We were surprised but not frightened when the dead came to visit. Our hopes and prayers had been answered. Their return, a gift that death was an elaborate joke, a mistake, a bad dream. At first, we knew them. Lost family members, ex-lovers, neighbors, and friends of friends made their way to our homes. The ...

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?Not me, no way, no sir.Because I am his and he is mine.For I am his soulmate. Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?Are you such a delicate and fragile rose?You should be as heis a force to reckon with. He can swallow you wholewith a single gulp,without any ...

A crowd of hopeful Arizona State University students gathered around the bulletin board outside Dr. Isis Nassar’s lecture hall. She posted the semester’s final scores. There was a cluster of students who anxiously waited to scan for their grades. Hopefuls who wanted their scores to be high enough to get selected for the internship slots. ...

“Sebastian. Salvador. Enough!” Alejandra’s voice echoes through the house, her frustration palpable. “I swear, you two are brothers and should be each other’s allies, not adversaries.” “Then tell him to stop going into my room without my permission and playing with my stuff.” Sebastian retorts. “Well, if you would stop stealing my things and taking ...

The corners of my mouth twitched as Josh leaned into the trunk of the thick oak and blew a smoke ring at the moon. Becky stretched out on his lap and drew her finger across it to form an arrow piercing a heart. They were both wearing uniforms from their high school glory days.  I ...

Am I part of your world?I must be dreaming. Am I worthy of your touch?Here you are, holding mewithin the palm of your hand. Only you can save me,Oh, angel of darknessand sinful passion. You are my savior,as you are theend of me. I am the Juliet to Romeo,the Persephone to Hades,the light to your ...

Finvarra settled on the worn rowan bench he’d carved and slipped his arm across his beloved’s shoulders. The shining, silver crescent moon danced through the boughs of the trees, still clinging to the last of their scarlet leaves, and the forest beneath it was alive with a warm amber aurora and the soft music of ...

Many people believe that any story that begins with “Once upon a time…” is a fairytale. But, there are truths to these tales and that is so for Avaline and her Star Slippers. Once upon a time, an eccentric woman lived on the mysterious Moon. Her name was Aurora, and she washed her hair in ...

Pangea gripped the cold metal of the polished mirror and slumped in her green chair. Tears tumbled down her face. Her eyes were the color of storm-tossed seas because of the images that flashed across the cold, clear glass every time she looked at it. The pollution of a packaged society sickened her. Pangea’s veins ...

Nothing is what it appears,A fact consecratedIn my mind. I desire to believeIn fairytales andHidden worlds. Be it not for the lessonFollowing each mortal man,In the crushing black of life: Not every heartacheIs meant to be fixedWith a wave of magic wands. Or tucked away into closetsHiding from ghostsAnd monsters buried within. “Life is not ...