 We met in Tokyo under the city lights. Everything about you intrigued me; even your silhouette was beautiful. You taught me the art of falling in love. Eventually you taught me the art of letting go. I still dream about you sometimes.

*** The cherry blossoms bloomed again this spring. Some days I go and sit beneath their branches, listening to them whisper in their native language about the past. They asked me about you. Remember those days when we were just children? How we used to chase the falling petals as they descended to their resting place in the fresh green grass; how you used to fall asleep under them in the light of the midday April sun? I used to watch you, lying there with petals stuck to your dark mess of hair, and dream about a world where you and I could go and live under the cherry blossoms forever. To be completely honest, I still dream about that world sometimes. Maybe someday you’ll come back to me and we can live in that world of eternal springs together. Until then, I will use my power to relive our fondest memories together and wonder what our lives could have been like if only you had decided to stay. I closed my eyes and willed myself to return to the day you and I first met.

It’s April 14th, 2014, at 5:58pm. I have a 6:00pm train to catch. I’m running across Tokyo Station carrying a map in one hand and lugging a rolling backpack in the other as it trails behind me in a purple flurry; pausing every few seconds to apologize to the people glaring at me with brand new scuffs across the toes of their work shoes. Everything is whirling past me so quickly that I almost miss it, but just as a train zooms past I see something that makes everything in my frenzied world come to a sudden halt. There you are, young and beautiful like I always remembered you. You’re standing on the other side of the tracks with a book in one hand and the other shoved into the front pocket of your jeans. I can’t help but stare in awe at the way you always make everything around you appear to move in slow motion, almost as if the entire world is taking its time absorbing the mere beauty of your existence. Your eyes meet mine, and I get the feeling that time and space have conspired together for some cosmic reason to bring you and I before each other once again. Suddenly my train rolls to a slow and steady stop on the tracks between us, blocking you from my view. As I board the train and frantically look out the window in an attempt to find you again, I hear someone sitting down next to me. I smile solemnly as I observe the way you shuffle your Nike tennis shoes on the floor, making me remember how shy you used to be. For a moment I close my eyes and thank God for allowing me to live this moment again. To merely exist near you even once for so many years was something I know I never deserved. You glance over at me, and for the first time it occurs to me just how young we were when we fell in love. I see that your cheeks are still rounded like that of a child, pieces of your hair stick straight up in certain places, and your eyes still have that unscathed, innocent and magical glow resting inside them; the eyes of someone who does not yet understand what cruel elements this world is made from. Tears begin welling up in my eyes from the intensity of the moment, and I look straight ahead, trying to find something to distract my mind. I notice there’s a newspaper tucked away into the back pocket of the seat in front of me. I glance at it to see a headline about the ongoing war in China that has everyone glued to their televisions and walking around whispering in hushed tones about how this might affect our country. The sound of your voice brings me back, and I notice that your voice never changed; the way you said “hello” on the train and the way you said “goodbye” while I ran out into the rain in the middle of night and begged you to come back to me both had that same husky tone to it. You ask me my name, and after a few minutes of awkward silence, you and I hit it off the way I already knew we would. I listen to you tell me stories that I already have memorized word-for-word, and I tell you that I’m new to the area, and my father got a job offer in the city about a month ago. I tell you I miss my hometown of Nikko and am homesick to the point where I have dreams every night about moving back. By the time my stop comes, you and I are already planning the next time we’ll meet. You ask me to meet you at Shinjuku Gyoen tomorrow at 12:00pm so you can show me some of your favorite spots. I agree, and before I have time to reflect on what’s happening, it’s already the next day. I look around and find myself standing in the middle of the Shinjuku gardens, watching the mid-afternoon sun cast a glow on your sleeping figure. I take a deep breath and try my best to savor this moment. There are wars being waged in foreign countries not too far from where I’m standing; people are dying by the second and countless others are being left behind to deal with the damage. So many terrible, awful things are happening right now in this world, but here I am, standing in the most beautiful place on Earth. I walk closer to you, moving at a slow, steady pace to ensure I don’t disturb the quiet stillness of time. One wrong move and this moment could disappear into the mild spring wind, leaving behind not a single trace for me to hold on to. Everything seems too beautiful to be real...yet here you are, just a few feet from where I’m standing, fast asleep beneath the falling petals of the cherry blossoms in the glow of the April sun. Here you are, the calm in the midst of the storm, the peace in the midst of the chaos. I hold my breath, so afraid that if I breathe you’ll vanish before my eyes and I’ll never be able to remember the way the petals stick to your hair. I am so afraid that the universe will take this memory away from me because it has decided that it has fallen in love with you, too. I stare in awe at the peaceful sight I’m fortunate enough to behold a second time. It feels like a fantasy, like a dream that I never want to wake up from. How I wish everyone in the world could share this moment with me; how everyone would immediately lay down their weapons and their harsh words just to bask in your beauty forever.

Did you know you could stop wars? I bet no one ever told you.

Did you know that I loved you? Of course not. I know I never told you.

      *** It’s been years since I’ve seen you. Tokyo looks different without you. These city lights don't shine quite as bright without you standing there beneath their glow, illuminating the way I once loved you. Midnight doesn't have the same sleepy excitement that it used to, back when you and I would stay awake all night, discussing dreams that only crazy people would dare to imagine. I know we ended on bad terms, but your empty coffee cup is sitting untouched on the counter, and though I don't drink coffee I still brew some fresh every morning, just in case you ever decide to stop by. It's okay if you don't, but I wish that you would.

I miss you.


It was never Thanksgiving, never Christmas that got me, I think because I could see them coming well ahead of time, years ahead if I wanted. They were like an orbiting comet, you knew when to expect them and if you got hit by one, sure, it would vaporize you. But they weren’t scary because you always knew where they were. It wasn’t the holidays that got me. It was those days that came out of nowhere, like an extinction level asteroid. One minute I’m sleeping like my bed is in a hypergolic chamber, the next minute I feel like I’m watching what looks like a comet in the sky grow and grow until its light is all that I see, and I hear it ripping the air apart in front of it as it closes in, then wham! I’m extinct. Not extinct, not really. But I’ve watched the world go ‘round for 1,128 days, staring out through this small window, mostly alone. I have next to no contact with the world outside. Most days, I don’t think too much about it. This is my life, love it or hate it, and my own choices led me here. No sense in driving myself crazy over some imagined life I could be living instead. I haven’t seen or talked to a member of my family since I went away either. 1,128 days since I heard any of their voices, felt their arms around me, or heard “I love you.” The holidays I see coming. It’s days like today that are hard. Taken by surprise, days when the view from this window looks much less beautiful. Today is the hardest so far. This is the smallest my window has felt since I’ve been aboard the Scout Class : Kestrel Fury. The most alone I’ve felt since I left the surface 1,128 days ago. There are daily check-ins, of course. Weekly discussions with the Psych, regular meetings with a doctor, a dietician, the Cheerleader (he’s a pastor and a life coach, but I like my name for him. He laughs and refers to himself that way now, too.), and various other members of the team. Dry, all business. I’ve never heard “I love you” in a meeting with any of them, nor would I ever expect to. Not a comet, they don't scare me, we see those coming. It’s the asteroids, those colossal titans crashing down on you with extinction-event speed, so fast you never had a chance to brace yourself. So fast, that when you heard the call come across the comm, you barely reached your small window in time to see, just a little white-orange sparkle, a tracer round, a spectacular speck, aiming for home. Barely fast enough to bear witness, barely fast enough to look away in time and not get yourself blinded. That fast, in the blink of an eye, in the most literal sense, so quick, and then, there were no more holidays. We aren’t extinct. There are a few of us floating around out here. Could be another 7,300 days before the last of us goes. Holidays are like comets, and they're just like Earth. They’re gone. They’re all gone and none of them are coming back around.


Miss Fitt By Heather Ann Martinez They say you should never judge a book by its cover. It is important to look inside. You know that skimming through the jacket is not enough to really know if the book is going to be a waste of time or if it is something you could have read to you frequently. None of us knew what to do when we were told androids were going to be integrated into our communities. We liked knowing that humanity had achieved such an accomplishment. Androids existed. They independently moved around on their own. They were al built stronger than us mere mortals and could handle responsibilities many of us could not with ease. Many of them worked with nuclear technology. They were not affected by radiation. They didn’t have to be charged up for days at a time and their rebooting time took seconds. They could virtually work around the clock. We were not expecting to live with them, but they became curious. They wanted to know more about the race that created them. It was more than that. They wanted to become like us. They knew they would be humanity’s legacy. They knew our fragile star and planet were only centuries away from going dark. The androids would be left. They would survive when nothing seemed to permeate our corner of the universe. We built them in our image but they did not revere us as gods. They respected that we created them and could repair them. Even while knowing they were superior to us in many ways, they didn’t want us to worship them. They were humble and gentle. They took the best human traits. They studied our history. They knew where humanity walked and did not want any part of what humanity had done. They believed themselves to be created equal. They were not competitive with one another. They did not try to compete with those who created them. They were not rude. They showed compassion and empathy despite not knowing what it was to truly feel. They did not have the passion of a soul. The androids did not have to fight for their survival. They were no one’s prey. They knew better than to prey on the weaker species and lived in harmony with everyone. They were never stung by bees or annoyed by flies, never had to think about their food or where they would rest their heads. Eventually, the government stepped in and asked several families to take in an android so that they may have the firsthand experience of living with a family. My parents agreed to this experiment. The government people said that we could stop at any time. My parents are very extroverted. They worked with androids in their respective jobs at the power plant. My brother and I, however, are not happy about this. I’m a lot more shy than most teenagers and my brother likes collecting spiders and feeding lizards. He just turned twelve. I have no idea what will be accomplished by having one of the androids involved in our personal lives. We aren’t that interesting. My mother always tells my brother not to talk about the lizards while we are eating. My dad talks about his friends at the power plant and who he is going to play golf with on Sunday afternoons. I just chime in to ask who is going to come to my piano concert and take me to my swimming lessons after school on Thursdays. My mother has said she fears I am still too attached to her. She is hopeful that having an android in the house will help me to stop clinging to her apron strings. In other words, I am going to end up babysitting the android. I know I don’t have much say in how long the android will be with us, but I am hoping it will not be more than two weeks. I suppose I could teach the android how to play the piano. Maybe the android will see that we are not exciting and decide to leave the experiment first. One can only hope! The day arrived. The android came, a female the government person called Miss Fitt. Miss Fitt looked like me, a teenage girl. Her skin tone was perfectly porcelain. Her eyes looked like those from a life size doll. She walked gracefully, not stiff like I presumed she would. She had full range of motion. My parents introduced themselves, then my brother and they introduced me last. My brother almost immediately grabbed Miss Fitt’s hand and directed her towards his lizard lair. Miss Fitt didn’t talk like humans. Her voice was very robotic which was a relief. I needed her to have flaws. She was too perfect and that is why she would have difficulty fitting in. I took her to my piano lesson the following day. She took the sheet music and played what was written flawlessly. I suggested that she watch me. I closed my eyes. She did the same. I played what I remembered of the piece but improvised notes I could not recall. I intentionally added notes in dead spaces that weren’t written anywhere. Miss Fitt questioned why I didn’t follow the sheet music. I told her that sometimes the best music is off script. She scratched her head. She asked me to explain to her what improve was, why I enjoyed incorporating sounds as I went along, and why I didn’t follow what was written. I told her what was written is a jumping off point, but there doesn’t always need to be a safe landing for melody. There didn’t need to be lyrics and the harmony was what people would remember. She was quick to remind me that androids remembered everything. Androids wouldn’t forget the melody or even one note over the passage of time. She struggled to understand that the journey is not always about the destination. Sometimes the best experiences in life are the ones you don’t plan for. Miss Fitt wanted to finish the music lesson and check it off her box. She respected that I could hear more than sounds and frequencies in what I was playing but did not experience the joy I had in trying to add different chords that weren’t on the sheet. My brother showed her the lizards that occupied his time. She sounded like a walking encyclopedia telling him which lizards ate what and how long they would live. She could hear their heartbeats and knew exactly how many days they had left. My brother hope she was wrong and held back tears. He later cried in my mother’s arms. He didn’t like knowing their lives were as limited as what Miss Fitt told him. We took Miss Fitt to the park and the zoo. My brother and I asked her if she felt the breeze on her face or got a tickle in her nose as if she were going to sneeze. She said she didn’t have these sensations and looked at us in a way we had not seen before. She looked as if she were going to cry. My mother said theoretically she could cry to acknowledge the appropriate emotional response but she wouldn’t feel any of what it is like to be a muddy, messy human being. She couldn’t be that. Miss Fitt tried her first ice cream. She rode on her first roller coaster and buried her feet deep in the cool sand. She sang camp songs around a bonfire and told us scary stories by a flashlight. She asked me what everything tasted like and what sounds I heard throughout the day. She heard everything in the world, but wasn’t overwhelmed by it. She said that was her heartbeat, that was where she came to life. She asked me what I dreamed about for my future and what scared me the most. She had no fear. She had no love and was at a loss when it came to understanding either and respecting that that was where the great divide lay. Eventually, it was time for Miss Fitt to leave. She hummed what I played on the piano and added a half note where I always thought there should be a whole one. It wasn’t on the sheet music. She told me I was right. You don’t always need directions to your destination. Sometimes, you just need to embrace the journey in getting there.


\***All dialogue translated from Japanese, as the main character is Japanese and is speaking Japanese, but English to us...I think you get the point. Enjoy!**\* \*\*\* Jin stopped at the red light beside another car and waited for it to turn green, driving through the business district of Kasane towards the highway that would take him off coast and towards the base. All around him were citizens going about their day as they filled the sidewalks, chatting and walking. Dazzling advertisements and news broadcasts playing over electric boards that stood atop of buildings big and small. Small drones flying about through the air monitoring the streets for trouble, every other block featured armed Norio security forces patrolling the area. There was also a park beside him filled with cherry blossom trees, the pedals gently floating through the air. One of many amazing sights that everyone in this city enjoyed. At night the city was even more beautiful with its dazzling lights and street life. Kasane City, located near the northernmost coast of Hokkaido was a bustling and beautiful metropolis that just so happened to be the most advanced city on Earth. Established in 2080 and built upon the remnants of the previously destroyed Wakkanai, Kasane was the seat of Norio's military arsenal. With a population of 2.5 million people and a size of 700 square miles, it was the second largest city in Japan and the largest on Hokkaido, as well as an economic and political powerhouse. As the light turned green and Jin continued to drive a loud siren began to ring throughout the area, and very much the entire upper part of Kasane causing everyone to stop in their tracks as female A.I began to speak from the electronic boards above. *Warning! Warning! Multiple Xeno lifeforms detected moments ago over Kasane airspace, all citizens proceed to evacuation points and cooperate with Norio security! Warning!* As the message continued to repeat and the siren grew more louder Jin sped down the street and towards the base. Eventually he arrived and, after initial greetings, rushed towards the armory to suit up. "Great." he muttered to himself. This year was it. 2136 marked the hundredth anniversary since that night...the night the world ended. In July of 2036 A.D. a rogue celestial body the size of the moon appeared over the Earth, seemingly out of nowhere. It wasn't foreseen, it wasn't foretold. It was just...there. After just a few days of it lingering within the planets orbit, it suddenly lit up as if it were exploding. Launching towards the Earth a red cloud-like substance. This was followed with a horde of fatal bacterial spores across parts of the world leading to the birth of the Asuka virus, but at the same time, a series of deadly parasitic creatures began to appear over capital cities across the planet. Monsters that humans called Xenos. Creatures that came in sizes big and small with the largest being able to fly and hover as they saw fit, possessing electrical and energy-based abilities beyond human reckoning. Tentacles protruding from their spinal areas and they structures were almost insect-like. And two years was all it took for the world to collapse. For life to be altered forever after the event humanity began calling The Spreading. It was only during the aftermath of their initial invasion that Japan stepped out onto the world stage to combat the Xenos, having maintained its structure and political landscape. A Japanese aerospace engineer was well renowned and known within his circles as a top level scientist, and it was his intelligence and skills that, in 2038, birthed the EX-35. A single seat twin engine fighter jet capable of operating both on and off Earth. It's sleek but powerful design based on the F-22 and F-35 of the past and with fully capable VTOL features. A true knight of the sky. After Japan premiered their creation to the world by defending the space center on Tanegashima Island, the United Nations granted the island nation the autonomy and funds it required. In the form of the Shizuoka Treaty in 2038. By UN law the treaty absorbed the worlds air forces into a multinational peacekeeping organization split across Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania, and made the EX-35 exportable to all of the United Nations most prominent member states. Countries were required to relinquish their authority and independence to the UN but still maintain diplomatic relations with one another and govern their states respectively. In 2040, Norio was established as the principal paramilitary agency of the UN, named after its founder and first director Norio Sakurai. Turning Japan into one of the foremost military and political powers the world had ever seen. As a peacekeeping force, the organizations goal was to defend Earth from the Xenos and maintain the order for the human race, and it was for this reason that the United Nations reigned supreme as the worlds ultimate governing body. With Norio as its attack dog. \*\*\* "Command, we've reached the A.O. in downtown Abe. Class B Xenos in sight!" Jin said over radio. "*Copy that. Demon Squadron, no change in current game plan. Secure air superiority over the current airspace. Destroy the Xenos and drive the out of the city! Out*." The transmission cut. Jin applied more throttle to his jet and sped through the air at 500 miles per hour, flying beside him was the rest of Demon Squadron. He was dressed in his combat gear, a full body white and grey pressure suit with a full face helmet equipped with a HUD system. His suit also doubling as a space suit. The flag and symbol of Japan and Norio on his shoulders and the side of his jet read his callsign "*Echo*". They had arrived at the airspace above Kasane's educational district as the final sets of civilians were evacuated from the area, Norio security forces scrambling below to get people to safety as reports were coming it that smaller Xenos on the ground were appearing once again. "*Are we cleared to engage*?" another pilot asked. "*Affirmative. Any non-combatants below of are safely away*." replied another. Ahead of them through the use of his jets high lens cameras Jin could see the targets they were sent to destroy, Class B Xenos. Medium sized creatures with insect-like wings and durable body structures that resembled a mix between cockroaches and wasps. Jin's squadron leader, Captain Takeo spoke. "*Alright team. Engage!!*" Takeo said. The group of 5 jets split apart as a straight beam of energy from a Xeno was fired towards them. A dogfight initiated as the medium-sized Xenos began to fly in various patterns around Demon Squadron. Jin applied a bit more throttle and sped around one of the skyscrapers to catch up with a Xeno flying away from him, its tentacles swinging about through the air and insect-like wings flapping continuously. Using his helmets HUD Jin was able to lock onto the flying creature. He opened fire on the Xeno as bullets flew from the front of his EX-35 jet. Despite having a lock on with his HUD the creature continued to dodged the bullets left and right. Eventually Jin lost the lock on the creature and circled around another nearby building to catch it off guard again, his plan work as he climbed higher into the air and locked onto the Xeno. "Got you." he said to himself as he fired his guns. The Xeno exploded instantly in a ball of electric fire. "*Echo, check your six!*" said. Jin began to descend and looked at his HUD's cameras to see a Xeno tailing him from behind, a stream of electricity shot through the air and just barley scrapped Jin's jet as he was able to dodged it at the last minute. The creature was destroyed by a missile from an Astrean jet. "*You're welcome*." "Thanks, Niko." Jin replied forming up beside his teammate. Niko Sylvain, Jin's Astrean counterpart and friend. Both of them belonging to a joint strike force between Norio and the Astrean military. "*I'm getting lit up here*." a pilot radioed. Jin sped towards the Xeno tailing his squad mate and began to give chase to the creature in turn, firing his jets machine gun and turning his jet in all different directions. His lock on system not loosing sight of the Xeno for a second as the Norio pilot ahead of him twisted and turned to avoid the oncoming energy blast at his EX-35. After several moments of twisting and turning Jin was able to lock onto the creature again and fired another missile. By this point most of the civilians below were away from the combat zone and safe, the air around Jin having been lit up by both their missiles and electricity streaks coming from the Xenos. "*Focus your fire on their backs, those red flashing marks!*" Takeo said. "*Shit, Echo!!*" "I'm on it!" Jin replied. Applying more throttle Jin sped towards his squadron captain and fired a flurry of missiles towards the Xeno attacking him, before they could even reach their mark a spherical barrier appeared around the monster. Stopping the missiles in theor place and destroying them. Jin's eyes widened as his gasped for a moment loosing his breath, realizing that these Xenos weren't the normal type they were used to fighting. "Don't tell me...these things are..." Jin said. "No way!" Niko replied. "That ability is only restricted to Class A's! How's that possible?!" Takeo broke up the talk stating that the squadron had to lead the creatures away from the city to prevent further damage to the infrastructure, using a device onboard his jet Jin caused the aircraft to emit a high frequency sound for the Xenos to hear. "Catch me if you can freaks." he muttered. Jin sped off towards the sea to try and lead the creatures away from Kasane, his plan began to work as they begun following his EX-35. The rest of Demon Squadron sped towards him and the five jets flew in synch with one another. "You know I'm the captain here." Takeo said. "Don't go rushing head first unless you wanna get killed." "Yeah yeah, lecture me later." Jin replied smiling. \*\*\* Somewhere in the skies over the Sea of Japan...an even deadlier threat awaited them. *To be continued...


Hi, my name is Kieran. I don’t know how old I am, or was, and I don’t really care. I don’t understand that. You might see me and think I am like every other boy by the way I look. It has gotten my parents into some difficult situations, like the time I changed my reversable shorts at a crowded McDonald’s when I got ketchup on them or like when my mom was asked to leave church because the pastor said I was demon possessed for having a tantrum. You see, I have autism, and the doctor said it’s severe. So much so that he told my dad I’d be a vegetable all my life. I don’t understand that either. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t understand, but more than people give me credit for. I try to be a good boy, but self-control isn’t in my wheelhouse. My biggest weakness is food. When mom took us to McDonald’s, we would go in the play area with the slides to eat and play. I’d watch her and as soon as she took her eyes off me for a second, I’d run over and steal someone’s food right out from in front of them. It led to many apologies and replaced meals, but it meant little to me because money is one of those things that just doesn’t make sense. Discipline never worked on me. The risk was worth the reward. I just got sneakier, and I would eat until I made myself sick. Mom and dad once got in a fight over who was drinking all the soda. Every time dad went to get one, they were gone. Mom thought dad was the one drinking them all. I was waiting until they went to bed or not looking to grab one out of the fridge. When I was done with them, I would hide the empty cans behind my bed along with any other evidence that I was in the food. After a while, mom did a thorough cleaning of my room and found all my trash. To this day there are locks on the fridge. However, occasionally, things get left out, and I have to play it cool to get the goods. One example came at my cousin's birthday party. Now, I like birthdays because there is cake and ice cream and balloons and presents, but I hate all the people that get in your face to talk to you and all the noise. At my cousin’s party, even though I didn’t talk, my parents took me around the house to say hi to everybody. I’d let people hug me even though it made my skin crawl just so I could get a lay of the house and see if there was anything I wanted to get into. It was when we went into the kitchen to say hi to my aunt that I saw it – a two-tier chocolate cake. I knew I had to have it. From there mom took me into my cousin's room to play with the other kids. I have never really played with other kids. Being in the same room is good enough for me. So, I grabbed a toy where if you turn the nobs and press the buttons Disney characters pop out. It was fun for about a minute, but I couldn’t get my mind off that cake. I could see it from the bedroom doorway. It was like a pile of gold guarded by giant, nasty trolls. I needed to be a stealthy ninja if I were to get by those trolls and claim the gold. I left the bedroom and stood between the kitchen and living room, staring at the ceiling, spinning in circles as I tend to do to entertain myself. No one took notice, which was good, I was blending in. I went into the living room by my dad who was talking to my uncle and grandpa. I jumped around flapping my arms, laughing hysterically. Nothing out of the ordinary. They were busy talking, not worried about me in the slightest, so I went to check on mom, who was in the kitchen with my aunt. They were busy cooking. No obstacle there, but grandma and a lady I didn’t know were sitting close to the cake. I sat down on the floor next to them and began to hum and rock. I watched them through the corner of my eye to see if they were paying attention. Occasionally, grandma would glance down at me, but her glances became fewer and fewer as I slowly scooted away from them. The time was right. I had people all around me, but I had blended into the background to the point that no one noticed that I was about to devour my cousin’s birthday cake. With both hands I dug my fingers into the soft cake and shoved it in my mouth, creamy frosting covering my face, crumbs raining down the front of me. I wiped my hands on my shirt and started shoveling in as much as I could as fast as I could. It was only a matter of moments before someone was going to catch me, but the euphoria of the sweetness was overwhelming. To my surprise, I got halfway through the cake before my aunt turned around with a distressed scream of “Kieran!” That just made me dig faster. I knew mom was on her way. I knew what was coming. But I was getting every crumb I could into my mouth before it happened. As always, I was unphased by discipline. I was quickly dragged to the bathroom since my hands, face, and clothes were covered in chocolate. Mom scolded me the whole way through. Or maybe she was venting her frustration. I had no clue, but she was angry. After that, dad was put in charge of keeping me busy and out of trouble until dinner. My aunt salvaged a piece of cake for my cousin and put a candle on it for her. The rest of us had ice cream for dessert. I really wanted more of that cake. It sucked watching them throw away as much as they did. I didn’t understand why they did that, but they do a lot of weird things I don’t understand. Yep, when it comes to food, I don’t mess around. If it isn’t under lock and key, I will find a way to eat as much as I possibly can. Just because I don’t understand everything everyone else does, doesn’t mean I’m stupid. Underestimate me, and you’ll learn the hard way.


 	The rain is cold. Not as cold as my heart. My heart is icy. It's sharp, it's painful, it's heavy. And I hated it. Ava loved the rain. She would laugh and dance gleefully through the sheets of water, kicking puddles, lifting her head up and letting the rain bounce off her face. No matter how cold it got, her embrace was always warm. I used to love the rain, too. Now it was like needles, falling from the sky, piercing my skin. A constant, painful reminder of what I lost. The leaves squeaked under my yellow rubber boots. As I left the paved road, towering trees suffocated me with their leaves. I was almost there. Then I could go home. But I would never escape the rain. Ava's tree was standing there, tall and twisted. The bark was beautifully smooth and the leaves were like delicate emeralds. This tree had been standing here for years, its old branches somehow as strong as ever. How cruel must fate be to let the tree live when Ava died so young? It wasn't fair. She was young and innocent and pure. She had a bright future, a loving family. I knew deep down that I couldn't have changed anything, yet it was still my fault. Maybe if I had noticed the signs, maybe I could've seen the cancer cells…somehow… I was being ridiculous. Shaking the thought out of my head, I started to climb. The bark was rough in my hands. With natural speed and agility second only to Ava’s, I got to the top of the tree in record time.

The pink envelope with the little heart on it was glued to my hand with fear. What had Ava wanted me to do? I reread the message in my mind. Hi Rosie! If you are reading this, I am very sorry. I know this will be hard, but could you please climb the tree one last time? If the doctors kept their promise, there will be another letter in the same envelope for you. I'm sorry. I hope you know you were my best friend.

Enjoy the scavenger hunt.

Keep smiling girl! Good luck! Ava "Rosie," I laughed, fighting against tears. "What a stupid nickname." My face was hot despite the cold downpour, and I just wanted to go home and curl into a ball. Yet here I was, looking for a soggy envelope that contained Ava's last wishes, shivering, not just from the cold.

Think , I told myself. Where would Ava hide the message? Enjoy the scavenger hunt.

The words stirred in my mind. After a moment, I laughed, however halfheartedly. When we were kids, Ava's parents had set up their own Easter egg hunt for the two of us. The gold egg contained twenty dollars. There was only one egg, and of course, we both wanted it.

I could only imagine the shock on my eight-year-old face when, after hours of hopeless searching, her parents showed us a hidden nook in our tree, underneath its roots. We split the money, but that wasn’t really of importance to us anymore. As we grew up, we’d sneak little notes in the hole.

Little notes. Of course. I rushed down the tree, my limbs moving faster than my mind, blurs of yellow plastic from my coat covering most of my view. Once a few feet from the ground, I leapt off and landed on the ground with a loud thud. More cautiously, I lowered myself onto my stomach, trying to ignore the squishing of the mud underneath my coat. I reached under the roots, into a small space. My fingertips brushed against something soft. Paper.

Trying my best to shield the paper from the rain, I pulled the envelope out from its resting place and stood up. I bounced from foot to foot, curiosity blooming inside me. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself, lifting the seal and grabbing the letter. Immediately, the smell of lavender was overwhelming. Ava always wore perfume, but it was never this strong. I shook my head. It had to be a figment of my imagination, a hallucination. I’d been having those a lot. I open the letter, read it, then read it again. It contained only two words, but the message was clear: turn around I held my breath. Ava had probably set this up. My family would be right behind me as I turned around embarrassed, wouldn’t they? I would end up crying, and I couldn’t do that again. If I cried, the tears would never end, and it would all feel real again. Her death would be like a reopened wound. Fresh, raw, burning, and impossible to heal. I couldn’t face that again. I almost ran away. I almost bolted without looking back, no plan in mind. But my feet wouldn’t move. This was Ava’s last wish. The least I could do was follow her requests.

I pivoted on my heel, my back now facing the tree. "Hey," the voice was soft, barely above a whisper. They waved shyly at me with a soft smile. I couldn’t breathe, I stumbled backwards. Tears welled in my eyes, a small smile wavered on my lips. “A-Ava?” was all I could choke out. She smiled at me with a nod, her eyes full of tears as well. I ran toward her, blowing into her and wrapping my arms around her body. It was real. Her embrace was warm. I started going into hysteria. My voice cracked and my eyes were puffy. “But-but I saw you- you were…” The word dead caught in my throat. Ava hushed me, petting my hair. “It’s okay, Rosie. I’m here.” I laughed, the effort making my body shake. “What a stupid nickname!” We exclaimed in unison with a chuckle.

We stood like this for a while, me mostly leaning on Ava for support. My legs shook. There was no way she was here, but I could feel her. Her touch was real. When we eventually parted, I looked her up and down. She looked as she had about a year ago, before she started showing symptoms of cancer. Her hair was wavy and the color of copper. Two tiny braids wrapped around the front of her head and were tied in the back with a simple silk ribbon. Her eyes glowed emerald in the shining rain. Freckles dotted her healthy face. Again, I said her name. She smiled. “How?” I started, forcing the words out of my mouth. “How’d you..you were- How are you here?” The rain stopped bothering me. In fact, everywhere it touched my skin, the water seemed to tingle with excitement, as if it knew Ava was home again.

She smiled gently, but offered no response. Just a shrug. But it didn’t really matter. I didn’t care how Ava came back. She was with me again, and we were together, and that was all that mattered. The rain was heavy, like a blanket. Not in a suffocating way, more like the feeling you get after you walk home on a rough day. A welcome feeling. A feeling of comfort. And I loved it. I danced gleefully through the sheets of water with Ava, kicking puddles and splashing each other. Anytime I felt myself get cold, Ava would hug me.

Her embrace was always warm.


"God I hate myself right now" I muttered as I pulled up to the complex and did a quick search of the parking lot. "Seriously, what the fuck Zack? What could you possibly hope to get out of this?" There was no red car, so I pulled out and crept along to the next apartment complex. It was the middle of the day, but this area of the city was surprisingly empty and dilapidated. Still, I was all nerves, worried that someone might see me. There was a sick, twisted energy exuding from my stomach that kept my hands and face shivering. Despite that and despite the sheer stupidity of what I was trying to do, I kept driving. I didn't know what else to do. I wanted something, *anything* from this relationship, even if it was just heart rending jealousy. "Fuck, this complex is shittier than the last. He's really taking the starving artist ideal to heart, huh?" As I began to circle the lot looking for the red sedan, I started reminiscing about how I'd gotten to this point. I suppose it began seven years ago when I first met her, but that's too far gone. Too many other events and changes stem from that meeting. Instead my mind skipped forward a few years to the first of several painful conversations that we'd have. I guess that's where the jealousy really began. "So you remember that guy who asked me out last week?" she asked me. "Which one? You can't expect me to honestly keep up with your dating life." "Derek! The hot one! He's different from all the others. Remember, he tried to show you how to do a karate kick?" "Ohhhh, that fuckwad. Yeah, what about him?" I was hopelessly in love with this girl, so I couldn't help but let some hostility sink into my words. "He's not a fuckwad. He's actually really nice. Anyways, I went over to his house last night and we made out for like 4 hours. It was *heaven*." "Oh god, here we go again. You go through these guys like candy. Just don't let yourself get hurt, okay?" This must have been the 7th fling she'd had since she'd broken up with her fiance. That was a month ago and I could tell she was coping with meaningless sex, but who was I to say anything? I didn't know the first thing about romance or how to heal a broken heart. I just wanted her to be mine. "I won't get hurt. Derek's different. He's actually happy, unlike everyone else I've dated. And he really likes me. I think this one might last," she chirped. "You've only known him for four hours! And I doubt you guys said much during that time. Whatever. Do what you feel. Wanna grab some lunch?" And that was only the beginning of it. Over the next few weeks, she recounted to me in sordid detail every progressing stage of their carnal relationship. I listened with a ravenously morbid curiosity. I'd never had sex, or even kissed anyone. All I knew of love came from Pornhub, so the things she told me I couldn't help but be fascinated by. And that fascination mixed with a growing jealousy that made me sleepless and gaunt. I was missing classes, blowing off my family and friends in a surprisingly futile attempt to deal with new feelings. In retrospect, I'm glad nobody staged an intervention. I probably would have admitted to a heroin addiction rather than the truth. There! I'd found her car! That meant she was here, with him, right now. I had no idea what to do. I wasn't actually planning on finding her. I figured I would just drive around aimlessly and commiserate over the past until there was nothing else to do. My thoughts were racing like children. They were eager, misguided and stumbling into each other constantly. Should I go up and try to find his apartment? Should I wait by her car? Should I wait till they're done and go in angrily? As I sat there trying to decide on a course of action, my mind flitted to another memory, more recent than the last. "Will you come to dinner with us? Derek really wants to meet you." read the text I'd just gotten. Derek and her were going to restaurants and movies now. This was the closest I'd even seen her get to one of her fuckbuddies. "Fuck you. Why would you even ask that?" ...is what I should have written instead of the cordial confirmation I meekly sent back. Regretting my passivity, I began to get ready. If I was going to be forced to hang out with Derek, the least I could do was look better than him. I shaved, did my hair and wore a suit. Looking at my reflection in the mirror actually made me smile in spite of everything. I looked like a cross between a Gap commercial and a 2nd rate celebrity. God damn, but I was handsome. Too bad it never got me what I wanted. So I drove over to some shitty hookah bar on the other side of town and prepared to mandolin my heart. When I got there, they were sitting next to each other and giggling conspiratorially. I immediately imagined her blowing him on the car ride over. "Hey! How are you guys?! Sorry I'm late. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a prostitute to leave your house." I said as I sat down. "Haha, what? Since when do you hire prostitutes?" she asked me. "Oh, I don't. Other people hire them for me. I just inspire excessive gratitude in my friends and unfortunately, many of them don't know how to express it," I replied. Awkward over confidence was my go-to card when I felt uncomfortable. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be Derek. I'm Zack, with a K. It's nice to finally meet you." "Hi, it's good to meet you too. I've heard so much about you," he replied. "Is that really true about the prostitutes?" "Haha, no. I just make up stories sometimes. I find it makes life a little more interesting. Most days are dull, you know? You have to interject something into them." We then proceeded to spend an entire evening together. After the hookah bar, I took them to a local art gallery and showed off some of my favorite pieces from the Postmodern period. I didn't know the first thing about art, but was great at bullshit like that. They had a good time, I think. I certainly didn't, but I don't think I let it show. I'd gotten pretty good at that over the years. I'd had no other choice if I was determined to keep up my charade. I'd finally gotten out of the car. I'd been pacing back and forth from my Corolla to the stairs. I didn't even know what room they were in. Did they have the blinds open? Were they watching me right now in confusion? Was I going to have security called on me? I was an utter mess of anger, frustration, and arousal. And I couldn't justify any of it. But like a gear, I was being inexorably forced forward bit by piecemeal bit. I made a quick round of the first floor and saw no one resembling my obsessions. So with a deep and violent shaking, I began to climb to stairs onto the second floor. My mind was filled with nipples, fluids and positions I'd gleaned from other people's ecstasy. Somehow I made it to the second floor and eagerly began to make my search but as soon as I turned a the next corner, there was no need - I'd found my sickening goal. There was bile in my throat and I dry heaved a couple of times. Despite the balmy weather, I was still shivering as if I'd just been taken off of an analgesic. They were fucking. The blinds were open. I furtively watched till the end. They were doing it doggy style and facing away from the landing I was on. But even if I had been right next to the window I doubt they could have been bothered from the transcendent ecstasy they were in. I imagined that I could hear their moans from where I was standing and feel the sweat that drenched their bodies in my pits. It was revolting and sensuous. I wanted to record it or run. Part of me was ecstatic at finally seeing her do the things she always talked about. Part of me murderously screamed out of my skin that it should be ***me***. I wish I could say that something definitive happened next - that they saw me, that I barged in angrily making baseless demands, that I shattered the window and let my violent tendencies carry the day. Anything at all, but the truth would be a fitting end to this lukewarm spill of a tale. But life isn't like that. We don't get endings, beginnings or even events that follow logically. No, life is a senseless miasma of unrelated, unpurposed events that hurtle forward through the threads of our lives ripping apart our notions of tenderness to simply arrive nowhere. There are no categories, there is no connection or distinction between events. It is what it is, and what it is resists explanation. So I turned around, with the images seared into my mind, and walked down the stairs, away from that fucking complex, and went home.


Submitted for Reedsy Prompt #74, "Write a story that takes place across ten seconds." One. BANG! Willow crumples on to the flagstones. I can see her arm laid about above her head, the grey linen sleeve slowly dyeing red with blood. She decided not to jump. I’m not surprised. She was always skittish, hesitant; she didn’t have what it takes. Not like me. Two. No bang, instead a strange, visceral scream; involuntary. Aspen jumped. Again, I could have predicted this. She was Oak’s deputy and she’d done most of the legwork for our plan; mapping routes, figuring out where we could tunnel, where we could climb and where we could run. It was Aspen who constantly reminded us that this was the likely outcome of the plan. “It might work,” she said, leaning over the small table where we were all crowded on top of each other, sipping weak coffee. “We could go down in history as the liberators of our people, but it’s not likely.” Her face hardened ferociously. “More likely than not, we’ll spend a week in prison while the country takes bets on which of us will be brave enough to leap from the peak and which of us won’t.” Willow whimpered when Aspen said it. Three. BANG. Linden didn’t jump. I am surprised now. He had seemed so ardent when we were trekking through the Molling Pass, knee deep in snow. “I’ll never let them waste lead on me.” But he did. Maybe he didn’t decide in time. You only had one second. I had been practicing. I could take three rapid breaths in one second. One to steel myself for what I was about to do, one to fuel my muscles to jump, one to make sure I was gone before they fired. Four. No bang. Elm had jumped. All the bookies knew she would. Besides Oak, she was the one among us most favored to leap. Our faces spread over the centerfold of the newspaper in two even rows; five on top, five on the bottom. Our names, ages, hometowns, what we were arrested with; all information used by gamblers to inform their guesses about our fate. Elm’s scream was deep, distorting as she fell further. I listen for as long as I can, but then, Five. No bang. Oak. Our leader. The shame if he hadn’t jumped would have been unbearable for his family. People who lead rebellions but don’t jump are never spoken of, their families considered cursed. They're pushed to the edges of their villages and forced to live off of the pity of old women. I know Aspen and Oak told us again and again that we were likely to get caught and that we weren’t likely to succeed, but Oak assured us that it was the *duty* of our people to try to overthrow the Helvarians; that we must ensure they never sleep peacefully for fear we might come in the night and slit their throats. We were a morality tale Helvarian mothers told their children to get them to behave: \*Listen to your mother for the Dendronians will come for you in the night. Put that down now or I’ll send you to the Dendronians. "\*And", Oak said, "Maybe this time it will work." I don’t hear Oak hit the bottom. You can never hear them hit the bottom, it’s too far away. At some point the scream just fades. That’s how the myth started among my people that revolutionaries who stay true fly; that they leap from the peak and fly away into glory. A memory hits me hard, so strange for this to come to me now. I was six or seven, playing in the woods with my friend, Juniper. “They don’t *really* fly you know. The bottom is just too far away for us to hear them hit.” He was sneering at me. “That’s not true! They do fly. My daddy flew!” “Well my uncle met somebody on the clean up crew. He said they rappel down the side of the peak and remove stuff from the bodies like gold teeth, valuable hair, that kind of thing.” “You’re a liar!” I yelled, throwing a pebble at him. “Then how come no one ever *sees* them fly away into glory? Wouldn’t we see them flying up into the air?” I ran to my mother in hysterics. “You told me daddy flew! You said he was a hero! Juniper told me they just smash on the rocks.” I wept so hard I couldn’t breathe. “Don’t listen to Juniper, my sweet. He’s a silly boy. Come here.” She pulled me to her lap and brought my head to her chest. She rubbed her hand up and down my back before stopping abruptly, patting my shoulder blades, making a confused face. She pulled my tunic back and peeked down the collar. “What are these?” She patted the space on my back between my arms once again. I tried to turn my face around, this way and that, to look at my own back. “What mom? What is it?” I started to frantically whack beneath my neck. “Wing buds. I can feel them here. If the time comes and you’re very brave, your wings will pop out of here and you’ll fly right to your daddy.” “Do you mean it, mommy?” “I do.” Later on I realized, with a laugh, that she was just touching my shoulder blades, nothing more. Sometimes, when we were teenagers, my friends and I would debate whether we’d teach our children about the wings or whether we’d be cool and skeptical forever. What hung in the air like a toxic cloud in those conversations was whether we’d ever get to have children. Would we survive the Helvarians coming to the village every spring to decide who would come with them to work as ‘servants’ (slaves)? Would they find us hidden in old logs and briar bushes, where hopeful parents would sometimes hide their children from the Helvarians, usually in vain? Would we die in a rebellion? Or would we survive in place until we were twenty-five, just to watch the Helvarians come for our friends, children, grandchildren, year after year? The blood flowing from Aspen and Linden is making its way down the line now. It will be at my feet soon. Six. BANG. Ash. She didn’t jump. What had the bookies bet on her? My time is coming so soon. What will I think about when I plunge to the ground? Maybe I’ll imagine my mother, or meeting my father. I will be happy if the last thing I see is my father’s face smiling at me. *I’m so proud of you.* But now I’m imagining my first, and only, kiss. Oh no, I hope the last thing I remember isn’t Mahogany. Damnit, I can’t remember the lineup now, who’s next? Seven. No bang, heaving scream. Who was seven? I went through the lineup in my head a thousand times, easily, in the last few days. Aspen, Willow, Elm, Linden... no wait, it was Willow, Aspen, Linden, or was Elm next. Oak was number five. How am I forgetting? I have so little time left to remember. Eight. BANG. I can see his torso hit the ground in my peripheral vision; Alder. He only joined us because he knew that if the Helvarian guards came for him, and they probably would, they would torture him. Better to hedge his bets with us; no one believed he would jump when the time came. I wonder why people can’t bring themselves to jump? They *know* they are going to die. There’s no hope either way, why not die with pride? But it’s as though some animal part of us hopes that, if we choose to stay put, our fate may be different than the fates of all our forebears, who either soared into oblivion over the peak, or else were shot. If we move our heads they’ll shoot us, so I’m limited to moving my eyes. This is something I’ve been practicing the past week, stretching my eyes as far as I can while my head stays still; I used the reflection off of a dank puddle in the prison floor to do it. I can see, now, stretching my eyes as far left as possible, the steam rising off of Alder’s blood. Seeing the blood reminds me that seven was Spruce. All I can remember of Spruce is her eyes; grey green. Nine. I can feel Cedar jumping; catch his dirt-covered feet leaving the ground. The blood is pumping so hard in my ears that I can’t hear his screaming. Cedar was handsome; big and tall and dark. Sometimes at night, when we were sharing some of the four blankets we had between the ten of us, I’d curl up next to Cedar and imagine I wasn’t on my way to Allhaven to try to overthrow the Helvarian government; assassinate the Magistrate, shoot the guards and kidnap the children of the Senators until they met our demands. I’d imagine that we were two lovers laying in bed together, sleeping in after a long night, legs entwined, perfectly at peace. Ten. It comes so quickly for me I almost miss my chance. The old priest that the Helvarians had sent in to try to get us to confess and recant told us the ten seconds would feel like an eternity; something about the brain drawing out time, like in dreams. *Fractal divisions*. *Distortion of senses*. *The psychology of it*. He told us it would be agony, that we’d defecate ourselves or collapse weeping and disgrace ourselves, but we knew that nothing is more disgraceful for a Dendronian than capitulation. And so we all remained silent until he sprinkled us with driftwood ash and wished us a pleasant journey into the underworld. Now ten seconds felt impossibly fast, thrice as fast as I’d been counting all week. I take the biggest breath I can muster. My brain sends the signal to my feet to jump; a burst of power from my heels to the balls of my feet, up to my knees. My thighs plunge down for leverage and the momentum is back down to the balls of my feet again, pushing back up, and off I fly. I see my bare toes arched above me in the sky as I fall, the grey linen uniform madly flapping in the wind. Everything is a green-blue blur. I’m trying to summon my father. I want to see his face before I hit the rocks below. “Cypress,” he says, smiling into my face. “I’m so proud of you.” And at that moment I spread out my arms, as if to embrace him, and the wings that I’d always known deep down, even in the height of my cynicism, were there, burst forth, ripping open the linen cloth. They catch a draft of air and carry me off into the golden horizon.


Start your story with one character setting up a romantic dinner, and end it with them looking at a framed wedding photo. Their culture it was dinner, marriage and forever. There wasnt any room for negotiation, other then the alternative shame. Shame for them, their family and her future husband as well as his family. Most woman in her village waited for this moment rejoiced in it, she didnt. Infact she spent the last three months trying to think of a way out of it without destroying her family. Ananya wasnt sure why she wasnt like other girls in her village, but she couldnt help who she was. She dreamed of being more then a wife and a mother, sure she wanted those things but she wanted more. The main reason why she was going along with this dinner was because her intended was in America and thats where she wanted to go.

Naveen had no interest in a wedding, a wife or any other plans his family had for him, and he intended to inform them of his decision at dinner. From the time he was little he always just assumed he would marry a nice Indian woman and live in India, but after 4 years in America everything had changed.

The whole four years Naveen didnt give into the pleasures of the flesh, but worse he let his mind. Still in his country woman had a certain amount of serbiant additude, sure they were great mothers and wifes but why did that have to be all they were? He wasnt so much worried about a physical attraction that had never been a problem with woman in his village they were attractive enough but he wanted more. He wanted a woman he could talk to, listen to, and dare he wish for someone to laugh with.

Ananya and her family flew out to New York where her intended would be, her mom talking the whole time about a life with her new husband. To her relief Naveens family had gone the day before, to prepare for her and her families arrival.

Naveens mom had spent all day in the kitchen cooking while Naveen sat the table, because he insisted on helping though that wasnt a mans place. His dad had sat on the couch trying to figure out his smart tv for the entire day, they had yet to upgrade at home. The time was approaching and he was nervous for the knock on the door that envitably came. He opened the door and was blown away with the sight of Ananyas beauty, He hadnt expected her to be so beautiful and he was taken off guard as his mother, and her mother did the introductions. He was staring even as they were seated, she didnt seem to notice because her eyes were anywhere but his.

Despite being attracted to her, he still didnt want to marry her. He could barely hold the news in as his mother served everyone and they started to eat. Well everyone but Ananya was eating her eyes were looking out the window at the New York skyline she clumsily dropped a piece of brocoli as she was eating. "Ananya a lady focuses on her food not anything trivial outside" Ananyas mother said.

"Its beautiful" Ananya said softly but did turn her attention to her food, she was thinking she would run away now that she was here. She hoped her parents would think something bad happened to her versus running away, though for her the outcome was the same shed be free. Her mother and Naveens mother were talking about the two moving back to india after the wedding, they were just happily chattering away. The happy chattering stopped when Naveen dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter everyone stopped talking and Ananya even looked to him. "Im sorry but I m not marrying you" Naveen said to Ananya then added over his parents and her parents objections "or anyone yet. " He looked to Ananya not sure what he expected but when he seen a smile he was very shocked. Naveens eyes stayed on hers even as their parents started arguing till Ananya got up and walked to the windows to look out. Her mother then tried to get her to leave but she wouldnt she stayed put and her parents continued to argue. Basically her parents were upset they came all the way here for nothing and his parents were insisting that he would marry her. His curiosity got the best of him so he joined Ananya by the windows she looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you, this way i dont have to be the one to ruin my family" she said clearly a joke, he laughed softly.

"you didnt want to" he asked wondering if she had wanted to get married. "No I wanted to be here in America Im not going back" she said even softer.

"Want to get out of here" he motioned to a side doorway, she nodded eagerly and they quickly made their way out. She followed him down a fire escape to the busy street, this time of evening the sidewalks were sparse with people though. "They are going to be very upset we left" he said looking up the fire escape.

"I been upsetting my mom since I was born, she wanted a boy" Ananya said but her eyes were focusing on the world around her. "Didnt your mother teach you its rude not to look at someone while talking to them" he asked though he wasnt upset about her lack of attention.

"Im sorry its just to beautiful, I always wanted to see New York, California, florida, Austrailia, Spain" she said then continued to ramble. From the places she wanted to see to random facts about the places she wanted to visit. Even woman he had met in America didnt ramble like that not ot mention the twinkle she seemed to have in her eye when she spoke, such exuberance she seemed to have. After rambling for several minutes she stopped and seemed to redden embarrased then said, "sorry."

"What do you think about technology" he asked and she looked at him with a confused look.

"Overused but a great addition to life" she said the thought that came to mind.

"What about cleaning" he asked. "I have to have a clean place I like everything in order" she said, he had her full attention. "and cooking" he asked. "If you're interviewing me dont bother I couldnt cook to save my life, i have no desire to become a live in maid for you and your children" she said despite herself. At first she didnt mind the questions, she even appreciated them it made it seem like he was interested in what she had to say. Then it felt like he wanted to know what she could offer him, still she hadnt meant to burst out with her anger all at once. She always said what she thought or felt but she prefered to keep her calm composure, and now she briefly lost it. He started laughing immediately after the words came out of her mouth, he liked the fiestyness. She put her hands on her hips because now his laughing had angered her, she was totally taken off guard when he leaned down to kiss her.

Naveen hadnt known why he kissed her, he had thought about it while she was rambling, while she was giving her opinion and even while he was yelling at her. To act on it however was impulsive, and he was rarely impulsive. The explosion of passion was intense for both so when he pulled away all she could do was stare at him. "We could go tell our parents we are getting married" he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Im going to be more then your wife and the mother of your children" she said poking him in the chest. "Good" he responded, they walked together around the building to go in the front enterance to tell their parents. The downside was their parents were extremely happy for the change but the upside was that was the day they started a life together.

They were married days later though they still had alot to learn about each other. It had its challenges she was very stubborn and headstrong while he was infuratingly calm. They struggled with where to live, what careers they would take and many other things but they struggled together. The one thing they didnt struggle with was the honeymoon that turned into a year long trip around the world. They finally settled on living home in India at least till there first child was born.

Naveen had been at work all day while Ananya unpacked their belongings and decorated, she wasnt very far along in her pregnancy so she got around with ease. She was hanging pictures as Naveen got off work and had just put up thier wedding photo when he opened the door. She stepped off the stool she had been on and looked back at her, he walked to her side putting his arm around her waist and both looked at the framed picture. "Next year our childs will have a photo next to ours" he said and she smiled looking at him then back at their wedding photo.

"Still not going to be just your wife and his mother" she said the stubborn side of her coming out, that he loved.


The coming of the seven-day night, as they called it, was a warning they all took seriously. The news that there would be no daylight for one whole week troubled the people of the small town of Cairns greatly, but not as much as when they learned that the gods would come down from the skies during this darkness. As to why this particular time, the book of knowledge was silent. "They are gods," the people said in defeat. "There is no need for them to make sense." It was to start on the night that any one of their roosters died, so when old Charles Chickens clucked his last the townsfolk braced themselves. The people of Cairns, both young and old, stood outside on the dirt roads facing west as they bade goodbye to the sun. To fight their growing fears and, perhaps, to try to smother the violent waves of disquiet, they decided to throw a feast when the darkness fell. Everyone was invited—from the McGonnellys to the Bielbears, from the farthest house up the hill to the smallest hut at the center of the market—everybody heard the word. There was dancing and singing. There were tables set up on the main road. Here and there, mugs of beer were passed around. The smell of roasting beef and pork permeated the air, while the women went around the tables carrying trays with bowls of potatoes, bread, and gravy. Late into the night, torches were lit. Soft circles of light bathed the merrymakers who were already red in the cheeks and full to bursting. Their mayor, a plump man named Federick Humblesby, raised a glass that was already half empty. "To the people of Cairns and the seven-day night!" He said. "May all of our woes be as short-lived as this darkness. Blessed us be!" The townsfolk raised their glasses and drank deeply, knowing their fears were kept at bay by the beer. They have just finished their last beer barrel. "Say," one of the town's loudmouths said. "Weren't the gods s'pposed to come down?" They exchanged uneasy looks, having completely forgotten that. One woman gasped when they realized they had not prepared for it at all. "What are we to do?" They turned to one another, breath smelling like pork fat and gravy, repeating the same question. "We make offerings?" "With what? We just slaughtered Moo's cow." Heads turned towards a fire pit where there was a boney carcass still roasting on the dying embers. Its underside as black as coal. "A pig then?" Everyone looked at the plates they left on the table, each one had a bone from a rib, a foot, a leg. There was even a discarded ear near the foot of one farmer. "Surely, one of us can afford to slaughter one more?" No one made eye contact. All of a sudden, the starless night sky became an interesting thing to inspect. "Maybe, they're alright with some vegetables?" A woman said. The older woman beside her frowned. "Well then, you go on ahead and give them the wilted ones since that was all you left back home." A man in ragged clothes raised his hand. "Mayhap some bread? I have got more at home." The people who were standing next to him, his neighbors all, scratched their head in uneasiness. The man was the poorest in all of Cairns and would accept the lowliest of jobs to get by. They knew his bread would be moldy and, to be honest, probably the only food he had. "You need not worry about it." One of them said to him. "You keep the bread and be full." "We've got carrots," a man said from the other side of the crowd. "What you feedin' Paddy then? Your shoes?" His wife replied. "Why don't we just go to the next town and buy carrots there?" "In this darkness, friend? Not one of your brightest ideas that." "I think we've got some more fruits in the basket at home?" "Those fruits I told you to throw in the bin yesterday because they were starting to smell like death. Those fruits, you mean?" "Alright, enough!" The mayor shouted to be heard. "We have no more left to give, or so it appears. But we must never anger the gods. So, what we must do then is simple: since we have nothing to feed the fires of the ritual cauldron, we give what we can to any visitor who arrives." A young man's brow furrowed in confusion. "A visitor?" The mayor nodded. " Any visitor. Stories of old have often described the gods as coming down in disguises, mostly in forms we often find rather... repugnant, to test our mettle." The crowd groaned. Already, they were thinking of a man covered in a thick crust of his own sweat and dirt, his hair matted and his clothes stiff from the perpetual wear. The idea of allowing such a man into their homes made them wrinkle their nose. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is late. Return to your homes, please. Bring the torches with you. There should be no one left out on the roads when we're all home. Tomorrow, we reconvene at the plaza to discuss this matter when our words aren't slurring and our heads are clear." The mayor waved at everyone goodbye, his assistant on his tail with their own torch. The crowd slowly dispersed as their feasting finally ended. Walking in tight groups, every single one was immediately sobered by the reminder that they would not be waking up to sunlight pouring in from their windows. And when all of Cairns was fast asleep in their beds, with their heads throbbing and their bellies bloated, a strange fog crept forth from the shadows, wrapping the small town in a white, cool mist. Emerging from its center and leaping towards what remained of the feast was a rather large black cat. Tied around its neck was a collar with a golden pendant that had the name "Bastien". Bastien sniffed at the greasy plates and the upended glasses, finding nothing for him. He flipped some bowls over to see anything interesting at the bottom. Then, he spied the cow on the spit and slunk towards it. There was almost nothing left of the cow save for its charred bones.  Bastien clawed at it, shaking its form until it fell to the ground. The cat licked its paw and then tapped the cow's bones as if to awaken the dead animal. When the bones started to move on their own—rocking from a side to side like a boat caught in a storm—Bastien moved on and visited his first house. There, in the backyard with the flies hovering over them, was a mound of rotten fruit that stank to the heavens. Bastien paid the stench no mind and, like with the cow, inspected the refuse thoroughly. Finding only mushed and discolored fruits, he again tapped it with his paws and when the fruits started to take on a color as if they were freshly picked, Bastien was long gone. He found the smallest hut in the marketplace next. It was barely big enough to house the lonely man curled up on a cot in a corner, his entire possessions stashed inside a cloth bag that he used as a pillow. At his feet was a small box that Bastien opened to find three small pieces of bread that were bluish-green. The black cat retched before he tapped the moldy slices and then went on his merry way. The last house that he visited was the mayor's. Bastien climbed up through a window left open near the kitchen and what he saw surprised him as much as any black cat, whether godlike or otherwise, could be surprised. There was an entire shelf full of food and drinks to fill the bellies of at least thirty people. Bastien saw a huge roll of cheese, a row of jams and sugared plums, five stacks of sour dough bread, and so on. There was a hatch on the floor left open and the curious Bastien went down to have a look. He found the mayor's assistant splayed like a doll on a chair, mouth hanging wide open, and snoring. His fingers were loosely curled around the neck of a wine bottle that he held to his chest. Next to him was an oaken rack that contained many more bottles like the one in his hand. Bastien saw nothing to do there and went back the way he came. He eventually found the mayor sleeping in his room right in the middle of his plush bed, covered to the neck with a soft, velvety blanket. Bastien was at a loss. This man appeared to be wanting for nothing. What was there to do here? Bastien sat in the darkness for a while, contemplating. And then, unable to resist the call of the fluffy bed jumped right into it and stretched. Before he left, he sharpened his claws on one of the bed posts. Bastien made sure that he visited all of the houses in this small town and giving away what magic he could. Being that his mistress was rather busy elsewhere, he figured it would be alright to go on an excursion of his own. As long as he made it back home before his mistress, he wasn't going to be in any trouble. Besides, his mistress did say that she was getting tired of people asking for so much, so when Bastien saw with his own eyes that there was such shortage in food in that small town, he resorted to solving this problem himself. His mistress would be proud. All of this work tired Bastien to his bones. Before the first person had even opened their eyes to start their first day in the darkness, the black cat had gone back from where he came. There was a commotion that woke everyone. Ammie Fugle, the mother who was tired of rotting fruits in her house, had awakened to a bountiful harvest of bananas, mangoes, and apples just sitting outside her backdoor. The McGonnelly family, living two houses down, saw that their entire kitchen floor was covered in huge, juicy carrots. Benny "Moo" Moones, the farmer who volunteered to have one of his cows slaughtered nearly fainted in shock to find the same cow back in his farm, grazing. He even inspected every inch of its body to confirm that, yes, it was the same animal they ate last night. He thought he was going crazy, but then his eyes chanced upon a pig walking on the road that let itself into the front yard of Felmer Bielbears—the man who sold the very same sow to the crowd before the feast. "This is the gods' work," Moo said, in a sudden wave of enlightenment, but with that burst of wisdom came another realization: Now they had no more excuse not to make their offerings. Unbeknownst to Moo, everyone else who woke up in that strange Cairns darkness was having the same epiphany. The gods had given them a gift, and now they must give in return. But of course, nobody wanted to. When the mayor woke up, he was alarmed to find splinters everywhere on his bed sheet. When he slid his legs over to the side to get up, so many of it embedded in his skin. His assistant was woken up by his scream. Try as they might, they were impossible to pull out, not in that darkness when they could barely see a thing. He dressed up and went to the town plaza getting increasingly annoyed as the splinters felt like small wooden knives stabbing him everywhere on his legs. The mayor stood upon the dais at the plaza with a scowl on his face. There was no warmth in the crowd that gathered to see him, and this made him all the more irritable. Instead, everybody had a peculiar look on their face that Mayor Humblesby couldn't place. "Any new volunteers? Anything at all you could offer to give?" He cut to the chase. The crowd exchanged uneasy looks, some even avoiding eye contact. Mayor Humblesby winced, feeling a sharp pain between his toes that he wanted to scratch. In the awkward silence that stretched, only his labored breathing was heard. "Let me be clear: there is absolutely no one who wants to offer anything to the gods you constantly pray to for blessings and such? No one at all?" The sound of soft murmurs of protest undulated in the plaza. The mayor caught things like, "... but the horse..." and "... damned fruits no good like I told you before..." and " ... we'd go hungry...". Th ey were no closer to a solution. But just before the mayor walked out in annoyance, a voice shouted from the back. It was coming from the marketplace. Heads turned to look at the poor man who was smiling from ear to ear. In his arm were loaves upon loaves of freshly baked bread that left everyone's mouths watering when he passed by. Without another word, he tossed the bread into the ceremonial cauldron along with the herbs for the ritual and then set it aflame with the torch he carried. He then knelt down and lifted his hands to the sky, completing the ritual of gratitude by exclaiming it loudly. The crowd watched in awe. Felmer Bielbears, who was standing nearby, clutched his heart in joy and wept. "Those who have nothing be the first to share. I would have gladly given more had I more to give." Moo's jaw dropped. "Had you more to give?" He shouted from the other side. "I saw your pig walk back to its pen." This was met with a shocked gasp from everyone, but the look on Felmer's face was more than their surprise combined. "You accuse me of lying? If it were true, you would know this how?" "Because his cow came back to him!" Arthre McGonnelly guessed, though the look on his eyes betrayed that he knew this to be the truth. "This is madness!" And then the crowd erupted in a cacophony of accusations and defamation, hurling insults at each other that go much further than the night of the feast. "SILENCE!" The Mayor stomped his foot on the wooden platform and immediately regretted it. He saw stars when he closed his eyes. "Cows and pigs coming back to life is the work of the gods. Have any of you received anyone into your homes? Anyone at all?" The people of Cairns shook their heads, though they were feeling dread crawling up their spine. Surely the gods must ask for something in return? Before the mayor could speak again, the burning cauldron spewed out white smoke as thick as a cloud before the rain. "Was this where you've been, Bastien? Tell me." A female voice said from within. When it dissipated, the townsfolk immediately fell to their knees in deference. Stepping out from the column of smoke was a tall woman with long, black hair to her feet and a golden dress that twinkled like stars. Atop her head was a crown of light that burned like the sun. In her arms was a black cat purring contentedly. Bastien the cat took one look at the people and then looked at his mistress to say that, yes, this was where he's been. "To the good people of..." the goddess turned to the mayor who had his face pressed to the ground. "Cairns, my goddess," he replied, his voice muffled. The goddess cleared her throat and started over. "To the good people of Cairns, let me apologize. My beloved Bastien wandered here into your town and gave you gifts. Unfortunately, he does not know well how to wield this power—he is a cat, as you can see. Whatever you received from him will decay soon and destroy everything it touches. Before that happens, I highly suggest you burn each and every thing." "But my goddess, please. We would have nothing left to eat!" Bastien meowed, prompting the goddess to put her ear next to the cat. "What's that you said? The fat man has enough food for all?" The cat purred in response. "Very well, then. You heard the cat." "My goddess, please," the mayor said, trembling. "It will not be enough—" "I will not hear any more." The goddess replied, and with a flick of her hand the cloud of smoke appeared once more wrapping itself around her, and when it faded, so did she. The stunned crowd turned to look at each other, horrified and embarrassed of their greed. Without another word, they all rushed away from the plaza, panic surging through their veins as they gathered all that had mysteriously appeared in their home. The frenzied crowd tossed every piece of food into the fiery cauldron and kept the fire burning for a whole day. One child and his friends took pity upon the cow and the pig and set them free before their owners got to them. But just before everybody thought that the chaos was over, the crowd descended upon the mayor's house demanding for some food. Federick Humblesby was weeping as he gave hunks of cheese to his angry people. Meanwhile, in the abode of the gods, a smiling goddess looked down upon the folks of Cairns as she caressed the equally happy cat  in her arms. Bastien was no inept cat—he did exactly what his mistress would have done and used his powers just as he was trained. He was generous to a fault, and that was his only shortcoming. "Why don't you pay that poor man a visit again tonight, Bastien?" The goddess said. The black cat purred.


Here's Part 2! Sorry if it feels rushed, I didn't have that much time to submit this story. If you haven't already, please read Part 1 to have some context to this story! I also changed the perspective to be Brook, since its more natural for me. I hope you enjoy! The three check our pockets. All we found were a couple of pennies, a paperclip or two, some scraps of paper, and a couple of receipts. Since we had practically nothing, we decided to head over to someone's house, but we didn't know exactly whos. "By the way, I'm Kat, and this is Jordan," Kat points towards Jordan, "And you are..?" "Oh! I'm Brooklyn, but call me Brook." I say, hesitation. I've never really talked to anyone, let alone been asked my name, so it felt unnatural that these girls wanted to get to know me. "That's a really pretty name!" said Jordan. "Thanks!" "So, could we head over to your place? To get some paper?" "Um, my parents aren't home, and, uh, I don't think we have paper.." I know, I know, a lame excuse. But if I told these girls that I'm a homeless orphan, they might think that I'm weird or something. Or they might call Child Services. Whatever it is, it's gonna be bad. "Okay then... we'll just head over to my place!" said Kat. "Okay sure!" Jordan says, grabbing her cake-pop. ~~~ We reached Kat's house, and went inside. It was one of those nice houses, cozy, yet big enough for a family of three. I haven't gone inside someone's house for years, so I was pretty self-conscious for a bit. I hope her parents aren't home, I thought to myself. I looked like a mess . My long, brown hair was messy and tangled. I scavenged a small comb once, but it didn't help detangle my hair half the time. I wore a gray tee that said, Beach Vibes , worn out jeans covered in stains from dirt, and a dirty black sneakers. I looked like I rolled around in mud, and didn't bother taking a bath for 10 years. "Kat, are you home? Are you going to accept the invitation?" asked a woman's voice from the stairs. She had dirty blonde hair tied up into a high bun, with a pencil holding it together. She wore a gray robe over nurse scrubs, along with fluffy white slippers. "Yea, I am! So is Jordan, and my new friend, Brook!" said Kat, pointing towards me. I give a small wave, "Hi, miss!" "We just need some paper to register. Could we borrow some, Mrs. Lyke?" "Of course, Jordan! And tell your mom I said hello!" "Will do! And thank you!" "No problem girls!" I nodded, and followed Kat and Jordan to a table with art supplies, and black sheets of paper. Kat hands each of us a pencil and some paper. "Okay, Brook, has your magic been unlocked before?" asked Kat. "Has my what been unlocked?" I asked, confused. Kat sighed, "Every mage has to get their magic unlocked before they go to a school to learn how to channel their magic. My mom can do it for you though!" Kat's mother comes over holding a box of 7 crystals, lined up perfectly. "Ok Brook, pick a crystal that stands out to you." Mrs. Lyke tells me. I hesitate. "It's better to close your eyes." She says with a warm smile. I close my eyes. At first, I have no idea which direction to reach towards. Suddenly, I feel pulled towards slightly to the left. I hesitate, but reach out towards to feel a crystal in my hands. As soon as my fingers touched it's surface, I shiver, as if part of me resonated with it. I pull the crystal towards me and open my eyes. I had picked the last crystal. The crystal fills with colors, from a deep maroon, to a lime green, to a neon blue. Round and round the color spectrum, until the crystal stops on a deep, rich purple. "Ooh, nice choice!" says Jorden, "I got an emerald green!" "I got a light pink!" said Kat. "Dark purple, purple, purple.." Mrs. Lyke mutters to herself. She scans through a stack of cards, colored all the colors of the rainbow. She stops at a dark purple card, and hands it to me. It read: Dark Purple: If your magic aura is dark purple, your brave, courageous, and willing to do whatever it takes. Only 3% mages have this aura, and 13% of the time they're Evil. Huh, interesting.. There are Good AND Evil mages... "Ooh, you got a brave aura! Neat!" said Jordan, "I got an illusion aura, basically means I'm really clever and can pull off a lot of tricks." "I got a kind aura!" said Kat, "That means I'm kind to everyone I meet, so I know for sure I'll never be an Evil Mage." "Okay girls, chit chat time is over. You have to register before everyone else does!" said Kat's mother. We all nod, and write our letters accepting the offer... ~~~ The rest of the summer went by pretty fast! I would scavenge for food in the morning, come back for lunch, then I go and meet up with Kat and Jorden. On August 31, I packed everything I needed. Kat's mother helped me buy the books we needed, and also got me a luggage (I claimed that my family doesn't travel often.) "Clothes, check! Books, check! Snacks, check! Shoes, check! I think I'm ready!" I called downstairs. I closed my luggage, and carried it downstairs to see everyone waiting for me. I gave everyone a quick hug. "Don't worry! I'll be back for Christmas!" I say, with a smile. I walk to Kat's house with my luggage, with Kat and her mom waiting for me. "Hi Brook!" said Kat, taking my luggage, "We're all ready to go! We're just waiting for Jorden!" Jorden runs up behind me, heaving her luggage, "I'm here! Let's go!" ~~~ As we board our plane, we take out snack and some books for the 4 hour flight, and start reading. I had brought my favorite book, The School For Good and Evil: One True King with me. I was so excited for the flight! I had never been on a plane before! I open it up to the first page and began to read. ~~~ I woke up to Kat shaking my arm, "Wake up!" she exclaimed, "I think we're about to crash!" "Wait, what? " I exclaim. I look out the window to see us heading straight towards a formation of three rocks, in the shape of a triangle. "Are we heading straight for the Bermuda Triangle?" Jordan yelled. We all started freaking out. "I heard that everyone that goes in never comes out!" said Kat. Which didn't help our nerves. "I think Brook was right! That was a scam letter! We're going to die!" Jordan screamed. As we drew closer and closer towards the eerie rocks, we brace for impact. What impact, we had no idea. But I was thinking of some sort of creature, grabbing us by the waist and pulling us into the ocean. And surprisingly, everyone else on the plane wasn't freaking out. I don't want to die yet, I think to myself. God, why me? I close my eyes as we dive straight into the water. I expected the plane to be filled with water. I hold my breath. "Uh, guys?" says Kat, "We're not dead ." I open my eyes and look out the window. Instead of seeing the Atlantic Ocean, I saw.. a blue sky? I looked down to see a village, the buildings so small, there were the size of a fly from the plane. It was a cozy little town, something you would see out of a storybook. The sky was more bluer than normal, the grass greener, the clouds fluffier, it looked like something out of a 5 year old's imagination! We landed shortly after, and we exited the plane with our luggage. The people were very different! Some people had wings, some had capes that turned you invisible, some had wands, some were floating in mid-air, and some were even casting spells! I noticed this boy, about my age, he sent an orange blast of light towards the sky. It burst, and turned into a phoenix ! "We're definitely not in New York anymore."


Scene One Two brothers are playing a game of chess in their room. One side you have Daniel the younger brother and also Derrick the older brother. Daniel: It doesn't count if you're already planning your defeat! Derrick: There is nowhere I can go, you beat me. Daniel: (flustered) You and I know both that you let me win. Derrick: Well your always nagging me on how I never let you win. Daniel: Not true, (sighs) well thanks anyway. Derrick: Of course. Mom: Get ready. Derrick & Daniel: Yes Mom! Scene Two Both brothers put on there suits and black shoes to get ready to go to a funeral. The day was not like any other the sun was beaming, the sky was clear, and the birds were chirping. Weird day for a funeral. The family leaves out the house heading on their way to church were the funeral takes place. The whole ride no one said a single word. It was quite and bleak the entire ride there. When they got there people surrounded us telling us they were sorry for our loss. But the Mom was too sad to even speak. Mom: Could you get the seats up front dear. Daniel: Ok. Daniel: Hey, Derrick how am I always stuck with the chores. Derrick: I'll help you out. Derrick: Hey, Daniel those seats look good. Daniel: Oh yeah. Nice eye. Scene Three The brothers found a spot to sit with there mom and dad. The funeral was a different type of sadness almost dark in a way. Like a cast shadow over the church. As the ceremony started there were many tears but these tears were different in a way. They were heavier, like all of there sadness was put into each tear. You could easily confuse the tears hitting the ground with rainfall. Through all of this Daniel and Derrick still played around. Derrick attempted the entire funeral to make Daniel laugh. Daniel: Come on Derrick stop tickling me this isn't a place to be laughing (Giggling). Mom: (Crying). Dad: Daniel stop that now. Daniel: But dad it's not my fault Derrick is tickling me. Dad: Just stop it (with a gloomy face). Scene Four When the funeral was over the mom broke down crying while her husband comforted her. When they were all done they went back into the car and headed back on home. The mom was so sad that she couldn't even speak correctly. Everything that came out of her mouth sounded like gibberish. Daniel: Derrick I never know how you always stay out of trouble maybe it's because your older than me. Derrick: Not Maybe, it is. Daniel: Hey Derrick can you teach me how to do that magic coin trick again. Derrick: Sure, so what you want to do is grab a coin and rub it into elbow make sure you trick the audience into thinking its dissolving into your arm. Then you want to drop the coin and instead of picking it up you brush it off the table and do it again. Then you reveal that you don't have the coin. Disappear! Daniel: Wow! big brother your so talented. Could you teach me more tricks when we get back home. Derrick: Yeah. Scene Five They arrive home and just before Daniel could run up the stairs his dad calls him down to speak with him. Dad: Hey Bud how's it going? Are you doing good? Daniel: Dad I'm fine, now can I go upstairs to play with big brother. Dad: (With a concerned face) Go ahead. Dad goes into living room with his wife. Mom: How is he? Dad: The same, the doctor should be here shortly. Scene Six The husband and wife waited for an hour until the doctor got there. The doctor finally had gotten there. Then the doctor rang the doorbell. *Ding Dong* Dad: (Opens door) Hello Mr. Evergreen. Mr. Evergreen: Hello, again I want to say sorry for your loss. Dad & Mom: Thank you. Mr. Evergreen: So where's the boy hiding at? Both the mom and dad escorted Mr. Evergreen upstairs into the room were the brother's were playing. They slightly open the door to peek through. Daniel: Hey Derrick let's play the same game we played this morning. Derrick: Alright. Scene Seven The brothers both play the game as it comes to the same conclusion as it did that morning. The doctor pays close attention to the brothers and the game. Derrick: Well it looks like you got me again. Daniel: Big brother you let me win this morning so you take this victory. Derrick: Nope. Daniel: Fine I'll take it but don't be asking for it back. Mr. Evergreen enters the room. Mr. Evergreen: You ready to start Daniel? Daniel: Hi, Mr. Evergreen I'm guessing you are ready. Mr. Evergreen and Daniel sit across from each other, while Mr. Evergreen asks a series of questions. Mr. Evergreen: How are you doing? I know the funeral must have been hard for you? Daniel: I'm doing great. Big Brother Derrick kept my mind off of it. Mr. Evergreen: Oh is that right. Daniel: Yeah, Derrick just talks to me all the time and he is such a cool brother he teaches me magic tricks all the time too. Mr. Evergreen: That's great. Are you taking your medicine? Daniel: Yep Mr. Evergreen asks some more questions and then finishes. He packs his equipment and walks out the room and heads downstairs to speak with his parents. The brothers get ready for bed after a long day. Mom & Dad: (worried) So how is he doing doctor? Mr. Evergreen: He is the same. He still believes Derrick is still alive. Even after the funeral, In a way it's beautiful how he sees his brother the physical him is gone but somehow the spiritual him will always stay with Daniel (Smiles). Scene Eight Daniel: Good night big bro. Love you! Derrick: Love you too! little bro good night.