A Fairy Tale: Chapter 2
Anette threw herself on the couch and sobbed until she had no tears remaining. Then she stood and washed her face and dressed. She saddled a horse and rode out to the West.
She would find this sorcerer and she would get her polar bear queen back.
Anette journeyed for days through snow and storms until she finally crossed the border into the distant land of the West. Sharp craggy cliffs and sheer rock faces rose all around her, harsh and naked without the soft blankets of snow she had grown accustomed to.
Anette rode…
A response to the prompt Speak to Me…
A Rainbow Explosion
I was on fire for justice and mercy,
Burning so bright on the pyre.
You were my life, and love was the centre,
Blazing with zealous desire.
Feeding the flames with kindness and virtue,
Practicing love and peace,
I was a light on a hill, a lighthouse:
I thought that I’d never cease.
But, slowly o’er time, my passion abated,
Dimming from flames into coals,
Banked in my heart like a hearth that is sleeping,
Waiting for dawn to unroll.
Standards and orders and edicts and rules Dampened the flames even more; Things I was told were important and true…
Will you take me in and shelter me?
Can I claim sanctuary?
Will you take me in and shelter me?
The Name of the Lord is a strong tower;
Will you open the gates for me?
My ship is tossed upon the waves;
My sails are torn to shreds.
Will you come to me upon the raging seas,
And call me out to walk with you?
Can I claim sanctuary?
Will you take me in and shelter me?
Will you never leave me nor forsake me?
Will you walk beside me come what may?
Your brethren have condemned me For being who I am, And cast me out…
I am a wild card
I promised I would have the answer today. The answer to life, the universe, and everything. And the answer is: “whatever we want it to be.”
As I look ahead at this year, and at the rest of my life, I can be anything I want to be. I can do anything I want to do. I am a wild card. I am 42.
Whoso draweth out this Sword from this Stone…
Sean shifted position in the heavy wooden chair. He considered getting up and taking a walk around the Stone to ease his tired, aching muscles, but then a group of nine men approached, walking with purpose toward the Sword. Sean sighed and sat up straighter, pretending interest. He would wait patiently until they had each made their attempt, sympathize with their failure, and then, when they had left, he could finally get up and stretch his aching back and legs.
As they came nearer, the resemblance in their faces told him they were all of a family. The greybeard who…
A response to the challenge Microfiction Addiction: Underwater Experiments
As the waves close over your head, panic seizes you in an icy grip. Your limbs want to flail, to thrash, to climb the water back to the air. You have forgotten who you are.
Gills open on the side of your neck, saltwater rushes into your lungs, and your body changes. You are not human. You were never human.
You open new eyes on a new world: your world. This is where you belong.
You shed the chains of your old life, and your fins and tail propel you deeper and deeper into your future. You are free.
A Fairy Tale: Chapter One
Long ago and far away there were two neighbouring lands that had little in common beyond their shared border. The southern kingdom was warm and green year-round with bountiful farmlands and pastures while the north lay under an eternal blanket of snow.
At sixteen years of age, Anette was the youngest child of the king of Summerland and she dreamed of adventure. With little to fill her days, she read romantic tales of daring quests and spent hours riding in the lush countryside.
On a day that began like any other, a traveler came to the palace. This was exciting…
