standing

when the world won't give you a second

to just sit

and it's revolving

like a carnival ride, people getting on

people getting off

your feet swing but they can't quite

ever

reach the floor

there's

a safety in being here, in

being surrounded by those

spinning stars and the whirling

scenery and the song of the world

loud. unstoppable.

soaring, just for a moment

did you feel that - the brush of the trees no the ground beneath your feet

pent up in this primary colored funhouse

passing infinity and never getting the chance

to see it just a blink.

it's all so fast

it's all so infinite

it's all falling away - no it's falling towards you

or no, it's the thrumming of your own heart

it was never going to last

the spinning whirls by

cause it's up against an infinity of spirals

still, round and round and round

is it possible

that your mindnumbing go around - just a second in forever

could be just as long as

infinity?

She had been chasing her breathing for what had felt like forever but just couldn’t seem to catch it. The air in the room seemed to have grown too thick to swallow. The taste of the last bit of smoke from the extinguished candles caught the back of her throat. The blackness of the room went on forever as she tried to find the others in her panic, trying to listen for them but there was nothing. Not a sound echoed through the room that held five friends not moments earlier.

She shuffled across the floor towards what she hoped was the door. The decaying wood underneath her hands and knees stuck into her like little needles. Tears fell from her cheeks silently as she felt her hands move over the thick dried paint they had put there earlier in the night. She knew that meant she was out of the circle. The door couldn’t be too much farther. The cabin had not been that big.

Her shaking hand reached up where her mind thought the doorknob was, she was going to make it out. Suddenly the cold breath on the back of her neck told her she was wrong.

The forest is full of goblins. They guard the fifty-one pathways to the docks. When people walk past, the guards turn to rocks, and sometimes, someone particularly observant will say:

“Oh, look, an old mine entrance,”

Their friends won’t listen, and soon that someone goes off on their way.

The mine entrances are surrounded by mossy banks and at the bottom, where no one looks, is a trap door, and only the goblins in guard know its key.

We found an entrance quite by mistake, my sister and I. Being only two and three, we were so short and so fat that the goblins mistook us for some ladies passing by, and ushered us through.

"Tonight's a beetle themed do!"

The trap door opened with a whisper, and down a glittering, sliding tunnel we went.

It was night on the docks, and the beetles, as large as boats, flew among the shreds of starlike sky. My sister and I fell in with the goblin ladies, who all assumed we had come from abroad. There were tall and small on the dancing squares, and after we left the bouncing castle where the faery held their annual meetings, we were led to see the sea as it spilled into clear streams to cool the inside of the mountain.

They warned us not to go too deep, where the furnaces were, and we obeyed and wandered back up to the docks. We spotted the monsters in the loch, and when they waved us in we swam to meet them. They laughed when we paddled back to shore.

It was then that the sun rose on the world beneath the forest. We embraced the ladies and so we saw the goblins nod. We ran to their helping hands and up and out through the trap doors we went.

01. NOAH - One Man Show

In the surrounding darkness under a starless sky, I lean against the chilled stone of a bricked and bordered up building with a rolled blunt placed between my lips.

And a familiar ball of tension rising from the depths of my abdomen.

“Here we go again, Duke.”

With a sigh, I place my hand onto the head of my 3-year-old, mid-sized Pitbull who sat on my right. Sporting gray fur that glistened in the moonlight, the white dot on his chest acted as a spotlight.

“I know we usually hang with Bobbi after these but- She’s busy tonight so, what do you say to a guy’s night? Couple steaks, a little whiskey...”

And as if he understood every word, his tail picks up in speed and I shed a smile; blowing a stream of smoke through my nostrils. “Yeah, that sounds good to me too.”

Just then a heavily rusted door opens at the top of the staircase next to me, and a pudgy man with wisps of brown hair in a stained white hoodie stumbles out; slipping on the grimy stairs as he descended.

“Another day, another dollar,” I mumble and give a final pat down to Duke’s side before taking a step out of the shadows. “Hey, Mogel!”

“Huh?”

And with barely a look behind him, the jiggly donut takes off running down the empty sidewalk; causing the ejection of a gutted groan from my lips. “Christ, why do they always run?”

Beginning a mental countdown from ten, I watch my target repeatedly fall to the ground as I position myself against the dank wall once more, and reignite my blunt. ”Beachtung.”

With a German command to show my authority, Duke eagerly emits a bark and the immense wagging of his tail.

″Bleibe,” I steer; waiting for him to sit. And in taking a long inhale of my tube of green, the hesitance of a three-count coats the chilling air before I point a finger in Mogel’s direction to drop a smoke-filled order. ”Holen.”

Like a silver bullet ready to kill, my best four-legged friend silently takes off after him; swiftly rounding the same corner where a terrifying scream rings out in seconds.

“Crazy dog.” I chuckle, filled with the warmth of seeing Duke at his best when a buzzing from the wireless earbud in my right ear cuts my laugh short. “Fuck.”

And without the glance to my smartwatch, as I already knew who it was, the joy drains from my face as the air around me drops to a freezing temperature upon the answer of the third ring. “Sarge.”

“Where’s my pig, private?” My Father, the former Sergeant Major Roger Rite asks; hacking up the spray of a cough through the earpiece. “You promised me a squealer.”

Irritated that after these many years I still have to explain myself, with the rolling of my eyes, I stub out my blunt. “Dinner may be running late, but it’s still on the way, sir.”

“Time?”

Taking a moment to listen in on Mogel’s traveling hollers, I was thankful the rundown streets of Harlem were this empty on a Friday evening. “From the sound of it, I need ten.”

“That fat fuck turned in one of our own, boy.” He drunkenly slurs. “So, what you actually need is five. Now move your black ass and get it done.” 

The line clicks dead without another word from him.

“Fucking prick.” And the murmur of my words becomes mixed in the pitch of Mogel’s yells that were accompanied by Duke’s vicious barking.

Aware they were moving closer, I reach down to lift a wooden baseball bat off the trashed asphalt.

“And up to the plate is, the Grim Reaper!” I softly scream; mimicking the fainted sounds of a crowd as I bring the bat behind me and hold it up high with a tight grip around the worn handle. “Oh my. He looks handsome, ladies, and gentlemen.”

“Somebody please, help! This dog is gonna kill me!”

Sounding out a shrill whistle that stops Duke just short of the alley entrance beside me, I take a deep breath; slowly easing the beating of my heart and gaining enough focus over my objective like I’d been trained to do since I was eight.

“Someone please! I’m being chased!”

And just as my sights set on Mogel’s bouncing form, his head twists from behind to meet my glare only seconds before my weapon cracks against his skull; releasing a thin spray of his crimson blood across my apathetic expression.

∴    ∵    ∴   ||  ∴    ∵    ∴

Slugging Mogel’s unconscious body into the trunk of my car, I raise a hand to close the lid when the buzzing in my ear goes off again.

“Jesus fuck, leave me alone.”

Sure it was my Father with another complaint, I leave Mogel to yank the passenger side open and gesture for Duke to get inside. “Come on, bud.”

Slamming the door shut after he’s seated, I round back to my trunk with the anger in my bones rising to dangerous levels from having to answer Sergeant at every goddamn second of my life; as if I’d actually gone into the Marines.

“Goddammit.” The feeling resonates uncontrollably as I absentmindedly stab a finger into the Answer button. “I’m busy, you impatient fu—”

“I just burned the fucking lasagna.”

But the enchantingly soft yet panicked voice stops my motions dead and immediately forces my stomach to manufacture a flood of butterflies.

“Bobbi.” Stupidly turning nervous from someone who isn’t even in front of me, a warmth starts to sprout from within. “Shit, I’m sorry. You know I always have time for you.”

“And as my best friend, I wouldn’t expect any less.”

My muscles involuntarily twitch at the reminder of my limitations to her heart when Mogel begins to stir; shifting his limbs as he groaned.  And I elbow him square in the chest to halt all his movements as he gasps for air. “What’s up?”

“Elijah’s supposed to show up in an hour.” She carries on, unaware of my side of things. “And I don’t have the ingredients or time to make a new one.”

“Just order a pizza.” Watching Mogel’s fidgety fat fingers grasp at the oxygen not filling his lungs fast enough, it pained me more to scrape the stress off my tone. “You’re celebrating your engagement, all that glamour isn’t necessary.”

“God, you’re such a guy. Lasagna is not glamorous.” Bobbi huffs, and I can practically see her shimmering forest green eyes roll upward as her fingers get snagged in her curled, ebony hair.

“And when you finally like a girl long enough to learn her last name, I’ll start listening to you. But in the meantime, help me make something new and fast. Please.”

“Yeah alright.” I sigh, scratching at my beard as I found it useless to argue with her; even if the grand gesture of love isn’t and likely never will be for me. “Start naming some ingredients. I’ll find something for you.”

Tugging on a set of black latex gloves from my back pocket, her excited laughter dusts off any leftover gloom hanging on my shoulders.

“God, you’re a lifesaver! Okay, uh- There’s salmon, milk, asparagus...”

As Bobbi starts firing off a list, I press the volume button on the bud in my ear twice; resulting in a mute of my words. “Bobbi?”

And when she doesn’t answer I take that as my cue to continue my original objective. “Alright, Mogel. Let’s wrap this up.”

“No, no! Grim please!” He begs; sitting up some to interlock his fingers. “You can let me go! I swear I’ll leave the country!”

“Trust me. That won’t stop Sarge’s hard-on for you. And either way, I got bills to pay.”

Striking a fist to Mogel’s nose in order to toss his senses, I move behind his wriggling body to sling my arm around his throat as my other hand rests on the top of his head. “Now let’s take a little eternal slumber, hm?”

As I pinched the air from his lungs, his wheezed and muffled cries fall on deaf ears as the familiar sound of rushing water clogs the eardrum that wasn’t filled with Bobbi’s oblivious rambling.

I preferred for her to be in the dark about the type of acts I’m forced to commit. At least for now.

“I assume you want freezer foods too.” She includes; unbeknownst to my opponent’s struggles. “Uh... Frozen pineapple,  a pizza, but shut up because I’m not making that.”

Instantly distracted by her carefree laughter, the sharp tearing of Mogel’s nails simultaneously clawing at my cheek and wrists stirs a hissed curse from my lips; leaving me without much time to stop myself.

And out of a burst of newfound rage, the roaring in my ears turns deafening as I switch the subject of my limbs from an arm around his windpipe, to a hand stapled to his jaw.

“Grim, wai—!”

In one swift motion, I snap his head to the right; switching the rest of his body off like a light.

“Noah?”

Blowing a stream of stress through my nostrils, I toss Mogel’s lifeless body back into the trunk and slam it close as I pull a black burner cell used for completing my weekly tasks to send a single message to my Father.

“Noah? What the hell are you doing?”

Rounding to the driver’s side of my car, I tug the door open and slide inside to greet Duke as I un-mute the earbud. “Just another delivery for Sarge, sweetheart. The usual.”

With a toss of my bat and gloves into the backseat, I rub Duke behind the ears before starting up my car. “And I don’t care what you say. That frozen pizza sounded pretty gourmet to me.”

Bobbi’s exaggerated sigh blesses my ear. “Why are you so useless to me?”

And her faked anger sparks a smile only she could ignite after what I’ve just done.

“Aside from the underground fights he sets up for you, I get why you have to be a part of your Father’s drug ring but, all these late-night drop-offs can’t be good for your sleep habits. Or your mind.”

I smirk, touched she cares enough to say that; but it soon fizzles out at the lie I have to produce. “I know, but a couple of trips to hand over some money or a pound or two of something won’t kill me that much.”

Her silence brings the inability to object, and relieved, I strap on Duke’s canine seatbelt before the follow up of my own safety. “Your cooking, however...”

“Shut up, I’m an amazing cook.” She laughs. “Now, help me. I don’t have a lot of time and I want to make something memorable.”

Hearing the desperation in her voice, Bobbi’s second plea threatens my bleeding heart to run dry as I pull onto the quiet road.

“Alright. Give me 30 minutes, and I’ll be at your door.”

∴   ∵   ∴ || ∴   ∵    ∴

Settled into a different car, I peel the tires away from an undisclosed warehouse where I dropped off Mogel’s corpse to a loaded clean-up crew.

Driving back through the city, I take a shortcut and head through an old suburbanized section I used to hang out in.

Though my attention was on the only thing that mattered to me at this point.

Bobbi.

Resting my car at a red light on a street lined with houses from my youth, to avoid the not-so-pleasant memories my brain starts to melt into the more guttered portion of itself where I indulge in what she could be wearing right now.

“God, that woman has a hold on me.” I breathe, and Duke barks a response I somewhat acknowledge through a glance in his direction. “I didn’t ask your opinion but, it’s true. Bobbi’s had my heart since we were teenagers.”

His barking intensifies.

“Fuck you, that doesn’t make me weak at all. In fact, loving a girl like her only makes me stronger. I think.”

A comment directed to my dog and maybe even myself, it’s my Father’s image that slips its way into my mind to the point where I actually hear his laughter towards my failure in the escape of my current title as Bobbi’s second best.

Stop putting so much thought into it and just fuck the girl already.

Miserable bastard.

I know what I’ll always mean to her without sex. And just because she’s marrying a worthless shithead doesn’t mean my life will end in disappointment like his has.

It’s why I’m building up the money to get the hell out of his world and live a simple life somewhere as a boring mechanic.

The sudden flash of green in the traffic light snaps me out of my head, and in shifting the gears to move forward, it’s Duke’s relentless excitement towards whatever’s next to us that gives me the idea not to move.

“What’s your problem?”

Keeping the car still, Duke doesn’t let up as his breath fogs up the passenger window in the pursuit of whatever was troublesome. And after rolling it down half-way for him; he starts to growl.

“What’s gotten into you?”

Shifting forward in my seat to see around him, I spot a couple heavily making out in the open doorway of the only house on the street with lights on; causing my lips to slam shut. 

Though their faces weren’t entirely clear, I recognized that house like no other. And without my command to do otherwise, Duke’s the friendliest dog on the planet except towards one person.

“No fucking way...”

In the middle of their grope-fest, the two twist towards us; confirming my subconscious assumptions and snatching the air from my lungs just as harshly as I did Mogel.

Finally pulling themselves apart, I watch with a heavy heart and collapsed lung as Bobbi’s fiancé, Elijah, lands a loving kiss on the forehead of a woman I didn’t recognize.

And with a grin as big as the full moon above our heads, he moves to the side to squat down and place an endearing peck on her swollen stomach.

|| ∘ ∙∿∙∘ || ∘ ∙∿∙∘ || ∘ ∙∿∙∘ || ∘ ∙∿∙∘ ||

Title: The Harmony Effect

Genre: Romance/Suspenseful Thriller/Crime/Fiction

Age Range: 18+ (mature)

Word Count: Approx. 96,000 / This is the 1st book in The Harmonize Trilogy

Author Name: Maxine Scythe (Pseudonym)

Why your project is a good fit: Telling the tale from the alternating point of views of a male and female lead, my novel is a captivating New Adult urban romance wreathed with elements of twisted crime and jaw-dropping suspense. Featuring African-American characters as top protagonists, the story remains diverse in cast without an overshadowing worry.

Adding in various personalities, each person is brought to life in their own unique way; giving everyone somebody to root (or boo) for.

To witness a love like Noah and Bobbi’s conquer all that the Universe has conjured, to feel their pain or joy, or know the depths of their history that makes them so unbreakable will not only make just about anyone believe in love again; it’ll send them on an unforgettable journey through the tangles of their own hearts.

In times where we all want is to be accepted for the person we are, this story gives the gripping truths of just what mountains need climbing, and which floods are worth the risk to cross.

If in the end, you not only found where you truly belonged but also the people who loved you regardless of the unruly gears in your brain; wouldn’t you do all you could to hold on?

The hook: “I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Bobbi, and to be honest, that scares me a little. Not because of what may or may not grow, but because I think a love like ours will get somebody killed one day.”

Synopsis: Brought up in a life of crime by his Father, 28-year-old Noah Rite dominates the streets of New York as a legendary man who demands control and doesn’t settle for failure. Known to all as “The Grim Reaper”, and unforgivingly brutal to his enemies, his only savior comes by Bobbi Potter, his best friend and the captor of his heart and soul whom he’d die to protect.

For 26-year-old Bobbi, as someone who’s lived in a tough and abandoned world of her own, running into Noah was nothing short of kismet. Trusting her life to the man she’s known for nearly 20 years, Bobbi’s been by his side through the gates of Hell and back without question, and with love and admiration that never seized; even when she fell for Elijah.

But after an unexpected discovery reveals the ugly truth about Bobbi’s fiancé, Noah’s unhinged intentions result in more harm than healing and only a lie can pick up the shattered pieces.

One year later and with Bobbi deep in Noah’s domain of infamy, as those demons and other closeted skeletons resurface and begin to manifest in unpredictable ways, like a vicious cycle their friendship will be forced to withstand the chaos of it all while exploring the depths of their soulful bond.

And with Noah blinded by his desires, only carnage and bloodshed will follow his refusal to let them crumble.

All in the name of love? So be it.

Target Audience: My novel is directed to any of those over the age of 18 with an interest in realistic crime tales and relatable warrior-like characters.

Your bio: Being an African-American writer, life has had its ups and downs and through that, I’ve discovered a deep passion for friendships romantically reformed through times where you learn who the truest people in your life are.

Since I was a teenager, I have longed to make a career in writing about what I love most; and from that point on, I’ve done all I can to achieve that dream.

As of now, I hold a small handful of unpublished flash fiction pieces, as well as a psychologically thrilling short story.

Platform: Today, I currently post the expansion of my writing expedition on Wattpad under a pseudonym.

Education: I hold an Associates’ degree in Liberal Arts.

Experience: I was wired this way. All ideas I have come from the confines of my imagination. Though I will admit, television and stories by Stephen King added much fuel to the fire.

Personality/Writing style: Though I am in love with Fantasy, and even some comedies, I’ve been a fan of Horror and other thrilling tales via television or books since I was a child. As I got older, my new love for cheesy romances bloomed and began to become incorporated in my writing whether I wanted it to or not; however, the excruciating need for more nerve-wracking and unfathomable experiences for my characters was and will always continue to be a must in each and every story I create.

Likes/Hobbies: The times where I do have a moment to think, when the television is dull and friends are busy, I enjoy trying my hand at drawing.

Age: 28

#romance #bestfriendstolovers #crime #drama #africanamericanlove #africanamerican #betrayal #realisticfiction #heartbreak

Everything happened too fast. It was only a blur where she didn’t have time to comprehend what was happening. They were pulling her out of her bed, forcing her down the stairs. Her feet dragged across the floor, the heels burning when bumping over every step as she tried to stop them. There was something on her mouth. She couldn’t scream. She couldn’t alarm anyone at home of the intruders. No, this wasn’t supposed to happen tonight. She thought. They told her she had an entire day, twenty four hours, to think. They barely even gave her seven hours. She was supposed to run away before they came to take her. She wasn’t supposed to go with them, that’s what her family spent all their lives trying to prevent.

They were already in the van, and it was driving away. To where her life wouldn’t be hers anymore. She had never felt this scared in her life before. Her heart was drumming against her ribcage. She could feel each beat resonating in her chest. Her eyes flitted from one face to another in fear, an escape plan working its way in her mind. She couldn’t let them take her. The van slowed down at a sharp turn and she knew this was her only chance so she gathered all the force she could to push her body out of their hold and at the door. She opened the door, threw herself outside. And started running.

She ran and ran and she never stopped. Into the woods and the unknown behind it. Into the gloomy night, dark, and eerie. All she could see were the silhouettes of the large trees looming over their town resembling a shadowy monster. All she wanted to do was go back home. But home wasn’t safe anymore. And she remembered her mother’s voice from a few hours ago. Leave, run away, Millie. But she thought she still had time to figure it out.

She dashed through the thick trees hurriedly, her movement never ceasing for a second. The wooden twigs cut viciously through her bare feet. She didn’t stop. Terrifying thoughts ran through her mind, and all the while thinking, what the hell she was going to do. She looked over her shoulder, into the darkness, but she saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. It filled her with terror and pushed her to run faster. She had to keep going. She didn’t know where she was going, nor had she any place in mind. All she was thinking about was to get as far away from these men as possible.

What has she done for her life to take this turn? Saved a boy? A child. Should she have just let him die? She started to question everything she ever knew. She started to question if a selfless act was worth the terrible consequences.

She tripped over her feet, not being able to bear her body weight on her tired feet anymore. Hold on, you’re almost there. She told herself. You can’t stop now. She got herself to believe that she had a destination in mind. The engine of the van was fading away. And then stopping. It wasn’t going to be long before they caught up to her.

“Get up.” She heard her own voice, yelling into the darkness with no one to hear but herself. Slowly, she placed her fists in the mudded grass, pushed up as she breathed heavily and got to her feet. And just like she hadn’t been able to do seconds before, she kept on running.

The sound of crushing of the fallen autumn leaves travelled to her ears from behind. She panicked, but urged her feet to move forward, and faster. She repeated in her mind that she was just imagining the sound.

But she heard it again. The crushing of leaves beneath heavy footsteps. And this time, the sound of the leaves was accompanied by violent breaths. She didn’t look back. She told herself she was being paranoid. She was imagining the noise.

She knew it, though. She wasn’t alone anymore. She knew someone was behind her.

It happened so quickly. A strong arm sneaked around from behind her, tightly engulfed her body and sprang to the side. She let out a piercing screech that she was sure echoed all around their town. And then she felt light headed. She wanted to fall to the ground. But the same arm that pulled her was there to stop her from falling. She looked up, a guy. Not one of those who took her from her home. Her heart raced faster, she was scared to take a breath. She was scared to look away.

“Why did you run this way, why didn’t you go back into town?” Her holder said in an angry whisper. She was surprised. She took a breath. Did it just sound like he was… helping her?

“Who... who are you?” She croaked. Her heart was beating rapidly and she just wished she was in a nightmare and she would wake up any moment, safe in her bed and her secret still a secret. Maybe she should’ve let the boy die. No one would’ve blamed her. No one would’ve known she was able to help.

Her vision started to get blurry. The face of the guy was starting to fade away. Everything was fading away. Her head felt heavy every time she tried to pull herself up and away from the man holding her.

“What’s happening to me? What have you done?” Her voice was as frantic as it could get. He said something, but she couldn’t concentrate on the words, everything was getting harder to comprehend.

She could fathom only a few of his words. Not me. They shot at you. Helping you. And they were enough to make more tears fall from her eyes in fear. She tried to speak. She tried to push the guy away. She tried to get up. But she couldn’t even move a finger. He was looking sideways, still speaking words that didn’t reach her ears. He looked paranoid. She didn’t know for sure. Her eyes had started to fall completely shut. She couldn’t resist any longer, the adrenaline that rushed through her body was diminishing. She surrendered to the darkness.

People were staring at her. No, not just staring. Their eyes were wide. Their hands covered their mouths. Parents were pulling their children against them in protection. They were scared of her. And she stood there, arms still extended, hands pointed to the little boy’s body hung up in the air. She didn’t know what she was doing until she was already running towards him with arms trying to reach him, like she was going to catch him before he fell. And maybe she thought she was going to catch him. But she hadn’t imagined what would happen when she ran and tried to save the boy. The only thing she could think about was the kid falling off a roof of a very high building. She hadn’t used her powers in so long. She kept them concealed, she sometimes forgot she even had them, even believed she was normal. And now everyone knew she wasn’t. And no one was thinking of her as the girl who saved a little kid. A child. But they were thinking, this is the freak who somehow made the child’s body flow up in the air just a few feet above the ground.

Breaks of light came to her vision when her eyes fluttered. She couldn’t have let him die. Even if it meant exposing herself.

Her body was aching from all the running. Her hands were heavy. Her knees almost let out when she tried to stand. She was positioned behind a trunk of a tree, a water bottle placed next to her. She leaned down to grab it and drank almost half the bottle, then looked for the source of light. It came from the man who saved her. She wasn’t sure if he did save her, but she knew she was still alive. He was waving around a flashlight in the distance, a walkie in his hand. She heard the voice coming from the other end. She heard the voice giving an order to all patrols out there, orders to find her. Do not kill when captured. Kill. The word sprang up a deep feeling of dread.

He walked over to where she stood. She backed away. “You’re with them.”

His lips parted and he took a cautious step closer. She was sceptical. And scared of him. Maybe she would have to use her powers again. “I’m not with them. Well, they don’t know that I’m not with them. But that’s an advantage for you.”

“Say I believe you, which I don’t, when they find out you’re missing, wouldn’t that put us both in danger? That wouldn’t make sense if you’re trying to help me as you said.”

She was still backing away, preparing herself for a second run if he attacked her. But he only stood there, a good distance away from her. He knew she didn’t trust him and he didn’t want her to run away.

“When they find out, we will both be safe.”

She didn’t believe him. How could she? But did she have any other option? “What’s your name?”

“Rob.” He replied almost instantly. “And you’re Millicent. Millicent Grey.”

She stared at him, blinking away the shock. “How did you know my name?”

“I heard it.” He lifted up his hand with the walkie. “They’re looking for you. They have orders not to kill you, but trust me when I say it would be better than getting captured. They’ll even try to convince you they’re helping you. That you’re helping the population.”

She trusted him a little bit. She knew what he said was true. “What happened earlier?”

“They were shooting at you. You passed out after I pulled you away from their sight.”

She studied him for a second. Then decided she had no choice but to go with him. The only other option was be on her own and that would likely end up in her being captured. So she followed when he started moving.

It took him ten minutes to ask her. “So, what’s your dark side? I know your thing, the gravity thing. I saw what you did with the boy. But you have a dark side, you must have.”

She stopped moving. The little bit of trust she had for him disappeared. He knew too much about her. About her kind. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at him. “Why do I have to?”

“You all have it. A darker power. One you can use against people.”

“Who is the ‘you’ you’re referring to?”

“You, magical people, Magicals, or whatever.”

She didn’t answer. He knew too much. He knew she wasn’t normal. And he knew what she did with gravity back in town. He knew she had a darker side to her powers. That they all did. She didn’t even know there were that many of them.

“Do you also heal people?”

She stopped again. “What?”

“Do you heal people?”

“Why would you ask about healing specifically?”

He faced her and sighed. “I know who you are, Millicent. I recognised your name when I heard it. I know about your grandmother.”

Her chest ached at the mention of her grandmother. The only person she knew that was like her. The person she loved the most after her parents. Her grandmother that had the power of healing.

“I saw her doing it. I was only seven and I was at the hospital. A man was brought in and the doctors said there was nothing they could do. But when no one was looking, she put her hand over his heart. And I was looking. I saw it happening, his heart started beating and he came back to consciousness. I’ve never been awed by anything else like I was by your grandmother healing that man.”

Tears had formed again in her eyes. She felt the lump in her throat. She managed to whisper. “That man was my father.”

The words brought a look of surprise on his face. “I didn’t know that. But I know she was a great woman. When they talked about her at our headquarters, they said she betrayed them, they say she refused to help them. But I only know she refused to let them run tests over her like she was a lab rat. I knew what she really was. A selfless woman who only cared about those around her.”

She didn’t have anything to add. He said it all, a selfless woman who only cared about those around her. She managed to have a bit of respect for him after what he just said about her grandmother. So when he moved again, she walked next to him. She thought about his question that still didn’t have an answer, and she decided that he deserved a small piece of information for the sake of her grandmother.

“I don’t know if I can heal anyone.” She began. “My grandmother told me she believes I can, but I tried once and I couldn’t do it.”

She looked at him after she finished talking. His eyes were already fixated over her, and they looked thoughtful. “If she believed you can then you eventually will be able to do it.”

Millie didn’t like this man, Rob, already. She was confused, should she trust him? Should she believe him? Or was he just too good at deceiving people? She didn’t know if she was supposed to say something, so she didn’t.

But he couldn’t stay quiet. “If you’re like your grandmother, I know your dark power. She could manipulate fear into people’s minds. She could even-”

“Drive someone crazy from fear.” Millie finished for him. She didn’t like that he knew too much about her.

“Have you used it before?”

With a roll of her eyes, she stopped walking and turned to face him. “Yes, once. In middle school, there was this kid who used to bully me. I got so mad one time and I played with his mind, it wasn’t a big deal, just a small fraction of fear that made him pee his pants and he never bothered me again. And no more questions.”

She faced away from him again and started walking, but not before catching the glint of amusement on his face. “Do you know where we’re going?”

“I thought there was no more questions.”

“Not for you.” She shrugged. And then too many questions filled her head, fear gripped her heart, all possible explanations making more sense in her mind. She stopped again. His hand was on her arm, urging her to keep moving. But she fixed her feet to the ground and refused to move. She started to panic. “Where are we going? And how do you know your way around the forest? No one enters the forest for what’s known to be lurking around. And why do you know so much? Why did you track me so easily but said you’ve escaped headquarters? Something isn’t right. You’re lying.”

This time she wasn’t backing away. She was right in his face, ready to retaliate if he thought of attacking her. She was powerful and she believed she could take him. But he wasn’t doing anything. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair. He regarded the area around them with his eyes. He shifted from one foot to the other. How could he explain everything to her to make her trust him and still make it in time before they were caught?

“There’s no time to explain everything to you, Millicent. I’ve been working in the military headquarters for a few years now. I’ve watched them bring in people like you claiming they would benefit from them in their wars. They ran all kinds of tests on them, drained their minds with too many activities, tracking their brain activity. Some of them went crazy, some couldn’t take all the tests and died, and sometimes they had a risky test done on an individual without caring about the outcome. I’ve tried to help them before. I tried to help anyone. But they have very tight security and I couldn’t do anything. I only ever saved one other kid. I’m trying to do something good here. I don’t want anyone to go through what… through this again.”

He caught her gaze and fixed it with his as he spoke. He just needed her to believe him. And he knew something that could make her trust him, but it’s something he hasn’t done in a very long time. She still stared at him, still tried to believe him. He broke their gaze, looked away into the distance. His eyes moved around, looking for something. Until he pulled on her arm and pointed at something. “Do you see that building over there?”

She had to concentrate to see a building that looked abandoned, it was visible in between the tree branches. She nodded.

“That’s where we’re going. That’s how I know my way around the forest.”

“What’s there?”

His eyes met hers again and he smiled. “A community.”

“Community?”

“Yes. A community with every person with magical abilities, anyone with superhuman abilities. Anyone who can do something is there. They call the place The Grove, I’ve been in contact with them for months now.”

Millie froze in her spot that she couldn’t even move her feet when Rob started walking again. A community of people like her? An entire community that weren’t normal. She could be normal there. She could be safe. A newfound sense of hope filled her and she decided to trust Rob.

“You can call me Millie, by the way.” She said when she was next to him. “I hate Millicent, anyway.”

He smiled and she knew she was right to believe him. There was no way that smile could be harmful. So they walked, and walked, the building closing up more and more. Getting bigger and bigger. Until it was only a cluster of trees intertwined together separating them from their safe haven. Once Rob pushed through the trees with Millie right behind him, it all became visible.

Millie heard herself gasp. The building itself might have looked abandoned, but the surroundings… it was breathtaking. A perfectly circular pond took up half the space in front of the building, the water was clear and shimmering. Large trees towered over a clearing that had all kinds of colourful flowers. Trees that she had never seen before. The soft sunlight of the rising sun broke through the branches of the trees casting all shades of orange and red and golden over the clearing, and reflected over the clear blue water. By the look on Rob’s face, she could tell he hadn’t been there before. Because he was staring with the same admiration that she felt.

“This place is…”

She couldn’t even find a word to describe it. He looked down at her and smiled. “Magical?”

Chloroplasts churn

until they don’t, and

the dessicate thing

can only clasp the bark

so long.

Wind separates the stem;

leaf falls to earth atop

a dozen more.

A hundred will follow

tomorrow

on every block

in every forest

and will again next year

from the same dimple on

that branch

where no one sees.

Kneel.

Lift it.

Nothing more

beautiful and vital

will ever touch your palm.

Many years ago the air was pure.

Rolling fields of green,

pure and plentiful,

as were the buffalo.

There was abundance

as far as the sacred eye could see.

Clean flowing rivers,

open space in which to live,

to hunt; raise family.

There were no machines,

no such thing called technology,

no piece of paper

to say where our people could live.

No lies to betray a man’s soul.

As a nation in the early days,

to so-called modern times,

we have always protected our own.

It is our way, our only way.

Long years ago stretching beyond tall mountains,

we lived on a land protected by swollen oceans,

untouched by the future’s pollutants.

In years past when sounds of Mother Earth

gave my people sustenance;

when Father Sun gave light and warmth;

those were when years held tranquil beauty.

Days now no longer as before,

where a boy grew to manhood,

learning the hunt,

learning to provide for family,

learning the ways of our ancestors.

My heart grieves.

Rivers are muddied, the land, congested,

buffalo, no longer plentiful,

and the air reeks of technology.

My people have suffered much.

Years of pestilence, starvation, ridicule,

pushed beyond human endurance,

to face hardships as in days gone by.

As life ebbs from this old warrior’s flesh,

as I prepare to greet my brother’s,

waiting for me across the great divide;

I pray to Mother Earth for solace,

and to Father Sun for giving us life.

I also thank Father Sun

that my people remember the old ways,

to give them continued strength

for days of destiny awaiting them;

days yet that cannot be seen.

The history of our people,

our traditions,

our blood spilled,

and of our spirit,

should never be forgotten.

"Men?" says the widow with a tear. "Well, I only ever had one so I suppose I'm not an expert on them. I really loved the one I had, though. No one else really filled his space."

"Men?" says the prostitute with a smile. "Gosh, I love men. How can you not? Such honest creatures. I could settle for one but I have to admit, I'd miss them all."

"Men?" says the nun with a frown. "I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're asking. There's probably a biblical reference for your question, child, if you pray on it enough."

Once upon a time,

There lived a girl like you!

Lily was her name,

And her eyes were bright and blue!

Everyday she woke,

As early as the morning mist

And she was never in trouble,

As she was no pest.

She obeyed her parents,

And was the teacher’s pet

She was loved by every kid,

And never did she fret.

She had a thousand friends,

And read good books

Such a happy life,

Gave her good looks.

Never did she lie,

And never did she cry

And never disturbed her mommy,

In the name of a bedtime story!

Its half past nine,

Lily’s time to sleep

And every good girl like her,

Would have gone to sleep.

Tucking you in bed,

Let me leave now, my darling

Have a good night

And let us meet in the morning.

I wish I was a social butterfly. I wish I could strike a conversation with someone anytime I felt like it. I wish I didn't default to shy and reserved. I'm not even sure why I'm like this, but maybe if I knew, I could do something about it.

I wish I had a voice. I have a literal voice. I'm grateful to not be mute. When I say I wish I had a voice, I mean I wish I could say what I want to say, what needs to be said. I wish I could say the things on my mind and on my heart. Some of it should probably stay silent, but for the things that really need said, I wish there wasn't a big barrier.

I'm not even sure what the barrier is. I feel like it's me. Or maybe something deep inside of me. I mean, this had to have started somewhere, right? There's got to be a reason why I don't feel comfortable using my voice, right?

I wish I could figure it out. Part of it I could blame on the hearing loss. I don't know what other excuse I have except I've always been like this. My mind often blanks on things to say to people. What if they don't want to have a conversation with me? What if I annoy them? I'm so afraid I'll say the wrong thing.

Why is rejection still a problem for me?

I wish I didn't care what people thought of me or if they think I'm totally weird or stranger or crazy. I wish I had the right things to say to people when they're hurting. I feel like I know so many who are hurting and I don't have the right words to say and it hurts me. I want to see them healed, I want them to see that their lives have purpose and meaning and there is hope.

I wish I didn't crouch back into silence so quickly. I just listen. Then wish I had said something. People are hurting. Why do I sit in silence? I wish I didn't sit and stew in silence and I wish when I did talk, I talked about more meaningful things.