Against the dark night sky all Steve could see was the crumbling walls that were nothing more than a ghostly silhouette of some previous existence. The wind whistled through the trees bringing with it the laughter of children who once lived there and the caring call of a mother letting them know dinner was ready.
Vividly he could picture his childhood. The walls didn’t seem so grey when he was only a boy, nor did they seem so small. In his mind he pictured this place as though it were a castle where he and his brother were the Princes. His mother and father would glide through the once pristine halls, the King and Queen of their kingdom. He felt like no time had passed since he moved from this house, yet as he gazed upon the overgrown bushes and the shattered windows it was evident just how wrong he was.
The chef knife brought a beauty to the art of chopping vegetables; and so, if food is love, then love had never been sharper.
I have twin track thoughts, they run parallel to one other, always onwards. One track keeps me safe in the culture of this era of money and materialism, keeps me in a home with food and safety. The other questions everything in this society and world, always asking how we could do better, love stronger, take care of nature. That way, when a chance for change comes I can take it, I can take it because I allowed twin tracks to grow rather than narrow my brain to the choice menu of generations before.
In this pandemic, dear media, "Think before you ink," because fear lowers immune responses and thus raises medical complications at the population level.
We took a twin-track approach, allowing the virus to spread naturally among those expected to show a robust response, and took measures to isolate those more vulnerable. This had the effect of building herd immunity at the fastest and safest rate possible. At the same time we amped up medical care turning hotels into hospitals, staffed by medics and medical volunteers. We prioritised care for the young over the old and did the best we could.
The watering can had an antique look to it, not polished or posh, but as if it had been fashioned from the husks of olden days cars.
The boy's eyes were green but not the kind of shade that's easy to describe. It was almost like they were both green and yellow at the same time, with blue creeping in around the edges as if it were trying to take over. He blinked and the beauty was momentarily covered by the shield of his eyelashes; naturally long and soft looking - feminine compared to the rest of his well structured features. By the time the boy's eyes opened again, I had still not recovered from his intense stare. It was a stare that communicated the boy's former pain, and his wish for me to let go and to move on. But I could not move on, just as I could not forget those glaring eyes whose light never faded even in death.
Her hair flowed down her back like black ink of a tilted piece of parchment. Her eyes were fox-like and had an icy greyish green hue like the first sprouts of plants in the snow.
The magic mirror showed the beauty within, and so for the pure of heart they watched their faces take on a new glow and broad feathered wings stretch out behind them.
"I don't know why I split myself open for someone who would never even bother to show me the thread."
She stumbled to the corner of the room, and with each step her stomach tightened and ached all the more. She kept swallowing, and her throat kept clenching, but no matter what she could not stop the warm feeling rising through her chest. Then she could taste it at the back of her mouth. Constance buckled over. A warm, clouded, cream coloured liquid spilled from her mouth, and sizzled as it splashed over the cold stone floors.
Waking up can be really harsh, especially if your dreams are better than reality. The saddest part of it is, though, that eventually even the memory of your dream will fade - if you are even lucky enough to remember it that is. Then you're left with this lonely feeling of detachment, left to explore in the empty void of emotions, the only proof that you ever had the dream to begin with.