Chapter Seven May 1926 On the walk to his office from his packed club below, Sterling was in a fine mood, thinking about the last few months. A loving wife on his arm. A booming business. More dough than he could spend. Then, he opened the door and froze at the sight before him. A raven-haired woman, adorned in a green silk dress stretched over her perfect body, stood with her back to him. If he hadn’t just seen his wife...

At eighteen years young, I’ve learned something difficult to accept: if you love someone, at some point, you will feel pain. And I don’t mean a temporary pain like stubbing your toe; I’m talking about a pain that breaks you. “For Heaven’s sake, child, if you’re going to break, break with your beauty intact. You’re a mess, and we have somewhere to be.” That voice belonged to Mother. Mere hours ago, she poked her nose in my...

The fog rolls in, obscuring the horizon The muted colors blend into one hue Melancholy looms within my being Is it the lack of sun? Or is it missing you? The waves lap at my feet along the shoreline I wish that you were here to hold my hand My heart is heavy, denser than the air As time moves like a million grains of sand My thoughts, they flit like hummingbirds that hover The distance in between and time apart Have let t...

Winter came too soon, But words from a loving soul Leave our hearts in bloom. * For a poet never dies. * And the Angel of Death Did not mourn his last breath For his soul will live on Cradled toward a new dawn In the arms of the Angel of Death. * Every word in his writings Leads the way, Lights a path, Imagines a world Of beauty and wonder To linger in us all. * For a poet never dies. * But the one who loved him most, The...

After Christmas Day with my family and Boxing Day with his, we packed and headed off for the start of our next phase. Upon arrival at our first house-sit, he bowed formally, welcoming me to our new love-nest, something that hadn't happened at his place due to Wing getting me to help her prep it before she'd stuck it to The Pests at the airport. Weasel and family had driven us there from the airport and were looking on wor...

In moonlight's soft and silvered gleam, Two hearts converge beyond mere dream, A rhythm builds with each soft touch, Each breath connecting—wanting much. Their bodies move in measured sway, Where passion's tender notes will play, Her pulse accelerates—intense— Beyond the bounds of common sense. Like waves that crash upon the shore, Their movements speak of something more, A dance of risk and pure desire, Igniting an inter...

I'm Kate, Sam's flatmate, and close friend since childhood. Sam and I became close friends in our first year at Area School. By the time we moved to secondary school, we could run down a hogget as well as any boy could. As most kids in our school, we both enjoyed going out hunting: if anything, more so than the boys as we really enjoyed the money from Possums, but the boys could carry and skin a Wallaby better than us. Bu...

He gets word of a demonic creature in a nearby town. The people have tried to take it down as it ravages homes and stores. The stories tell that its screech can shatter windows, its talons crush bone and rip through wood, and the gust from its massive wings can knock down grown men, and send women and children tumbling to the ground. Skin black as coal, and eyes a menacing yellow glow. A call to arms has been made, his co...

An iron fist grips my chest I release an anguished cry And terror engulfs my core. Broken, I gasp my final breath The shackles fall away And darkness embraces me. Adrift in the eternal abyss I am lost between shadow and flame Until I see a shimmer A shimmer in the void Translucent, radiant, the Veil opens Enticing me with iridescent fingers I am struck by wonder Wonder in my being As I see you, my love Waiting on the othe...

What is this feeling that consumes my heart, A burning passion that sets me apart? Is it mere lust, a fleeting desire, Or something deeper, that sets my soul afire? Is love just friendship, a bond that grows, Through shared laughter and tears that it knows? Or is it something more, a sacred flame, That binds two souls together, forever the same? What is love, if it's not real, A figment of our minds, a fantasy we feel? Ca...

Beyond the veil, I cannot see; Does his heart still beat for me? Is mi amor forevermore? 🌹 Día de Muertos soothes my splintered heart, Pleading death does not keep souls apart. I lay one rose on my lover’s grave, A sign he’s here, I desperately crave. 🌹 Black lines crisscross upon my lips; Lips he once traced with tender fingertips. His favorite flowers adorn my hair; Inked roses embrace on skin left bare. 🌹 With papel...

Tears I shed of loneliness in this earthly world, Cashmere while it comforts me in vexing silence, Devotedly persevering until my dying breath. The burning flame of divine Love consoles me, Silencing teardrops behind the veil. I offer this; my love, a pure white rose, A memorandum in soliloquy.

I could have painted these pages with our picturesque potential Quivering with each written word as if it were a brushstroke ever so essential Carefully crafting every artistically assembled prose without a single exhale Sweat would have trickled down my brow as I ensured every meticulous detail Painstakingly placing words on parchment as if it were a canvas Sentimentally sketching each and every raw element of our souls,...

The king and the castle the castle and the king he takes a lovely queen soon they become three. A dragon several years later comes upon the scene scorching the castle grounds a beautiful young princess oh, so lovely he has found. He takes her far, far away to his lair where she must stay and he asks her for a kiss she doesn't turn away. She gives him one right on the lips a prince he becomes hurray! They live happily ever...

Oil paintings garnish the walls of our enclosure Scents of bergamot and rosemary wafts all over Sweet string melodies serenade us through the gramophone Carnelian curtains hide us away so we can finally be alone You offer your hand out to me with a playful smile Deep sapphire eyes dazzle and beguile Despite all my sorrows, you are my treasure I keenly accept your gesture Pressing bodies begin to sway and dance Words are o...