Plot Twist

Chapter 03 | Starbuilders
Standing before Nothaar were two people - if that word could be applied to them - that did not look like any other person Nothaar had ever seen before. Examining the duo as well as he could by the light of the campfire, Nothaar saw that they shared a skin tone coloration similar to the children, but it was somehow more pronounced and vibrant. If anything, the youngsters looked like they were a dull mixture of the complexion of people born before the Sky Shift with what Ifu and Syraaq had wrapped over their frames. As observed by Nothaar, the stark differences Ifu and Syraaq possessed did not end with just their pigmentation.
By J.P. Prag7 months ago in Chapters
Every Day Is Theirs: A Heart’s Tribute to Our Parents Beyond One Day
✍️ By: Umair Ali Shah Yousafzai --- 🌸 Introduction: The Problem with “One Day” In an age where love has been reduced to emojis and celebrations are confined to trending hashtags, it’s become common to see people dedicate just one day a year to their parents — usually in the form of a well-edited photo, a generic social media caption, or a short video clip. "Happy Parents’ Day!" they declare, and with that, consider their duty fulfilled. But can one day capture the essence of lifelong sacrifice? Can a Facebook status outweigh a mother’s sleepless nights? Can an Instagram reel compensate for a father’s decades of toil? The answer — spoken by the heart — is a resounding no. Parents are not a seasonal celebration. They are the soul of our lives. They do not deserve a day; they deserve our every day, our every breath, our every success, our every prayer. --- 🕊️ A Love Beyond Comprehension Parental love is not poetic — it is prophetic. The mother’s womb becomes a sanctuary before we even open our eyes. Her body breaks to give us life. Her nights shatter so our dreams can form. Her meals go cold so ours stay warm. She becomes our shadow, our comfort, our shield. And the father? He becomes the silent mountain who absorbs the storm before it reaches us. He ages behind the curtain so we can grow on stage. His shoes wear thin so ours stay new. His pockets empty so our dreams can fill. His hands become rough while ours remain soft. Such love cannot be compared. It cannot be counted, priced, or postponed. It is as eternal as the sky — silent but all-encompassing. --- 🏠 From Cradle to Grave: They Gave Us Everything The truth is simple and painful: the very people who gave us everything, we give them the least. They carried us when we were weak. They taught us to walk, to speak, to eat. They encouraged our smallest achievements and bore our greatest failures. They forgave our rebellion, our rudeness, our rejection. They kept loving even when we didn’t love back. And what did they ask for in return? Nothing — except a little time. A little respect. A little remembrance. And yet, many of us fail even in that. --- 📅 One Day is Not Enough — It’s Almost Insulting Designating one day for parents is, in many ways, an insult wrapped in sentimentality. It suggests that gratitude can be scheduled, that love can be timed, that sacrifice can be acknowledged only when it's convenient. Do parents love only once a year? Do they support us only on Sundays? Do they pray for us only during exam season? No. Their love is relentless, their loyalty unconditional, their prayers eternal. Then how dare we give them just a day? --- 🕯️ Real-Life Reflections: Forgotten Candles of Our Lives Visit an old age home and you will see forgotten candles flickering dimly, waiting for someone to relight their flames. Mothers who once carried their children now carry loneliness. Fathers who once stood tall now sit silently by windows, hoping someone might knock on the door. "I gave him everything," says one mother, staring into her fading memories. "And now he sends money, but not himself." What do we owe them? Not riches. Not luxury. We owe them presence. We owe them honor. We owe them time. And if we fail to pay that debt in life, we will spend the rest of our lives repaying it in guilt. --- 🌙 The Islamic Perspective: A Duty, Not a Favor In Islam, honoring one's parents is not optional. It is second only to worshipping Allah. The Qur’an places “being good to parents” immediately after “worship none but Allah” (Surah Al-Isra, 17:23). > “And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say: ‘My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.’” — (Qur’an 17:24)
By Umair Ali Shah 7 months ago in Chapters
The Fire Between Us. Content Warning.
Chapter one: The Fire Between Us Kansas City had a way of hiding its most dangerous temptations in plain sight. Some people found theirs at church, some on quiet streets, some in the middle of their own homes. Mine found me in a pool hall under buzzing neon, cigarette smoke curling through the air, whiskey staining the floorboards, and a man leaning over a table like he was born to conquer it.
By Dakota Denise 7 months ago in Chapters
Chapter 02 | Starbuilders
Deciding that he must take a calculated risk, Nothaar stepped out from his hiding place and presented himself. He positioned his hands into the universal gesture of peace, demonstrating that he was not brandishing a weapon. After making a noise with his throat to ensure that the strangers would notice him and not be taken unawares, Nothaar began in the dialect he had heard from them, "Greetings be to you, fellow travelers. Me hear you speak Language of Children, too. You speak Language of Children good; me very impressed. Language of Children very difficult for people not children!"
By J.P. Prag7 months ago in Chapters
Chapter 01 | Starbuilders
Nothaar Akii had left the village near the southern edge of the world tardier in the spring than he would have preferred. Over the long, dark, and cold season, the settlement's Keeper, Baubu Yoordi, had finally succumbed to his advanced age in the middle of his eighty-third winter. While Nothaar had originally found the geriatric man to be spritely and full of life, spending more time with Baubu had revealed how precarious his health situation really was, and how scared he was for his people's future. It seemed like all his actions were an intentional feint, trying to manipulate me into staying and taking over for him, Nothaar divisively thought as he continued his lonely trek through the now fully blooming woods. He even waited to die until he met me, using his passing to the next world as a way to get me to supersede him in this one!
By J.P. Prag8 months ago in Chapters
The Neon Predator: A Futuristic Serial Killer Thriller Unraveled
Chapter 1: The City That Never Sleeps The year was 2075, and Neonspire, a sprawling metropolis on the Pacific Rim, shimmered like a galaxy of glass and light. Towering skyscrapers pulsed with holographic billboards, drones zipped through the air delivering packages, and neural implants let citizens live half their lives in augmented reality. But beneath the city’s glittering facade, a darkness festered—one that thrived on the anonymity of a world where everyone was connected, yet no one truly saw each other.
By Muhammad Ahmar 8 months ago in Chapters
ADVANTAGE . Content Warning.
Lets talk about what kept Elvis from coming to the gym with Pedro that very day,Elvis went to meet this girl they have been chatting online for the first time and the girl turns out to be Pedro little sister , i know what you will be thinking now,Elvis ''E'' for short did not know she was Pedro sister but anyways lets talk about what happened ,when E got there he was everything every girl would ask for in a man , he was every girls spec .Lets call this girl Bella, she then heard her bell 🔔 ring and quickly went to get the door 🚪and hugged him and they headed to the living room ,Bella went to grab some wine and they started drinking and chatting ,this shouldn't be a surprise Elvis had his way through her[sex] and that chapter closed , E left before day break and left a letter on her bed saying ''SORRY I LEFT SO EARLY AND COULD TELL YOU GOOD MORNING BUT I HAVE WORK TO GET TO AND PROMISE TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU, YOURS ELVIS'' , she got out of bed to take a shower and didn't realize anything was gone until her brother came back home from a house party and went straight to his drawer and noticed his money is gone and most of his important stuff too ,he called for his sister in a loud tone and asked what happened to his money in the drawer and all she could say was i was not in your room when you were away until she remembered that ..............................TO BE CONTINUED.
By The Reader's 8 months ago in Chapters
Prelude III | Starbuilders
After arriving back at the village, Nothaar and Baubu retired to the older man's hut. There, Baubu's assistants had kept the fires burning while they were away; thus, it was actually quite comfortable inside. Nothaar was amazed at the ingenuity that went into insulating the building to keep so much heat in the interior while letting all the smoke out. Sweating from their vigorous walk, Nothaar was quick to shed his warm layers. Still, the cold felt like it had seeped as deep as his organs and was stubbornly refusing to allow his internal body temperature to return to its expected normal level.
By J.P. Prag8 months ago in Chapters
The importance of authenticity: His true power returns when he sheds the foreign influences and reconnects with his roots.. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
The importance of authenticity: His true power returns when he sheds the foreign influences and reconnects with his roots.---- The Priest-King loses his connection to his power and his land by embracing foreign objects and practices (the throne, crown, clothing, marble floors, and even the blood ritual itself). His brother, the High Priest of the Dark God, helps him realize that true power comes from being rooted in his own land and identity.----It all started with a dizzy spell. One minute I was the Priest-King, crown on my head, performing a ritual, and the next, I was almost on the floor. My ornate crown clattered away, making a racket. Just as I thought I was going down, a hand grabbed my arm, pulling me back up.
By MD Melon8 months ago in Chapters
Dueling Kingdoms - Part 6
Here are the previous chapters if you haven't checked them out! While Kris subtly held her lower abdomen, the earth-shattering reality of everything became unbearable and her world began to swirl. “Roy..” a mere whimper escaped as Kris’ vision began to blur. “Woah! Kris! Easy there, you're alright. I got you." With concern on Roy's face he gently guided Kris towards the ground in an empty meadow. As Kris came through the fainting spell, she erratically pushed back screaming “Don’t touch me!” As she brought her knees to her chest. Scared he might feel the subtle changes happening in her body, she couldn’t risk him finding out, not yet anyway. “I…forgive me Kris, I merely wanted to make sure you’re alright.” “I’m fine, I just stepped wrong.” Although Roy was skeptical, he dropped the subject, and asked Kris to expand on her thoughts of her royalty. “You said earlier you believed you were, or are, royalty? Enlighten me Kris, why do you believe this?” “Surely you must know?” Roy laughed in bewilderment, “I can attest to it that I haven’t the slightest idea.” Roy’s eyes glistened with curiosity and had depth to them as if he wanted me to share my thoughts openly. Yet, here I am hiding my abdomen and being hypervigilant about everything. Clearly I wasn’t off to a good start. “Kris?” Roy called my name as if pulling me from troubled waters, “Oh right, my apologies. I discovered this tale of two kingdoms, one between your parents prior to their divide, and Kingdom Haus, who now reside on the far side of the mountain. Does this tale sound familiar?” “I’d be lying if I said no.” Dropping his eyes, Roy broke eye contact, taking in a shaky breath and rubbing his knee as if a secret had just been exposed. “So you knew?!” Kris rose to her feet, anger sputtering through her body, trying to breathe steadily to avoid another fainting spell. “Kris, please…” “After all this time?! I trusted you! I’ve freely put my life on the line for you and the Queen! And for what? To be your puppet?” Kris felt betrayed by Roy, perhaps Prince Coy spoke plainly, albeit deceitful in his tactics, but at least he spoke plainly! Coy tried to show me the truth about my true identity. I was just too stubborn and blind to notice! I could only see him through my bias as a vile monster, oh what a fool I am! “Kris, I can explain.” “Now you want to explain Roy?! No! You don’t get to just talk your way out of this!” Before Roy could respond, Kris quickly spun on her heels and ran into the depths of the forest to be alone in her thoughts. Most of all she needed a safe hiding place as she knew Roy would surely look for her.
By Sibley Shamra8 months ago in Chapters
Dueling Kingdoms - Part 5. Content Warning.
If you haven’t read the first four parts of this story, then please follow the links below in order to get proper context before reading part five.
By Rowan Finley 8 months ago in Chapters
Prelude II | Starbuilders
Side-by-side, Nothaar and Baubu began walking back towards the village. En route, they idly chatted about the various locales that Nothaar had visited and the groups that were inhabiting them. Their conversation never settled on any topic in particular and instead bounced around, driven solely by the whims of the participants. As their voyage took them upon a well-worn path, Nothaar remarked on how he could practically feel the history of the trail itself. "It's quite clear that your people have been coming this way for generations," he noted.
By J.P. Prag8 months ago in Chapters