He could only watch from afar. He had tried to draw near to her before, several times in fact, but it never quite seemed to go the way he wanted. Alexander wanted to speak to her, to listen to her voice up close, but she was afraid of him. He didn't know why, but she was. So for now, the only thing he could do was watch and wait in the shadows.
The day was bright outside. He didn't like it all that much. Sunlight hurt. It hurt his eyes, it hurt his skin, it made him feel weak. He preferred to stay secluded to the shadows, embraced in the comforting dark. He cut into a red apple with a scratched knife, leaning up against an alleyway's brick
I still have nightmares about them sewing my mouth shut.
It haunts me in my waking dreams, too. The countless hours, hunched over a spinning wheel, would drive me insane if I didn't lapse into them. Any place, even one worse than this wheel, is better if it's just for a little bit. I just wish it were a better place, a better memory. Every time I close my eyes it's like I'm back there again. I can feel the needle piercing through my lips, crisscrossing with hideous black thread trailing behind. I can hear my terrified screams slowly die to a muted mumble as my lips are pulled shut with each pierce and tug. I can taste iron. I feel the abused
We Were Soldiers
The pound of mortars obscured thought. Every new idea and every new realization was instantly blown to oblivion by the jarring thunder of blasting mortar against building, earth, wall, and man, and what respites there were between each round of explosions came few and far between. I'll go insane if this goes on, George only barely ran through his head before another shell shook the trenches. George cradled his head as dirt rained down on the unfortunate soldiers, a disgruntled cry arising from a small group of men involved in a card game. The rat-tat-tat sound of machine gun fire echoed across the battlefield, and another s
Line One
Line one,
The pen strikes the page,
Marring the white, line paper,
Carving the beginning of a story.
Line two,
The pen lifts up from the pager,
And pauses, wondering how to continue,
But dives back down to scrawl on the desert plane.
Line three,
The pen sits down.
It is merely scratching its blood onto the paper,
But no story comes forth from its labor.
Although the pen may ponder
The mysteries of the universe,
It is another thing entirely
To recreate them.
Playing God is not an easy sport.
What is written must play to the rules of sense.
Now the pen must be wondering what God was thinking
When He equipped man wit
Hello, My Friend
Hello, my friend;
Did you think you'd see me again?
I know the things we said,
Right up until the end.
Though we hated each other now and then,
Does it pain you now to find me dead?
I can recall the times we shared,
And even when I didn't want you there.
How did we bear the pain and grief?
I thought I'd let you know I cared,
And, hell, I know it isn't fair;
But our time together was far too brief.
Goodbye, my friend;
Don't hide our shared scars,
And tell your sadness, "Cease."
Don't make that a common trend.
And if you miss me, look to the stars,
And they'll let you know I rest in peace.
Asleep
I wake up. My eyes dilate, and I squint to adjust to the bright light above my head. Questions quickly flow into my head. Where am I? What happened? How did I get here? That is, wherever here is. I sit myself up, and quickly scan the room. A large, perfectly white container, shaped like an egg and seamless. That's it, and it doesn't help my current predicament. My eyes dance along the room, searching for a way out. I suddenly grasp my head as a searing pain courses through it. I open my mouth wide and emit a silent groan, shutting my eyes tightly, applying the heel of my palm to my right eye. I roll over onto my chest, still clutchin
A Thousand Gravestones by SolaceAndSilence, literature
Literature
A Thousand Gravestones
A Thousand Gravestones
Jacob's old, tired eyes lifted from sleep. He yawned greatly into the lamplight, smacking his lips as he pulled himself up. His back, greatly strained from years of hard labor, groaned in reluctance to rising from the bed made from hay. Jacob grunted, pulling himself to his feet with the aid of his trusty old shovel, and took hold of the lamp with a wrinkled hand. He donned his crumpled hat upon his balding gray head and pushed his spectacles onto the bridge of his nose. The lamp dimly lit the rickety old shack Jacob had lived in for so many years, the light jolting with every gangling step he took. He pushed open the
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives by SolaceAndSilence, literature
Literature
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives
Long ago, before the man took hold of the earth, there was the animals, and the animals only, that lived upon the land. The animals lived happily, ruled by a good king, Lion. Their lives were peaceful, before they the understood war and race, every animal lived together perfectly. However, there was one animal that did not enjoy his life, which was Cat, who lived by himself near the edge of the boisterous community.
One day, Cat came up with a daring plan. The Cat knew how pitifully short the animal's life was. So on that day, he approached Lion with a challenge. Cat said to Lion, "My dear king, surely, sinc
He could only watch from afar. He had tried to draw near to her before, several times in fact, but it never quite seemed to go the way he wanted. Alexander wanted to speak to her, to listen to her voice up close, but she was afraid of him. He didn't know why, but she was. So for now, the only thing he could do was watch and wait in the shadows.
The day was bright outside. He didn't like it all that much. Sunlight hurt. It hurt his eyes, it hurt his skin, it made him feel weak. He preferred to stay secluded to the shadows, embraced in the comforting dark. He cut into a red apple with a scratched knife, leaning up against an alleyway's brick
I still have nightmares about them sewing my mouth shut.
It haunts me in my waking dreams, too. The countless hours, hunched over a spinning wheel, would drive me insane if I didn't lapse into them. Any place, even one worse than this wheel, is better if it's just for a little bit. I just wish it were a better place, a better memory. Every time I close my eyes it's like I'm back there again. I can feel the needle piercing through my lips, crisscrossing with hideous black thread trailing behind. I can hear my terrified screams slowly die to a muted mumble as my lips are pulled shut with each pierce and tug. I can taste iron. I feel the abused
We Were Soldiers
The pound of mortars obscured thought. Every new idea and every new realization was instantly blown to oblivion by the jarring thunder of blasting mortar against building, earth, wall, and man, and what respites there were between each round of explosions came few and far between. I'll go insane if this goes on, George only barely ran through his head before another shell shook the trenches. George cradled his head as dirt rained down on the unfortunate soldiers, a disgruntled cry arising from a small group of men involved in a card game. The rat-tat-tat sound of machine gun fire echoed across the battlefield, and another s
Line One
Line one,
The pen strikes the page,
Marring the white, line paper,
Carving the beginning of a story.
Line two,
The pen lifts up from the pager,
And pauses, wondering how to continue,
But dives back down to scrawl on the desert plane.
Line three,
The pen sits down.
It is merely scratching its blood onto the paper,
But no story comes forth from its labor.
Although the pen may ponder
The mysteries of the universe,
It is another thing entirely
To recreate them.
Playing God is not an easy sport.
What is written must play to the rules of sense.
Now the pen must be wondering what God was thinking
When He equipped man wit
Hello, My Friend
Hello, my friend;
Did you think you'd see me again?
I know the things we said,
Right up until the end.
Though we hated each other now and then,
Does it pain you now to find me dead?
I can recall the times we shared,
And even when I didn't want you there.
How did we bear the pain and grief?
I thought I'd let you know I cared,
And, hell, I know it isn't fair;
But our time together was far too brief.
Goodbye, my friend;
Don't hide our shared scars,
And tell your sadness, "Cease."
Don't make that a common trend.
And if you miss me, look to the stars,
And they'll let you know I rest in peace.
Asleep
I wake up. My eyes dilate, and I squint to adjust to the bright light above my head. Questions quickly flow into my head. Where am I? What happened? How did I get here? That is, wherever here is. I sit myself up, and quickly scan the room. A large, perfectly white container, shaped like an egg and seamless. That's it, and it doesn't help my current predicament. My eyes dance along the room, searching for a way out. I suddenly grasp my head as a searing pain courses through it. I open my mouth wide and emit a silent groan, shutting my eyes tightly, applying the heel of my palm to my right eye. I roll over onto my chest, still clutchin
A Thousand Gravestones by SolaceAndSilence, literature
Literature
A Thousand Gravestones
A Thousand Gravestones
Jacob's old, tired eyes lifted from sleep. He yawned greatly into the lamplight, smacking his lips as he pulled himself up. His back, greatly strained from years of hard labor, groaned in reluctance to rising from the bed made from hay. Jacob grunted, pulling himself to his feet with the aid of his trusty old shovel, and took hold of the lamp with a wrinkled hand. He donned his crumpled hat upon his balding gray head and pushed his spectacles onto the bridge of his nose. The lamp dimly lit the rickety old shack Jacob had lived in for so many years, the light jolting with every gangling step he took. He pushed open the
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives by SolaceAndSilence, literature
Literature
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives
How the Cat Got His Nine Lives
Long ago, before the man took hold of the earth, there was the animals, and the animals only, that lived upon the land. The animals lived happily, ruled by a good king, Lion. Their lives were peaceful, before they the understood war and race, every animal lived together perfectly. However, there was one animal that did not enjoy his life, which was Cat, who lived by himself near the edge of the boisterous community.
One day, Cat came up with a daring plan. The Cat knew how pitifully short the animal's life was. So on that day, he approached Lion with a challenge. Cat said to Lion, "My dear king, surely, sinc