The Bronze Knight and the Angel In a time before coal or steam, when magic moved the tide and turned the heavens, there was a golden tree, guarded by an angel with a sword of fire. No ordinary tree was this, for it had sprouted from a pip spat by a god. Upon the tree grew a single emerald apple, and whosoever ate this apple would gain eternal life: this was why the angel was set out to guard it, for the gods are jealous, and will not suffer any man to have eternal life.
But as gods are jealous, so is man ambitious, and many heroes came to try and take the apple for themselves. One such hero was the bronze knight, and the angel saw well his burnished armour as he crested the first hill. Seeing this, the angel took up his bow and loosed a volley of arrows, each one tipped with serpents’ teeth. But the knight was unharmed, for his armour was Virtue, which serves well any who choose to wear it.
As the knight crested the second hill, the angel t
HeliopauseThe curse did not shake within her. It had fallen into her slowly, and by the third day after it had happened, she had forgotten to fear it.
And sometimes, the world around her forgot something too - like a candle, or a pillow, or her feeling of pain after falling. She was a walking disappearance, and she would have to learn to control it.
So she left the only home she’d known. Her regret was small but alive, and she wondered if it would be enough to keep her warm.
It did not, but the void that rested just beyond her periphery was familiar as a bedroom.
Phoebe and the RainOn a hill, in the shade of a tree, Phoebe and her family were enjoying a picnic. As they ate, the clouds above them grew grey and bad-tempered, and when the first drop of rain tapped the back of Dad's hand, he decided it was time to go home. They gathered up the food, folded up the blanket, and packed everything away.
As they started to walk, the drips turned to drizzle. Phoebe saw the big brown cows all sitting down together, grazing on the grass that grew in tufts all around them.
“Look at the cows!” she said. “They're sitting down and eating, even though it's rainy. Maybe we should be like them and finish our picnic.”
“I'd really rather get home, Phoebe,” said Mum, cleaning the rain off her glasses.
They followed the trail down the hill, taking the rough, sandy steps into the woods. The trees stretched out over them like an umbrella, and Phoebe could hear the rain tapping on their leaves. In the bushes, she spied a blackbird in a nest full of brig
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Lights OutThe lights went out on Earth about a year after the resources dried up. The fossil fuels were the first to go, the Steam Age had taken them out long ago. The renewables fared slightly better, holding out a few more years before failing too. Turns out they weren’t as reliable as once thought: after the majority of the population became obese and permanently motorised, and younger generations swapped hands on mechanics for online pursuits there was no hope. Not that internet interests were any use now, not since the power went. It was as if Earth’s trip switch had flipped, and people were unable to get up to push it back, let alone locate it.
Some people had turned to crackpot schemes of hoarding potatoes in an attempt to charge and power batteries, but to little avail. In a matter of weeks, the Black Market became rife with candles, matches, thick fur coats and coveted lighters. Libraries were a thing of the past, once houses of learning and enjoyment they were stripp
The Dentist and the Dragon Njall made his way up the side of the mountain and cursed his village elders. While they sat snug and warm in their houses, he was forced to endure the cold and the wind and the rain. And soon, he’d be face to face with a dragon.
This was a job that should have been given to a real warrior, but the elders had argued that with the raiding season well underway, the village needed all the warriors they had to defend against possible invaders. Njall scowled. They could at least have given him a sword. His dentist tools wouldn’t be much use against a giant, fire-breathing lizard.
The cave came into view as he rounded a bend in the path. A steady trail of smoke told him the dragon was at home. That was unfortunate for Njall. He had hoped the dragon wouldn’t be home
The dragon hadn’t been seen in a week. The elders mused that perhaps dragons slept through the winter. An ear-splitting shriek put that theory right t
OvalIn this world, there was an oval of flesh missing on the girl’s ankle because she accidentally swiped too low and cut herself shaving.
In another world, there was an oval of flesh missing at her heel as punishment from running from a would-be groom and an altar she hadn’t chosen.
In another, two ovals of flesh were missing on either side of her ankles as punishment for stealing jewelry and hiding it wrapped around her ankles under clothing.
In another one oval of flesh was missing because the first step to cutting ties with her second family was cutting the tattoo from her flesh.
In one more, the flesh had been rubbed raw by the one shackle so many times that one misshapen oval scar of bright pink, smooth flesh was leftover, ready to chafe again.
In another, the oval was a bruise that was met with more smiles and laughs than the accident’s sting.
In another, the foot was gone entirely, and hollow half-ovals haunted the girl’s eyes at the thought of “infect
Punctuation“I thought full stop didn’t feel like going because of her period,” whispered hyphen.
“Oh, no,” said semicolon, “that’s not full stop; that’s dot, one of the ellipsis sisters.”
Well, considered hyphen as he prepared to dash off, it had been a confusing story but now it seemed he’d be able to join the dots...
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Red, Yellow, and BlueToo poor to purchase more art supplies, I learned to paint only with primary colors; I covered canvas after canvas--or reclaimed wood when it was a choice between painting or eating--with saturated sentiment. Canary yellow was the color of the dress you wore the day we met--and it harmonized perfectly with your straw colored hair--while cadmium red matched both your tempting scarlet lips and the fire I saw in your eyes. But ultramarine blue didn't suit you, and I never once used it until the day God or Guilt or some Guy stole you from me.
Welcome to London “I’ve been thinking about what we should do with our wealth now that we’re famous,” grunted the Little Pig, “and it seems to me that the housing market would be a particularly promising investment.”
“There’s talk of it being another bubble, but I just haven’t seen any evidence of that,” squeaked the Blind Mouse.
“Well,” bleated the Billy Goat Gruff, “if there is a housing bubble, I suppose we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
LullabyThe telephone chimed loudly from the kitchen, which succeeded in both jolting Matt from a slumber into which he had not realize that he had succumbed, along with activating the baby monitor which transmitted a long distressed wail that originated upstairs. It wasn’t long after he answered the call with a groggy ‘hello’ that his body stiffened violently, his lungs suffocating from the dread that knotted in his chest.
He wasn’t sure which terrified him more: the fact his wife had been struck and killed at the intersection or the fact that he could hear her voice through the monitor singing his baby to sleep.
First FlightI perched at the top of the sycamore just behind the house. It was the highest point I could get to, and at seven, I was steadily becoming aware of the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to climb up to these tiny branches much longer. This was going to be the last time I could see this far. Today had to be the day.<da:thumb id="468173598"/>
Mom and I lived outside the city, in the woods that nobody owned. Though far from our house, from this high in the tree, I could see the tops of the city walls built back when there was still a castle standing. That was before the war destroyed part of the wall and knocked down everything except one tower. That was what Mom said happened anyway.
Evening had set in, bathing everything a light pink. A little breeze was kicking around the area, occasionally rattling trees and the laundry still hanging on the line. On the ground below, some of the birds pecked at the feed our hens hadn’t eaten. They had been my focus for the past few days, though not to hunt like us
Kiss of LifeThe last thing Frederick remembered was being overtaken by a wave after falling overboard from his ship. The press of lips against his brought him to full wakefulness, but the laws of gravity seemed to have been suspended. It took him a few groggy minutes to realize he was still underwater, mostly because that should have been impossible. There was air in his lungs. But swimming before him… a mermaid, a beautiful woman with a mother of pearl tail. Her red hair danced through the water like fire. And, unlike in the movies, she did not wear a clamshell bra.
Streams of sunlight danced around them. She kissed him again, a kiss of life which gave him the air he needed. The air filled him with energy to swim to the surface.
As he broke the water and breathed for himself, he found himself in paradise. Lush jungle surrounded the small lake. Petrichor still wafted through the air. Exotic birdcalls played musically. The water around him was brilliant blue, like a gem, and in the center
An Excuse--- FFM Day 15 ChallengeThey tapped the game out, using her knees as their playing field:
“Rock,” they chanted, giggling as they did, “paper, scissors-- SHOOT!”
She kept her fingers curled in a tight fist; she claimed rock and he flattened his palm, claiming paper. It was the perfect excuse to cover her hand with his, and keep it there.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 
