Alyssa Nicole
Bio
A toxicologist who secretly hopes to be a full-time author. One novel in progress with too many other ideas taking up space in my head until I get around to writing them. Some of those ideas end up here.
Instagram: @alyssa.n.mussowrites
Achievements (1)
Stories (32/0)
Taken
The steady rumble of an engine eased her awake, but the harsh vibrations of her body against an unforgiving surface jolted her back to reality. Anna’s eyes shot open to darkness. Panic spread through her veins like wildfire. Anna struggled to move, her limbs burning. A quick jerk forced her head against the floor, knocking a memory loose. An image of a man standing in the dim lighting of the parking garage flashed before her. Anna didn’t recognize the man. He was wearing a black ski mask, but his icy blue eyes pierced through her, even now in her mind.
By Alyssa Nicoleabout a year ago in Fiction
Floating
I am floating. I am floating, but not on the surface. I am floating, weightlessly suspended in the depths of the frigid ocean. The darkness surrounds me, envelops my soul. It is where I will be kept for eternity. Entombed forever in the waters of this beautiful earth. Rays of light from the heavens above shimmer around me. Wisps of my hair flow effortlessly in the current.
By Alyssa Nicoleabout a year ago in Fiction
Dream Clouds
Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Every night, Nephele watched the hues of amethyst, lilac, and violet swirl against a sparkling sky of jewels. The clouds floated through Nephele's open bedroom window facing the Ionian Sea, their wispy arms cradling her as she drifted off to sleep. Hugging her cherished childhood doll to her chest, Nephele closed her eyes and trusted the clouds. As they lulled her into her dreams, she knew this was her best chance of seeing her mother.
By Alyssa Nicoleabout a year ago in Fiction
Symphonies of the Sea
On a gray April morning, the carriage bounced and jostled over the uneven gravel road leading through the countryside from one city to another. Thin wisps of clouds moved gracefully over the rolling hills as Violet admired the beauty of the land. She took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, painting a vivid image she could recall later when she became homesick. Amaranthine fields of lush green grass, strings of white snowdrops and pale yellow primroses, stone cottages entangled in gnarled vines, the bleating of sheep and braying of horses. Violet always preferred the peacefulness of the country over the stifling suffocation of the city. She would miss the natural splendor of the English landscape the most over the next few days. However, she also knew that the sea had its own unique elegance.
By Alyssa Nicole2 years ago in Fiction
Life is for Living
I stand in front of my pantry, staring at all of the non-perishable food items my boyfriend and I had stockpiled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone remembers the uncertainty and the rising panic as the virus quickly became an emerging threat. I remember making late night trips to the grocery store, grabbing whatever I could. I remember driving past overcrowded parking lots, my anxiety spiking just thinking about how many people filled the aisles as necessities disappeared from the shelves. I remember ordering boxes and boxes of food from Amazon to avoid those crowded stores.
By Alyssa Nicole2 years ago in Humans
Disentangling
My grandfather used to have a saying, “Always take care of yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” I heard him say it many times throughout my adolescence, years before I understood the true meaning of self-care. Almost ten years after my grandfather’s death, I am only now realizing the wisdom of his statement. No one ever really teaches us about self-care when we are children or adolescents. We grow up watching our parents and guardians, how they sacrifice so much to take care of us. It seems like they were always so unselfish and never had any time for themselves because they were too busy and too focused on loving us. I looked up to my mother and my grandmother and how they provided for our family, how they took care of everything and everyone before themselves. I aspired to be so caring and unselfish. But is being unselfish really that admirable? I’m not so sure anymore. For me, living unselfishly has led to a lonely and unhappy life, the complete opposite of what I had expected. I am so focused on taking care of others that I have forgotten to take care of the most important person: myself. Over the past year, a variety of things have opened my eyes and have made me realize that I have abandoned myself. I have sacrificed my own independence and self-care, at home and at work. I’ve been living a life according to the expectations of others at the expense of my own happiness. This is the year where I start to take it all back: self-care, independence, and sleep.
By Alyssa Nicole2 years ago in Confessions