Day #11 - 556 words

Raine's hands shook as she fiddled with her pencil, tremors running up her arms. Her legs began tapping to a nervous rhythm under the desk, as her whole body tingled with anticipation. She placed one hand in her mouth and began gnawing at her nails. The teacher walked, handing out the test to the desk in front of her, then her. 

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and drawing herself up straight. Then she looked at the first question. A few minutes later, she rubbed her eyes and looked at it again. 

She blinked, the beginnings of tears dripping onto her cheeks. Dismay writhed in her stomach.

Her breath was coming out faster now as she stared down the paper, hard, rugged gasps. She fumbled with her pencil, bit her lip and wrote. 

A few minutes later, she groaned in frustration and erased it. Her breathing became huge, heavy gulps as she buried her head in her hands. 

Shaking her head hard, she got out the pencil to try again. Her eyes locked on the paper as she began chewing her nails again. Beads of sweat were dripping from the back of her neck, students were watching her, students who had clearly found the paper easy. 

Raine gripped the edges of her desk. A deep breath in, blowing harshly out. She turned back to the paper, but flinched away almost instantly. 

Glancing up at the teacher, she began desperately flipping through the pages, her hands still shaking, scanning every single question. Her dismay grew with every word she read.

More tears. In her eyes, down her cheeks. Making the world too blurry to see through. She wiped her eyes, and began chewing her nails again. She placed the test face down so that she didn't have to look at it. Deep breaths. 

And then the teacher was on he refer again, collecting the tests from other students who smiled those confident, relaxed smiles. The teacher smiled right back at them, occasionally writing a remark on the paper with his bright, red pen.

He reached Raine's desk. Squeezing her eyes shut, as if bracing for an attack, she passed him the paper. She couldn't hear what he said over the roaring of blood in her ears, she couldn't see what grade she got through her tears. 

She stood up, her chair scraping against the floor, paper falling to the ground, and ran. 

She bolted pas the locker rooms and bewildered students and faculty. Her nervous, panicky energy focused on her sprint as she pushed her legs to go faster, faster, still faster. Her panicked panting became an even runner's breath, as her legs found a rhythm.

Catching sight of the girl's bathroom out of the corner of her eye, she threw herself in.

Seeing her own reflection, she stumbled back. She met the watery brown eyes of the reflection and tried to do something about the mess of shriveled black hair.

Finally, out of energy, she wheezed for breath, leaned against a sink and sobbed. The tears turned ugly and poured down into the sink.

A few minutes later, the bell rang, making her jump. She stared at her reflection, wiping tears away. She took a deep breath, and set her jaw

Then she turned around and left with her head held high

Daily 7/11

The woman clutches an envelope in her hand. The paper is crisp and cream-colored, addressed in neat black print to Ms. Audrey Hawthorne. There is nothing to stop her from opening this letter, and yet she appears nervous. Frightened. She has been staring at the envelope for ten minutes now, her hands trembling slightly. The folded paper wobbles in her hands, like a baby bird too afraid to spread its wings.

She lets out a breath suddenly, new resolve hardening in her eyes. The fear is still there, but it is accompanied by determination, and courage. The woman’s fingers tremble as she breaks the seal of her envelope. A single sheet of paper falls out, drifting to the ground in a whisper of air. Small dark letters line up against the page, precise and penned with clear assurance. Perhaps the person who wrote them was confident in the words they put down. Perhaps they were merely putting on a brave face, keeping a steady hand because the alternative was far worse.

The woman stares at the paper, clearly torn. Dares she pick it up and face whatever news it holds? For a moment, it seems she doesn’t know. Then she swallows, leans down, and picks up the letter. She lightly dusts it off, tucks a stray hair behind her ear, and begins to read. Her brown eyes flick over the lines of text, absorbing whatever news they bring. Halfway through the message, she lets out a choked gasp. Her hand flies to her mouth, the paper drifting downward to rest at her feet. She sinks back onto a chair, eyes filled with an unspeakable pain. A breeze comes in though an open window, stirring the letter with a gentle sigh. The woman does not notice. A single tear slips down her cheek, leaving behind a wet trail of grief. She shakes with silent sobs, burying her face in her hands.

A boy, no more than sixteen, enters the room. His eyes travel from the woman, to the open envelope, to the paper on the floor, putting two and two together. Silently, he crouches and picks the letter up. He skims over the words, stops at the middle, and stands. His arms encircle the woman, and they cry together, his sobs the only sound penetrating the quiet. Their tears drip onto the carpet, and the letter, until soon the paper is splattered with water and salt and unspeakable sadness.

The two of them stand there for a long time, mother and son. His chin is propped up atop her head, her face leaned up against his neck. Their arms encircle one another, holding on tight. A soft wind whispers in through the window, rustling their hair and the letter that lies on the floor. The mother is the first to break away, though she still keeps a firm grip on her son’s arm. He looks at her with red eyes, then stoops and picks up the letter. They hold it between them, and finish reading the final paragraphs. Both stand in silence when it is done. Mother runs a hand across the paper, damp with their shared tears. She whispers something, and her son murmurs a few words back. Then they hug again, the letter pressed tightly between them.

It is a long time before either one lets go.

Word count: 558

daily for july 11th
wip (502 words)
:sob: it's so bad

I look around in awe around me as I breath in the clean air. I've never been somewhere like this, miles away from people and their pollution. It was like I had walked right into a fairy tale. This was a place where the air is clean and the water is so clear that I can see my face grinning back at me in its waters. I'd never seen such a beautiful shade of green before. The grass was a perfect green color and this was without any fertilizing and without somebody tampering it to be this way. Everything was done by nature. There wasn't a tree stump left behind from a lumberjack cutting down an animal's home. The trees had been left alone for so long that they had grown to a magnificent height. They looked graceful in a way as they towered above the ground. It looked as if, if they grew much taller they could touch the heavens above. I closed my eyes and let everything soak in. The cool breeze, perfect on a hot summer day like this. The chirping of birds, the rustling of squirrels and the many other sounds of animals, each unique in their own way. I sit by the lake feeling at peace. I look up at the clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight. I look down at the clear blue waters. I look at the fish swimming gracefully in the waters. I look at the lily pads in such a beautiful vibrant color. There isn't anything like a bench so I look for a rock to sit down on. Yeah, most of the rocks had bird poop, but there were a few that were bird poop clean. I sit down and take out my book. I usually go to the park to read, but today I had wanted to find some new scenery. The wind keeps blowing my pages over while I'm trying to read, but for once I don't really mind. I don't know how long I'd been sitting there, it could have been just a few hours, but it could have also been a week for all I knew. I had no sense of time here. I didn't bring anything here that could tell time. That might have been a bad idea since I had pretty much just walked through the forest to find this beautiful place, but I would worry about going back later. It was amazing to have some peace from the real world. This place hardly even felt like the same earth that I was used to living on. I continued to read my book. The book I had brought was one of my comfort books, an escape from reality. I enjoyed listening to music in the background while I read back at home, but now I could listen to the sounds of the outdoors, an even better melody. This is the perfect main character moment. The wind in my hair. The colorful fairy tale scenery.

༺═─── daily 11 ───═༻

a piece without thoughts or dialogue? okay :>

༺═── word count; 547 ──═༻

Daphne sits on a bench, swinging her legs. Above her, the sky is a darkening navy, the clouds snatching away any source of light that emerges from behind. The storm had been setting in for a couple of hours — the people on the news channel had highlighted it in dark letters. There are notices plastered on shop windows, and there is a silent understanding of all citizens in a certain town directly below the eye of the storm.

Do not go outside.

Daphne looks up, her eyes flicking from one cloud to another as desperate rumbles rolled through the sky. A small smile tugs at the edge of her lips.

The storm's upcoming arrival sounds loudly out, thunder crashing down and sending people running for shelter in their homes. Leaves are picked up and tossed carelessly through the air, swinging in cascading arcs. Cars are pulled into driveways, bikes stuffed into garages, planes cancelled and buses back at the shelter just as it begins to build up.

On the bench, she watches as a brilliant flash of light emerges from behind the clouds, breaking free from their hold, and disappears somewhere in the horizon. Daphne stretches her arms and gets up. A lone tree stands tall in the distance.

She pats the bench as if it was a long lost friend, and saunters over to the tree, watching as lightning illuminates it. All of a sudden, a branch is singed and crashing to the ground, and Daphne steps out of the way. She tips her head curiously, an expression indicating that no energy was needed to sidestep the storm.

Then, she shrugs and begins walking through the storm, her silhouette strikingly visible on the anticline of a hill.

A storm hit a large town on the coastline yesterday. The storm was registered to have gone on for a two hours and thirty nine minutes, but moved away swiftly as soon as the crescendo was reached. What was peculiar about this storm was the fact that it was only noticed a mere hour before it was about to strike, and that it only circled around the one town, instead of moving along like storms are known to do. From aerial footage, it has been discovered that the storm did not move whatsoever, rather as if magnetic forces were pulling it towards this part of the planet, though we have no evidence for this theory. After interviewing some locals, a couple claimed to see a person walking through the storm moments before it passed, though we have no reasoning to believe whether this is true or not. Nobody has been reported missing from the vicinity. Experts have been brought in to research and investigate the case.

Daphne read the newspaper with a passive expression, then tosses it into a nearby bin. A person beside her sends a confused look her way as she runs over to the road, waving down a taxi and hopping inside. When she closes the door, she recoils, her eyes alight with some sort of fire before she leans over to the driver and gestures down the street. She reclines on the back seat, rubbing her hands together; and there is noticeably a spark and a ‘pop’ before she ceases in the movement.

Daily for July 11th - WIP

Vanya eyes widened as she read the email. The short and concise paragraph glowed in the dimmed light. Vanya staggered as she made her way to the bed. The frame of her pink queen bed groaned as Vanya climbed on to it. Tears rushed down her face and pretty soon she let the sobs take over. She sat on the floor and hugged her knees. Vanya cries soon faded as the minutes ticked by. Vanya dragged herself out of the bed and went back to the computer. Without looking at the email, Vanya printed the email and took the warm paper to a bulletin board, installed on one of Vanya's room's wall. The board was covered with pictures and documents. Most of the pictures included a young man- around the age of 23. The man had short brown hair and deep green eyes that matched Vanya's. In one of the photos, the man wore a green camo army uniform. The man's smile was broad and could make even the saddest of people smile. A newspaper hung from a push pin. On it was the man from the photos. Underneath the photo was a caption: Army Man missing after saving countless of lives. Vanya grabbed a thumb tack and inserted it through the paper- sticking the paper in the middle of the bulletin board. She then opened a desk drawer and reached for one of the contents inside. She withdrew a bright yellow highlighter ready. Vanya's hand shook as she uncapped the marker. She drew a big circle over the email- making it stand out. She read out the email one last time to make sure it was real.

Dear Vanya Thimothy,

We are pleased to announce that the investigation involving your brother was a success. We were able to find him and the others that went missing with him. As you are his only family we can assure you that your brother will be back on the evening of July 30th. We will need time to interrogate him and learn about where he has been the past couple of months. What we have learned so far is classified so we are not permitted to tell you what happened over this email- but we can assure you that you may learn anything you need from your brother.

Regards,
Colonel McTeddy

Vanya fidgeted with her hands and looked at the paper calendar nearby. The calendar was simple and showed the days of July. The 30th was circled in red marker. Every day before the 30th was crossed out- Marking that the day had passed. Vanya's eyes drifted to the analog clock sitting on her dresser. The green light displayed the time: 6:26 PM. Vanya drew a short quick breath when the doorbell rang.

Immediately she jolted out of her trance and Vanya raced out of her room. She glided down the end of the hallway and reached the stairs. She worked her way down there- the old wood creaking under feet. She raced to the front door. Ignoring the peep hole- Vanya immediately opened the door to find the man in the pictures. Vanya flung herself at the man and started crying. She hugged him tight- not wanting to let go.

Daily 11 (500 words)
She stood upon the grass of the field, the rain soaking into her skin. The giant, fluffy clouds blocked the sun’s golden rays, hovering over the grassy field. The pond was murky, with nonexistent fish and old seaweed in the grey water. The grey overlapped the blue.
She stared into the clouds. The clouds held no pictures nor songs - just mere coldness. The wind rustled trees like an oversweeping cape. The thunder boomed.
She stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes were closed. Her hands grasped the seams of her skirt tightly. Her legs were shaking. Her body gave a shiver.
Her hair, wet by the rain, was stuck onto her head. She gave a gasp for air, breathing in quickly. In out, in out, in, then out.
Tears rolled down her hollowed cheeks as quickly as a rainfall. She crouched, grasping on the weakened strands of grass, dulled by the rain. The rain was now harder than ever - it plummeted on the ground and on her whole entire being. It soaked her clothes.
She crouched on the spot, more tears falling down her plump face. The glassy droplets of salt fell onto the ground. She stayed there, unmoving, the hundreds and thousands of droplets of rain falling down, down, down.
The wind turned into a bitter cold, blowing onto everything with an icy grasp. The gigantic clouds congregated and formed into a sullen, grey circle. The sky was no longer blue - now painted with a darker shade of grey. The pond overfilled with water, spilling the contents onto the field. The rain was not stopping; the wind whipped everything with a harsh intent; the thunder struck - the lightning gleamed.
She fell onto the ground at all fours, clutching her numb legs with her numb fingers. Wreaking out sobs, she looked up at the sky, watching the rain fall onto her face. Then, an almighty blast of rain shook the field, and it was raining hard again once more.
She moaned, stepping up and brushing the dirt off her legs. Her skirt was jagged and ripped to the seam - muddy by the wet grass. The soles of her shoes, which used to be white, were now dirtied - and covered in dirt. The cascading rain hadn’t stopped, although it had definitely turned milder.
She let out a quiet sigh, hiccuping occasionally as she tried to raise herself up to no avail; her legs were numb, and she toppled over like a ragdoll. She clutched her legs as she took a few, steady breaths. In, out, in and out. She groaned. The clouds had finally dispersed, letting out the small spot of sullen blue. The rain pelted gently onto the ground, and the grass was standing a bit taller.
She turned her head to see the trees as still as a statue. The wind had turned into a merry breeze, lifting the branches of the trees up.
She smiled weakly, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly as she finally stood up.

daily ^^

Dark footprints were imprinted in the fall foliage mixed with dirt. The cold air blew around Lea, bathing her in a mess of autumn leaves. It smelled like Thanksgiving. It looked like Thanksgiving. It felt like Thanksgiving. But it wasn’t. Not for Lea, at least. Today wasn’t a day to jump in the warm colored, crisp leaves. Today wasn’t a day to watch the Thanksgiving specials. Today wasn’t a day to be thankful. Not without them both.
Lea trudged along the rough concrete. She placed her soft hands on it. Crumbly, with a slightly strange sparkle. It was recognizable. Glitter. Back in those beautiful days, the ones where everything was going to be great, there was glitter. Purple sparkly ones blended with pink chunkier ones. A rainbow mix with fine specks of the shimmering mess. Appa used to buy sanding sugar. He liked pastels and baking, so he got them in cute colors that screamed spring. Daddy was different. He liked more hands-on experiences. Literally. He’d buy a liter of Elmer's glue and several types of glitter. Appa wore glasses, so he’d steal some contact lense solution. He and Lea would make slime for ages. And prank Appa. That was Lea’s favorite part.
Roses are red, violets are blue… Violets are blue? Lea didn’t care what color violets were (she was pretty sure they were purple). Fog filled the forest in swirls and loopty loops, creating a more eerie atmosphere. She kept walking, unaware of the presence of someone hiding in the thicket. Someone who even she wouldn’t be ready to tackle.
Mrs. Crumble’s heavenly cookies were to die for. She could make cookies out of anything. Appa gave her leftover chapati dough and she made some delicious cookies, adding saffron and cardamom for a scrumptious chapati cookie. Lea would eat those cookies faster than a hungry tiger would gobble its prey. Lea was vegetarian. Back in those days, Sunday or Saturday would be picnic day. Mrs. Crumble joined them often. For Christmas, cookies shaped like gingerpeople would be relished. For Thanksgiving, cookies would be made with cinnamon, nutmeg, ketchup, and allspice. Mrs. Crumble would invite Lea and the family over. They would eat roasted tofu and drink apple cider. Don’t forget the cute thumbprint cookies filled with cranberry jam! Cookies were a staple of the whole year. At least, they were. The figure continued watching Lea. Maybe they were thinking of cookies too. A complete set of cookies. Just one cookie from the set was sad.
A shadow finally emerged from the lonely bushes. A soft rustling startled Lea. She turned around, to find a small frog. Another hopped out from behind a tree. They looked at Lea, and she looked at them. Maybe they were off to find another cookie for their tin. People looked at frogs awfully, as if they were nothing. To Lea, these frogs were the luckiest in the world. They were going to have a special tin. Lea had lost hers. She sat down, and wept. She wept because there was nothing else to do. No one else to love.

Daily
7/11/2022
515 words

Maisie stared at the sleeping form of her mother in the hospital bed. Rays of Sunday evening light shone through the window. Maisie’s own children stood beside her, looking at their mother. A nurse was standing outside. Maisie was on her knees. A quiet tear crept down her cheek, but she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

Her children hugged her, and she hugged them back. Then they stepped back to allow her some time with her mother. She lifted one trembling hand and slowly set it on her mother’s frail hand. She blinked hard. Her face quirked as if she were trying to hold back. She glanced back at her children and they both provided glances of silent support. She was caught between sadness and a smile for her children, and she covered her mouth, unable to stop herself anymore.

The rise and fall of her mother’s chest was uneven and irregular. Her feeble body was incapable of keeping her going much longer, that much was evident. But her eyes slowly opened at Maisie’s touch and a small smile spread across her face. Maisie did her best to give her mother a smile in return, and that was when the tears came rushing out. Maisie’s children rushed forward and hugged their mother again, tears flowing freely down their own faces now too.

Maisie’s mother weakly reached out her delicate hand, and Maisie laid down her head on the side of the bed, crying. She stroked her daughter’s hair, tracing hearts and circles. She was too sick to speak, but words were inadequate in this situation anyway.

One of her children suddenly hugged his sibling, and she hugged him back, and they clutched each other tightly. Their nametags read Derek and Celeste. Celeste was small, she couldn’t have been more than three years old, whereas Derek was at least old enough to remember this loss for the rest of his life. Celeste squeezed Derek’s hand, and he lifted her up. Maisie lifted her head to look at them, and her mother’s hand slid off. She had dozed off again.

Just then, Maisie’s husband walked into the room. He took one look at his wife and his kids and his mother-in-law and his eyes started sparkling with unshed tears. He rushed to Maisie and wrapped her up in a hug, and she cried silently into his shoulder for what seemed like ages. They stayed like that for as long as they needed. They didn’t really have that much time, but they could pretend like they had all the time in the world. The family stayed there for a while until it grew late and Derek hesitantly tapped his dad on the back. His dad nodded, and the three of them walked out of the hospital, got into the car, and drove home together. Derek and Celeste leaned against each other in the backseat. Maisie stayed in the hospital with her mother overnight. She stayed every night for the rest of the week.

Her mother passed away the next Sunday.

Main Cabin Daily 7/11
521 words

The brown-haired girl is crying. Her hand is pressed against the window, palm out as if she’s reaching for something. Tears drip from her fluttering eyelids onto stained pink cheeks and her delicate body shudders. She lets out a hiccup and a gasp, staring at the cold concrete outside.
There’s a boy there, soft blond hair and soft eyes, folding in the handle of a rolling suitcase. He lifts it into the air and hands it to a man who places it carefully with piles of others in a stack in the back of the van. The boy keeps his eyes away from that window. He runs fingers through his hair impatiently and looks around. Looks around to anywhere except for the house with the wall with the window with the girl with the tears.
If one were to look closer at him, they would see tears pricking at the edges of his eyes too.
The brown-haired girl withdraws her hand from the window and climbs onto the rocking chair, hugging her knees to her chest. The tears are silenced now, but they don’t leave her pitiful face or her fidgeting fingertips. A man appears next to her from the doorway and places a hand on her shoulder, mouth set in a straight line, eyes stoic. He stares down at her with something that may be sympathy, or it may be sorrow, or something in between
She brushes his hand off her shoulder and opens her mouth to speak, but says nothing. Her lips form an O, as if she’s screaming, before they close into a quivering line.
On the other side of the glass, the blond-haired boy is fumbling to close his backpack. A pad of paper falls out and he immediately falls to his knees to pick it up, snatching it from the ground. He lifts it so that his palm carefully conceals the writing on the top note. He shifts the hand just slightly to read the note, then bite his tongue. He nearly glances toward the window - but continues to avoid it.
She can tell when he averts his eyes that he doesn’t want to do this now. He probably doesn’t want to do it ever, because why would he? He didn’t need to. She did, because otherwise she’d never get closure. And she always needed closure. So this time she might just have to suffer.
She crawls up to the window and bangs on it, but there is no response from anyone. Not from the man who tried to comfort her; not from the boy she stares at through the window and the man that speaks to him in a low voice. The tears are beginning to dry on her cheek just as new ones start to fall.
The boy outside finally turns toward the window and meets the eyes of the girl. His friend. They stare for a moment, and then she blinks and the boy is climbing into the car and shutting the door.
She places a hand on the window once again.
He matches his.
Through their tears, they each manage to smile.

Weekly 2

Part 1 - Fake crime
A priceless work of art was recently stolen from a renowned museum known for its sculptures and astounding works of art. The museum houses priceless treasures that cannot be replaced, which is why it is heavily guarded. Security guards are always stationed inside and outside the museum, with magnificently hidden nets of laser beams that are impossible to breach, or so we thought!
During the inspection that took place after the devastating robbery, it was found that the thief effortlessly walked through the lasers by locating their clearly visible sources and shooting sharp objects at it. But what about the security guard, that was patrolling the museum all night? After questioning, he said that “I was patrolling the huge place, and was in the sculpture room checking everything else when I heard the loud police sirens blaring outside the museum!”
The police chief does not recall sending any of the police to investigate, due to the fact that there was no news or hint of the robbery at the time the guard recalled to have heard police sirens. Was the guard lying? Or was there a traitor within the city’s most trusted police officers?
The people that live nearby the museum too recall listening to the police sirens, but no one saw the car drive by except an elderly lady who was sitting on her rocking chair outside, unable to sleep.
“I saw the car go by, extremely fast, mind you! And person wearing a black body suit and mask was sitting on the drivers seat” she exclaimed, still shook by the extremely loud siren sounds. The police have continued to investigate the crime further, but with no leads or luck. They have now confirmed that it was no police officer that had stolen the art, but a thief. Which means, alongside the painting, the thief even stole a car right under the police’s nose! Was this a mistake made by the police, who had never expected crime in the tiny and peaceful city, or was this some excellent and clever thievery?
The thief had made sure not to leave any traces, but there was still one lead acquired by the investigators. A security camera outside someone’s house had caught the hazy image of the back side of the car. The good news? With a little skilled filtering and editing, it was possible to obtain knowledge of the car’s number.
The person hired to find out the car’s number, is a skilled graphic designer who is in good terms with the police commissioner. He says that “This is a hard one, the car must have zoomed by pretty fast, seeing how devastatingly blurry this image is. I’ve never had a task hard as this. I will not fail and disappoint you, though!” He says, working further towards making the image clear, so far with only a little luck and chance of success. While investigating, the police had to keep in mind that this tiny backwater city was full of museums that contained priceless treasures that are extremely valuable to everyone, and were entrusted to be kept safe in our usually crime free home. As the thief was on the loose, most museums closed down or auctioned their art pieces, to get rid of the pressure that the art they had would be stolen and they (the owners of the museums, who were entrusted with the job of keeping the museum’s contents safe) would have to take all blame and would suffer a great loss of money, having to pay huge amounts for the stolen art. Soon though, they got pretty relaxed. As the next robbery occurred! This time, it wasn’t anything absolutely precious and priceless, this time it was a diamond! Stolen from a heavily chained vault in one of the richest jewellery shops in the country! This shop wasn’t heavily guarded, it was completely full of guards and booby traps at all time of day. Who is this skilled thief, who is probably walking around the city with a backpack full of stolen art pieces and a beautiful and abnormally large diamond, acting as a normal person, and no one would know! This was probably the most skilled and clever thief to be seen in centuries! Who hardly left a trail, and was completely silent in robberies. Who managed to breach a net of lasers with no effort required, who managed to break open a heavily chained vault, without breaking a sweat! The funny thing, none of the chains of the vault were broken. He had thought of a whole new way to access and steal the contents of that vault. Will we be able to catch this criminal in the act? If not, will we be able to track him down? That’s up to our police, who are now truly put to the test!


Part 2 : Book/Movie/TV review

Stranger things review (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Stranger things is an extremely famous Netflix series that has blown up in the past few years. And finally, now, the long awaited season 4 (both volume 1 and volume 2) has been released! After waiting for probably a whole year, the probably second last season has been shown on Netflix and oh my it is good! It’s extremely suspenseful, mysterious and fun to watch. Some scenes, however are inappropriate. Which I recommend you skip through because of the sad deaths of some of our main and favourite characters, new and old! Some minus points about this is the sad fate of one of the main characters, Max Mayfeild. Her fate was worse than imaginable, completely brain dead and in a coma. This, undoubtedly is because of Vecna / Henry Creel (or Victor Creel) / 001, the first test subject of Dr. Martin Brenner at Hawkins lab. He has been attacking people in Hawkins who’ve had past trauma, giving them visions of a grandfather clock from his old house 24 hours before their death. The fate of Max Mayfeild should have been better, maybe a normal coma and a bit of hope for her to come out of it at some point in the next season. I completely disagree with what happened to her, because she sacrificed herself for the wellfare of her town and for her friends to be safe. This truly selfless act deserved a better result and fate for her. While most of us ponder over the somewhat believed death of Max Mayfeild, some of us are left wondering about what exactly happened to Vecna. Did he die? Or was he only left, hurt. As said by Will Byers in the season finale. If he was only hurt, is he in the health to continue his attacks? I completely disagree with the fact that he was was left alive. How would he survive a fire? This was completely unreasonable, seeing that he will return in season 5 along with the Mind Flayer who was the main villain in seasons 2-3. Before Vecna. One thing I liked, is the relation of all the parts of the story to the parts in seasons 1 to 4. This is a plus point of the amazing season. One more plus point is the fact we were shown where eleven gets her powers from. This cleared most of our doubts about it. In my opinion, the best part about stranger things is how its theme focuses on the feelings, thoughts and trauma of all the important characters throughout the series. It also shows extremely easy to understand plots and subplots. Another thing is how the first few episodes of all seasons 1, season 2, season 3 and season 4 all build up to a big battle in the ending 1 or 2 episodes that show the success and loss in each battle against a new enemy each time, all of them controlled by one common enemy from an alternate dimension. I absolutely adore the plot, and how well the Duffer brothers manage to explain the plots and subplots through character understanding, actions and dialogues. It makes me think of what happens next, what might go wrong and makes me think up my own endings, that obviously change and take a new turn each time there’s a twist in the story, which is really often. Every turn in the story is well connected to something that happened in the past. For example, Nancy, Robin, Eddie and Steve being able to control the lights in the real world from the upside down! This was connected to Joyce claiming that she was able to speak to her son Will Byers through the lights, and that the lights flickered when he was around. It was later confirmed that people could communicate through lights from the upside down when the message ‘RUN’ was sent by Will to Joyce. Another example is how Vecna’s connection to eleven and Hawkins Lab, this showed how he landed in the upside down, eleven’s worst memory and the creation of the a hive mind, that was the Mind Flayer which had opened a huge gate from the upside down to the real world, this also explained why each season introduced a new plot and villain, all landing or relating from the dungeons and dragons game played by Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will at the start. One of the main things that makes stranger things even better is how most of the things that originated the war against the upside down relate to science, like how the kids found the mother gate (season one), Joyce’s magnets (season 3) etc. These are the main reasons I have a growing fondness for stranger things and so do many people. I recommend watching it for sure!

Part 3 - Arts and Style

Recently, a new Theatre competition has been introduced to our community. This competition allows any form of theatrical entertainment to take part, giving the winning group or soloist prize money and an opportunity to perform in the brand new, beautifully decorated and huge theatre that took over 5 years to create. This has got most of the city’s fine arts schools alarmed and ready to take part in the competition, since everyone’s been waiting for so long, for a marvellous theatre with a huge stage to perform on! The town took apart the older stage in the town centre, which made a lot of fine art’s schools lose their usual performance venue, causing them to put a halt on their performances. Drama clubs in schools and universities were also allowed into this competition, which made the whole town get into working. This meant more performances out in the open, for more practice! We’ve seen the Shakespeare Theatre perform their beautiful drama of “Romeo and Juliet” out in the town square. Another Fine, Fine Art’s special school has had a beautiful dance performance out in the mall. These marvellous performances and the prize inspired more people to join the dances. Making any aspiring dancer, actor or musician gain hope for city-wide recognition and the perfect place to practice and perfect their art. As we continue to see the preparation for the contest, we also have to see the new concert hall in the city! Many bands have already performed in the concert all, making our city more lively. People face painting themselves for the concert, wearing bright clothes and preparing to meet their idols on their tours, while the perform city - to - city. This was never possible before, due to the lack of a place to perform. We would probably be introduced to something like that in the future, we always hoped. And now we had a perfect Star Dome for us to watch concerts at, cheer with the crowd instead of watch them from our TV at home. As we continue to see bands stop at our city, theatric performances etc, can we really say our town is now ahead most of the other towns in theatric studies and pop culture? No, we cant. But- what if we considered the BRAND NEW record store that was just renovated over a period of 2 years? The records were never famous, but now, over here, vinyl was making a comeback! The teens were now using their grandma’s old record player, going back into the 80’s style. Buying handpicked records from any store they would see in other places during their vacation. We can now see so many people crowding inside the record store, their hands itching to buy an amazing piece of music they can vibe to all day. Collecting the best of the best. Wow! How his gloomy town had advanced into a theatrical, musical and lively town. Now visited by so many people for our amazing performances and music selections in our stores!

Part 4 - Horoscopes

Aries : Try not to do everything perfectly, aries. By the end of this day, someone more skilled than you will walk into your life. Take care not to be too competitive with them, or demotivate yourself. Keep steady on your goal.
Taurus : Don’t get too relaxed Taurus, you are about to face challenge very soon. The beautiful sceneries surrounding you will disappear soon.
Gemini : The busy Gemini is soon about to be greeted by relaxation. Be glad, and try to keep yourself happy!
Cancer : By the end of this month, someone you deeply trust will betray you.
Leo : Don’t be too dramatic, Leo. But life isn’t at all what it seems for you right now, it’s gonna take a turn really soon.
Virgo : Remember not to take on too much work, by the end of this day, someone will shoulder you with great responsibility.
Libra : Someone will treat you badly by the end of this weak, with inequality. Remember to stand for what you believe in.
Scorpio : You will get into trouble by being deeply misunderstood by the end of this month.
Sagittarius : You will be greeted by tons of knowledge by the end of this day, remember to use it wisely.
Capricorn : Remember the value of time Capricorn. It is gonna cost you.
Aquarius : You will soon fulfil your dreams.
Pisces : Your ability to feel will take you places.

SWC Writing Competition - Shell Shocked
By CauchySheep


The dull thud of distant shell blasts. A cacophony of screams erupting from terrified soldiers. That feared whistle which signalled it was time to “go over the top”. The ground vibrating unceasingly from the intense bombardment. The stench of the decomposing bodies of both friend and foe. Rats and lice infesting the already miserable trenches. He tried to get it out of his head all the time. Yet the nightmares kept coming, and they did not wait until night time. He would constantly be thrown into screaming fits, sometimes shivering violently, sometimes just staring blankly. His boss, so happy and relieved to finally have back that ardent worker after four long years, was, understandably, taken aback by his seemingly insane demeanour. He was fired just two weeks after returning from France.

Who could forget the sporadic machine-gun fire, mowing down rows and rows of flesh and blood? Who could forget the rumbling, formidable monsters of steel called tanks, striking fear into the hearts of their adversaries? Who could forget the never-ending artillery barrage, turning the once beautiful landscape into an inhospitable hell? Who could forget the knee-deep mud, caused by the torrential downpour, turning the terrain into a sludge?

Those were truly terrifying times when all one could do was crouch in a corner, head in hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Times when one could not bear to pick up a rifle and shoot, despite being screamed at, abused, and threatened at by those above. He saw many of his friends succumb to the unbearable pressure of being at the frontline. Those once confident, bright young men now reduced to frenzied, pathetic beings.

Yet, one could be court-martialed for cowardice. The Army refused to acknowledge the psychological trauma faced by battle-hardened veterans, and doctors were cold and simply uninterested. He knew many of his friends who were arrested, some shot, because of this. And that forced him to keep a cool head and focus on hating an enemy whom he wanted nothing to do with. And fight well he did.

Of course, he too was afraid. He was tempted to surrender himself, even if he would be treated rather harshly. He was playing with the idea of shooting himself. However, that idea still enticed him from time to time. The firing squad seemed to be a far more pleasant way of dying compared to rotting in No-man's Land.

At last, the despised Huns raised the white flag. The millions of once docile young men, sent to fight for King and country, could now return home. What he felt at that moment was nothing short of euphoria, as well as an immense feeling of relief that it was all over. He couldn't wait to get back home, back to his work place, back to his lover. Above all, he couldn't wait to live a normal life again.

Despite being back at the place he so fondly called home, he still felt withdrawn and out of place. He despised the fact that nobody understood what he had been through. He felt dismayed, angry at times, at the general ignorance of the masses regarding the plight of him and his comrades. He was exasperated that strangers on the street, no, his fellow countrymen, would do nothing except staring at him with looks of horror whenever he was hit by one of his frequent panic attacks. He felt betrayed by the fact that his lover, who promised to wait for him, and now unable to tolerate his occasional psychotic behaviour, left him for another man, one untouched by the miseries of war.

Four years ago, he was a happy young lad; now he is nothing but a fractured shell.


The recent Russo-Ukrainian War inspired me to write this. Soldiers (as well as civilians) often experience trauma during a war. Over time, this can develop into a condition we now recognise as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They may suffer from severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares and anger. This is a serious mental health problem that shouldn't be ignored. All in all, war is something nobody needs. Let's make peace, not war. :3

Weekly #2

Part 1

Hackers Claim to Have Obtained Data of Over 1 Billion Chinese Residents (real world)

China has the largest population of any country at 1.4 billion and borders the second most countries after Russia being 14. China also has a long history of censorship, constantly moderating citizens and locking them off from the rest of the world. But with all the information on all their citizens, you would hope that it is kept secure, right?
In an online hacking forum, a hacker by the name of China Dan has been offering twenty-four terabytes (TB) worth of the data of over 1 billion Shanghai residents for the price of 10 Bitcoin (about 200 000 USD), quite a small price for this much. Security researchers say that it is common for hackers to steal from exposed databases and try to sell it to the owner with ransom demands. It is unclear if anyone has purchased the entire database. China Dan has even provided a sample of 750 000 people to prove legitimacy. The data includes the first names, last names, birth dates, ages, addresses, national identification numbers, phone numbers and even case details or criminal records of real people. The data even involves information on not only adults but minors as well having the birth year of one person listed as 2020 and age being one. This data breach, if confirmed legitimate would be one of the biggest in history. Though it has not been officially confirmed, a person allegedly managed to verify some personal data by searching for people on Alipay using their information. Also, New York Times has confirmed parts of the sample to be legitimate by calling people mentioned and asking them to verify the information. Nine people confirmed their details and none of the people said that they have previously heard about the data leak. Some people did not even seem to care about the data leak, one person confirmed of accusing someone else of a crime said that what happened was in the past and that it did not matter that the information was public now. Yet some people were rightfully frustrated. Some Chinese citizens have grown accustomed to things such as censorship, surveillance and general breaches of privacy; however they still agreed that safeguards are needed. A saleswoman in Shanghai whose details were included in the data sample says, “It is alarming because these are the files of ordinary people,” and “They should be better protected.”
A cybersecurity researcher, Chester Wisniewski, commented that said data breach could possibly be very embarrassing to the Chinese government and that would outweigh the harm done to those whose data was leaked as it is static information over information on for example: where they travelled, who they communicated with or what they were doing. Yet it is still real people's data there and now that it is on the internet it would never be possible to fully remove it.
The data breach has also caused massive public outcry on Chinese social medias such as Weibo, later causing the Chinese government to use censors to block keyword searches for “Shanghai data leak” and various others.
The Chinese government; however, has also kept silent on this matter. They refused to acknowledge that the leak even happened, unlike common practice of most other countries where government agencies are required to warn people if their data has been leaked.
Perhaps the worst part of this all is that allegedly, according to the hacker, all that was protecting all this data was one password lacking two factor authentication or a list of whitelisted IP addresses. If true, this really shows how little Chinese officials do to protect the security citizens of China despite having them under constant moderation even to the point of having security cameras with facial recognition to know where anyone is at any time. Yet there is also another theory on how this data was obtained and that is that a Chinese politician leaked a series of code to get into the database via the Chinese delivery site Alibaba. This theory is not as widely believed and lacks confirmation but still is horrific to think about. Imagine a politician in your country, whether that being the USA, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom or any other large country being this irresponsible, allegedly and leaking everything someone needs to get to your personal information. Your name, birthday, address, phone number and almost anything else about you that you can think of. Just how easily could your personal data be uncovered if someone tried? Would you trust the government with information about basically your whole life? Those are probably difficult to answer for you and rightfully so, but now that news of this have been uncovered more and more people should and have been thinking about them.
801 words

Part 2

An Honest Review of The Owl House

The Owl House. If you haven't heard the name of that show, where have you been? Living under a rock are we? This show is what everyone here has become obsessed with almost overnight. Something that's not as argued over; however, is whether it deserves all this attention. Anyone who has been a longtime fan of The Owl House or has seen the newly released season would answer without a doubt yes, yes it does. Me right here, I have not been a fan for a long time but I have watched the entire show for the purpose of this review. Today whether you're a long time fan looking to debate haters or someone looking whether or not to watch the show, here is a spoiler-free review I created just for you
On the first episode of the show, I was immediately set back by the look of the animation. You could almost forget that the show was made by Disney. The characters' eyes look too big to fit on their heads and before you tell me it's just an art style, it's really not. I'm not expecting it to look like an anime or hyper realistic but art style can only protect you so far. I have nothing against having big eyes on characters like in anime or other cartoons but in those examples the art style looks like it works. Unlike in The Owl House. Seriously, the whole thing looks like my 10 year old self drew and animated it and it was made by Disney. The animation looks only a step above High Guardian Spice and that show was so lazy it included a literal PNG of bread in a cartoon. Though I will give credit where it is due, the backgrounds are done and planned out really well.
After reading my rant about the art style, we can move right on to the plotline (which I will try my best not to spoil). Not going to lie, in the first half of the first season, the show seems like one of those cute and stupid kids shows Disney was known for like Gravity Falls (at least the first season as well). But like other Disney cartoons such as Amphibia, by the second season looked like it was only going to get edgier in an attempt to give the show a climax. To go off this path, the show's plot line also seems incredibly close to Harry Potter's for some part of the first season. Even the characters' personalities are way too similar. I'm very confused at how no one noticed this before. This show gets way too much credit for its plotline which honestly seems stolen from a collection of different shows.
Moving on to the characters' personalities, they're pretty bland. Sure, the dialogue shows some personality but almost always for random side characters. Why do shows always enjoy making the most blank slate protagonist ever and then create interesting side characters to only show once of twice in the show? All the main character follow some kind of cliches or tropes. For example Amity's character, there's almost nothing setting her apart from multiple secondary characters across other fandoms. Same goes for Willow. Heck, the only character in the show that I actually liked was King but that's just my personal opinion. Drawing another comparison to High Guardian Spice, all the characters seem to only have one primary personality trait and have their whole life go off of that. But of course at the end they end up having no flaws whatsoever because, yes, that's how character development works. You didn't know? But there is also on thing that makes this show undeniably better than High Guardian Spice and that is the way the characters are introduced which I also will give The Owl House some credit for. The way Willow and Gus's characters were introduced immediately told us what kind of characters they were and what we might be expecting from them in the future while Eda's character was introduced with an air of mystery around her to keep people guessing. And both of these types of introductions work great in shows. In High Guardian Spice though, we just get introduced to characters in the masses and basically just get told nothing about them and now we're supposed to follow their journey? No thanks.
One topic I'll also briefly overlook is the representation in the show. I have almost no problems at all with the Lumity relationship (surprising, right?) and it was honestly a pleasant surprise to see Disney finally recognize the LGBTQ+ community in one of their shows. The representation was overall done well and the only thing I might not quite like about the ship is the enemies to lovers but that's really just a matter of preference. I really hope Disney does take more steps in this direction.
816 words

Part 3

Science column

Recently, astronomers have discovered the fastest known star which travels around a black hole at 8 000 kilometers per second or 30 million kilometers per hour which is over 2 times the speed of light. The star is called S4716 and orbits the black hole at the center of our galaxy (The Milky Way): Sagittarius A. The star comes as close as 100 astronomical units to the black hole which by astronomers, is considered a short distance. One astronomical unit is approximately the distance between the Earth and the Sun which is 149,597,871 kilometers. This completely changes our expectations on how close a star can get to the black hole in a stable orbit. Dr Florian Peißker from the University of Cologne where the study was conducted says, “For a star to be in a stable orbit so close and fast in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole was completely unexpected and marks the limit that can be observed with traditional telescopes.”

In an area near the Sagittarius A is a cluster of stars known as the S cluster which is home to over 100 stars varying greatly in size and brightness. Stars from the S cluster are known to move very fast but none yet as fast as S4716. “One prominent member, S2, behaves like a large person sitting in front of you in a movie theater: it blocks your view of what’s important,” also says Dr Florian Peißker, “The view into the center of our galaxy is therefore often obscured by S2. However, in brief moments we can observe the surroundings of the central black hole.” as S2 is the brightest star in the S cluster and often blocks out the light of nearby stars, making finding stars that are fainter in light and closer to the black hole even more difficult than it already is with galactic dust which is incredibly hard to see through.

There are also many more mysteries surrounding this star and the S cluster as a whole like how it formed. Gas close to Sagittarius A is heated too much to collapse and form these stars. It is possible that they formed further out and came closer to the black hole through gravitational encounters with other stars. The more stars astronomers are able to find and observe in the cluster, the more we can understand about the S cluster's history in our solar system.

Studies and observations similar to this one are at the peak of what can be done in the world of astronomy. There are also many things being developed to help us move further with research on our and other solar systems. One example of this is JWST, an infrared telescope which can see past the galactic dust and having sharp vision that may help us separate the mess of stars in clusters around our galaxy.

In today's time and age, new discoveries are constantly being made in our solar system but with persistence and patience everything can be pieced together and brough out of the chaos.
510 words

Part 4

Recipe - Maple Syrup Muffins

Ingredients (for 12 muffins)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 a cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 a teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 a teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
- Cinnamon sugar for garnish (optional)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400℉ (205°C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
3. In a separate mixing bowl, lightly beat egg. Add in the maple syrup, milk and melted butter, stir to combine
4. Add liquid ingredients and dry ingredients to a mixer bowl and mix at a medium speed until a smooth dough mixture is achieved.
5. Divide dough evenly among muffin cups filling them up to about two thirds full.
6. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
7. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then take them out and let them cool completely.
8 (optional). Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of the muffins.
9. Enjoy!
200 words

Total word count of: 2327

hi

Shattered Reflections - Writing Competition Entry

Night had fallen on the only home Ruby had ever known.
If it had been a regular night, Ruby wouldn't have felt quite as shaken up as she did. But it wasn't. Smoke obscured the moon (which was new anyway) and every last star. Darkness covered Ruby's world.
As far as she knew, Ruby was the last dragon left - either that or the others were hiding extremely well. But she thought it was pretty safe to assume that she was the last dragon in this world.
The last dragon.
The thought made her shudder, and she turned towards the ruined castle where she had lived all her life. It had been the grandest castle in the kingdom (and the only, but her mother never mentioned that), and now it was a smoldering pile of scorched stone.
She hadn't actually been inside since it happened. But she needed to sleep, and it was better to do it now than never. Spreading her wings, she soared towards the castle. She surveyed the damage, scanning the rooms.
Considering it was the source of the explosion, it hadn't been damaged excessively. The walls had done their part well.
But not well enough, she thought as she headed to her room. She had to see it.
Memories flew through her mind as she walked, in and out in less than a second. But she could see glimpses of the images that they brought. Memories of her swooping into the castle, landing with a soft thump. Soaring into a hallway lined with servants and into the outstreched wings of her best friend . . .
What was her name, anyway?
She shook her head. She had been her best friend, she remembered that. She remembered perfectly her smile that could light up the sky, her blue claws and wings and tail, her shining scales that she kept polished every day.
But why, oh why, couldn't she remember her name?
Suddenly her body was sharply thrown forward. Her wings went all over the place as she fell. She landed on top of sounds of crashing and shattering.
Oops, she thought as she picked herself up. Sorry, extremely valuable glass vases.
Not that they would have value anymore, but . . .
She glanced forward. She was at her room. She had tripped on the remains of the door. A few more cuts and scratches lined her underbelly. She sighed and walked in.
The entire thing had been destroyed. She was looking at once-white walls with holes in them, now gray from ash and smoke. Only two things had been left undamaged: Her mirror, and a pristine scroll that lay on her ravaged bed.

Daily 15
Object: a rubber duck with a pirate hat named Jimothy from @piggy_puppy
546 words

Warm water cascades from the faucet to the bathtub. The air steams up, fogging the mirrors. The tub bubbles up to the perfect level. It only needs one finishing touch. From inside the cabinet I grab my favorite rubber ducky, Jimothy, looking adorably menacing as always with his cartoony eyes and pirate hat.
“Hey Skye,” says Jimothy.
“Hi Jimothy,” I respond cheerfully, plopping him into the tub with a splash. It takes me a moment to realize something's off. “Wait a sec- you're not supposed to talk! How can you talk?”
“I could always talk! I've talked to you many times before,” Jimothy quacks. “But then you tricked yourself into thinking it was your imagination. And what's worse is that now, you take showers instead of baths, so I never get a chance to leave that dark, musty cabinet!”
“I'm so sorry Jimothy. I promise to pay more attention to you.”
“Don't worry about it,” Jimothy assures me. “Right now, we have a mission!”
“A mission? What kind of mission?”
“A mission to retrieve the shiny treasure at the bottom of the great sea!”
“We have to go to the ocean?”
“No, the sea I'm floating in right now!”
“Oh, the bathtub.”
“The bathtub sea! But first, we need a ship!” Jimothy announces heroically while swimming around in a circle.
“I have some toy boats in my room,” I suggest. “Let me go get one.”
I run to my room and find the coolest-looking toy boat I own. It's a brown plastic pirate ship, shaped to look like wooden boards, with a white triangular sail with a skull and crossbones design on it. I have the feeling that Jimothy will love it.
“I have found the mighty ship!” I exclaim while bursting back into the bathroom. I set it into the water and help Jimothy hop up onto the hull. He examines the deck and looks satisfied.
“Now we must sail to the southernmost point of the bathtub sea and swim to the deepest depths to find the treasure. But- oh no! There's no wind! How can we get the treasure now?”
“I got it,” I said. Lightly, I blow on the sail to push it forward, occasionally having to catch my breath. Slowly, the boat inches its way to the other end of the tub.
“Thank you, First Mate Skye.”
“Aye, Captain Jimothy.”
“Behold!” declares Jimothy. “The sunken treasure of the bathtub sea is below us!”
“What? Where's the treasure?”
Jimothy points with his beak at a shiny metal disc at the bottom of the bathtub: the plug.
“Uh, Jimothy, I mean Captain, I don't think we should pick that up,” I warn.
“Do not fret, First Mate. If you're scared, I'll dive down and retrieve the treasure myself!”
Before I can respond, Jimothy dives off the ship into the bathtub. He's full of air, so he can't sink to the bottom. Instead, he bobs around until his beak bumps the drain plug. He keeps doing that until he knocks the plug out of place. Suddenly, the water swirls around like a funnel into the drain. Jimothy gets caught in the whirlpool and spins along with it until all the water is gone. And that's how the bathtub sea has now become the bathtub desert.

He turned, facing her, as his feet continued to inch backwards towards the cliff edge, with a smile on his face that still wasn’t able to conceal the emptiness and betrayal in his eyes.

He took a step back. Only two feet away from the edge.

Another step. One foot away.

And another.

In the face of death, all he had was cold indifference, maybe even with the slightest twinge of yearning, as if he really didn’t care about whether he lived or died. He held the concept of death in his hands so carelessly, as if it had no value. As if it was nothing but relief and liberation.

And now he could finally be free.

He closed his eyes and imagined himself as a dove, flying free over the waters, beautiful and unrestrained.

If he could, he would become a bird in his next life, always flying, soaring over blue and green, into the limitless open air above.

But when he opened his eyes, the only thing that appeared was the girl in front of him, as if his brain was constantly attempting to remind him of what she had done to him.

What they had done to each other.

Once upon a time, she had been the fire in his soul, the one keeping him fighting, helping him return from the eternal darkness to the illuminated world above.

She was the sun that kept him alive, the one that had stayed with him as thousands of clouds passed through his life, never stopping once to help him when he was in need.

But people will always want to extinguish a fire, and clouds will always manage to hide the warmth of a sun, never stopping once to consider how important they might have been to somebody else.

And just like that, she disappeared, bringing with her all the hope and emotion he still had for life.

It might have been that day, the winds so strong that they blew away his youth and childhood, blew away everything in the past, blew away all the memories they had left of each other. Only later as he was trudging through the journey of life, did he realize that there was no way for him to look back.

What was once thought to be a blessing from fate remained in the depth beneath the light, nothing in the future except for loneliness and solitude, heartache and suffering, and after all this time, it was not the beauty of blooming flowers and warm sunlight that he saw, but rivers of blood, and hate so dense that it covered everything, leaving him with nothing but desperation and pain.

That was the price for trusting somebody.

But nothing mattered anymore. It was the end now.

He looked at the girl one last time, her hand outstretched towards him, her eyes reflecting fear and panic as her mouth was open in a silent scream. Her lips moved, but he couldn’t hear her. Everything suddenly became so quiet, even the wind, whistling high-pitched in their ears, had now dulled, so that the sounds his shoes made as he turned, facing the cliff edge was ever more distinguishable.

He closed his eyes as he tilted his body forward, the trace of a faint smile the last thing that remained before he plunged into icy water, thousands of feet below.

Daily 11th July

Challenge - earn 600 points by writing 500 words WITHOUT dialogue or inner thoughts to convey the characters feeling.

Word count - 531
I wasn't always like this.
On fifth April ten years ago, a girl was born at exactly three forty two in the morning. The girl cried and cried, and wouldn't go to sleep until seven hours later.
At the age of five, the little girl got in an accident. Her friend was taking her to the candy shop, and apparently the driver had made a mistake with the gears. That day, the little girl, her friend and her friend's father were rushed to the hospital the moment public had seen the steaming car.
The friend could never walk again. The father could never hold anything in his right hand and had to use a walking stick even though he was so young. And the girl was permanently deaf and mute.
That girl was me.

Mrs. Rubina moved her hand to the further part of the blackboard, where the second part of the sum was. I study in Abel school. I refused to be sent to a special needs school. I knew enough to understand, and books would help me too, so my parents sent me back to my old school.
A few of the students laughed at me, and I knew it not because I could hear it, but because of the way they pointed. I didn't really mind, since I knew that would never experience this feeling. That would probably make people mad, but it made me happy to know that they would never know this feeling of peace against bullies. You could never hear thier toxic words.

I was best at english, which surprised most. I could not participate in talk shows, but my essays and class work were by far the best. I had read so many books after I had gone deaf, that I learnt most words that children my age do not know of. My dream is to become a writer. I want to write for children, so others can enjoy books like I did.
Math was not my strong point. If you cannot hear the teacher explain the problem, it is very hard to do it yourself, especially if the teacher is Mrs. Rubina. Mrs. Rubina likes to explain the sum orally and then write the solution on the board after explaining it, so sometimes, I have to ask my best and only friend Fred to give me his notes.
Fred is a mute, just like me, except he is not deaf. He can hear them jeer at him, and it saddens me to see him brought to tears. I wish we could do something about it, but we cannot talk back to them because, well, we cannot talk.

Mrs. Rubina came over to me, as she knows I have trouble. She pointed to a few numbers, and then made some signs with her hands. I asked her to write them down, taking two fingers and scrubbing on my opposite palm, and then pointing at the sum. She nodded, and wrote down the instructions. This made it a lot simpler, and I finished the sum easily.

The bell rang, and me and Fred went out of the classroom.
The world may be loud.
But it's quiet to me.
And honestly, I don't quite mind that much.

July 11th Daily

Word Count: 500

The music was loud and Ayla was being jostled by the crowd, when she saw him. Ayla spotted James across the room and automatically stiffened, her spine straightening. James turned and saw her, a cocky grin spread across his face and he sauntered over to her. Ayla scowled and turned away. She strode to the snack table. Shoving her way through the crowd. The white tablecloth had a stain from where someone had spilled their punch. She picked up a pink cupcake and bit into it. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned. James is standing next to her, holding a glass of punch, the cocky smile still on his face. Ayla's eyes hone in on the glass of fruit punch and her hand flies out, knocking the glass. The punch flies up and soaks into James' white shirt, staining it pink. His expression changes to one of anger then confusion. She stomps away, sending people scattering away from her. James stares with his mouth hanging open at where the punch stained his shirt. Then with a lurch, he ran after Ayla, slipping on punch. He rapidly caught up to her and grabbed her wrist. Ayla didn't turn around, just yanked her wrist out of his grasp and continued walking. James followed this time grabbing both her wrists and spinning her around to face him. Ayla's face contorted with rage and she looked as though she might strike him. James took a step back but his face showed no fear. Ayla stopped struggling and looked into his eyes. Her expression soften a bit. Then she tore her hands away and walked off. James followed, though this time he kept his distance and didn't touch her. They walked in silence until they exited the building. Snow was falling softly around them. Then James laid a gentle hand on Ayla's shoulder and she turned, looking up at him. He pulled her to him and hugged her. She stiffened but then tentatively returned his embrace. She abruptly pulled apart and a few seconds and headed to her car. James hung his head and turned to head back inside. He heard the crunch of footsteps in the snow approaching and turned. Ayla was there! She held something out to him and smiled. He took the card. It read: Merry Christmas! ~ Ayla He grinned and looked up but Ayla was already gone. He pulled open the door and went back inside to the party, not even glancing at the people who were gawking at him. Whispers had already started and they only intensified when someone spotted the Christmas card in his hand. James made his way over to the punch table, right where Ayla had purposefully made him spill his all over himself. He grabbed another glass and smiled down into it. He drank it quickly and moved away. The music blared even louder now and the crowd was getting rowdy. He decided to leave like Ayla had and excused himself.

Daily #11

The waves of the sea were always merciless to anyone who'd try to best them but they seemed especially unforgiving today. Ari walked across the deck gazing out into the dark cloud that they were undoubtedly going to sail straight into. At least that was the plan and everything except for the storm seemed to cooperate. She could sense an air of fear on board The Dauntless, but she felt none of it. She sailed through that darkness countless times before and it had already lost all its intimidating traits to her.

The same couldn't be said for the captain or any of the crew. They were scared like mice in a snake's den. How could anyone be this scared of spirits? If Ari was to be scared of anything it would be the sea that was reaching for the ship and looking to swallow it whole like a herd of starving sharks.

Over the sound of the raging waters, she could hear a few orders being shouted at the sailors. She herself was surrounded by a cloud of apathy as she stood at the bow of The Dauntless, staring off into the distance. Someone shouted something at her but she could hear nothing of it.

Suddenly everything went quiet, the ship pierced its nose straight into the dark distance. Everyone froze in shock seeming paralyzed by the darkness until the whole ship became engulfed. No one could see a thing and the whole crew fumbled like fish out of water. Ari was used to this. She felt the ship still moving though she couldn't see a thing as well. Hopefully the darkness would continue and no one would see a thing because if they did it would undoubtedly slow everything down.

No orders were shouted anymore and even the raging storm calmed down inside the dark distance. This was surprising as the captain definitely had a tendency to yell. Was a little darkness really enough to scare everyone on this * ship?

A light emerged from the darkness and all sounds that were previously even hearable completely shut out. Ari took a deep breath in and felt as paralyzed as the other crew members seemed. The light formed into the shape of a person; as Ari looked closer she could see that it was a person she knew oh so dearly. Some crumpled copy of a smile formed on her face. She could sense that person standing right behind her and she finally formed up the thought to turn around and look him straight in the eye.

Ari seen his face, his smile before and missed them so much. Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't hold them back, not right now. She forgot all about what needed to happen and how they needed to cross the dark distance. Cassian's figure, engulfed in light, approached her yet not speaking a word. This had already happened before, she already forgotten it, right?

Another light figure appeared right next to her. Instead of how what happened did happen, the figure next to her looked to Cassian instead of her and she could sense his expression change, from sorrow to some kind of mix of anger and fear and she knew exactly how that felt. Cassian started with the intent to shake his head in disbelief but instead, suddenly slowed down to nod.

Ari still couldn't move, couldn't take her eyes off the figure next to her who seemed to pay no attention to her being there. Then to abruptly end her trance, she felt a push and the last thing she knew, she fell screaming into the sea.

Daily 11:597 words

The girl had very nearly climbed the whole mountain.

She groaned with effort as she hiked up. She had left her provisions in a nearby cafe and had only taken her dearest treasures.

A rock. A coin. A cold, breaking heart.

She would find her family again. She had a view of the world. Spread-out, out like an uneven blanket.

The tip of the mountain, as sharp as a needle. The girl plucks the tip, lasting bruises the size of monocles on her fingers. She picked and picked the tip of the highest mountain until there was a platform big enough to hold the hone foot. By then, the girl's hands were worn down. She heaved her foot onto the flat mountain, pushed the other one up, and stretched it out behind her as if she was flying.

The girl took her possessions out of her pack. The rock. The coin. A cold, heart broken in two. Laid out neatly on her hands. Her breath is heavy and slow. The wind tempted to push her off the highest mountain. She clutched them in her dry, calloused hands, ready to whisper the song of foundation and the trapped souls of the wind monster.

The first verse was as quiet as falling snow. The first notes are as soft as a newborn cub monster.

The first bit of the finding song echoes softly on top of the highest mountains.

The second verse is faster, more desperate, with the pains of angst and despair. The notes are high ad clear that, when sung on the highest mountain in the world, can send the storm clouds cowering in fear.

The second verse of the song is sung with the power to turn the world upside down.

The third verse: the chorus. A literal chorus, that when one voice sings it, many voices entwine with the one voice even though nobody's there. It sings itself, high and true, its melody sending the ghosts joy, sending the broken-hearted love, and sending those anguished hope.

The chorus is sung to send joy and love to the humans yearning for some.

The fourth verse was a continuation of the chorus. But, it was powerful, so powerful that, when sung on the top of the highest mountain, will send in waves of their dying magic, strengthening it, and sending the world glowing and it;'s own faintly beating heart grew until it shimmers with magic and happiness.

The fourth verse was the last one to be sung.

The girl's family came to the bottom of the highest mountain. And there, at the very foothills, were a rock, a coin, and the crumbling ash remnants of a broken heart.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.