Young Adult
Vivian
(Author's note: Please excuse the inclusion of AI-generated art with this piece. This was created fairly early in the public adoption of generative AI, and I hadn't yet understood the impact and consequences of using it. I've chosen to give myself some grace and leave the art attached to the stories they were generated for, as they were an earnest part of my creative process at that time.)
By Rebekah Conard3 years ago in Fiction
She Chose To Forgive Him
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. She could make out the cherry blossoms falling like pink snowflakes between her swollen lids. She wished she could dance in the flowers, giggling like a little girl high on the euphoria of life. The cancer-ridden woman grimaced in pain as acid-like tears trickled down the sides of her face.
By Alexandria Stanwyck3 years ago in Fiction
A Pitcher of Poison
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Cara still thought of it as her brother’s room even though he had been gone a season now. He had been a great forager, smart, quick, skilled. He’d promised that once she was 14 he’d start taking her out with him but her birthday was last week and here she still was, peering through the cracked glass bandaged with duct tape.
By Annie Gibson3 years ago in Fiction
First Steps
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Babel was an interesting person. The only interesting person in this place. He also was the only one with access to a window that opened outside. No one knew he had opened it of course.
By Dany Jean-Pierre3 years ago in Fiction
Liminal Imminence
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Because of the window’s placement, all Magdalena could see was the sky. It felt more alive to her than anyone else in the bunker. Gray, purple, blue, pink, orange; every color it took was beautiful. Then there was the rain. When it poured, it would play lovely music against the window. Those were the days she slept in her uncle’s assigned bed, and he would sleep in hers. Her uncle found the pounding against the window terrifying. He was always afraid the window would crash open one day and the air would kill him before anyone noticed. Meanwhile, Magdalena was just lulled to sleep by the symphony.
By C.M. Vazquez3 years ago in Fiction
Golden Shackles
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. From here she could hear the clunking of horse hooves on the cobblestones, the buzzing of distant chatter with the shouting of marketers occasionally breaking over the hum. The smell of sweat, shit, and spices wafted up. The city outside could have been a whole other world. It was nothing like the quiet river village she’d grown up in, where a newcomer’s arrival would be a week’s worth of gossip and on a clear night, it was impossible to count all the stars.
By Flora Nickels3 years ago in Fiction
Dreamchild Enterprise. Runner-Up in Behind the Last Window Challenge.
For the Behind the Last Window Challenge on Vocal+ She knew nothing of the outside world, but she could see a glimpse through the window in his room. Temperance thought the sky was bluer than usual today, too blue for the occasion. She gazed after her twin as Charity climbed into the car, never pausing to look back at Temperance. Not once.
By Holly Pheni3 years ago in Fiction
Gone to Ground
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. So, when she left our quarters every few days claiming to volunteer in the greenbays, I knew she was lying. I had behaved in much the same way once.
By Lark Hanshan3 years ago in Fiction
