and life goes on - writing competition entry

~

Noah woke up with the sun and the city.

He let out a sigh; another day, another restless night. Every day recycled the same formula: waking, working, worrying, and wasting.

Noah got out of bed, opened the curtains, and stood there, the sun’s rays hitting the dirty window and illuminating the awakening city. He should’ve been enthralled, but he wasn’t. Everybody dreams of living in a city - who dreams of leaving it?

Snow’s snores from across the room reminded him of his not-quite loneliness. At least someone was resting - waking up his friend was about as easy as him falling asleep. Complete opposites, yet both impossible.

Noah navigated through the boxes of the cramped room and took a deep breath. I can do this. What does one more day have on me?

He was out of the apartment (if you could call it one) by six.

~

Stepping out into the street, Noah was engulfed by the bustle of the city. The sound of traffic magnified by tenfold. Cars zoomed by, their tires rolling on the uneven pavement. The polluted air was full of a dozen conversations. It was an incessant hubbub. You either got used to it after a few weeks, or never.

Noah had no trouble blending in. In a city of strangers, nobody really knew anyone. He breathed in the morning air and started coughing. Oh my gosh. I can’t take this anymore. He could barely see through the veil of smog that had descended over the city.

Breathing through his mouth, Noah started walking faster; hands in his pockets. Instantly, he was pushed aside by a stranger's sprint, her brown hair whirling in the air.

“Sorry,” he voiced, but she was already gone in the crowd.

~

A few paces away, Delilah was on a mission. She followed an invisible string that tied her to him. Four years had gone by so, so, painfully slow. She wanted to weep and laugh, to collapse and to sing. She could hear nothing but her ragged breaths and pounding heart as her feet hit the pavement. This was the day she had been waiting for, the day a piece of her would be restored. She was on top of the world. And nothing could stop that.

~

Noah was early. The hands on his watch pointed that out. Now what? He looked around, but there was nothing to do but wait. Nobody but his thoughts to talk to.

And his thoughts were interrupted when the aroma of comfort overcame the smell of the smog. Ahead of him, there was a coffee shop. There was something about it that made him open the door and walk in. The bubbling sound of bells indicated his presence. The aura was ethereal; it was cozy and sentimental. Time slowed down in this enchanted place.

The barista smiled from across the room, and said “What brings you here?”

Noah shifted. “I don’t really know, it seemed nice?”

The barista laughed. It was in harmony with the atmosphere. “Take your time. I’ll be here.”

He didn’t drink coffee - what am I doing here? He checked his watch. Shoot. How long was I in here for? “Sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you soon?”

The barista smiled, put their hand up in farewell, and watched him leave. The soft jingling of bells marked his exit.

The moment was nice; it didn’t last, but that’s what moments are.

~

Laramie loved their job. Being a barista was fulfilling in every way - the people, the experiences, the memories, the emotions. They loved seeing customers smile. Laramie loved brightening their days, interaction by interaction. The coffee shop was a haven, a sanctuary, an oasis. The coffee shop was the people, the smiles. It was a place, a conversation, a laugh. It was everything.

~

Noah made it to work just in time. Out of breath, he sat down in his chair. Breathe. Relax.
He looked around, the monochromatic office blurring his periphery. There was nothing but the sound of clicking keys and the air conditioner.

In a different way, it was comforting.

He sighed and started typing.

~

Rain sprinkled the dirty windows in a million tiny rivulets, and the city became nothing more than a blur. The sky wept, and the earth rejoiced.

How would it feel like to be a raindrop? There would be millions of others just like you, all meeting the same fate. You would be indistinguishable to everyone. You would be like everyone. And then you would do it all again.

Noah blinked. What was he doing? Pondering philosophical questions? He chuckled internally and went back to work. Just a few more hours today, and then he would be free. Only a few more hours.

“Noah, are you able to have a word with me?” Standing before him was a tall woman known as his boss.

He flinched. “Of course, what is it?”

“I was just thinking that your work recently, especially today, has been positively beautiful. You’ve grown since you started.”

She was gone before he could react.

But he smiled inside.

~

Clarisse had gone so far. From co-founding her company, it had taken many, many years for her to get to where she was now. Clarisse looked around the building and saw what she and countless others had done. Every second had been worth it. There was still further to go; but for right now, it was enough. And that's okay.

~

Noah looked around at the purple-blue twilight approaching the city as he left work. He strolled with the streetlights. The rain had ended hours ago. Cool, crisp evening wind brushed by him. Lights scattered the smog particles. The city radiated a different feeling at night.

The air was teeming with energy. The city wasn’t settling down; it was awakening for the second time.

There was a strange bubbling sensation in Noah when he walked home. He couldn’t explain it, but he hadn’t felt it in a long time. When he stepped in the apartment, he saw his roommate hunched over at her desk, typing frantically. The feeling dissipated.

“Still at work?”

Snow gave a nod, grimaced, and continued typing.

He was unsure of what to do. Standing by the doorframe, a thought hit him. What if…?

The thought that he could brighten someone’s day, especially his best friend’s, was all that was needed to brighten his day.

Noah rushed into the kitchen and started collecting ingredients. He loved the process of cooking, the familiarity of it. Soon, the sound of simmering water and knife chopping reached the apartment. Noah worked in a comfortable rhythm, conducting the symphony of the kitchen.

~

Snow was having a bad day. Her job sucked; she had overslept, causing her boss to yell at her. Deadlines were everywhere and pay was atrocious. It had been so burdensome working to pay rent with Noah for their cramped apartment.

Her mind didn’t even process what her roommate was doing until an aroma drifted over to her.

“What are you making? It smells delicious.” Snow said from her computer.

And then he walked up to her, carrying something that made her eyes widen.

“Is that - ?”

He nodded and handed the bowl of pho to her.

She couldn’t believe it. The sudden influx of memories left her dumb. She struggled to find the right words, blinking in surprise the whole time. It had been so long, so impossibly long. Yet it was a bowl of nostalgia, comfort, love, and warmth in front of her. It was a bowl of pho.

He gave her a small smile.

She blinked away her tears and ran in to hug him.

Sometimes all that we need to brighten our lives is a bowl of soup.

~

Noah slept with the city and the stars. Sweet, blissful sleep.

That day, a million interactions, dreams, and memories were made. Interwoven, converging, diverging, and beautiful.

And so, another day goes by in the city of stories.


and so, life goes on.

author's note!

in this piece, i wanted to make life seem… alive. i wanted others to relate to this, to make this piece seem real.

and this story has a lot of, well everything. i guess, for this piece, i just wanted it to be like our daily lives. our thoughts, the chaos of our lives, the small moments in our lives, and the memories and relationships we make. i wanted it to show how, under everything, there's something beautiful in life.

“Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find”
- Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield

I never knew it at the time, but when I was writing this, i was indirectly taking inspiration from this lyric. it means a lot to me. you can see the “dirty window” a lot in this story haha

this piece has no set theme, and it's up for you to interpret it, however you want it to. it could be about finding the small things in life, learning that everybody has a story, how to learn to love something, or that it's not too late to start again. it can be about anything you want it to be. <3

initially, i created this for part two of the first weekly, where a character has to give another character food. this has definitely come a long way, and so much has changed.

i took inspiration from so many different things, whether a song or the rain, it has all come together to form this. thank you.

thank you to spotify and all the different artists that create such meaningful pieces of music, they definitely helped create this.

thank you to “amoeba” by clairo and Morgan Eckroth's youtube channel for inspiring the coffee shop.

thank you SO MUCH to reese, alia, book, kay, cae, and luna for providing very insightful feedback. thank you so much <33

thank you to anyone who struggles to pay rent.

thank you to noah, snow, delilah, laramie, clarisse, and the city for inspiring me.

and thank you so much for reading this, it truly means a lot to me.

Weekly 3

Part 1 - Planning (161 words)

Title: Widow's Peak

Characters:
Jonah - The village doctor, who begins to investigate the activity
Ayna - Jonah's old high school classmate, who works with him to solve the mystery
Elijah - Friend of Jonah, dies at the beginning of the novel
Cassidy - Director of the Tour Guide to Widow's Peak

Plot:
In an isolated village in the mountains, there has been rumoured activity going on at one of the mountains, nicknamed Widow's Peak by the locals. The activity consists of green smoke coming out and weird noises at night. It has been going on the town for a few years, but nobody has really cared about - until strange events start occurring in the village.
First, a man dies. The only doctor in the town finds out that it's due to radiation poisioning, which leads many to suspect the water source that the village relies on: the Wandering River. He and his partner confront their old friend, who now owns the tour company of the mountain.

Part 2 - Introduction (316 words)

Something was happening in Hestonville. The villagers could feel it; the primordial sense that something bad was about to happen. It was in the air, in the soil, in the river. It was waiting to strike, and strike it did.
At 8:17am on Friday, Elijah Woods was found dead in his house. There was nothing wrong with him - he was even wearing his suit, about to head to work for the day. There was no knife, no wound, nada.
The villagers suspected his sister, who found him when she arose from her slumber. The doctor was sent to the scene immediately.
Jonah Roanoke was the village doctor. When he arrived, he had the strange sensation that this wasn’t a normal death. He collected the samples and headed back to the lab.
Along the way, he met his high school classmate, Ayna. He made eye contact and nodded. Internally, he thought about why she was so close to the crime scene. Everyone knew that she lived on the mountain side of town.
Hestonville was surrounded by mountains on all sides, isolated from civilization. One of the mountains stood out. Widow’s Peak, as it was named by the locals, loomed over the village, casting a dark shadow. There had been rumored activity in the mountain for years now: weird smoke and sounds were not uncommon. But nobody had really investigated. Every few months, a new group of tourists would come and walk up the mountain with the tour guide, Cassidy Jenkins, but all was normal.
Jonah opened the lab door, the smoggy air and cool air clashing. Being the only medical professional in the town, there was no autopsy or anything like that. Jonah slowly closed the door, and took out his samples. Everything seemed normal, and then he saw it. In the blood, there was a chemical that he hadn’t seen since high school textbooks: radium.

Part 3: Conflict (403 words)

~

“Hello?”

“Hi. This is Jonah. I need to talk. Can you meet me by the mouth of the Wandering River?”

“Why are you talking to me now? We haven’t talked in years. Is this about the murder case?”

“I’m sorry, but you have to trust me on this. Please, I’m asking you a favor just this once.”

A pause. Then, “I’ll meet you at noon.” The call ended.

Jonah sighed in relief.

~

When Jonah exited his car, Ayna was waiting by the river.

“Care to explain?”

Jonah glanced around. There was nobody in sight, but still, there was nobody that he could completely trust. He leaned in and said “Yes, this is about the murder case. I need your help.”

“This is what they all say. They all ‘need my help’. Then they promptly disappear until they need another favor from you. I can’t do this anymore. You remember what happened in high school.”

“I promise that it’s not what it seems. There was nothing else I could do. But I need help, and I promise I won’t desert you next time.”

“Yeah, right. Go on, though.”

“Elijah died due to radiation poisoning.”

Ayna’s eyes widened, but she didn’t let curiosity take over yet.

“I checked his blood samples, and it came positive for radiation. That means…”

“…that there was contamination in the water or air he was breathing.” She whispered.

“Exactly. And what he breathes and drinks are what the whole town consumes as well.”

“So the village is in danger.”

“Yes. And I think it’s because of the river.”
Hestonville got its water supply from the river.

“Okay, you are clearly wrong. The river is clean. I know Cassidy. The river is her life’s work. If the Wandering River had contamination, then she would tell everyone.”

“But would she? She’s changed since school.”

“How would you know? You don’t keep in touch with your friends anymore. How can you accuse me of that?”

“Okay, okay. But I say that we shouldn’t cross it out.”

Suddenly, Widow’s Peak started billowing smoke. Jonah and Ayna didn’t pause their conversation - this was a normal occurrence.

“Wait. Look. The smoke is… green.”

Jonah paused and looked up.

They said in unison. “The mountain is causing the radiation.”

And Cassidy was the overseer of the mountain.

“We have to see her.”

Ayna grimaced, and nodded. The situation was dire, and a confrontation was what they needed.

Part 4: Climax (316 words)

Cassidy was tired. It was the end of the week, and it had been a long week. She had been hoping to relax and wait out the last hours of work, when suddenly the door burst open with two people she hadn’t seen in a few years.

“Jonah? Ayna? What are you guys doing here?” She exclaimed, shocked.

“We need to talk. There’s no time to waste.” Jonah said grimly.

Ayna walked over to the desk. She smiled at Cassidy.

Jonah said “We think that the green smoke from the mountain is responsible for the radiation.”

Cassidy was shook. “Wait a minute, radiation? Green smoke? Is this about Elijah?”

“Don’t act dumb.”

“Jonah! Don’t say that about Cassidy.”

He continued. “This is about Elijah. He died due to radiation poisoning, and our suspicions have been confirmed that the radiation is coming from the mountain. Reports have come in about green smoke emanating from the mountain. Green means radiation.”

“What on earth are you talking about? I barely know the mountain. I only own the tour guide business that goes up the mountain.”

“Yes. Have you heard about the rumored activity going at Widow’s Peak the past couple of years?”

“Well, yes.” She admitted. “Everybody has.”

“Have you ever thought about investigating it?”

“No. There’s nothing that should lead me to conduct an investigation on it.”

“Lies.” Jonah said. “You know perfectly well what’s going on.”

“Jonah, please! Cut her some slack.” Ayna pleaded.

Cassidy dismissed her. “Who are YOU, accusing me? I thought we were friends, remember? I have nothing to do with this. Goodbye!”

Jonah looked at Cassidy. She couldn’t bear it, and she broke out. “You guys were both my best friends. What did I do to you? Why did you leave me?”

Jonah sighed. He had to finally face this. The confrontation was over. The only thing left was to explain to them.

Part 5 - Conclusion (324 words)

“I had to, it was for good. I promise.”

Ayna sat down next to Cassidy, and they watched him tell his story.

“My parents wanted me to go to college. They wanted me to make new friends. They wanted me to be the best. But that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to remain friends with you, but they threatened me. So I cut a deal with them. I finish attending college, and I could remain friends. But after I did, they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. And every day, I think about the fun we had in high school, and what could be different if I had stood up to my parents.”

Ayna and Cassidy understood. They comforted him, and they forgave him. Maybe their friend group could start anew.

Cassidy began looking sheepish, and said “I have a secret. I know what’s been going up behind the mountain.”

Jonah and Ayna were shocked. Cassidy continued. “The mountain has been home to many animals. I have been secretly starting a wildlife conservation center there to save some of the animals. But I’ve kept it a secret because it could ruin my reputation. However, the center has been running on fossil fuels, and one day, when one of the machines broke down, I had to shut the center temporarily to fix it. I never knew that the machine could contaminate the water. I promise.”

Now it was Ayna and Jonah’s time to understand. It was a flimsy idea, but they all made mistakes they couldn't correct. Then Ayna said “Why would you keep it a secret? There’s no point in your reputation, we always stand by you. But when you do something like that, you need to tell the people. That’s what they respect.”

Cassidy’s eyes filled with tears. But she nodded. “I understand.” She whispered.

“Friends?” Jonah said.

“Friends.” Cassidy and Ayna said.

That day, their friendship began again.

critique for legocookie6's writing piece! (483 words)

hi! so sorry for the late reply, i'll get started with the critique right away.

first thing i notice - i can picture the scene VERY well, and i love the dialogue between the two, it feels very real!

this story is already very beautifully written, but I'll try my best to critique it!

When Eclipse gets angry at Rhys for acting different, she gets mad easily. I don't know much about her character, and I don't know if that's her personality, but people tend to be confused a little bit before getting mad (instead of getting mad, then confused). For example, you would first ask Rhys “what's wrong? you're acting different tonight” and when Rhys doesn't respond, then she could start frowning.

I absolutely LOVE the way that Rhys talks. Like when they can't think of anything to say. It's very true to human nature, and Rhys struggling to find the right words makes it feel very realistic.

Something else I noticed is this sentence:

“I feel horrible to have made her cry, not when she’s already suffered so much.”

I think that sentence feels redundant, as we already know the emotions that Rhys are going through. If you wanted to tell the reader that she has suffered so much already, you could include it in this paragraph that you have already written:

“I used to think I was a good person, helping people with this forbidden power of mine. It crushed me when I realized I was doing more harm than good- that every town I saved suffered once I was gone. I made a promise to myself: that I’d never let anyone suffer again.”

You could add something like “especially Eclipse” at the end or something like that.

I've heard a LOT of people say in the past to “show, not tell,” which I think is trite but still important to note. You did a really really good job with the emotions that Rhys is going through, using their thoughts, their stuttering, and their movements. And you did a good job with Eclipse as well, even when she isn't the narrator! Her actions and tone of speaking really convey the message.

“ “Don’t cry,” I say softly, “Hate me with all your might, but don’t cry. I can’t watch you cry.” ”

I LOVE this part, it feels so genuine.

about the ending, I think that it could be longer! one thing I noticed is that earlier in the piece, you wrote

“I start to wonder, when was the last time I saw her smile? I close my eyes and try to picture her smiling. All I can picture is the devastated reaction she’ll have by the end of this night.”

and I love at the end, you came back to this!

She smiles through her tears and my heart aches with yearning. “I’ll be waiting!” Her smile is so beautiful; it makes me want to stay.

I think it would be better to elaborate more on how beautiful her smile is by using things like literary devices and more on how the smile affects Rhys and their emotions.

One last thing!

I bite my lip, “I promise,” I say, hoping that I’ll be able to fulfill my oath.

This sentence can be improved more, I think. Maybe, if Rhys really wants to be with Eclipse, you can make him immediately promise without thinking about the consequences. Or Rhys is afraid, then instead of saying that they'll hope to fulfill the oath, you can say something else, like “I hesitate and bite my lip. ”I promise,“ I whisper, and I wish with all of my heart that I'll see her again.” In my experience, if somebody is very sad, they'll have trouble thinking and making decisions.

and that's all! this is such an emotional and genuine piece, and I would love to see a continuation of it. so many emotions were displayed in just one scene, and the last sentence is so beautiful. great job!! <33

critique for smalltoe's writing piece! (425 words)

hi, sorry for the very late critique, and thank you so much for your patience!! i'll get started now

I agree with what you said, our stories are very similar, which I think is pretty cool - the stories could even be connected or something! like both of them have a dark vibe near the woods and they both end with the main character(s) losing conciousness because of a flower. these parallels are pretty weird and cool haha

first off, this is giving “over the garden wall” and “hansel and gretel” vibes. but this story gives it a darker twist, which I love!

there's one grammar issue in the story, but that's all!

It wasn’t it’s fault they fell victim to the heady, manipulative scent leaking from it’s opening buds, wasn’t it’s fault they got too close to it’s toxic vines, trees, bushes - the many bodies of it’s one mind, the many limbs that it could bend to it’s will.

it should be “its” instead of “it's”. ‘It’s' stands for ‘it is’. ‘Its’ refers to possession of something! So for this section it should be “It wasn't its fault”, as the forest doesn't have the fault (if that makes sense?). So all the “it's” should be replaced by “its”. Also, I think that the sentence can be reworded or separated into different sentences, because it can be a little hard to read. Maybe make it like

It wasn’t its fault they fell victim to the heady, manipulative scent leaking from its opening buds. It wasn’t its fault they got too close to its toxic vines, trees, bushes, all the many bodies of its one mind, the many limbs that it could bend to its will.

another thing is that you outline pippa and olive's characters so well in their actions and thoughts, and barely any dialogue. Pippa's personality is shown using her doubts, her questions, and her actions (like gripping Olive's hand). Olive's personality is shown by their desire to continue into the forest.

i also love the stylistic choices you used for this story! using ellipses (…) to indicate hesitation is very cool, and your use of italics is also awesome (it gives an emphasis)! I also really like the paragraph structures.

One thing I would also love to see is more interactions between the twins, like “twin telepathy” in a way? It feels strange that the twins don't interact, but that might be what you were trying to accomplish haha

the only reason that they enter the forest is because of the dare, which I think is overrused. maybe they were playing in the forest but stayed after dusk, and the forest “changed”?

i also really enjoy some of the terms used in this piece! I like “hive-mind,” and “playground” the most!

It would be cool to see Olive and Pippa fight against the forest (like struggling to get up and trying to run away and then the forest entangling them with its roots/vines). This was based off your feedback, so thank you!!

this is all the feedback I have for you, I really loved reading this!! the last three paragraphs are giving me chills, and i'm enraptured by the ending. great job, i would love to read more <3

free space

Daily 7/24 (112 words) - Write a blurb on a story you’re writing!

Life goes on in the city; day by day, night by night. But hidden in bustling traffic and coffee shops is something beyond anyone's vision. Beneath bookstores and bowls of soup, a story is formed. Noah dreams of leaving the city. His job is mentally demanding, and every day is followed by another sleepless night. On his roommate's birthday, something changes. Whether it be the interactions between strangers or his daydreams coming back, he learns to love the city. Everybody he meets has their own unique story; but what matters is how we each affect them. Our stories are interwoven, converging, diverging, and beautiful. And still, life goes on in the city.

(This is for my writing comp entry!)

so! first of all, i love the premise - it's unique and conveys a lot with a few words :starstruck: you emotions are also very well formed - most of what i have to say just has to do with a few lines here and there <3

Of course, the city didn’t wake up, as it was never asleep; it simply arose from a temporary dormancy.

okay so this line seems slightly out of place - it kind of breaks the flow? maybe instead of the second half about temporary dormancy you could add something about like partying at night or loud cars and now noah hates those

He let out a sigh; another day, another restless night. Every day was mentally draining. Every day recycled the same formula: waking, working, worrying, and wasting.

Noah got out of bed, opened the curtains, and stood there, the sun’s rays hitting the dirty window and illuminating the awakening city. He should’ve been enthralled, but he wasn’t. Everybody dreams of living in a city - who dreams of leaving it?

love these lines, they really set the scene well and show noah's emotions <33 i especially love the question at the end to show the theme of the story

Noah took a deep breath. I can do this. What does one more day have on me?

just a stylistic thing - i would probably put his thoughts in italics to make that more clear

(if you could call it one) by six.

hm okay you didn't describe the apartment in any sense before this, so i'd either describe the apartment a bit and describe like cramped conditions or something, or just take out the part in parenthesis

Noah had no trouble blending in. In a city of strangers, nobody really knew anyone.

these lines are again so good in adding to the tone of the story <33

He breathed in the cool morning air, and started coughing.

this is reallyy nitpicky but cool morning air kind of brings to mind meadows and rain, not smog and dirt, so you might want to change it like smokey morning air or something of the sort

Oh my gosh. I can’t take this anymore.

probably italics would be good again here hehe

He bumped into another stranger and was pushed aside by her sprint

this sentence is worded a bit awkwardly - you could either cut out the last three words or reword it like “he bumped into someone sprinting by” or something

its hands forming a symbol

does the clock symbol have any significance to the story? it doesn't seem to have much relevance :eyes:

The moment was nice; it didn’t last, but that’s what moments are.

okay so if i'm interpreting the story correcting it's noah slowly adjusting to the city? i think you do a good job of that but it's a littlee abrupt here - maybe you could change the part about that's what moments are to like “he wasn't expecting it to” just to make the change a bit more gradual

She was gone before he could react. Okay, what? Wow. That’s new. Interesting.

But he smiled inside.

aa love this whole section :pleading: it shows the change in noah subtly and i love the thing about raindrops and all that and same with the part after this one! the change is done well, and i love the character dynamic between snow and noah

the ending also! it ties together so nicely, and i love the hopeful tone - i was definitely left with a warm sort of feeling after finishing reading, especially around the nostalgia soup part <3 even if people aren't working in the city i think even high schoolers can relate to that feeling. the one thing i will say - the inserts about delilah and laramie are a bit…sudden, especially on the first read-through. you might want to work on the flow around those parts, and since you have the words left over to play around with some stuff, you could maybe even have their stories tie together at the end? idk it's just a quick idea but there are a ton of other possibilities - the idea of adding their inserts is really cool, as is making a point about never knowing what's going on in a stranger's life overall i loved it!! you have multiple themes tying together very nicely, there are just a few flow and syntax things to touch up. tysm for asking me to read and critique this, and good luck in the writing comp!

Daily 7/28 Choose and complete a daily suggested by someone else

Sandy-Dunes suggested this daily:
Today marks the 109th year since the start of World War One - write 300 words of fiction or nonfiction about a groundbreaking historical event!
I chose WWI, because I haven't really learned about it, and it seems very interesting!

life in the trenches is tough.

you would think that, right?

i mean, the constant anticipation of something is enough to drive you mad.

all the time is consisted in two parts: waiting, and attacking - and neither is good.

people starve, you know. i've seen my friends die in front of me. i never wanted for this to happen.

rations are rough. you get sick of eating the same gunk every day, and food is important. food is your comfort, the thing that grounds you.

but with the same food, there is no more point of food.

sometimes i think that dying would be better. what would the afterlife be like?

i never wanted for the war to happen. why are we fighting the war that we didn't declare? why are we fighting the war for others?

i don't want to be a hero. i want to go home. shame fills me when i think about this. does that make me a coward? i should be ashamed of myself.

who cares about germany, montenegro, serbia? i know that the only thing i care about is my family. and i want to leave. but i can't.

even if i did leave, my conscience could never handle this. my friends, my comrades are fighting for me. but are they fighting for me if i don't believe in my country? deserters are the worst of the worst, the trash of the streets. and to think about being one, to want to be one makes me one, doesn't it?

and one day, everything happens.

i leave. i walk out. the commander is yelling at me to come back. but i can't anymore. not when i'm fighting against the enemy. and i am the enemy.

the warning signal of the shelling starts, but it's too late. i'm in no man's land.

sweet, beautiful sleep embraces me as the world goes dark.

Daily 7/29 - Make a lasagna for a polar bear using 5 aspects suggested by different people!
Lesson: Selflessness can really be selfishness in disguise (smalltoe)
Antagonist: Mentor figure (lizard-breath)
Dialogue: “and that's when I completely lost it.” (opheliio)
Turning Point: a character loses control (MoonlitSeas)
Worldbuilding: Island in the sky (PixelDucko)

He fell off at the age of 46.

We wonder what's below us. We wonder what the vast plain of blue is. All we ever know is … wonder. Well, there is little else you can do on a floating island civilization. At least for me.

My mentor picked me for my passion, my desire, my flame. And everything changed.

We started with the qualities of air - what air particles “do”, how they vibrate, how they reflect.

Then we moved on to wind - and then the atmosphere.

It was when I was 16 when I finally learned how to fly. I had mastered the power of flight, and I could be the first one to explore the unknown below us. My mentor was proud, knowing that I could accomplish what he had never dreamed of doing. The look in his eyes were enigmatic.

The air has been such a huge part of me, I don't know if I could live without it (figuratively).

And then it happened. The day had come, the community had come to see me explore the blue, to help us escape. I was their saviour, and I was the youngest, the prodigy, the airbender.

They chanted my name, and I began to lift up. My brain whirred with concentration, and everything started fitting in.

But something was wrong that day - whether it was the heat of the moment or the unrelenting chanting.

And that's when I completely lost it. I just couldn't, and I fell down. Down, down, onto the grassy floor.

The spectators gasped, and my mentor rushed over.

“What did you do? I thought you were good at this. You are better than this.” He pushed me up, and I tried again.

My blood pumped to my head, and I was getting dizzy - I couldn't do it.

"Come on!! You have to do this.“ My mentor yelled encouragingly, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't.

He pushed me up, and no matter what I did, I couldn't.

The look in my mentor's eyes were worse than disappointment - they were fury. ”I've tried my WHOLE life to do this, and I've spent ALL my remaining years asking for you to do what I couldn't. YOU EMBARRASSED ME. I thought you could do this. I supported you the whole time, I encouraged you, I was like your father. And you still disappoint me."

Then he jumped off.

7/27 Daily - 3 Word Stories

This is my favorite that I participated in!

teacups and trinkets
clash and clatter
on the ground
causing a ruckus
and emitting a
pale blue glow
that illuminates the
dark tiled floor

shards of ceramic
are strewn throughout
like spiraling mosaics
twisting my mind
into countless fragments

critique for cae's writing contest entry
hi, thanks for understanding!! here's the final critique! :DD

first, i really love how you explained about the cold – i think it's very insightful and cool (pun unintended)!!

I really like your writing style, it's really unique and I love it!! the vocabulary is used very well and i love the literal science definitions.

like i said earlier, it would really help to break up your paragraphs! you don't have to do this - i think it just makes the flow of the story better and makes it easier to read. for example, you can write your piece like this:

Opening the car door I was immediately struck by the immobile nature of the cold.
In its hottest form water bubbles and boils madly, inevitably losing its connection to the earth’s surface and expanding outward towards the vastness of existence.
Cold water is stagnant, unmoving and rigid.
Hailing from the sweltering heat of Mississippi I was far more accustomed to the former.
Despite my apprehension, I found myself struck by the picturesque beauty of Vermont.

or

Opening the car door I was immediately struck by the immobile nature of the cold.

In its hottest form water bubbles and boils madly, inevitably losing its connection to the earth’s surface and expanding outward towards the vastness of existence. Cold water is stagnant, unmoving and rigid. Hailing from the sweltering heat of Mississippi I was far more accustomed to the former.

Despite my apprehension, I found myself struck by the picturesque beauty of Vermont.

it can be anything you want it to be

also, i think it would help if you shortened some of the sentences!!
for example, “In its hottest form water bubbles and boils madly, inevitably losing its connection to the earth’s surface and expanding outward towards the vastness of existence. ” can be “In its hottest form water bubbles and boils madly. Inevitably losing its connection to the earth's surface whilst forever expanding towards the vastness of existence.” (i think the “outwards” is redundant because it can already be inferred!).
Another example is “The green mountain state’s breathtaking landscape had long ago abandoned any prospect of symmetry and instead allowed nature to run its wild course,” which can be “The green mountain state's breathtaking landscape had long ago abandoned any prospect of symmetry. Instead, it allowed nature it run its wild course.” You can also separate sentences by using hypens (-), semicolons (;), or commas!! (By the way, Green Mountain State can be capitalized!)

like i said before, there can be commas after some phrases, such as “Opening the car door,” “In its hottest form,” “heat of Mississippi,” “usual circumspect nature,” “claimed to be intrepid,” “at this point,” “love at first sight,” “when I was with her,” “with my patience wearing thin,” “until this point,” “not one sunset,” and “in reality”! (this is very nitpicky ahaha)

I love how you describe the scenery in Vermont - especially using sight! I would also use the other senses to make the scene feel more real, like “I breathed in the cool morning air,” or “I smelt the damp, musky earth” or “wind whistled through me”. But you already do a good job of this!!

Another thing - I think the description of the narrator explaining why they visited Vermont feels a bit excessive. You could maybe combine/cut some details from the “despite my usual circumspect nature” and “while i never claimed to be intrepid” sentences!

For this sentence, “The retreat consisted of a small and intimate group of individuals who I would get to understand very deeply,” you can cut the words after “individuals,” because they already are suggested from the word “intimate”!

I find my love for her in the warmth that spreads across my cheeks in her presence. I see it in the little cloud produced by her warm breath in the cold air. I feel my affection in the celerity of my heart rate and the alacrity of my spirit.

I LOVE THIS PART!!!

It would not be fair to say it was love at first sight for sight played almost no part in our connection. The extent of my attraction would be just as strong had I been blind all of my life. The attire worn in such harsh conditions cloaks any physical beauty, forcing the beholder to look a little deeper.

I think the first two sentences are sort-of contrasting to what the third sentence suggests, because sight would be required to see the physical beauty. maybe you can change the first two sentences to about how irrational falling in love is, or maybe how “love at first sight” is actually just “lust at first sight”.

“I yearned for endless nights with my new favorite companion.” okay, this is very biased, but for some reason “new favorite companion” sounds off, like it refers to a friend or like a pet (idk anymore). maybe you could replace that with “her” or “those beautiful eyes” or something like that haha

“It was a near perfect winter evening when we went on our first date.” this is also very biased, but “date” reminds me of slang? you could perhaps use “when we first went out together” or something similar to that?

“The sun hung low in the sky and she hurried me along, fearing we wouldn’t make it before sunset.” the second part i think is redundant, because “hurried me along” already suggests that.

She has shown me to a place where the line between earth and sky is blurred. A huge expanse of ice stretches out in front of us reflecting the sky back up to the heavens. Together we watch not one sunset but two as the sun and her reflection meet on the horizon.

this is just so beautiful, i love this so much <33

“Shatter is actually a very apt term to use here as that is exactly what the ice did when I foolishly ventured too far from the shoreline.” last thing to note!! in my opinion, this sentence can be shortened to make it more dramatic (for example, “shatter is an apt term when I foolishly ventured too far from the shoreline”), but i think what you did there is also pretty cool.

Heat exists as a byproduct of energy while cold is simply a lack of heat. It may feel like the cold is penetrating every part of my body, my whole being. In reality it is the heat that is abandoning me. Trying pointlessly to share its warmth with the entire expanse of the world.

OMG THIS ENDING IS LITERALLY SO GOOD like it's so poetic and amazing!! the only thing i would to is to combine the last two sentences like “In reality, it is the heat that is abandoning me, pointlessly trying to share its warmth with the entire expanse of the world.”

general thoughts!! this piece was so wonderfully and amazingly written – again, i love your style. the facts about heat is so insightful. if you want to lengthen the piece, i recommend maybe writing about how the two lovers meet at first! I really love this piece, you are so amazing at this <33

Word War with freeIy 7/31!
My story ended right where it began. I was about to begin writing my novel, but finally when I started to write it, I gave up. But then I thought about all the friends I made along the way, all the pieces that I wrote that made me grow. I thought about everything that I had to sacrifice just to get here, and that was all I needed to start writing this story. Then, I remember my friends that I don’t have anymore, the friends I have that are not here. I remember the first time I met them. They guided me along the way, and they helped me so far. I remember being so sad when they left, and I was not enough for them. And I never will be. So this is why this is the last thing I am writing this session for SWC. Nothing will ever be enough to compensate for all that has happened, so everything I write is for me, and me only. I am dedicating this to the friends I haven’t had a chance to say goodbye. So, goodbye.

memories: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/33415323/comments/#comments-230295767

complete word/cabin war collection!!!
beware: may contain typos, gibberish, and sentences that are a bit interesting

Has anyone ever told you that you’re not human? Was the first thing that I head when I woke up this morning. It was a very bright day and the sun was out and I aws feeling very tired. I went down and this was what my sister said. I told her that she had to be kidding me. And she said that she was not, and that I was actually an adopted alien from Saturn. Like what?? What was she even going on? I did not know what had happened and I kept accusing her of lying and tricking me. She kept saying that it was true, and then I finally gave in. I asked her how I got here, and where my real parents where. She said that I got here when I was born, my parents were aliens from a plane to Earth, and they were seeking refugee here. But unfortunately, the parents had to leave because they did not have passports, so they left me here in hopes that I would be able to find my future on Earth. I was very confused. So where are they now? I asked her. SHe said that they were on Neptune and they would be able to visit in 5 years when their passports could be renewed. I was shocked. Then why do I look like a human and not a green alien? My sister accused me of stereotypes and she said that the “aliens” looked like humans as well. I still did not believe a word she said, so I went to school by myself that day. I told my best friends about the encounter, and they laughed with me. How weird! Then I went to chemistry, where we did potions. Lastly, I went to astronomy where we were talking about aliens. How funny! My teacher was talking to us and I was not listening but then he said something about a theory that there were human-like aliens from Neptune, and that caught me. I was shocked. I asked him about it, and he said that it was true.

We were falling…falling…falling.. Into the ocean. The abyss that we fell through led to the ocean where there were many sharks that were very hungry below. I was very scared because I did not want to die and my friend Katy was screaming. When we fell, we hit the sea very hard. Waves splashed everywhere and I thought I saw a fish jump out of the ocean in fear when it saw us. I was very hurt and I did not want to eat anything anymore. I checked on Katy as I went to the surface and she was okay. I started swimming around and saw that the fish from before was a rainbow fish with many scales and it was very scared of us. I tried to comfort it but then it swam away. Then all of a sudden it started raining. I did not know how we survived such a big fall but it was a miracle and I was alive. I started heading to shore before a storm could form and Katy followed. She was very shaken but okay. We reached shore after a few minutes and we tried to see if anyone was around and we saw a hut nearby.


It was almost midnight. The clock was ticking ominously and Nelly was very tired. She had been working all day and was doing her science homework. She was very bad at science, like biology and physics. Her worst part was definitely chemistry so she always had to stay up super late to get the work done. When she was finally done, the clock struck exactly midnight. “Wow, already? I am done so early today!” Her sleep schedule was messed up because every day yielded different work for her to do and she had to sleep at various times including ten pm, 10 am, and 2:58 am. She was excited to finish her work and went to her bed as the grandfather clock struck 12 times. She collapsed into her bed and set the alarm for tomorrow. Nelly slept within two seconds. Little did she know, something evil was brewing under her house…
Under her house, there was nothing different. Just pipes, plumbing, sewage, and soil. Except, under her house, there was a rabbit hole. The rabbit hole was, at first glance, ordinary. Nothing different, it was nondescript. Except, the rabbits living there were actually able to talk! They could speak “Human,” as they called it. The rabbit family had four rabbits. Three females and one male. They were very smart and were hatching an evil plan. The rabbits had been looking into Nelly’s house for the past couple of days and were noticing a pattern of her sleeping late. So one day, when one of the rabbits, Pam, saw Nelly go to bed, she gave the signal for the rest of the rabbits to start their super evil plan. “Wow, so soon?” said Pom-Pom, one of the other rabbits. Pam nodded, and the rabbits hopped out in a single-file line, determined to start their plan. Pav, the male rabbit, was at the back, and the rabbit at the front was Plum, the last remaining rabbit. She was very tall and could easily open the window from the outside by jumping, standing on the ledge, and reaching out by grabbing the window handle. The others, especially Pom-Pom, were very impressed. Phase one of the plan was complete! As the rabbits hopped into the house, Plum remained outside to act as a lookout in case any humans saw their very suspicious activity. Pam led the way into Nelly’s bedroom, but along the way, Pom-Pom said that “I’m hungry.” and went into the kitchen to grab some food (Nelly was vegan so they could eat the same food that she did). Pav sighed and followed Pam into Nelly’s room. They opened the door without it creaking, thankfully. Then, they saw Nelly, who was snoring so much that the rabbits could not balance for more than a few seconds without the floor vibrating and knocking them off balance and making them topple to the ground. Pav was so unmotivated that he went out because he had motion sickness and did not want to puke in her house. Now Pam was the only one left to complete the perilous mission. Pam sighed, because she did not think that she could be able to do this without the help of her bunny friends, but took a deep breath. She reassured herself, thought positive thoughts, and slowly but surely, crawled up to Nelly’s bed and jumped up (with a bit of struggle). She climbed onto the pillow where Nelly’s head lay. Then, to finish the mission once and for all, she hopped into Nelly’s arms. Nelly squeezed tightly, and Pam had trouble breathing. Nelly hugged Pam, her stuffed rabbit, and continued her sleep (this time, with more comfort). The mission was done.

Unfortunately, I’d never learned to drive. And there I was on the highway speeding at 60 miles per hour and nobody else in the car. Then I looked down and saw that there was a cat by my feet. I was panicking because I did not know what to do and how I even ended up here. I don’t know how to drive a car, yet I was still very good and not hitting anything. The cat at my feet was white, very furry, and it was sleeping. Where was I? Who had this car? I did not know because I do not own any car, and none of my parents have one either. I continued to drive and took a deep breath. Approaching me was an exit for a park. I slowly exited the highway and stopped the car. The cat was awake. I opened the car door and saw that I was back in my room at my house. What? I woke up. It was all a bad dream. I sighed in relief. Downstairs, my mom was making breakfast. When I changed and went down, I saw the same cat as before. We did not even have a cat. What is happening? I asked my mom what cat that was? And she said that it was her friend’s cat and she was staying here.

The cat was very hungry. It was a very normal summer night and there was no one else in the house where the cat lived in. The cat was lonely and did not have anyone to talk to besides her human owners, but they were always busy on some vacation or work. The cat decided to get her own food instead of waiting for the humans. She padded over to the kitchen, which was very big but dirty. Her owners were dirty rich and they lived in a 2-storey mansion located near the beach. The kitchen had a chandelier and it was the smallest room in the house, only being the size of a fast food restaurant. It took the cat a few minutes to find the fridge because of the big size of the kitchen. The fridge was stocked with food. The cat knew this, and reached up, grabbed the handle, and opened the fridge. Inside the fridge was a food heaven. The foods were numerous, including grapes, pasta, spaghetti, jelly, and so much more. The cat looked up and saw her favorite food, cheese. Specifically, goat cheese. The cat was in luck! She pounced up, reached the cheese, grabbed, and crashed into the door. All the food items in the door fell down, and now the floor was a big mess. There was so much food on the floor and almost no time to clean it, as the garage door started opening as soon as the items fell. The cat panicked. If the humans knew what had happened, they would put her in the streets. She hurriedly grabbed a paper towel nearby and began to frantically sweep the ground before the humans entered. There was a big spill of red because of the pasta, and that took the most time. When the humans opened the door, the cat was almost done. The only thing left was the paper towel with all the food. She decided to eat it, close the door, and everything was fine.

You know we love you, but when it comes to cards.. I am not very sure. You always gamble so much, you could gamble your life away. Sometime you waste your time playing cards ang get angry wehny you lose, and sometimes you win and get so happy that you get drunk and then you get sad again. I love you, but I am not sure of what to do sometimes. I want to leave you and hug you in the same time. I want to hug you and kill you at the same time. So that is why I need to do something. Tomorrow, no more cards. I will be hiding all the cards in this house. You need to change, and I am helping you. You need a nmew life, a better life, before it is too late. I do not care whether you are going to be sad and angry, because theis is for the best of you. And just know that I love you and that is enough.

The next day happened, and everything changed. You were so angry. You tried to hurt me. Just know that this is for your own good, and everything will be okay. Everything will be fine, and you need to trust me. Cards are bad for you. Cards do not do anything well for you. And one day you will realize what I did for you, and you will thank me. And I am waiting for that day to come.

THe people lived in the village peacefully. Nothing ever went wrong. No bad guys, no jail, no robbers. Everything was perfect in the small town. Nothing ever changed, and everything stayed the same. Every day was the same.

Sam was sick of this. She was bored. Being a very active girl, nothing ever happening made her very mad. So she decided to do something. “I will start the end of this maddening boredom!” She declared to her pet cat Luna, and walked outside the door, about to cause chaos to the whole town. First, her neighbor, an elderly man named Bob, was watering his plants with a hose. She started taunting him. “Hey you! Don’t you have anything better to do than just stand there giving your random plants water? Is that what your life is all about? Sucks for you! HAHAHHAHAHAHA!!” She yelled. Bob, being a very peaceful man, like many other residents, just shrugged and continued watering. He had thought about spraying her with the hose, but thought better of it. He was a teenager a century ago, and that was what he was like, too. He did not want to make enemies with her as well. Sam was surprised, but started down the street in search of her next victims to trouble. She spotted a middle aged lady walking her baby in a stroller. Sam started waving to the baby and walked up close to them. “Why, what a nice baby you have! He looks like a cuddly scarecrow.” She started grabbing the toy out of the baby’s hand. The baby started crying. The lady, shocked, said “How dare you! What are you doing? Give that back at once!” Sam shrugged and left.

At least she had caused more havoc! Smiling, she started down the street into the park where lots of people were talking. She saw a man. The man was old as well, and he was playing chess with his friends. It looked like he was winning by the smile on his face (Sam did not play chess, so she did not really know who was winning). Sam ran up to the man, waved her hand, and struck all the chess pieces to the ground. She stuck up her tongue and left the man and his opponent in shock. The other people in the park were also looking at her. Someone said “Call the cops on the girl!” Sam was shocked. She had hoped to cause people trouble without allerting the cops, and she thought it would never come down to this. But then she relaxed. Their town was so peaceful, that they did not even have a police station or any policemen. She was safe. She ran out of the park before anyone could chase her. Sam decided to go home. That was enough trouble for the day, and she had better go home before her mom finished making dinner. When she opened her front door, someone she did not expect opened it for her. It was Bob. “What are you doing here? You have never been in our house before. Are you robbing us?” Bob chuckled and said “Do not worry young one, I am here with your mother. We were talking!” Sam was surprised. Why was he talking with her mom when she just insulted him? Maybe he was tattling on her. “Are you telling my mom what I just did?” She asked. Bob shook his head, and closed the door as Sam walked in.

Sam walked to the dining room. Mom was making pasta for dinner, and it smelled good. She womnderd where her dad was. He should be home from work by now, as it was getting late in the night. And then the bell rang. It was her dad! She opened it, and she saw a horde of villagers, with fire. They were gathering around the house, and she saw some of them holding signs. “Uh, mom? You might want to see this.” Mom and Bob walked to the door, and they gasped. The villagers were not happy. They were chanting many phrases that were not very nice, and they were also threatening to burn the house down. Sam noticed lots of people she knew, like the chess man, and the mom with her baby. She also even noticed her friends from school! She felt hurt. She always thought her friends would support her, no matter what. Now she knew that the friends were actually very bad and mean and were evil. Sam said things about how she did not mean everything and that she was sorry, but the villagers were not happy. They continued to crowd the house, and even more came. She did not even know there were that many people living in the town. She was about to call the police, but she realized that there was no police. She was done for. She went back to the house to pack her things, when all of a sudden, the dad came to the house. He was very tired, but when he saw the crowd, he knew that something had gone wrong for them. He pushed through and made his way to the door, where he helped Sam and comforted her. He said “Sorry all of you! I will make this up by making all of you pizza.” The crowd were confused, then they cheered. Everybody in town loved the dad’s pizza. It was very famous, and people were wanting the recipe for years. They started to leave the home, and Sam started to relax. It was all right! She knew never to do this again, and sometimes maybe nothing happening could be resolved by doing good instead of doing bad. She smiled, and ate the mom’s pizza as she talked with her mom, her dad, and Bob about the day. Sam was a different person. She was good now, and it was a happy ending.

My story ended right where it began. You see, after I had completed my script for school, I thought I was all done. I thought that I was finished with college, but little did I know that the script was the thing that started my next story. The script I wrote was a far-away fantasy land where the hero and the heroine work together and use the elements. The next day after I finished the script, I woke up as the heroine. I was so confused - was this a dream? But little did I know that that was the start of my adventure. And I could not leave without finishing. Here I am, still in this fantasy land, still waiting - dreaming for the day where I can return home. Every day, I think of the time with my friends, family, and where I had fun. And I realized how much I miss my home and how much I want to go back. But I need to complete the quest. The hero is alongside me, and every day we hike across the land to get to the villain’s lair and help her come back to her true form. Every day I think about the consequences of failing, but I realize that it’s the journey to get there.

Wow, your art is so cool!
What are you talking about?
This was how my morning went with my best friend Katie. I woke up and made it to school on time, but this was the first thing she greeted me with. I don’t even draw or paint!
I mean, haven’t you seen the portrait that you drew? It is viral!
I was so confused, but I decided to investigate further, was somebody setting me up? Iw as so curious.
What portrait?
She showed me a picture on her phone of a portrait of a random person.
“Who is that?” I asked, and Katie was shocked.
“How do you not know?” She said. “That is you!”
“What”? I do not look like that, what on earth are you talking about?
The person was a girl with a blonde ponytail, and she had glasses. I did not have any of those, but when I looked in the mirror of the bathroom, I was shocked. That was exactly what I looked like.
“How? DId I always look like this?” I asked to myself. I was so sad.

The walls speak suspicious words. They say that I am very evil and am plotting to overthrow the world. I’m really confused why I am hearing them, so I decide to investigate. I walk through the door into my room and record a device with my phone so I can hear them constantly. I am very eager to find out what they are saying that I do not even go to slepe. I also use a seismic activity sensor to help me with my science project of the walls. Yes, I decided to use this for my science fair. Do not judge me. Finally, I woke up from the sleepless night and I played the recoridngs. I heard static all of the time. I was sad, until I heard a whispering at the end. There was nothing at first, so I turned up the volume. THen I heard it: “You will fail your science project. Nobody will believe you.” Spooked, I called my parents up and told them about what I had heard from the walls. They tried to held and contacted people. They waere worried about me so I comforted them. THe next day, people came and they opened the walls. They found out that it had a rare element.

The walls speak suspicious words. They whisper to me at night and say weird things, like that the moon is made of cheese and that Taylor Swift is a bad singer. I do not trust them. They always lie to me and I do not know what to do about it. Oh, and also I do not know why they are like this in the first place. It is very weird. I ask my friends and they think that I am lying and they laugh at me. I am sad about it, so I ask my sister. She says that she has not heard the walls, and that I should go to the doctor. I ask my parents, and they say the same thing. They seem worried for me, but I am fine. At night, I went to investigate. I talk to the walls, but they do not reply. They are saying that Netflix is very bad, which I do not know about. I cut open the walls using scissors, but inside, there is nobody. I walk around the frame of the house after I cut the hole, and then I see a monkey inside of the wall. The monkey has ea;uigs and is talking to another man behind a curtain. It was the Wizard Of Oz? I was so confused. They looked at me, gasped, and disappeared. I never heard the walls speaking ever again, and that was the end of the weird mystery that I dreamt about yesterday night.

My story ended right where it began. I was about to begin writing my novel, but finally when I started to write it, I gave up. But then I thought about all the friends I made along the way, all the pieces that I wrote that made me grow. I thought about everything that I had to sacrifice just to get here, and that was all I needed to start writing this story. Then, I remember my friends that I don’t have anymore, the friends I have that are not here. I remember the first time I met them. They guided me along the way, and they helped me so far. I remember being so sad when they left, and I was not enough for them. And I never will be. So this is why this is the last thing I am writing this session for SWC. Nothing will ever be enough to compensate for all that has happened, so everything I write is for me, and me only. I am dedicating this to the friends I haven’t had a chance to say goodbye. So, goodbye.

thank you notes <3