Series
From Light to Darkness
Chapter Two: The Night The day had continued on as normal. I went out to feed and water the chickens and Betty. I cleaned the coop, watered the garden, tended to the flowers, and baked some bread. The market days would be beginning again soon as the spring slowly thawed the winter months. The greenness of the surrounding trees was thick with fresh rain and the ground was damp with fresh dew. I sat and crocheted some mittens and scarves that I will sell at the market.
By Faith Heple3 years ago in Fiction
Shadows of the Unseen
In the dark underbelly of the city, where shadows whispered secrets and the line between reality and the supernatural blurred, a lone figure roamed. His name was Adrian Kane, a renowned detective with a keen eye for the supernatural. Armed with a blend of intuition and arcane knowledge, he was a supernatural detective, delving into the mysterious and unexplained.
By 34 Rajnish kumar3 years ago in Fiction
Shadows of Enchantment
In the bustling city of Astoria, a place where towering skyscrapers kissed the heavens, an extraordinary event unfolded—the arrival of mythical creatures in the modern world. From the depths of ancient folklore, fantastical beings emerged, walking amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
By 34 Rajnish kumar3 years ago in Fiction
From Light to Darkness
Chapter One: The Light The dawn creeped over the mountains earlier than yesterday.The spring was coming to the Pacific Northwest. The haze of fog hung heavy over the emerald green trees and the morning sun slowly rose awakening the small oceanside town. The street lights clicked off as the streets brightened. A hundred years ago the streets of this town were so packed with people that the constant noise of shuffling feet and voices kept the cities alive 24/7. The populations were exhausted.
By Faith Heple3 years ago in Fiction
Forgiveness In War
Richard Jones stepped through the door of his home to the smell of his wife’s original recipe of cheese potatoes. He set his brief case holding all his work from the office at the small business he worked at. While taking in all the other aromas he could as well as at the same time forget all the stress of work as the pitter-patter of his children’s feet approached from upstairs. “Daddy!” screamed his little girl.
By Andrew Geist3 years ago in Fiction
Nazraa
"Run Nazraa run!! ". The voice shouted, urging me to run, pushing me away from the dangers that had become my life. I looked around, searching frantically for something I don't already know, for something I've never seen or passed through. It looked the same, everything felt normal, the screams, the suffocating smell, pieces of broken bottles carpeting the concrete floor, beasts in human form coming at me. It's always the same thing, I always feel the same kind of pain. Pain, extreme pain, its so normal that my body is becoming numb of it. For a moment,my whole life flashed in my head. Everything replayed like a tragic movie. Born into a world of abstract poverty, I never knew what the word ' peace ' meant. I was always wallowing in misery, the last time I smiled a genuine smile was when I was Nine, that's 10 years ago, I'm Nineteen now. I passed through the hands of many cruel people..I... Wait, hold on. I know you must be thinking, "This is another typical story of a girl that was abused" Actually,it is, but there's a slight twist in mine. After I was taken from my widowed mother, I was sold to a woman whose occupation was solely based on buying and selling girls of my age. I know, I know you've heard about a story like this. Now I know you're thinking " She was maltreated and abused sexually" Oh yes I was! I was beaten, raped severally, I was starved and my life was the definition of horror and pain. All in one I felt horrible every single day for the first few weeks till I decided to accept my fate and adapt to the pain. I adapted, and became a renowned member of all brothels Up North. I was recognized and wanted by wealthy, Rich, middle class and poor men. They all wanted me, the begged to serviced by me, they lavished cash on me and I loved it. I was beautiful and making my way to the top of the board at the age of fifteen. Most of the other girls who worked with me prayed fervently that they would be able to buy their freedom one day. But me? Oh No I desired the attention I was receiving and the thought of leaving that lifestyle never crossed my mind until something happened, something that shook me and woke me up from my slumber happened. Seeing corpses of young girls was as normal as spotting stray dogs out on the streets for me. I was so used to seeing my mates die right before my eyes that I could even kill, myself. I never killed anyone though. I guess what made it feel so normal to me was because of the simple fact that I wasn't in any way related to the girls. I didn't know them, nor was I aware of where they came from,so, I didn't care. That's why. When I walked into the courtyard of the lodge I lived in with other girls to find the dead body of a girl who looked so much like me with a knife plunged deep in her stomach and limbs bent in the opposite direction they should be facing, I froze. Froze? No I died and resurrected and died and resurrected and once again died and resurrected at the very spot. I took long shaky breaths and let my eyes travel back to rest on the face of my one and only sister. At that instant, I felt a mixture of so many horrible feelings, Oh I never thought I person could feel so tremendously awful. I was mortified due to the fact that her eyes were opened, though lifeless they stared directly at me. Boring deep holes into me. Her face wore a look I recognized so well, a look of agonizing pain. I didn't even want to think about who killed her or how she died because I knew the people who died here, died a horrible death. It then dawned on me at that moment that, someone gave birth to me. It was at that instant, I remembered that I left a family behind. My father was dead but my mother and three sisters were alive before I was brought to the city. My fogged thinking became clear and I recalled that my mother didn't know that I would become a slave once I left our small village. She didn't know, so she must have released my younger sister to come and work too. The question that was blaring in my mind wasn't how she ended up here, what my subconscious mind kept repeating was "when? " When did she come here? How long has she been here or how long was she here? I felt stupid, I wish I would just die right there and be forgotten forever. But then again, I remembered that my siblings were three, with one down, the other two would be somewhere right now in situations my brain couldn't possibly reason. I wanted to flee from the brothel, from my numerous sugar daddies, from my hypocritical friends and from the woman that owned me. See why I said there's a slight twist in my story? The twist here is my sheer stupidity. I was insensate for such a long time that I became oblivious to the things that happened outside the Zombie life I was living. I realized that I my life isn't a life, I was alive but I wasn't living. I felt empty. I suddenly wanted to bolt away, but the bitter truth here was that I couldn't because while other girls were buying their freedom with the money they earned, I lavished mine on material things,I wanted to belong and continue being everyone's favorite that I didn't save up or think about my future. I actually never thought I had a tomorrow. I managed to get away from the horrendous scene with different escape schemes running through my mind, none of them made sense though. All I wanted was freedom. From that night, my life went back to how it was when I was taken away from home. I wallowed in pain and self pity, I cried till I couldn't. Due to my pathetic state, I earned several lashes and bruises from my sugar daddies for I was reticent and refused to give them the service they paid for. When I couldn't endure the beatings anymore I stated avoiding everybody, I stayed indoors and barely ate anything. Two weeks later my owner, the woman that bought me, three years into my wayward life came to pay me a visit. Sheri Mama wasn't pleased to see me in that state, she spat harsh words at me and made me dress up in a flimsy Off Shoulder gown that hung on my body like a second skin. After making me wear the gown that barely covered my laps, she plastered my face with different layers of make up. Then she prepped me about a certain big man that had paid an enormous amount of money to have me just for that night. I remain placid all through her annoying banter and wordlessly followed her back to her joint to meet the so called 'Big Man'. As expected, he was huge with his stomach protruded like that of a woman about to give birth. Truth be told from his appearance you would know he WAS a big man. He came with the expensive looking cars and about ten hefty bodyguards. His smile was not so bad, but his cologne almost suffocated me to death. His huge hands were all over me from the moment my butt touched his laps. I flashed my most pretentious smile at him when he complemented me. "No, No please" I managed to say when his hands began to travel under my dress. I gently pushed his hands away and tried to get up but he held me down and whispered. "Hey, Don't be Scared of my size I promise to treat you right" he whispered this time trying to kiss my ear. "No!" my voice came out louder attracting Sheri Mama's attention. She slowly rose from where she was sitting and swayed her hips down to where I was standing a few feet away from Mr Big. "What is the problem Nazraa ?" She questioned, her expression placid. At that instant, I felt my heart thundering in my chest. I had been the good girl for a long time so I almost never earned this look from her. When I didn't answer, she stepped closer, making my breath hitch inside my lungs, her robust size intimidating my petite figure. I recognized that look, I recognized that face, the scene looked familiar in fact, the scene was a part of my life. When I was finally able to meet her eyes, I knew what was coming for me and it came. A loud resounding slap landed on my face, then the merciless beating followed, within 10 seconds I was on the floor with countless new bruises. It was so painful that I could not cry. "Mama! Mama stop it, do you want to kill her?". I heard Danju, her son calling out to her. He stepped in and held her back. "Stay out of this Danju, this girl is trying to rebel, I need to remind her of her place here". Sheri Mama yelled struggling to get out of his grip. Danju was my only friend, the only person who spoke real words to me, and right now, I wish I had listened to his advice of leaving my life of wretchedness, he even offered to buy my freedom once. I declined. I know, I know, I was stupid. "Mama I said leave her alone!" He shouted back angrily. He released her and in a bid to let out some of his anger, he kicked Mr Big's table causing the hefty bodyguards to swing to their master's rescue. That was when the real trouble started. It didn't take thirty seconds for Mr Big to be vamoused from the scene. After her was led out of the bar, his bodyguards returned to get me, after all, he had paid for my service and was yet to receive it. Danju once again, intervened, refusing to allow them lay their hands on me. That angered them and before I could say 'Jack' the whole bar was upside down. Sheri Mama had absconded and a new corpse was lying near me. All these happened while I was lying motionless on the ground, I could only watch. I honestly wished I could die so all of it would come to an end. But again Danju wouldn't let me. His voice brought me back to the present, back to where you met me in the first place. "Nazraa!!! Go!! This is your chance to escape, run!!! ". The voice shouted again, I looked up from where I lay, half dead with my whole body covered with bruises, some fresh, some almost healing... I spy Danju in the crowd of chaos, he was trying ward of a hefty man from reaching me. It looked almost comical how his lean figure stood against the well built man with the meanest face I've ever come across.. "Nazraa!! ". He shouted again when our eyes met, he was telling me to run.. To go, when I almost can't feel my legs, his eyes conveyed a hundred messages at once, all telling me not to miss the opportunity of seeing a brighter tomorrow. I suddenly felt my body moving, it was as if I wasn't in control anymore, my legs surprisingly carried the weight of my upper body, I was suddenly standing upright with strange waves of energy surging through me. I looked around again to see Halima, a fellow slave lying like a rag on the ground, it was dark but I could still see that a broken bottle was stuck in her right leg, her eyes was closed, it looked as if she was sleeping but I knew better, she was dead, just like the rest were.. Its a miracle I'm not. I darted my gaze back to where Danju was still fighting with the man. "Go!! ". He shouted again and I felt my legs moving. I was suddenly bolting away from the messed up bar, from my wreck of a life, from my only friend, and from the sickening control of Sheri Mama the queen of night joints. I ran, never looking back, I ran barefooted, the cold tared road numbing my heels. I bolted away with bloodshot eyes,an half broken hand, fractured limbs and a demented, tenebrous life. I continued running for what felt like hours, until I collided with what felt like a hard wall, I felt my fragile body break and crumble back to the ground I forced myself up from. I tried getting up again but I couldn't, I saw light coming from afar but I couldn't reach for it, I only stared at it until it turned to darkness. Whether dark or bright, I know tomorrow will be my first day of freedom. ~If I could just reach a little further, if my strength was an ounce greater, if I could tug just a little harder, maybe the whirlwind would have swept us together in one pace~
By Musa Nana Rukiaya3 years ago in Fiction
Vocal Community Microfiction Series. Top Story - May 2023.
When the Microfiction Magic Challenge was announced I thought I could pull a Hemmingway, write a tiny story, and be done with it. But then I saw the word count (50-100 words) and realized my first entry did not meet the requirements.
By Loryne Andawey3 years ago in Fiction
