The day her brakes failed was the day my life came to a standstill. She was rushed to the hospital, operated on, put in some care unit that had her hooked up to dozens of different beeping machines and fluid-carrying tubes. I wasn’t allowed in the room at first. Had to look at her through…
Author: Philip
Green-gray
The world was tinted green-gray as Kale stared out from behind the polarized lenses of his sunglasses. The leaves in the trees were rustling, vocalizing wordless songs and sharing them with him, should he care to listen. Perhaps this all would’ve been beautiful enough without her, but seeing Celia on the swing, knees up against…
Don’t Say the Word
The room drowned in silence as Paul approached me. I’d known him for years since he was my girlfriend’s brother, but I didn’t understand the look on his face – the intense sorrow in his eyes, the way his lips quivered and his hands shook. “Nate.” It sounded painful for him to say. His voice…
The Day He Saw the Helicopter
The view out of the seventh floor meeting room window was of skyscrapers against a backdrop of sky so cerulean that it looked like the ocean had changed places with the heavens. It would’ve been so much better to be out there in the beautiful spring weather. Perhaps riding around with the windows down, his…
Creation
Morgan’s hair was streaked pink and blue and blonde that morning. It looked like cotton candy or bubble gum or birthday party streamers. Cal had seen her the day before when her hair had been all one color – bright red, but still one color. He would’ve been more surprised if her hair stayed the…
I Will Take Time
It has been four months since I’ve last seen her, and her absence is like a crater in my heart. At night, I lay awake staring at the ceiling and feeling phantom sensations of her fingertips running across my chest and the warmth of her breath condensing on my neck. I feel like half of…
Judging
I wish I could get inside your head, See the world from the goggles of your judgement, Part the weave into threads, See what makes you treat others like dirt, Take it all apart and find out why you always feel so hurt. Why do you bicker? Why do you start fights and condemn? With…
Chapter 1 – Narrator: ??? – Add ‘Em Up and Knock ‘Em Down
This is a rewritten version of the prologue of my first novel, “We Put the ‘Dual’ in ‘Individual.’” “Bet you wish you’d been quiet earlier, don’t ya?” the man said from the front of the van. I couldn’t tell if I sensed sadistic glee or annoyance in his voice, but either way, I didn’t…
The Highers and the Lessers
“He broke one of the only rules we cherish more than our own vanity,” Onel said. He deftly raised his hand and slicked back his short black hair. “Your own vanity,” Twinel corrected him. Onel shot her a stare that she scoffed at, but it only made him grin wider. “He has to be punished,”…
Hiding, Part 2
“Why are you following me?” Melody asked. “I’m in your next class too, you know,” Ian said. Melody, in fact, did not know. “Oh.” She wanted to listen to her music and ignore this guy, but it was too weird, and he had this sneaking suspicion that something was off about her already. This was…