Express Lane
Stories (14)
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The Girl Who Waited by the Sea
The sea was a thief. It stole things from the land and held them hostage in its fathomless depths. But for Elara, it had stolen a future. Every day for twenty years, she walked down the winding path to the jagged cliffs overlooking the ocean. The townspeople of Port Caelum called her "the girl who waited," a title that had long since replaced her name. Her ritual was as predictable as the tides: she would arrive just before sunset, a solitary figure etched against the dramatic sky, and watch the waves for a sail that would never come.
By Express Lane5 months ago in Fiction
Letters From the Past
The antique wooden box sat on the highest shelf of the dusty attic, an artifact of a life before his own. Liam had inherited it from his great-aunt Margaret, a reclusive woman whose memory was as hazy as the dust motes dancing in the sunbeams. She had left him a sprawling, old house filled with decades of collected memories, and a cryptic note that read: "The past has a story to tell, if you are brave enough to listen." He had ignored the note for months, until a sudden, unseasonal storm trapped him inside, forcing him to confront the ghosts of his family's history.
By Express Lane5 months ago in Confessions
The Last Dance Under the Stars
Elara’s breath plumed in the cool night air, a fragile ghost against the vast, inky canvas of the sky. Tonight, a celestial event was unfolding—the Perseid meteor shower, a yearly spectacle that now felt like a cruel cosmic joke. Ten years ago, she and Liam had promised to watch this very meteor shower together, but circumstances and a cruel twist of fate had pulled them apart. Now, with the sky ablaze with fleeting moments of light, she was back in their old spot, a quiet bluff overlooking the sleeping town. She was alone, but with the weight of a decade of unspoken words.
By Express Lane5 months ago in Fiction
The Train Ride That Changed My Life
The ticket was a last-minute impulse, a flimsy rectangle of cardstock that promised nothing more than a change of scenery. For James, it felt like a desperate attempt to outrun the suffocating grayness of his life. At 35, he was a ghost in his own existence. His job as a data analyst was a blur of spreadsheets and coffee. His apartment was a functional space, not a home. He wasn't unhappy, precisely—he was just… absent. That train ride, from the clamor of the city to the quiet, rugged coast, was supposed to be a distraction. It became a resurrection.
By Express Lane5 months ago in Confessions
The Love Letter That Never Reached Her
The scent of dust and jasmine haunted Arthur’s memory. It clung to the fragile, yellowed envelope he now held, a relic from a life he’d lived and lost decades ago. This wasn’t just a letter; it was a ghost, a "what if," a regret sealed with a promise that had never been kept. Its pages contained the words he wrote to Elara on the eve of his departure, the very words meant to explain everything, to mend what was broken. But the letter never reached her.
By Express Lane5 months ago in Confessions
The Last Text I Never Sent
We met in the most unexpected way—on a delayed train. He sat beside me with a backpack covered in band patches and a crooked smile. He asked if I liked The Smiths. I said I didn’t know who that was. He laughed and said he’d make me a playlist.
By Express Lane6 months ago in Confessions
The Mirror That Watched Me Sleep
It all started when I moved into my cousin’s old apartment in Lahore—a modest, second-floor unit tucked above a quiet tailor shop in a narrow alley. The place was small, quiet, and cheap—perfect for a college student like me trying to survive on a tight budget. It had everything I needed: a working kitchen, a creaky bed, and a balcony view of tangled wires and rooftops. But there was one thing that didn’t sit right with me from the moment I entered—the mirror in the bedroom.
By Express Lane6 months ago in Horror
The Real Ghost in Room 313
I never believed I would be the person who writes one of these stories. Ghosts were the stuff of old family tales, or movies you watch when you want to scare yourself on a rainy night. I used to laugh when people said they’d seen a ghost, until I checked into a run-down hotel off Highway 22 one cold October night, and ended up in Room 313.
By Express Lane7 months ago in Horror
Long Distance Love Letter for Him: From My Heart to Yours
If you’re reading this, I hope it’s late at night when the world is quiet and you can hear my heart in every word. Or maybe it’s early morning and you’re sipping your coffee, thinking of me. Either way, I just want to be there with you, even if only through this letter.
By Express Lane7 months ago in Confessions
Romantic Good Morning Messages for Her (Make Her Smile)
They say how you start your morning sets the tone for your whole day — and what better way to wake up your girl than with words that make her feel loved, cherished, and thought of before she even opens her eyes?
By Express Lane7 months ago in Confessions
Why Morning Walks Became My Therapy
For years, people told me the same advice: “Go for a walk — it helps clear your mind.” I’d nod and smile but never really believed it could do much. Walking seemed too simple to fix the big stress that sat heavy on my chest every day.
By Express Lane7 months ago in Longevity
5 Things I Stopped Doing to Feel Happier Every Day
A few months ago, I realized I was more stressed, tired, and distracted than ever — even though I thought I was doing “everything right.” I had my to-do lists, my goals, and my endless self-help articles. But none of it made me feel lighter or truly happy.
By Express Lane7 months ago in Motivation
