Arix, he just wondered where he would find his next adventure.