Love
Two Jars of Honey and a Kiss
Lucas removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his pant legs, and waded into the water hidden behind a wild growth of willow, alder, and pine that shaded the river bank from the hot afternoon sun. Here, the river ran narrow and shallow and the water was clear and cool. Lucas cupped his hands, scooped up some water and threw it in his face. It felt good and washed the sticky dried sweat from his brow. Just a couple of hours earlier, he had been in town selling honey at the market, while sweltering the summer heat. It had been a fine day for him. There was a good market for honey.
By Gail Winfreeabout 13 hours ago in Fiction
Letters to ada
Letter I – From Layth to Ada Void, beyond the 22nd century My Dearest Ada, Your eyes... velvet that dissolves the last remnants of my coldness. I was an extinguished ember, until your radiance moistened me like a river-child bending over an ancient thirst in my chest. You blinked—and all of Time leaned toward my mouth. A redness upon your lips touched my fissures, and I softened... I, whom stones never softened. Your iris was my window and my mirror: a core that illuminates and desiccates what remained of my cold soul. I whisper to you a gesture of containment, and I dissolve in Time, even though I was frozen beneath the anesthesia of heavy smoke from a cigarette that keeps the night awake in my blood. I hid a poet in an old box—I feared that if he saw you, the world around me would be disturbed... but your wide lashes excavated the box and awakened what had died before you. You approached... and in the silence of night you were like a thread of light passing over my heart. I saw sorrow wrapped around your white shawl, its yellowness faded as if traces of a day that continued to extinguish. I said to you in a whisper, my voice sagging between fear and wonder: Will you entwine your hand in mine, and shall we slip together to the bottom of Time... without fear? You smiled, and the universe slackened around me, as if the warmth of your fingers was all that remained of the world. And you were asking in silence: “Where is your place within my embrace?” And I, in whose throat the sword of silence had been planted, found myself choosing you before I could speak. Black were your eyes, yet they kindled a daylight within me. And for the first time... O you of the two eyes, I felt that I was luminous.
By LUCCIAN LAYTHabout 13 hours ago in Fiction
Nothing but Voice
“Do we end up together? In the end?” “In a certain reality, you may.” “We may?” “Life is unpredictable. That’s something everyone forgets. People live and people die and so many things happen in between life and death. There’re multiple different ways your life could go, but I can’t say for certain. You could die in a car crash. Become paralyzed. Your story could end here. Dead in a hospital bed.”
By Gianna Montielabout 16 hours ago in Fiction
Bolly Me Not on the Lone Prairie
My hoss was restless when I woke. Snortin’ and stampin’ something fierce, grumblin’ and whinnyin’, champin’ at the bit. I glanced around camp. Everything looked normal, at first. Cookie already cooking flapjacks and gritty coffee. Butch already with the wheezes, humming into that old harmonica of his, like he allus did, soon’s the sun comes up. Clive whittling by the fahr, same as allus.
By Meredith Harmona day ago in Fiction
A Breeze I Wish To Forget
The pictures upheld itself to Natajra’s standard as the driver cruises through the city. The skies were pretty, it wasn’t too hot or too cold outside, and the garden and palms trees were absolutely beautiful. Natajra pinched herself wondering if she was in heaven. “Ouch!” She whispered to herself as she rubs the tiny pain away.
By Devond Devoea day ago in Fiction
