It feels as if I’m carrying the weight of the world on the coin that I am balancing by its edge on my thumb. I’ve been holding it there for about a minute now. The pressure of the load has been steadily increasing. It would be even more intense if I had drunk any of […]

Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke. –Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf Prologue I am God. But that is not my name. I was there before the beginning. I will be there after the end. In between, I manifest myself into various forms, living or non-living. I am one yet many. Some people […]

Meda’s Clearing Meda Lillin’s hands are bent around the handles of her rocking chair. Her knuckles are brown and knobby like the wood beneath them, and I have to peer closely to see where the rocking chair ends and her skin begins. She’s smiling, and staring out through the window, and she’s very still. Her […]

Erin takes Kate to the Conference 5. Earth – November 2625 I burst into Erin’s room in the morning of the plenary. He was in the hotel suite, getting ready for that day’s meeting. “What were you thinking?” I demanded an immediate answer without wasting time for mere courtesy of a greeting. Yet, in my […]

Chapter Three On the top row of the splintered bleachers at Booker T. Washington High School, David Tilson, one of the city’s brightest students and, thanks to his parents’ role in business, politics and social life, one of Shelby County’s most well-known sons, clenched  his fists. David was only sixteen and already in the twelfth […]

Chapter One: Scales and Songs October 9th, 2099 Lying in a bathtub filled with cold saltwater, Freddie Molloy screamed in agony as his skin turned to scales. His hands grasped at the tub’s slippery, chipped ends, his knuckles turning white. They were the only part of him that could keep still. Everything else was movement. […]

At that moment a dozen rifles were fired more or less simultaneously, part of a night training exercise.  Adam panicked and lost his balance.  He felt himself start to fall towards the dish and scrabbled to reach it.  His feet slipped from the mast.  As a result, his body was for a moment directly above […]

Chapter 12 – The Longest Day Knocking at my door. Wake up in my comfortably warm bed. It’s still pretty dark. What time is it? Five in the morning. My alarm isn’t scheduled to go off for three more hours. Did I just dream that or what? More gentle knocks, the handle starts to turn. […]

Mahalia and Malcolm know that they do not belong to the typical African American family, but that doesn’t stop them from loving their family and just being kids. After their home is invaded by a masked stranger, the siblings set off on a brave and daring adventure to rescue their family. Plunged into an incredible […]

As Bobo gets thrown back A crocodile proceeds to attack Everyone watches in awe As their strongest gazelle is now inside a croc’s jaws As more crocs swim over to feed A path across the elders see They tell everyone to cross, “Now is the time! Hurry while the big lizards are occupied!” One by […]

Part Three: The Lost Mane Chapter One Deep in the mountains of Skyrim, a rickety, horse-drawn carriage flew along the bumpy road alongside one of the land’s many lakes. The rocky terrain was blanketed with scattered fir trees, pockets of snow, and the occasional river winding through the countryside. The white transport—driven by Captain Tobias—raced […]

Chapter Two – One of Those Terrible Battles War cries echoed. People bellowed threats to the other side. Phillip hadn’t ever hurt anyone; he just wanted to do the right thing, and right now he wanted to defend the city. Arrows from the barbarians hit several soldiers on the ramparts. They gushed blood from their […]

I awaken with darkness surrounding me. My body is partially submerged in shallow water and it’s aching as if I’ve fallen from the sky. I lay on my back and look up at the full moon that’s providing the only source of light. The water gently moves forward and recedes back as I slowly lift […]

“Finally…” Ade says. We speed up to catch the track team. Kimberly and Danielle, the other two captains, turn around and give us the stink eye, but when they turn back, Ade and I high five each other. Despite how relaxing preseason practices are supposed to be, Danielle rules like a drill sergeant, which means […]

Chapter 1 What could it be? Shreya asked herself as she stared fixedly at a folder on her husband’s laptop. The folder was password protected and bore the name “13579”. She glanced nervously at the bed. Aditya was still asleep with his face turned away from her. Could it be that Aditya has been watching […]