“What are they looking for?” “Alien” “Why so far? We have one here.” “Do we?” “That strange jellyfish taken by the big ship and stranded here alone. Isn’t it alien too?” Look up and down, up and down, up and down “your brain must be eaten by aliens.” “Do I have a brain?” “Do we have a brain?” “Guys stop! They are looking for a new home.” “Why?” “They wrecked Earth down and forget how to fix it.” “Disassemble.” “What?” “’Wreck’ used when they know the consequences, but they were too stupid to know that. Remember when they found that oil from the ground? The whales were cheering along with them. Oh, poor whales, I was shouted out loud when I heard the news about the old Cachalot. They, humans, need to pay some price too.” “We have four already, do we?” “Five” “What is it about?” “The mass extinction” “Ohh,” “So, it’s better to stay or run away?” “Sssst, don’t tell them. Let they do their thing” “Why?” “They will know eventually. It’s almost there, the sixth.” “How did you know?” “Some birds told me last summer that the warmth was getting longer and longer.” “Yeaahh, it’s finally here!!! I want to be the soil this time.” “You will be the ground. Layered by the dust and hold the water down.” “That’s better, you know? Up here was too bad. I can’t imagine, what’s another worse creature would arise after this one.” “I was creeped out by those dinosaurs and excited for nothing when that smaller creature was created. I thought, it’s finally peace, little did I know that they were even worse.” “Those dinosaurs might be scary and noisy but they didn’t take more than what they needed.” “I like Luca better.” “What’s Luca?” “The first” “Since when is it called Luca?” “Humans name it, I think it's cool.” “Why Luca?” “Because it’s the first.” “Luca is not better. They eat each other.” “But that makes them exist, living things.” “You know, what’s funnier?” “What?” “They tried to plant the trees. But same tree, all the same species.” “What? Monogenous?” “Ridiculous! What luck for us to have no brain.” “There’s nothing good about having one.” “Indeed.” “I thought it was the worst, when fire and all those meteors attacked Earth. Little did I know that humans could do this far.” “Actually, they are not that bad. Remember, when they used to give us food and share anything, they had with us?” “They didn’t do that anymore.” “When I was a melted magma down there, I heard something interesting from the plates.” “What? The land married with the water?” “ugh, muddy” “No, you silly! The glacier was in pain.” “’is’ in pain. It had been worsening for the last few decades. Don’t try to be the smart one. Everyone had heard about it. The wind told me yesterday that one of the lands in the south will soon be claimed by the ocean. It’s all because that human let the glacier melt.” “I hate being magma” “So, what’s you want to be when the sixth comes?” “Can I just be water?” “You are a rock, silly!” “You said nothing is impossible!” “That’s for humans! There’s something fundamental that is impossible, except for God.” “What God?” “This conversation must end here. Talking about God's existence would take time until the sun supernova.” “The worst was for the Mus. They owned this land before and then those bloody humans started to claim the land and now, they said that they were pests in their own land.” “But they’re warriors. After all of this madness, they managed to survive.” “What’s the point of surviving? When you are not worthy in your own land.” “I mean. The humans, aren’t they smart enough to be the global superpredator? Why didn’t they realize that their existence was in danger?” “If you think you are smartest of all, nothing can help you from catastrophic destruction.” “They even think that planting some trees would fix everything and it's monogenous.” “hahaha, I could die of tears, ahhh my stomach is hurt.” “How many times do I have to remind you? You are rock! A stone made from atoms. You have no stomach!” “Why didn’t I have one? I want to have one! When the sixth comes, I’ll pledge a wish to Zeus to give me one.” “Ask Zeus to give you a brain too.” “But they learn though, some are good enough to realize it. I saw some that tracked the ecological history.” “Where?” “In the north forest before I was drawn by the flood.” “I missed the Bramble.” “Why suddenly brought the Bramble?” “I see none of them recently. They are kind little mates.” “They gone! Four of five winters ago. I heard from people passing by that they were extinct.” “Now, even a small mammal is also extinct. I missed the Mammoth too.” “Why do you have to miss them? I always had to be wary around them.” “Not all of them extinct, some of ‘sane-enough’ humans had tried to save anything they could save. The old Mega was lucky enough to have a secure life in his old day. I heard that humans have an agreement to protect his family.” “Who knows what the future would be like, those big cats everyone always feared were gone now.” “What about us?” “What?” “Is there any among us that get bad luck?” “HAH! What could be bad luck for us? We’ve been burning, sweeping, freezing, and more. We still remain a rock.” “They didn’t care about us. Plethora of us here, yet they tried to find more on the moon.” “How did you know that?” “A human talked to me.” “That human must be crazy.” “She cried.” “Why?” “ She told me that no one in her family seems to care about the lost. She feels bad for Earth and me.” “I hope she died before the sixth comes.” “How long until the sixth arrive?” “Soon, maybe a few years or decades.” “Do they know, human?” “I don’t think so.” “Don’t tell them then.” *** If you wonder how was the rock's life


"She said her children will be a Force to be Recon with" Pearl Fisher was born in the middle of a flowing field one golden morning of June sand clay to the Sante Estherville South Carolina. She learned the way her great-grandmother Nin 1894 til she transcended the invisible walls of captivity. Tuesday morning Aug 23 1977 and grandmom Angeline April 15, 1979, an Easter Sunday morning at the same time moments confusion left her life and brought her miraculous sight. The first of 13 gifts born to her parents, a blessing to enter their lives. Sunday morning June 29, 1941, close to the time the atomic mushrooms sent shock waves through time that are still vibrating in the atmosphere. My Black Pearl's of Wisdom The greatest mother a black child could be blessed to be born. Beloved as Black Pearl's of wisdom, Benin, the Black Butterfly and Grapes. A mother who just did not lived and cry for her own black children but she cried for the whole world. This sister danced in the sun, talked to the tree, birds, and babies. All this love she had inside her soul lead her footsteps to write Rhythmic Rays, A Color-less Reality, Geneva was my Home and No Second to Make Myself Real. She left this earth saying the best is yet to come ME. The Power of Creation Ahayah New Day In the Beginning it was Black. A healthy living she shared with anyone who would take time out to listen. Her love for her Heavenly Father was the greatest my family had the pleasure to witness and be a part of the Most High blessings in her life. She went from a 6-grade education- to a cigarette, a lemon pie and a Pepsi soda, a typewriter, and a dictionary to become a poet, activist with spiritually blessed insight that has inspired throughout the globe. She wrote many letters, plays, and books. and sent them all around the world. This woman was a daughter of Zion who was strong enough to be herself- no matter what anyone thought of her piculiar ways. She walked to the beat of the Most High trumpets in her heart and found her home with the son Christ. She carved her legacy in my hearts that inspired the Power of Creation born in ME She "said" Reach your fullest potential and ride the Black Rocket thru time awaiting your intellectual challenge Knock at freedom door. Knock Hard. It will open slowly but Fear not my Sons and Daughters for No Black Man ever walks alone As, I rose this morning and thought of this woman who love me from her warm womb. I was just thinking about the relationship between a mother and daughter. How it can be one of the most surprising and extremely difficult energy that are connected together. It can be a loving and crazy journey that is full of both positive and negitive energy. Spirt that's filled of love and hate emotions. Up and down feelings that establishes the pathway of their passion and compassion. It is so amazing to see how spiritual growth develops between the two searching confused girls that only time allows them both to become wise righteous. and powerful. My mother is the Black Butterfly and I am the Oak Tree The Oak tree that, I have learned to be today is strong as an Oak. Just like she said to ME , I would become. Sculpte by the strength of my mother's gift of power. She wisely shaped and molded my heart to be equal to my mind with the soft warm sweet comfort of her beautiful loving strong black wings. Sometimes she used very very harsh instructions to whip my little black ass. Not agreeing back then; but today, I know it was all done by her careful plans and wise decisions for my personal growth. Correction is what she knew, I needed to establish God's way of living on my path. I'm thinking my mother simply wanted ME to be able to stand strong in the many stormy winds in life that she knew, I would face on my life journey. I Was a Hard Rock Headed Stiff Neck Rebellious Black Child My mother guided my direction to creatively think and taught ME how to seek for the light in darkness. Reliance was formed out of her actions that, I know was all done for the love she had for the Most High and ME ! She deeply loved all of God's natural creations in a special kind of way. Remembering her profound action, I pray someday I could do the same. My Black Pearl's of wisdom was my first teacher of aspiration and her crazy consistent ways lead me to see all the confusion in all the world's to find my needed answers. . Her Secret Dreams Was My Destiny I'm thinking maybe to her, I was the extention of her secret dreams. I mean a beautiful reality born in the image of her self that she was always trying to create a solid destiny in my life. A new baby girl that arrived to her as her special miracle baby. 7 months premature. Another start in life that came to her in a little version of her black unique beauty. I bet my mommies feelings of hope for my furture were so deep that she truly wanted me to have the ability to do better than the life she had lived many years in agony and pain. A Great Gift From The Most High I can only imagine through her loving eyes she seen ME as a great gift from the Creator. Laying in my bed in the still of the night, I could hear my mother singing and praying unto the Creator that, I have a better life than her own. The wisdom and knowledge my mother acquired on her long painful journey, I should definitely respect it. So every day as I live, I keep her comforting words of wisdom tucked close in my heart of mind to try to always shine the light, I seen in her that still after she's gone helps me to smile. A Woman Pain Runs Deeper Than What The Eyes Can See I learned that the experiences of a developing woman's hurt and pain runs deeper than what the natural eyes can see and sometimes their approach in life can be a little misleading to a young girl, who has not begun to live out her own gift of greatness. Still the advice given from a spiritual mother should be treasured and used when ever it's needed. I found out about life the long way when, I ran and hide from my mother's hurt and pain. In my beginning, I ran away without trying to understand the mass confusion created in her life. Road blocks created the downfall for me making too many mistakes. Balancing The Hurt In the middle of my painful journey, I grew and learned how to listen more and respect the position the Most High gave to her over ME and with that one humbling decision, I made a simple choice that gave us both the obedience to stop the fight and hear each other. We begin to balance all the hurt and pain and create unity with truthful open communication. Their was so many issues that had no bonding power for us to hold on to any longer. I let go of the hateful feelings then became free from my pride to respect the only woman on this planet earth who loved me from her warm womb. A Mother's First Thought For Your Destiny Living this system, I do realize that some mothers are not as wise as the other mothers we may see in the world's; but they all had a starting point of confusion and countless lies. This empire creates a long painful journey for us to seek and find our balance in life. Therefore we all live each new day to only learn that there are so many bad worldly influences and many road blocks that can affects a persons path and that may have clouded up their mothering skills. Then the judgement of their character may haunt and hurt you deeply. Forgiveness is always free. I'm thinking that it is always better to think and re-think your decisions about their journey before you act off hurtful emotion that may disconnect you from the womb that carried your life or at least try to find the secret or hidden answers to their life story that may have created the pain and disappointment you may feel in your life today. Because a mother's journey along with her hurt and pain may reflect your current reality. Knowingly or Unknowingly we hurt in silence. Forgivness I'm thinking maybe having these secret answers added to your life just might be the way to forgive the woman, who only had what was presented to her in life to survive. I strongly believe that no matter what else you get in this twisted up sinful world that is truly good. The greatest gift to your life was the gift from the Most High. The seed of your Father and the warm womb of your Mother. And. I would bet that you are so much greater in your life choices and decisions; because of their confusion and pain. The hurt you may feel from the disappointment in her ingorant actions, just may have caused you to manifest into her silent prayers and secret dreams. I mean her first thoughts of you and your destiny. The feelings she most likely had the first second she looked at you when you entered the earth as her baby girl. Im thinking we both can win when we desire to reach higher and use our power of creation to forgive the programming of ingorance. The Most High Forgives So We Can Too Kash, Tanzaniyah. The Power of Creation Ahayah New Day: In the Beginning It Was Black (p. 200). Lulu Publishing Services. Kindle Edition.


Kirk Taggert quaked and quivered, standing on the official sized wrestling mat in the Cochran High School gymnasium. He was a popular poster-boy blueprint for a six foot-four, bronze haired, muscle sculpted, teenage boy wrestler. But belying Kirk's coveted physique, unadulterated panic shimmered behind his amoretto colored eyes. Kirk was no one to veer away from any opponent, but the wrestler that stood across from him wasn't just any high school opponent. This opponent could actually mentally break him before the match began. The evidence was in the amount of perspirations already beaded out across Kirk's forehead and upper lip. It was not because the opponent was grizzly bear sized, or a body builder's dream. Kirk could deal with that all day long. He preferred the challenge of making a mountain into a mole hill any day. But the guy standing just a mere three feet from him, he had loved ever since... ...Probably forever. Kirk was hindered in his mind about just how he could violently do a take-down move on him, or forcibly manhandle the guy he loved onto his back for a three second count. Kirk's opponent wasn't even high school age. But was considerably much older than himself. He looked at the man, and gritted his teeth together in worried apprehension. He was about to wrestle an opponent that wasn't even five foot-nine. And who had the musculature of an arm chair quarterback, looking every bit as harmless as a Starbuck barista. Kirk could feel his hands betraying his brittle confidence. They were slick with body dew. And the absence of any sound in the gym was unnerving. Comparable to the soundless void of outer space. For there were no spectators around to cheer or jeer. The referee's whistle was about to shatter the sound void, however, to sharply signal the match to begin. Likely within the span of a meager few heartbeats. *Run up and wrestle his opponent or just plain old run?* The urge to do an early tap out was almost unbearable for Kirk. In his mind, he was no coward, but tapping out early would make him look every bit like one. And he couldn't stand looking like one of those, ever. Still only a few reprieving seconds were left. Seconds for Kirk to make the decision of a lifetime. Without conscious thinking, he crouched into a low center of gravity attack position, and licked his lips. His mouth felt as dusty as an old abandoned garage. Kirk spared a half glance, away from his opponent soft eyes, to register that the referee was now bringing her whistle to her lips. Time had finally run out. In a determined state of mind, Kirk got ready to send his hands away from his body, and to flex his fingers in the anticipation of using them as grapples. But instead, he stood up out of his crouch with a newer resolve. Kirk held up a hand to halt the referee's immanent puff of breath through her whistle's mouthpiece. And un-hesitantly walked briskly over to his opponent with his right hand leading the way. When Kirk was close enough, the opponent took Kirk's extended hand in his own and shook it vigorously. With a relieved heavy sigh, Kirk uttered bashfully, "Dad. I love you. And I apologize for shooting off my mouth earlier; challenging you to this match. From now on I promise not to miss my curfew." He then turns to the referee and says with a wink, "I love you too mom. Thanks for volunteering to referee.


Kailani was starting to become the love of my life but now I felt as if I was dealt a hand of cards I can’t place on the table. One night I found her in her apartment beaten badly with laceration marks covering parts of her body, her clothes had been ripped and in her own blood the word pain had been written on her stomach. Seeing my baby like this really tore me down to shreds, the doctors are saying she’ll be lucky if she wakes up but I know for a fact that Kailani will wake up. She is a strong fighter. Amber you know she had all this set up just to make it look like she was innocent! Kailani wouldn’t do that Ariana! Amber yes she would! Your eyes are deceiving you and you are falling in her trap! I want you to be honest with me. Do you love her? Of course that’s my homegirl. I need for you to tell the police she had a robbery staged and made her side piece stage everything so people would feel sorry for her. Why would you even say that? Because i’m the one that had Milo rob the apartment and do the damage to her! The police are starting to unravel the truth and I can’t have my brother locked up. We have a business to run and I refuse for things to get any worse than they already are. I won’t do it! You gon do whatever I tell you to do, did you forget about the bet we made? It’s not like your secrets are safe either Amber. I don’t have any secrets that people don’t already know. Does Kailani know you had her brother kidnapped and Milo was the mastermind behind everything? Yeah like I thought, now we go do things my way I don’t care what you think you got on me, just know that what I got on you and Milo will destroy y’all lives. If I have to go down so will y’all. I’ll tell everybody about what you did and i’ll even turn myself in but I refuse to allow kailani to wake up and be in handcuffs for something she did not commit. You got the wrong one today, I will make sure you are locked up before she wakes. She is in a coma more than likely she won’t remember anything that happened however it is my duty and Kareem duty to make sure she nevers remembers this part of her past. So you bold? I was bold Ariana, you just now figuring that out? We no longer have anything to discuss i’ll see my way out not before I finish the job on little Ms. Kaiani. Good luck trying to touch her. What is that supposed to mean? It means that when you ask for her number to her room there will be a police officer asking who you are and once they find out you’ll be locked up right along with Milo. It’s funny you say that. I guess it is funny huh? Well you see I did some work of my own on my own time without you noticing. What type of work is that? You will have to see for yourself just know if you try to kill me you will be going to prison for first degree murder along with attempted murder. You set me up! No I didn’t set you up you should just be more careful who you spill your secrets too sweetie I can’t lock you up because I am still undercover. When Milo gets wind of this he is going to kill you. Poor baby I guess you didn’t get the news Milo is dead. Amber I hope you rot in hell! You played everybody! For a second I thought you were in love with me. Silly me love has never worked for me and I'm afraid it never will. Not my problem but you can see your way out my friend crib. We don't tolerate people who break the law and then try to set other people up. You and Milo played right into the deck of cards except this time you're the deck of cards nobody wants to deal with. Kailani you're awake! Who are you? I’m your boyfriend Kailani, you don’t remember me? Everything seems to be a blur. I honestly don’t remember anything. I’ll get the doctor. Kareem before we head back into the room your girlfriend is in I want you to know she has long term memory loss so she probably won’t remember the day she was beaten and raped. How bad is she looking? Well she did lose the baby, it’ll take her a few months to recover fully and be able to recognize the people who love her but I know if you continuously stay around her and try to help her regain her memory of you and her she will slowly but surely start to remember about the love yall once shared. Dr. Harris I know this is a bad thing to say but i’m glad she lost the baby I didn’t want her to have to give birth to a baby especially when she was forcibly raped. I understand where you are coming from but as Kailani’s doctor I'm telling you to only bring up happy memories not bad memories, the bad memories could make her have an anxiety attack and she might not recover the same way as everybody is expecting. Kailani you have pulled through some of the toughest battles me and a couple nurses didn’t think you would pull through but your boyfriend here told us to have a little more faith in you. I’m glad we did you are indeed a strong fighter. Um doctor I don’t have a boyfriend. Kailani it’s going to be a long road to recovery but Kareem and your friend Amber will be with you every step of the way. Who did you just say? Your friends Amber and Kareem, Ariana couldn’t make it. I remember the name Ariana. When I was out of it I could see a girl standing over top of me and cutting inside my stomach and reaching her hand down in my blood and spelling pain on my body using my blood. Kailani? Are you okay? Make it stop! Please make it stop! I don’t want to hear that name again! Kailani if you know something, say something. I don’t want to remember please stop! Dr. Harris if she says she doesn't want to remember then leave her alone. Alright fine, i’ll be back in a couple hours to see how she is doing. Kareem is Kailani doing okay? Amber what happened that night? Why? She is starting to remember bits and pieces and she just had a breakdown in front of the doctor. All she kept saying was she didn’t want to remember. This is worse than I thought it was going to be. Have you locked them psychopaths up yet? Milo was taken in yesterday morning and they arrested Ariana an hour ago. I’m thankful for that however she will not be testifying that night was horrible for her, I don’t want her to remember those events of her past. I want her to be able to start off new and fresh. She won’t need to testify we have them on other charges as well. Like what? First degree murder, arson, attempted murder, assault & battery. They are looking at a lifetime in prison without parole. I will make sure they don’t see the daylight again. I know at first I gave you a hard time and I just wanted to apologize you were just doing your job. No need to apologize. We have to keep pushing for Kailani sake. She deserves better and we have tried to redecorate the apartment to make it look new so no images of that incident pops up. I totally agree with you one-hundred percent. I’ll send you a check so you can get everything and I'll help you when everything gets delivered. Kailani? Yes Kareem? Thank you. Why do you say thank you? For being my hero. I didn’t do anything worth being a hero Kailani. Yes you did you saved me, even when the doctor tried to make me remember a past so traumatizing you stood up for me. I love you to an infinity and I'll never forget this day. I never want to remember the past. It was dreadful and clawed my skin every chance it got. I know what happened but I choose not to remember a crazy past like mine. I just want to move forward with my life and move away so i’ll never ever have to remember anything that took place in my past. I can make that happen baby I love you more than anything i’ll always be by your side no matter what.


I opened the wood door and closed it again, taking off my shoes and making my way to the stairs. “I’m home”, I pointlessly yelled to the empty house as I proceeded to make my way up the staircase and to my room. I entered the rectangular box and sat at my desk and opened my backpack. I took out my school work and mulled over it for a bit before deciding that this was useless and I had zero motivation to complete any of the assignments, so I, once again, closed my textbooks and computer that I would leave until it was far too late for any reasonable person to be up. I opened my phone to look for something mildly entertaining to do and came across a memory from years ago. I remembered that time of my life, I was in 5th grade. I hated myself then and I still do but now I’m working on it. I didn’t have any real friends and I smile at the fact that I have an amazing best friend that loves me now. I was being bullied back then and had been for years, I still am, but it no longer makes me want to hide and cry as much. I think about about it for a moment before I grabbed a blank page and a pen. “Dear me, Hi... It’s me, you, and whoever we were in between. I’m who you’ll become. You know me, at least you will, but I know you and I know me and sappy, is not our thing. I’m not gonna try and avoid sitting here and write that “Life gets better” “Everything gets uphill from there” and stuff like that, you get the point. I’m not going to sit here and write that because, well... it’s probably a lie, a partial truth, those words are covered in sugar and I’m not one to sugar coat things. I’m here to say that life doesn’t necessarily get better, it gets different. You won’t magically love yourself. You won’t magically stop letting people treat you like shit. You won’t magically become a happy person who glows with sunshine. You won’t magically stop feeling lonely, like no one understands you and your extremely complicated mess of a mind. You won’t magically stop thinking and feeling about yourself the way you do. Because, sorry to crush your childhood, magic isn’t real. You can’t teleport, fly or any of that other magical tv show bullshit. Fairytales aren’t real. Prince Charming isn’t going to fight a dragon and kiss you until you wake up. Dreams aren’t real. You aren’t going to be famous and loved and adored for whatever dumb reason. I’m not here to sugarcoat life, I’m here to dump an icy bucket over your head and hope you wake up on your own. I’m here to say you need to keep trying to fix and love yourself the way you love and help others. You need to stop letting people take advantage of you and the good in your heart, mind, and soul. You need to stop letting people’s words and actions affect you. I know this is a lot to ask and I know that you are breaking, slowly, piece by piece. But you need to pick those pieces up and take a shit ton of super glue to hold yourself together. The cracks that are left over won’t disappear, nor will the small scars on your arms and thighs, but don’t hide them. Wear those battle scars with pride, because you will win. You are strong, courageous, beautiful, kind and so, so much more and never let anyone tell you otherwise, because that will break you more until you are left with nothing but broken pieces on the ground of who you used to be and not even super glue will be able to piece you back together. And on that happy note... okay let’s be real here, that was a really depressing and totally cheesy note to end on. But, since we have already ventured into the cheeseworld, there’s no point in leaving now. So do me a favour and think of a rainbow. It’s colorful, and beautiful, and it can make people smile. Rainbows are extraordinary, but now think about how they come to be, the steps they had to take to become extraordinary. They only appear after rain, after something that many think of as dreary and sad, something that can ruin a perfectly good day. My point is that good can always come after bad. Light can appear in the darkness. You are like a rainbow. You are colorful with so many different sides to you, and you are beautiful inside and out, and you bring smiles to people’s faces, and eventually there’ll be one on your face too. Eventually, there will be happiness after the sadness. Eventually, you’ll be fine, like actually fine, and before you give me some bullshit like “How do you know?”. I know, because I know you because I am you and you will eventually be me. I’m not too far away and I’ll always be here thinking back to you and the mistakes we made and will make, but that’s life, that’s the way things are. Sincerely, You From The Future” I smile at the page and wipe away the tears forming in my green eyes. I wish I could send this but that’s impossible. I read and re-read it before folding it and tucking it away until sending letters back in time is possible, so probably never but who cares. I know I don’t because it felt good to write. I hear the front door open and wipe at my face again. I grab my schoolwork as my dad walks into my room. “Are you doing homework?” He asks. “Yep,” I reply with a small smile that I know he can’t tell is fake because it has been for a while. “I’ll leave you to it then,” he responds, closing the door. My smile drops and I reach for my phone and once again, I come across the memory, but it no longer makes me sad. I smile, a genuine one this time and delete the photo. I don’t need it. I remember that life I had, and in another universe, maybe I’m still there, but in this universe, I’m not. I’m in another country now and I’m 4235 km away from there and part of me is happy, but another part craves that life back. Those “friends”, that school, that childhood home, that life is a part of me, the new me, and it always will be, but for now I’m here and I’m happy to be here.


The aftermath of my family's backyard Christmas lunch always resembles a festive warzone. The flies, ever the opportunists, descend to finish off our leftovers. Their gentle buzz is audible above some popstar's pitchy attempt at a holiday hit. Having had enough of the cheery screeching, I cross the destruction of winter-themed decorations and soiled paper plates to shut down Mum’s brandless Bluetooth speaker. As the music vanishes and the flies chorus intensifies, I survey the carnage as it bakes in the afternoon heat. Usually, I would be helping clear it all away before we settled into our food comas. This year, it has been left to rot thanks to my inability to keep my mouth shut, causing the family to clear out instead. I look at the novelty wall clock my parents crack out at this time of year. It accompanies every other mismatched discount store holiday decoration that adorns the back patio. An underweight Santa and his disjointed arms inch closer to twelve and three. If only I could conjure up some Christmas movie-like miracle to rewind his toothpick-thin limbs earlier in the day. I might be able to tell myself to stay home or perhaps go and help the kids put their presents together when the lunchtime conversation turned ugly. Since that would not happen, I just had to sit in this mess I had created. The growing dampness on my forehead trickles down into my eye. I blink furiously to restore clarity to my vision and look around again at the season's reds, greens, and whites. Why do Australians insist on decorating with the winter themes of the northern hemisphere? It would be more appropriate if the wrapping paper littering the ground had pictures of pine trees on fire instead of being surrounded by snowflakes. I imagine a different reality where my family lives in another part of the world, trapped by snow and forced to stare uncomfortably at each other. The only hazard here is a smoke haze, so everyone had the chance to disperse after I decided to do the unthinkable. Is this churn in my stomach from eating more prawns than one person needs to? Or is it the growing guilt of disrupting the peace? Either way, I am growing weary of the nausea. So, I stand up and jiggle Santa’s tiny arms back to a time before I opened my big mouth. All I did was mess around with a cheap Christmas clock. But in my mind, I flashback to the moment I awoke in my childhood bedroom earlier that day. The room that, for years, had been preserved as a museum to my youth. However, it had eventually been transformed into a bed and breakfast that only ever had one visitor. Naturally, that one visitor was me. A slither of sunlight blinded me through that one part of the window the vertical blinds could not reach. It gave me a déjà vu of Christmas mornings from my younger years. Only now, I was not catapulting out of bed to discover the gifts I had been deemed worthy of. Instead, I was mildly annoyed at being woken earlier than was my norm. The silver lining was the smell of eggs and bacon finding its way to my nostrils from the kitchen at the end of the hall. My parent's single-story home was typical suburban fare. A fibro shack that had been bricked over once the government decided they no longer wished to house low-income earners in the area. The living room and kitchen could be easily confused for a photo gallery. The long hallway provided a runway to three modest-sized bedrooms, a laundry, and a bathroom. All with floorboards so well polished you could see your reflection in them. Its actual selling point was the size of the front and back yards. Both seemed like football fields compared to what you get in a modern housing development. That is probably why we always had Christmas lunch here. My inner-city shoebox (apartment) and my three siblings’ new-century family homes paled compared to the hospitality our parents could offer. ‘Joseph, my love, get out here and join your old parents for a champagne breakfast,’ came my mother's shrill voice from the kitchen. ‘Coming, Mum,’ I replied as I dragged myself out of bed. I cracked open a window to let some air in on my way out. A heatwave had been forecasted, and my room felt like a sauna. My parents had laid out quite the spread for me. Even though I had not spent the holidays at home in years. There were towers of croissants, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and whatever else Mum had thought was appropriate for three people to start their day. ‘It is so good to have you home, son,’ Dad said as he raised a glass of sparkling wine. Buying actual champagne would have broken the budget. However, the mass-produced Australian sparkling did not completely offend the palette. It warmed my heart how much they enjoyed the rare occurrence of my presence. It seemed to annoy the living hell out of my brothers and sisters in equal measure. Although they had yet to arrive, I was happy to enjoy the quality time. A dramatic jingle filtered in from the lounge room. Dad always loved watching the news on Christmas day. It made him chuckle when they peppered in interviews with shopping centre Santas between updates of everything wrong with the world. Cities were being choked with smoke from raging bushfires, and a brutal war was expanding on the other side of the world. The latter was now a Grinch on my parent’s TV. ‘Bloody hell,’ said Dad, his voice garbled by a mouthful of eggs. ‘You think they could give it a rest on Christmas day.’ ‘People are dying, Dad. Also, parts of the world are in flames. It is not something that takes a break,’ I replied. Dad raised one of his bushy eyebrows at me, scrunching up the wrinkles on every corner of his face. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘They can still tone it down on the news for one day.’ ‘There was supposed to be a ceasefire for today. Sounds like it didn’t happen,’ I said with a sigh. ‘Right enough of all this,’ Mum said as she sprung from her chair. Even though she sat with us to eat, she still wore her Mrs Claus-themed apron. You had to admire a woman who ate one meal dressed to prepare the next. Her silver hair bounced up and down as she ferried plates and trays between the dining table and kitchen. Some remained completely untouched due to their lack of necessity amongst the kaleidoscope of breakfast offerings she had made available. ‘Can I help with anything, Mum?’ ‘Don’t bother, mate,’ Dad interjected. His speech showed a hint of the effects of the cheap sparkling. ‘You know your mother is a one-woman band today.’ Regardless of Dad’s advice, I tried to aid her efforts. We ducked and weaved around each other as we stacked the dishwasher and filled Tupperware containers. Our domestic ballet continued for some time. It evolved into a roast meats and cold seafood production line for the impending lunch. The flurry of activity kept me so preoccupied that I barely even noticed Santa’s shorter arm moving closer to ten. That meant it was almost time for the others to arrive. My two brothers and one sister each exploded through the reefed front door with enormous bags of gifts. They looked so heavy that carrying them around would likely lead to attractive muscle gains. The only thing that looked more exhausting was the horde of children that accompanied each of them. I have almost lost count of how many nieces and nephews I have. The fertility of my siblings and their partners was unmatched. ‘Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence,’ said my sister Joanna sarcastically. Given her tone, I would have thought she was unhappy to see me. However, she still leaned in to kiss my cheek without dropping her cargo of wrapped festive goodness. ‘Where’s the boyfriend?’ She asked, knowing full well I was ending this year single. ‘Good to see you too, sis.’ I said with a smirk. She rolled her brown eyes and pushed past me. I watched her intently as her shoulder-length brown hair and purple dress disappeared into the kitchen. She was followed by her giant of a husband, Sam. He forced a handshake in my direction as he herded their four pre-pubescent and flame-haired children into the living room. Sam and I rarely saw eye-to-eye, both literally and figuratively. It was best to get the pleasantries out of the way and hope we do not get seated next to each other later. I remained at the door as the informal greeting party. My brother Jack and his wife Simone came in with their three tween girls. Each had the same platinum blonde hair reaching down to their legs, just like their mum. Jack still had them all wearing his footy teams’ colours. Even though their grand final win was now several months in the past. Jack embraced me as he always does. He was the only one of my brothers who was a hugger. Finally, John and his partner Belinda appeared in the doorway. They had never married because she did not believe in it. She was also thirteen years his senior and had been there, done that. Their newborn baby was hanging off John’s broad shoulders; I felt a little embarrassed that I could not remember his name. Belinda had also brought her adult son, whom she had named Kale. So, one could assume that the baby's name was perhaps chia or quinoa. Before anyone could settle in, Mum forced all the siblings to stand before the Kmart tree, which had been overstuffed with baubles. She awkwardly held her second-generation iPad up to get what would no doubt be a grainy photo. I was glad the new iPad I had for her under the tree would mean never again seeing her fumbling with that frayed hot pink cover. Our arms snapped away from each other’s shoulders as quickly as it took to snap the photo. I looked at each of their faces for a moment. It was like travelling through time, given how much we all looked alike. The same rounded chins, blue eyes, and brown hair. Jack had a slightly more chiselled appearance, given his love of playing sports. However, the distractions of fatherhood are making themselves known around his midsection. I was the upper middle child, with Joanna as the oldest and the heaviest. Her weight had been undulating for years, and it would not have surprised me if she was on some new trendy diet. Usually, one that Sam had insisted she try. With introductions over, the anarchy was given the green light to commence. The kids attacked their presents under the tree like dogs driven ravenous by the taste of blood. Mum and Joanna tried in vain to form a human shield between them and their bounty. They were hoping for a civil ceremony where each child holds up their gifts for a photo. Instead, they got shreds of paper covering the entire rainbow of colours, flinging into the air like wheat being harvested by a tractor. One child chucked a tantrum because they didn’t get some game they wanted. Meanwhile, another had their worldview altered by an older sibling admitting that Santa was not real. The tears and sounds that followed probably had the neighbours thinking we were torturing someone. ‘The actual war is less violent than this,’ Belinda said jokingly. She did not seem phased by the lack of anyone laughing with her. Thankfully, the adults performed their exchange with a lot more disinterest. Each unwrapping was followed by a high-pitched feigning of excitement or a promise that receipts had been kept. I'm pretty sure we all just wanted to get it out of the way so we could dive into the feast Mum had been preparing. At that point, I noticed Santa had unnaturally extended both arms towards the twelve. It was time to move outside and eat. My brothers had emptied multiple cans of beer whilst Joanna and I were not shy with the prosecco. I offered to open a fresh bottle to try and melt the usual ice between us. As I went to pour, Sam quickly guarded the rim of her glass with his hand. ‘You might want to slow down a bit, babe.’ Sam said in his gruff voice whilst glaring at me. His military-style buzz cut and box-shaped head made him slightly intimidating, so I headed the warning. He diverted his eyes back towards my sister. She chose not to meet his gaze and instead found a spot on the ground to focus on. Once he returned to his prior conversation with John, I poured her drink anyway. I cannot remember the last time she smiled at me like that. ‘Come and get it,’ Mum shouted from the makeshift buffet on flimsy fold-out tables. Another bloodbath ensued as adults and children alike piled up their plates. The rush was unnecessary, given there was enough food to feed the entire street. Supermarket crackers popped around the table. Colourful paper hats appeared on heads, and the world's worst jokes were told. Dad claimed not to tell the jokes was “un-Australian,” and honestly, it was cute how he laughed at each one. ‘Are you burning something on the barbeque, Dad?’ John asked as he grabbed another round of beers from the ice bin. There was a smell of ash and burning in the air, but it was not from the cooking. ‘Just the fires again, mate,’ Dad replied. He glanced at a smoke haze rolling into the yard like a morning fog. It dulled the summer sun and my sense of taste. ‘Bloody arsonists,’ Sam said bluntly. ‘We should be pouring taxpayer money into tracking them all down instead of all this climate change bullshit.’ ‘You believe that?’ Jack asked whilst screwing up his nose. ‘Mate, the only manmade thing about these fires is the crooks starting them,’ Sam said as he turned to Joanna. ‘All those bleeding-heart lefties like your mates on Facebook, babe. All she does is let them brainwash her instead of doing anything around the house.’ Joanna and everyone else fell silent. I opened another bottle. The savoury delights of lunch were replaced with the sweet treats of dessert. We all forced bowls of lopsided pavlova, fruit cake and trifle into our bursting stomachs. Conversations around the table drifted away from the fires and toward sports. That was until Belinda found a way to force conspiracy theories into the discourse. ‘There is no way he is getting vaccinated,’ she said in response to a query from mum about the baby. ‘He needs to build his natural immunity. The program is a government hoax to prop up the big pharmaceuticals.’ There was never any arguing with her once she got going. I had long since given up on trying to understand her worldview. I drained another drink to stop myself from saying anything. Belinda wiped a clump of a trifle from her plump face with a serviette and said, ‘Times have changed since you raised your kids, Betty,’ she told my mother. ‘John and I will raise this baby our way if you don’t mind.’ This caused my mother to start clearing plates with furious anger. Her desire for the perfect day overruled the compulsion to bite back. ‘Shame the Christmas ceasefire didn’t stick,’ said Jack to change the subject. I don’t know why the war was his topic of choice. ‘Oh, don’t get me started,’ Belinda said, slurring. No one had noticed how much chardonnay she had put away. She always had plenty of wine capacity. ‘The media is just blowing it all out of proportion. It is just a distraction from those governments to make money off...’ ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ I interrupted abruptly. The booze had given me the courage to speak up instead of keeping me silent. ‘Thousands of people are dying or starving every day, and you are honestly going just to spin your bullshit theories?’ ‘All I am saying is...’ ‘No, I don’t want to hear any more of it. We always listen to what you are saying. Entire countries are without food, this one is burning alive, and all you can do is sit there with your tinfoil hat on.’ ‘You might finally keep the weight off if you lived there,’ Sam said, chuckling to Joanna. ‘ What! ’ I exclaimed. ‘That is your wife, man. The mother of your children. What kind of an asshole speaks to his partner like that.’ ‘Mind your own bloody business, Joseph,’ Sam snapped back. ‘Joseph honey, maybe go for a walk?’ Mum pleaded. ‘No, I will not mind my own business. You’re a dickhead, and you don’t deserve my sister.’ My heart was racing from a mixture of intoxication and adrenaline. I turned to Belinda, ‘and you, with your selfish opinions and shitty parenting. Just shut the hell up. You all wonder why I never visit; this crap is why.’ ‘Get the kids. We are leaving,’ Sam said as he dragged Joanna away from the table by the elbow. Belinda ordered John and the surprisingly silent Kale to the car. Everyone else slowly peeled off, unable to handle the tension left behind in my drunken wake. My mother was crying, so Dad took her for a walk to give me some space. With that, here I am, back in the present. I am trying not to cough as smoke fills my lungs. I feel a vibration against my leg and pull out my phone. There is a text message from John that reads, way to go . And another from Joanna that says, I love you .


The aperture hissed shut behind him. The grey expanse ahead yawned ominously. It was not, perhaps, the most appealing of views, but it was one that he had been waiting to see for a long time. He had always wanted to be standing at this very spot, at this very moment. Since his earliest memories, he had been building his way to this moment. As a child, he stared into the inky black sky above his home, night after night, his eyes seeking for a glimpse of the Moon. Whether a radiant white orb lighting the night, or a mere sliver of light in the dark, he could sit and stare for hours. But it was not the part that you could see that fascinated him. No, it was not the cheerful white face of the man in the moon that captured his attention, night after night. It was the man’s twin, lurking in the shadow of his bright brother, hidden from the sight of the Earth. He took a hesitant step on to the highest rung of the ladder attached to the lander. He was still a young man when the first images of the dark side of the Moon were published by the Russian Academy of Sciences, in 1960. Photographed from orbit, it was the first glimpse humankind had had of the far side of the Earth’s companion. Some years later, the astronauts of Apollo 8 had been the first humans to look on the area from orbit with their naked eyes. He had pored over the photographs. They called to him, a tantalizing glimpse at a totally unknown region, invisible for all of human history up to this point. He took a second step, to the next rung of the ladder. He very nearly hadn’t been here. He had lobbied hard to be on the mission, and for his landing site to be here, on the far side of the Moon. NASA had been reluctant. Added risk, they said, for no real gain. Added cost. They had wanted him to remain on Earth, observing remotely, and they had wanted the landing to be near the first landing site, on the Earth side of the moon. But that would not have been enough. He took a third step, to the last rung of the ladder. There were many reasons to explore the far side of the Moon. It was geologically very different to the near side. Where one was a tapestry of smooth basaltic lava formations, the far side was riddled with hundreds of tiny impact craters, rugged and battered by celestial impacts. None of that had been very important to him, however. All of that could be measured from automated satellites and rovers. No, his reason for wanting to explore the dark side of the Moon was far more personal. He took a final step, releasing his grip on the lander and landing on the Moon with a soft thud, touching boots to lunar soil for the first time. Nothing should stay hidden forever. That was his drive. His calling. That was why he had built his entire life to this point, his endless arguments for the mission to this location. Photographs from orbit were one thing. Automatons exploring the Moon were another. But there was no match for human feet treading unknown land. You could not know the truth of a place until you walked its shores. He took a hesitant step forward. He was starting to feel it now. His strength was fading, and he was not finished yet. He willed himself to continue. An old man can’t be an astronaut, they had said. And it had been difficult. The physical ordeal of merely getting to this point had been debilitating. The mental strain of constantly being afraid, at any moment, that he was going to fail, and it would all have been for nothing. He took another step forward. He felt better, momentarily. He wasn’t an old man here. Now he was just a child again, staring up at the moon, wondering what lay hidden from view. This was what it had all been for. This moment. He stopped walking, and, with some difficulty in the bulky space suit, he lay down. The light gravity made it easier not to fall. He reached up to his helmet with shaking fingers. Some men were buried. Some men were cremated. He released his helmet seal.


Growing up, Gracie was my best friend. She still is, only much much better. She was the only one who ever understood what I was going through. Sure, I had other friends at school, but they didn’t truly know me. Only Gracie knew me. They say that a dog is a man's best friend, but in this case she is my best friend. Every day after school I would walk home through the dull countryside. to find Gracie sitting on the front porch waiting for me to play with her. I never understood how she got out, or the fact that she never ran away. I always locked the door before I left, but Gracie was there day after day. No matter, she could always sense the mood I was in or the day that I’d had. It felt as though she could read my mind and understand my emotions. Maybe that’s why I never questioned it. I was afraid to lose my one true companion. One time when I was eight, I was riding my cute little bike with Gracie, and out of nowhere a big blue truck came racing down the deserted street right at us. I was so terrified that I could hardly move. I tried to scream, but it got caught in my throat. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the sidewalk, perfectly safe, with Gracie by my side. I was in such shock that I thought it was a dream. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I didn’t. I later found out that my really real dream was, in fact, real. Now here is where the adventure begins. It was the summer of eighth grade, I was so excited to start highschool! My family decided to take a random road trip. For some reason I wasn’t allowed to know where we were going, just that we were going somewhere. I was happy to do something for the summer, so I was okay not knowing the destination. Gracie came with us, of course. She and I had a blast playing together, napping together, and even eating together. I don’t know why, but it struck me as odd that my favorite breed was an Australian Shepherd, and that’s what she happened to be. I mean we got her when I was just a baby, so they couldn’t have known. I looked at an old photo of us together. It was the strangest thing, in the photo she was a border collie. It’s not much of a difference, but she’s definitely a different dog. But that’s impossible, she has the same personality, and the same connection with me. I asked my parents about it, and they exchanged worried glances. My dad took the photo, inspected it, and then handed it back saying that she looked the same to him. How peculiar, I wondered. But I knew better than to say something. When we arrived at the destination, I knew something was up. It was a huge mansion on a remote beach. We hadn’t passed a soul the last hundred miles or so. My parents were both just office workers. They weren't rich. But I guess in all honesty, I didn’t know what they’re job was. We went inside and my parents immediately locked all the doors and windows. They went through the entire house, checking every room, closet, and potential hiding spots. They opened things that appeared unable to open, and protruded a key from inside a bar of soap. When they determined it was safe, they turned to me and began to explain. My parents were both spies working for the CIA! I could not believe it. How? Why? What were we doing there? These questions were answered shortly. Then came the ultimate shock; Gracie was not a dog, she was a Kearot. A Kearot was an animal of sorts that could shapeshift into anything. The government put her under my parents guardianship, but now they needed her help. A missile was coming to destroy a large part of the United States. Gracie was supposed to turn into anything that would stop it. The key was to a shuttle that Gracie could take if she so chooses. I didn’t want to know anymore, so I went to bed without supper. I cried, knowing what her fate was. Impressed that she is so brave, I embraced her and wept. We slept together that night. In the morning I woke up to a beautiful girl, about fifteen, making breakfast. I knew it was her, I knew she was human, only so that I could hug her a last goodbye. I helped her finish up, and told her that I loved her. Breakfast was quiet. I don’t remember what happened after that. I think that I passed out from all the crying. When I woke up, my parents were smiling. They told me that Gracie stopped the missile, and came out without a scratch. I was so relieved and ecstatic! They told me to look outside, and I saw the most majestic horse I'd ever seen stood tall and fierce, yet somehow inviting. My Gracie was the best thing to ever happen to me. After this, my life got crazy. I went through very extensive training, and became a spy alongside my parents. Gracie and I went on countless missions. My favorite was the Bahamas! The best part was always having a big sister to talk to, or something anyways. Her favorite form was human. We said that she was a cousin who moved in with us so that we could go to school together. It became weird to ride her or swim with a “dolphin”. She soon stopped shifting unless we were on missions. We grew up, and never left each other's sides. Now we save the world for a living, and look good doing it. Gracie is my best friend, and I never would have known if the missile was never a threat. I wonder if Gracie knew. But I’ll leave that thought up to you.


By Alonzriah'a Washington Stubborn as A bull The Cat Family Chapter 1 The Tiny Envelope “Well you don’t know that for sure until you open it.” Reese now seemed agitated to look inside the tiny envelope. I was still on the ground. To support her I went over and rubbed between her legs. After going back and forth she finally opened it and read aloud, “ Dear Miss Reese T. Smith, we have gone over your letter of recommendation and the committee must admit, you are very talented and we are also very impressed with your volleyball skills. We would love for you to attend our school and play for our college team. I hope to see you next year at Carter Volleyball College.” “Oh my gosh, I got in! I got in! I. Got. In!!” “Congratulations, Reese. We are so proud of you for working so hard toward your goal,” said Mrs. Smith happily. Now came down the twins, both of which being 7 years, Lucy and Lyra, still in their pajamas, which always smelled like pizza. Chapter 2 Any Other Day The Smiths’ are aware that I go wandering around the city, so the people know me. They say that I am considered a local and very social. Sometimes, if I go out at the right time, I can even get my paws on some leftover fish! At the sushi restaurant, they are very nice. But besides my little walks and snacks, I like to be in the dark. I would make a little bed for myself, out of old winter clothes from the twins’, and a basket. Sometimes, I let stray pets lay in my bed since there are a lot of them in the main city of San Francisco. Then, I would make more, arranging them all around the city in separation from the Animal Control Service. Chapter 3 My Family After a long day of wandering it was time to go home and have dinner with my humans. The Smiths’ have something different every night, but on friday they make pizza! On the other hand, I have the same thing every night- cat chow mixed with fish and carrots. When I got home, my food dish was prefilled, Mrs. Smith was readying the pizza, Mr. Smith was watching a football game with Riley, the twins were helping set the table and Reese was doing homework upstairs. I immediately bolted to my food bowl. Good as always, when I was done, Mrs. Smith had just gotten the pizza out of the oven, that smelled so appetizing, to me, it was like a freshly baked turkey on a cool evening. Everyone went to the table and the twins helped carry over water, while Mrs. Smith carried the pizza over. And before she even set the pan down they were like wild cats fighting over some dumpster garbage, all of the Smith children started chowing down their pizza not even releasing one gasp to breathe. ̈Thank you, Anne ̈ said Mr. Smith sternly looking at everyone. ́ ́Your welcome, John. ́ ́ ̈Meow ̈ I purred. ́ ́Come on gang, put your food down and thank your mother for this delicious dinner, for god's sake buddy thanked her ̈ cried Mr. Smith. They all looked at him. ̈Oh, it is okay at least they didn't lose a finger. ̈ said Mrs. Smith. Mr. Smith straightened his tie and sat up. Looked at his wife, and started eating. By the time he was done eating his first slice, the twins had cleaned their plates, Riley was on her last bite, and Reese had not come to dinner yet. Mrs. Smith looked worried that Reese was still not down, taking constant glances at the stairs. “Mom, you will have to get used to Reese not being at every dinner,” announced Riley, glaring. “I know, but it's going to be so hard letting her go; my first born before I met your father, she was my light to move on in life,'' said Mrs. Smith in a teary voice. Lucy smirked and looked at Lrya, ̈You know mommy, Lyra and I will still be here when everyone goes off to University. ̈ “Yep. You won't be that lonely, you ́ll still have us to look after, and we could do all the cleaning if you are tired,” said Lrya. ̈Awww, you two are so cute and thoughtful. ̈ said Mrs Smith smiling. ̈May I be excused? ̈requested Riley bordly. “Sure, but would you mind doing me a favor?” “Yeah but not a big one. I have a date tonight ̈ Mr. Smith looked up at Riley. “It isn't big, but could you check on your sister?” “Sure, I guess.” “Did you save me a slice?” “No, sorry. We cleared our plates and the twins almost ate dad's slice,” chuckled Riley. “Geez, they can get brutal.” Reese said shuddering. “But why have you been up here all afternoon? Are you rethinking the scholarshipment, because if you are, I could always use it.” “No. Maybe. I mean is volleyball really what I want to commit to for the rest of my life?” Reese said desperately. “Don’t look at me, in some families I am considered a ‘disappointment’.” “No...no you're not, you know what you want to be when you grow up, and you know what college, you have semi-good grades, you’re... you. You're prepared, not a ‘disappointment’.” Reese cried. “I guess, but mom and dad do not like that I have a boyfriend that is two years older than me, and they don’t like that I skateboard out in the city park. They think I will get kidnapped or something.” Riley said, “But, are you okay?” “Yes, I am fine.” “Okay, well I am going to go. But if you would like to, go down stairs. That will make mom happy.” “Fine, I will.” “Maybe you two could talk. Mom knows a lot of decent schools in this district.” Reese and Riley both walked down the stairs mumbling to each other. Then Mrs. Smith came around the corner with her arm’s up in the air like wiggling noodles. “Oh Reese, Reese!. Sweetheart!” “Hey, mom.” “Oh,Riley, you are a miracle worker, thank you.” Mrs. Smith said squeezing Reese so tight she started turning pink. “Mom, I can’t breathe.” wheezed Reese. “Oh, sorry, honey” “It’s okay.” “Okay, well I am going to get going. I will be home around 10,” Riley said, seizing her duffle bag. Riley went out the door, Mr. Smith was watching the rest of the football game, the twins were sleeping in their room, and Mrs. Smith was making Reese her dinner, even though she says she is not hungry. I went to the twins room. Their room was the biggest room in the house, there were two twin beds, a doll house and two chest of drawers at the foot of each bed. They were sleeping and I did not want to bother them so I went into Riley's room. She had a big bed in the corner of her room, a desk, and a bean bag chair and had unclean clothes everywhere. It smelled so bad that I gagged at the stench. Cats do not do that very often! I then went to Reese’s room. Her room is my favorite. It is calm, cozy, and warm. Her bed is also in the corner of her room with a dresser next to it, a desk on the other side of the door, and a TV on the wall facing her bed. I curled up on her pillow and fell asleep. Chapter 4 Clock work weekends Like any other weekend, everyone is soundly sleeping until 9:30 am. I get up at 6:30 am everyday. All you can usually hear is Riley snoring like a lawn mower. But on this saturday, as I was getting up from a cozy slumber, I saw Lucy get up. Why is she up this early? I had thought I had never seen her get up this early when I got up. I saw her crawling quietly to the reading room. I too followed, so quietly, you could hear a speck of dust fall. Lucy was in the reading room and on top of a stool, reaching all the way to the top of the book shelf, there was a big book, it was called “The Hunger Games”. That book was supposed to be off limits for the twins, for some reason, I don’t know why? But she grabbed it and slipped a matilda book cover over the book. And she snuck back upstairs. Lucy went back to her bed and read a few pages. Then next thing you know it is 8:50. So she goes back down the stairs like a mouse. Put the book back. And runs sneakily back to her room. Then like clock work everyone woke up at 9:30. All went downstairs in their cozy, warm pajamas. Everyone had their morning routines and headed off to the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Smith head to the kitchen to make breakfast and get coffee. The twins help their mother make breakfast. Riley was curled up on the silky couch complaining of being cold. And Reese limps sleepily to the front door to get the Saturday newspaper of which is on the glistening green grass, as she yawns her way to the couch chair and falls back slumping trying to read with her squinting eyes. Chapter 5 A Surprise 10:30 am Mr. Smith walked into the room looking like he had something to say, he was smiling broadly. Mrs. Smith walked in hiding something behind her back. The Smiths all looked up. So did i. “So...”, smiled Mr. Smith, “ Well, you all have been really good, so your mom and I scored tickets to a 4 night 5 day trip to... DisneyLand!” Mrs. Smith showed 6 blue tickets. The twins squealed, Riley laughed, and Reese smiled. “We leave today, so get packing!” Mr. Smith cried, they all ran upstairs and I followed. First the twins room. “I am going to pack a jacket, 3 shirts, 2 pairs of sweatpants, 2 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of underwear, 4 pairs of socks, pjs, and 2 dolls and a blanket.” said Lucy. “ I am going to pack the same, but I am going to bring 2 stuffed animals.” said Lyra. Next was Riley. She packed the same amount of clothes as the twins, but she is bringing her drawing notebook . Now, Reese, like all the rest, she packed her clothes, but her item to bring is her book. Around 11:05 am everything is packed including snacks. All came downstairs hurrying, while I was sunbathing like a king. Lyra came up to me and explained who was going to take care of me, “ You remember Ms.Willard, she will be feeding you and watching you at the house.” “Oh and she is coming over at 12:30 today.” said Lucy. I always had liked Ms.Willard, she had one kid younger than the twins, Ginny. Ginny is gentle, nice, and quiet. And they lived in a small house one block away from this house. Chapter 6 Ms. Willard 12:30 pm I heard the jingle of keys unlocking the green door. Then the squeaky door opens to find a tall, young woman wearing a long floral dress with some sneakers, her hair golden like the sun, and wearing red glasses. Next to Ms. Willard was a small figure, about 5 years old, the little girl was wearing a little lavender skirt, a shirt with a butterfly graphic, hair like her mothers, but in pigtails curling out of blue scrunchies. Both walked in, little Ginny waddled over to the window, she petted me gently. Ms Willard, glided to the kitchen to find my food bowl, I heard the crackling of the bag, pouring the yumming food in the bright red boal. “Ginny, honey, will you please get Buddy’s water dish?” Ms Willard asked. “Yes, mommy.” Ginny said, pulling her hand away from me. I followed her to the kitchen and sat by the doorway, Ginny put my water dish next to me carefully, I took a small sip. Ms. Willard put down my food dish right where it was before. “Eat up Buddy!” Ginny chuckled. Ms. Willard had picked up Ginny and sat down on the couch. She pulled out a remote and turned the tv on. I did not pay attention from there on until I was done. I was finished, so I walked over to Ms. Willard and Ginny, Ms. Willard, was chilling on the overly comfy couch, and Ginny was sitting on the floor with her legs facing out playing with a doll. I came over and sat in front of her. I pawed at Ginny, she patted my head with great laughter. Ms. Willard saw us playing and laughed along also. Then the phone rang, that ugly blue phone on the wall rang like a loud car horn. Ms. Willard got up, her dress drifting behind her. She picked up the blue phone and said, “Hello? Smith residents, Ms. April Willard speaking.” I sat by Ms. Willard's leg, she kept going oh, oh no, ok. She hung up and looked at me and ginny. “Well... Buddy is coming home with us. The smiths are stuck in snow, they said it would just be better if Buddy stayed with us!” Ms. Willard said, shaking her head. She had taken Ginny's hand, I knew what to do, I would just walk behind them, it has happened before, but they just stayed at my house. Chapter 7 The next morning, again I woke up at 6:30 to sunbathe. But I was flabbergasted, I guess I had forgotten that I was at the small willard house. I always sunbathed on the weekend, on the weekdays, even at dawn. I frowned as much a cat could frown. A little later, Ginny came downstairs, but did not notice me. Her eyes were squinting. The beaming sun was too much for Ginny's eyes. She went to the “Oh hello, darling.” one of the faces said. “Hello, April.” the other face said. “I got to go, I love you both. Ginny is going to be so happy.” Ms. Willard said, as she left the house. Once the two figures came in, I could get a closer look. Both looked at each other, and back at the door. I could see better. The two looked like prunes, I do not like prunes, one was wearing a denam, floral dress with the collar down, her hair short and curly white, red pumps on her feet, almost reminding me of the shoes from the Wizard of Oz . The other was wearing round glasses, a plaid shirt, blue pants, hair of a full cloud, and boring brown shoes.


Rail Road High School Two Weeks Before Halloween “Hey Phi, did you figure out what you are going to do for Halloween yet?” Emica asked. “Probably spend some time with my family and then maybe watch some scary movies. How about you?” Phoenix asked as she continued etching a ghost figure into her desk. “Aww...ok. I was going to see if you wanted to go to a Haunted House with me and Rachel? She was asking if you wanted to go with us?” “Rachel asked really?” “Yeah, I think she might like you!!!” “Yeah right! I might be able to go I just have to--.” SMACK! Startled by the rapt sound of the ruler Phoenix quickly looked up from her desk and noticed that Ms. Codfish was glowering at her, wooden ruler in hand at the podium in the front of the class. Everyone in class shifted in their seats staring at Phoenix and Emica. Phoenix gulped and started fidgeting with the sleeve of her hoodie. This was the last thing she needed right now. Was to get in trouble so close to exams. Sighing she shot a quick glance over at her friend Emica who was trying not to laugh out loud. Emica looked at Phi wiggling her eyebrows at her. “Ladies, I’m assuming that since you are having such an in depth conversation that you are finished with this week's papers I assigned. No, well then less talking and more writing unless you would like to be assigned some homework for this weekend!” “Yes, Ms. Codfish.” They said in perfect unison. Later that evening at Phoenix’s Home “You want to do what?” Phoenix’s mother, Amara asked angrily. “I was wondering if I could go with some friends to a haunted house? I figured it would be ok since we are still new to the area and thought it might be a good idea to blend--” SLAM! Bits of chicken flew off the plate. A crack appeared down the center of the table. The house became eerily silent. The tension was so thick it would have needed a chainsaw to cut through it. “It’s two weeks before Halloween and you are just Now asking if you can break our Halloween traditions!” Amara seethed. “Amara I don’t think it’s that big of a deal...” Her husband trailed off seeing Amara’s face. “Not that big of a deal! Have you lost your mind! This is the one chance we have to make an impression on this town! Make a name for our family! And she wants to spend time with her human friends that are doing nothing but polluting her mind! She was raised with better sense than to live her life this way. I will have none of it! You still have much you need to learn! You haven’t even gotten accepted into the School of Horrors yet and you are worried about making friends here. You still have two weeks to continue your training and studying and try to take the entrance exam again or you will have to wait for the next term and I don’t know how long your father and I will be here...” “Mother, we are immortal! Can you stop being so dramatic!” Phoenix mumbled frustrated. “Phoenix, don’t talk back to your mother that way!” Her father warned. “But father, it’s not like I’m wrong..” She replied. “Enough!! Your mother didn’t have to take you in and raise you, but she did out of the kindness of her heart! You don’t even know how to be a ghost! Be lucky we are even allowing you to stay here with us! If it wasn’t for her I already would have performed the exorcism and you would be nothing more than ashes. Now Go To Your Room!” He bellowed. Emica’s home one week later “Emica have you heard from Phi lately?” Emica’s brother asked. He was playing video games on the couch and saw Emica just staring at the picture of her and Phi on the fridge. “No, her family can be kind of a lot, so she wasn’t at school this week.” She said sadly. “Well don’t give up. I’m sure she’ll come around. Why don’t you try giving her a call or sending her a text?” He encouraged her. “Ok.” She said. Emica walked up the stairs. She missed her best friend. She hadn’t had any friends but Rachel growing up and when Phoenix moved to her neighborhood two years ago she finally felt like she had met her missing half. It had been feeling like a piece of her soul had been missing lately and she wanted to know what was going on. They were graduating high school this year and Phoenix was continually missing school and seemed super exhausted lately. She put on her Nightmare Before Christmas Revisited CD and pressed play getting into the mood of Halloween and in the mood to text her best friend. Sometimes you just got to feel the music. An hour later.. “Hey Phi, just wanted to see how you have been doing lately!? I miss you and it’s been weird not talking to you all week or seeing you at school!” Emica texted. Setting her phone on vibrate. “Hey, Emica sorry I’ve been so distant. There’s been a lot going on.” Phoenix texted back almost instantly. “No Worries! I understand! I’m just worried you know? You can tell me anything Phi, I’ve got you!” “I have a secret to tell you. And I don’t know if you will understand or be ok with it. I am scared of losing you as a friend you know. And if I tell you, you have to promise me that you won’t share it with anyone!” “You can tell me anything Phi! I promise I’m not going anywhere! Nothing you can say will ever change that. And I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. Cross my heart and hope to die.” “Stick twenty million needles in our eyes.” “Ok, I’m ready!” “I’m a ghost.” “Woah! Really!?? That’s sooo exciting!” “LOL! You believe me??” “Of Course I believe you!! You’ve never lied to me before!! Plus I’ve always been into learning about the Underworld and now I know I’m right!! So Cool!! Tell me what being a ghost is like!? Do you like it? Sorry for texting so much this is just so exciting and surreal!!!” “Haha I wish it was for me too but well I suck at being a ghost. All I do is mess everything up. And my adopted family hates me and thinks I just want to be a human. Soo...there’s that..” “Well I kind of suck at being human and ironically you have been helping me with that since you’ve moved here. Why don’t I help you with being a ghost!?” “You don’t have to do that. You aren’t obligated too!” “I want to though! You helped me study for my exams and I passed last year and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without you! Let me help you! That’s what friends do!! I got you!” “Awwww. Ok Emica! Thank you! You are the best!” “No Worries! Let’s start tomorrow morning at Starbucks!” “Ok sounds good to me!” Starbucks Three Days In “I’m Never going to get the hang of this!!” Phoenix yelled, glowering at Emica. “You are being sooo dramatic Phi!! Look all you have to do is try your best to levitate and make no noise when you try and scare the barista!” Emica exclaimed. Grabbing Phoenix’s shoulders and shaking her like a rag doll! “You are such a know it all!!!” Phoenix laughed, pushing Emica off her. “Listen you want that pumpkin spice latte right!? Well then suck it up and practice it again!” Emica was unbearable when she got like this. But what would Phoenix do without her. Phoenix smiled to herself as she continued watching Emica speaking energetically at her about her studies and test coming up. It was in two days and she still was nowhere near understanding some of the physics behind being a ghost. She couldn’t seem to memorize the historical facts about Eugene Milsworth and why he was such an important figure in the Horror Community. In fact she wished that Emica could join her at the School of Horror because this stuff seemed to come naturally to her and she was seriously in awe. “Why are you so fascinated with...with, well all of this? Why is it so important to you?” Phoenix asked. Emica went quiet and started biting her nails, not quite meeting her eyes. “Well aside from being your best friend and wanting to see you succeed with life. When my brother and I were younger we lost our mom. One day she was with us and the next she was gone. The police officer who spoke to us couldn’t or wouldn’t tell us how or if she died. The officer just said that she was gone and we would have to figure it out. We tried a séance and we also tried desperately to figure out how to find her if she was alive and nothing was working. So we both just continued researching and studying. Then you moved here and I don't know, I just thought the aura around you was magical and special. So I thought maybe one day if we continued being close friends we could talk about this and maybe do research together.” Phoenix reached over and pulled her into a hug, "Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. That must have been hard to do and seems very overwhelming. I appreciate that you trust me and believe in me so much!” “Anyways, enough about me! Don’t try to distract me! Study, Study, Study!!!” Emica chanted pulling out of the hug. “Yeah I know, Practice, practice, practice.” Phoenix whispered, smiling to herself. Phoenix’s House the day before Halloween “Well I don’t know how you managed to pull it off but congratulations you passed your entrance exam to the School of Horrors!” Amara said. “Thank you.” Phoenix said. “Your father and I discussed it further and noticed how hard you have been studying and practicing and he, we, decided that you could do what you wanted this Halloween with your friends. Just be safe and remember to text us if you are going to be spending the night at your friend Emica’s house or out past twelve. Understood?” “Yes, thank you so much!!!” Halloween Evening Briiinnnnngggg!!!!! Emica rubbed her hands together and blew on them. Brrr it was chilly outside and she had forgotten to wear a sweater. Come on Phi!! Answer the door! The door opened and there sat a black cat whose bright green eyes pierced through Emica giving her the chills. She bent down and waited for the signal that it would be ok to pet her when Phi arrived. “MOTHER!!!! What have I told you about meeting my friends if I ever brought them over!?” Emica did a double take. Closed her eyes and when she opened them again Phi’s mother walked over to her towering over her. She wanted to curl into a ball and die. “Be safe and make sure not to get into any trouble tonight girls!” Closing the door after practically pushing Phi out of the doorway. Emica breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry about her! She’s kind of irritated that I’m not spending time with the family tonight but happy that I passed the entrance exam so what can you do!? She shrugged. “You look amazing!!!” Emica squealed and hugged Phi! She was wearing white skinny jeans, white knee high boots, a tucked in white tank top with a white leather jacket covering it. She had her hair in braids around her knees and it was smooth and creamy as white frosting. Her iris eyes were alert and excited and she was gliding effortlessly next to Emica. She tilted her head. “Emica are you ok?” Phi asked mischievously. Emica nodded. “I just think I’m a little underdressed.” Emica said looking down at her blue skinny jeans, Edward Scissorhands cotton tee and her short hair messy and dyed purple for this evening. “You look beautiful! Now let’s go before we miss the haunted house with Rachel.” After the Haunted House “Bye Rachel!! Have a good night!” Emica and Phi said waving walking down the front steps. Walking through the neighborhood looking at all the Halloween decorations Emica started shivering. Phi shrugged off her jacket and draped it on Emica. Smiling Emica hugged the jacket close to her. “What did you think of the Haunted House?” Emica asked nervously, biting her lip. “It was ok. I’m glad I went with you and Rachel. It was like a cute little theme park. I mean they tried.” Phi laughed loudly. Emica's eyes widened. It was sooo scary to her! She wondered what Phi had seen that could have possibly been scary. “Ok, here we are!” Phi announced stopping suddenly. They were in front of the cemetery. “What are we doing here, Phi??” “You told your brother you weren’t coming home tonight right? I just texted my parents that!” “Yeah, but I thought...” “You up for an adventure of sorts?” “Always!” “Great let’s go!” “Where are we going?” Phi stood still for a moment moving her arms in a mystical way and suddenly a portal appeared with purple, black and blue swirls coming from it. “You said you always wanted to go to the Underworld right?” Phi smiled holding out her hand. Emica nodded vigorously and grabbed Phi’s hand. “Hold me tight and don’t let go!” Phi whispered. Emica nodded. Emica and Phoenix entered the portal, leaving this world behind and being whisked away into the unknown. Seconds later the portal dissipated seconds after they had stepped in. This was only the beginning of their misguided adventures into the underworld.


You wake-up in the morning and go to the bathroom. The toilet does not give you a urinalysis report - normal range. After you take a shower there is no report, so the scanners found nothing. You make a coffee and later after you have used the bathroom and the toilet analyzed your stool, you get the updated suggestions for meals and supplements for the rest of the day. You reach the Ministry of Health building. As you walk in, the doors open with a gasping sound. You imagine the building gasping for air as scores of people poor in and out of its maw. In your office you analyze this morning’s data. 5 new cases of cancer detected in your district this morning, 347 new cases of infectious diseases all with known viruses, bacteria and fungus, 1.2% of the population has a hangover, and 3.8% exhibit signs of anxiety or depressive disorder. You evaluate the cases based on geography, age of the person affected, analyze diet, physical activity, substance abuse status, and mental health status. You spend the day working, taking your designated breaks, and eating the suggested meals at the appointed times. At the end of the workday, you get a reminder about a date the system set-up for you. When you get home at night thinking the date was nice, you wonder if you should go on a second date. The stats look promising, and the sex was satisfying. The next morning you wake-up and go to the bathroom. The urinalysis report flags you for a severe infection with an unknown category 7 virus. Deadly. Your heart starts pounding. Immediately you think about your date. But the health record was clean, and you followed all safety procedures. You check the café you had lunch at, the restaurant where you had dinner, and every other place you visited yesterday. All had clean health records. The most urgent thing right now is to take a shower. As you leave the shower, scan results come back notifying you of a rapidly advancing category 7 viral infection that has reached most vital systems. With shaking hands, you open the fridge. Today’s breakfast suggestion reads “Carpe diem”. You look at the fridge dumbfounded. Who knew your fridge spoke Latin? The laughter comes on slow and incredulous, but it builds and builds until you are gasping, tears are streaming down your face, and you no longer know if you are laughing or crying, but you desperately need to catch your breath. And you remember the building at the Ministry of Health, gasping for air as people pour in and out of its maw. For reasons you don’t understand this sets you off laughing again, and now you no longer care if it is truly laughing or crying, because madness is taking over. Vaguely, you wonder if the infection has reached your brain. When you walk out into the street you run into hundreds of people wondering about aimlessly, some angry, but most smiling hugely or laughing outright. A woman next to you inhales deeply and sighs. “System glitch.” She says around a broad grin. And you feel your own lips pulling back into an answering grin.