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From the Ashes
You may kill a fire. And everything you know falls to dust and ash. Yet the remarkable treasure in this seemingly hopeless pile, is hidden deep within. The burning embers incarnate the perpetual desire to go from spark to flame. - Akilnathan Logeswaran
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The Friday Muse – The Unending Staircase
Made of concrete, the small thirty by thirty structure sat alone in a vacant parking lot. A single black door against all-white cement was the only indication that people were meant to enter and exit the structure. The lot itself belonged to a grocery store that had been torn down long ago. Nothing else resided for miles along Highway 17, even though the highway was a main artery connecting Fenneston to Fairbanks. Pam spotted the uncanny landmark while passing through on Highway 17 on her way to Fairbanks. In fact, she passed it many times on her multiple trips to Fairbanks. She always found herself curious as to why the…
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Eight Ball, Corner Pocket
“Eight ball, corner pocket,” Shane called out. His trembling hands coated the pool stick in slippery sweat, making it difficult to position his shot. Sergio leaned against the pool table, a smirk slowly bleeding across his face. “You just called your fate, ese.” Gripping the pool stick, Shane lowered himself to the table and attempted to line up his shot. His rapidly pounding heart reminded him of how ridiculous it was that his fate and the fate of his wife and kid rested on a simple game of pool. His mind tried to trace the events that led him here… He caught his wife cheating with his best friend. That’s…
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The Friday Muse – Shutterbug
Stacy set the Polaroid camera on the oak desk. Releasing her grip on it gave her a strange sense of freedom, as if fate itself was trying to fuse her to the camera and she was cutting the connection each time she broke away from the handheld item. The camera seemed to hum, faintly rattling the surface of the desk, but Stacy knew it was her imagination. Cameras didn’t hum. Then again, cameras didn’t do what this camera did. The intercom installed near her front door chimed, startling her. Stacy rushed to it and hit the faded blue button to let her friend, Renee, into the building. Unaware that it…
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The Friday Muse – Jen Fled
“Where are you going?” Jen stared out the window at the clouds below. “Anywhere but here.” “No really, where are you headed?” the older woman insisted. “I don’t know.” The old woman grumbled something under her breath and then resumed reading her beaten copy of Reader’s Digest. To Jen, the clouds looked like puffs of white cigarette smoke. In truth, she had no idea where she was headed. The plane ticket would take her to Paris, but beyond that, she had no itinerary. She just knew she had to get as far away from Victor as possible. “Drink?” Jen turned toward the stewardess. “Just water.” The old woman chuckled. “I’m…
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The Friday Muse – Darkness Pierced (Part 2)
Darkness Pierced (Part 1) Melissa Robinson nearly died of hypothermia that last day of winter. After falling through the icy surface of Turnkey’s Pond, the cold shock of the water beneath almost immediately paralyzed her, preventing her from making it from the center of the lake back to land. Everyone from the winter celebration had left and this left Melissa alone, skating on the lake, oblivious to the fact that 6pm had come around. Nobody ever stayed on Turnkey’s property much past 6pm during the winter. Everyone knew better. But Melissa had neglected to pay attention and nearly died for her mistake. When she opened her eyes, she found herself…
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The Friday Muse – Darkness Pierced
There was nothing quite like skating the frozen pond near Turnkey’s farm. Once winter hit, and the pond—which acted as a habitat for various creatures during the spring—froze over, it became the ideal spot for kids and adults alike to come and skate, build snowmen, or just enjoy the falling snow. Melissa Robinson loved to ice skate on Turnkey’s Pond. Loved it since she was five. Loved it now, in her late twenties. The cold wind on her face, the slippery ice under her feet, she was able to get lost in the act of twirling and spinning and sliding across the surface of the pond. There was something mystical…
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The Friday Muse – The Stars Are Brightly Shining
Nathan Pierce adjusted his red and black striped tie and walked through the double doors of the church, his mind screaming at him to turn around and walk back out. This was only going to be a night of stress. Winter was his favorite season, but Christmas Eve—with his family anyway—was the very least of his favorite things. As his sister, Daisy, and Daniel came up behind him—along with his mother right on their heels—he realized he would much rather be at home, listening to music or reading a book. Or even looking at the stars. Or maybe even getting hit by a car. He would take any of those…
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The Friday Muse – Snowfall In Europe
Alpha 1—Thomas Black—stood, staring out the window at the snow falling outside. The hotel room was five stories up and gave him the advantage of being able to see the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Europe was beautiful this time of year, and it gave him the opportunity to relax. He didn’t mind killing people; it was just hard to do it 365 days of the year. He needed time to rest. To relax. To clear his mind. He took another bite of the Michelina’s mac and cheese and swallowed it down with some hot cider. He watched out the window as a big white van pulled into the parking…
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The Friday Muse – The Mad Sea
The sea slapped the shore like an abusive lover. The pieces left behind, tiny granules of sand, sifted away like fearful mice, retreating into the embrace of that which shattered them. Never to be seen again. Never to be thought of or missed or praised. Their existence was cut short, but nobody protested it. Not the abusive ocean tide or the abused sand. Life went on. Life was cruel. Corey watched the madness of the water at a safe distance from the shore. She knew the ocean was freezing cold this time of year, and many times, especially on this end of Harborite, a rare jellyfish would hijack the ocean…
