On one of two big hills sandwiching the sleepy little town of Maldoona, twins Sasha and Tasha, aged nine, sat gazing at the stars. In the throes of boredom, Sasha bit and chewed at her nails, tearing them off in thin strips before spitting them out through her teeth. Tasha […]
I sat on my balcony, preparing to smoke the last cigarette of the night. It was late and my bones themselves were tired. As I snuffed out the cigarette and stood with a stretch, a noise caught my attention. It was so faint that I immediately brushed it off as
The Wind Whispered A Secret Read More »
I can’t sleep. I have to share because maybe I won’t feel if I share. Dr. Kirsch says to write and get it off my chest. Writing about it might release me from it. What should I title this? “Therapy”? I’m currently seated at a computer terminal in a little,
The Crawling House On Black Pond Road Read More »
The sweet old lady rocks rhythmically in her recliner. Her head nods often in approval as she agrees wholeheartedly with her favorite evangelist late this evening. This has been Mrs. Weatherford’s routine every night since her late husband left her alone and vulnerable. The preacher is hitting his groove on
You’ve always had a slightly ridiculous phobia of mirrors. It’s never interfered with your life before, except in small and completely inconsequential ways. You’d close your eyes during a middle school session of Bloody Mary, would rush past them in a dark hallway, things any red blooded American raised on
All Monsters are Human Read More »
After my parent’s divorce, and for too many years after, my twin sister Ginny would wake me up unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Her demeanor would always be frightened and scared when she did. It always reminded me of when we were kids and she would escape to
The Popcorn Ceiling Read More »
“Youth is wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw The old, hate-filled woman had been staring at the bathtub for a whole 15 minutes until she was entirely satisfied that it was dead. Taking her gangrenous black foot from the back of its head, it rose slowly to the
“Run goddamnit run! They’re swarming in!” I peered my head out the shattered window to catch a glimpse of my malicious attackers, unceasing in their desire to end the lives of me and my platoon. I have no idea how they infiltrated our bunker, but I was keen minded and
Okay, I know I had an announcement here about how this gallery functions, but apparently that part of the draft got eaten before it published. Thanks, WordPress. Love you too. Anyhow, for those of you who can’t figure it out without help – when you click an image, it takes
One morning my family and I went to my grandparent’s house in Mississauga. My sister and I always used to play in their large backyard which overlooked a sprawling ravine. I was especially excited today because my sister and I had planned a hike down the ravine before lunch. The
Frank woke up sweating again, five minutes before his alarm went off. He couldn’t remember much about the dream, just some green grass and maybe a half wall of reinforced concrete. There were no noticeable aspects of the dream that led reasonably to his feeling of terror, but every time
Take a Deep Breath Read More »
He was running. He had to avoid detection. He was Test Subject 27-B. Heading back was no longer an option. His name was Daniel, but that didn’t matter, no one ever used names, not even the Civil Protection Officers. He ran along a wall near the East Entrance. The guards
It was 4:03 in the morning and I woke up screaming. It was my dream. In my dream, I watched everyone I ever knew or loved be killed by the creature. It had a short fat body, and long slender arms, which ended with claws that looked more like swords
Hope. It really is the most powerful yet dangerous and cruel of human traits. It forces us to defy logic, sometimes at great cost. Other times it guides us through treacherous waters and back into the arms of our loved ones. We cannot live without being in its presence yet
The Danger and Cruelty of Hope Read More »
When people are born blind, their minds never capture the visual stigmas that are necessary for dreams to be created. As a result, these individuals are eternally destitute of sight and stricken to experience only their other four senses while asleep. Some of these people find consolation in the fact
Silence. Silence was uncomfortable, and Amy didn’t like it. Fingers nimbly tap-tapped across black and white keys as she typed up what she hoped would be a phenomenal English essay. She rubbed her tired eyes and sighed, straining to see what she had just typed in the dim light provided
The most beautiful creature I’d ever seen never seemed to close the curtains of her room next door. We’d only moved in a week before, but it was hard not to notice a girl like her. I don’t think she’d ever seen me, but that just made her that much
The Most Beautiful Creature Read More »
It seemed especially hot there in the middle of a mass of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from all around the country. It was a miniature city of heat and exhaust fumes within the city itself. Not the most wonderful place in the world, but then, the morning commute
We all have our own little fears: spiders, dark corridors, porcelain dolls. Some people have some very strange and obscure fears like things not being organized. Some people are afraid of not being perfect or being alone. But we have to be choosy about the things we decide to fear.
What Are You Really Afraid Of? Read More »
The tipper tapper of a finger echoes through the small dark room. Sometimes even whispers bounce off the walls from other rooms, whispers that do not make sense to me. I would hear things like, “Stop it, he’ll see us” and “Quickly, don’t trust him” or just the moans of
Lately I have been questioning the reality of things around me. I can sure identify where it started, and where it came from, but I just can’t get it out. An idea cannot be killed; you may try to not think about it or distract yourself, but it is there,
I’m pretty bad about changing light bulbs. If there’s any possible way I can put it off, I will. There’s probably some psychoanalytical explanation for it, dating back to when I was a little girl and I grabbed one while it was still hot, but past roommates have always chalked
After staring at a laminate television in the dark, I start to get sleepy. My eyes droop and the feeling of my body in unconsciousness starts to take its toll. Like a trance with my brain buzzing and my mouth hanging slightly open. I remember that my brother, Claudio, lies
I watch the horror film that is news, every single fucking day. I have, shall we say, an unhealthy obsession, with knowledge, and subsequently the ‘knowledge’ provided by my television screen. I just cannot seem to ignore it; I suppose this is due to my primal instincts, provided by evolution.
