Ashley Lima
Bio
I think about writing more than I write, but call myself a writer as opposed to a thinker.
Stories (169/0)
Backyard Blues
The ground was cold beneath me. I could feel the morning dew beginning to arrive as it tickled my skin. The gray of dawn set upon me and all I could think about was the fact that I wasn’t supposed to be here. I don’t feel like I’m supposed to be anywhere anymore.
By Ashley Lima2 years ago in Fiction
Companion
I’ll never get him back. My sweet Mochi, gone forever. He snuck out the shoji this morning and now it’s night over the countryside. He always comes back at nighttime. Every time I hear the bamboo rustling in the yard I check to see if he’s making his way home, but it’s always the wind. Rei has been taking care of me through my grief. She’s been swearing up and down that Mochi will make a reappearance, but I’m not so sure.
By Ashley Lima2 years ago in Fiction
Oral Traditions
My breath was racing as I tore down through the woods I called home. My rifle was slung over my back and I could hear the steps of the pack gaining on me. The cut on my leg was oozing dark blood but I couldn't feel the pain through the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. Just a little farther and I'd reach the cabin. I just didn't know if I could make it. Man is no competition for starving wolves. I didn't have enough bullets to take them all on. Plus, I respected their livelihoods more than that. If I had prey to feed them I would give it up in a heartbeat. But I knew at that moment, I was fixing to be their next meal.
By Ashley Lima2 years ago in Fiction
How Things Change
The seagulls sounded off from the pink skies above. The bench beneath my legs was cold and damp from the brisk dewy morning. I didn’t mind. The waves whispered gentle tunes as they carefully battered the rocky sand on the beachfront. As I sipped at the mug of hot coffee between my fingers, I realized how wrinkly they had become for the first time. They reminded me of my grandmother.
By Ashley Lima2 years ago in Fiction
As Tide Falls
“Truth or Dare?” Madeline asked. Her cheeks were pink and warm and there were butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t felt this way about someone in a long time. She didn’t think she’d ever want to be in a serious relationship. At least not yet, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe she just hadn’t found the right guy. That maybe they’d just met.
By Ashley Lima3 years ago in Fiction
One Last Gift
It was a chilly winter Evening in Chicago and Charlotte was dressed from head to toe in black. She sported high-heeled leather boots overtop tight leggings. Her winter coat met the middle of her thigh and her face was shielded by a bulky scarf and knit cap. Her hands were protected from the chilly air by long gloves. She sat with her legs crossed on a bench beneath a bus stop and stared at the apartment building across from the street. Rosewood Plaza was her home last Wednesday. Now she could see the shadow of two bodies entangling by candlelight in the bed she used to lay. They'd only been apart for a week and he already had a new lover.
By Ashley Lima3 years ago in Fiction
Unplanned
I thought you were supposed to feel elation. The deepest form of love in the human experience. Beauty and magic. A biological miracle. But I didn’t feel any of those emotions. I felt fear. From the moment I watched Star Wars, and Padme died in childbirth, I quaked at the thought of ever falling pregnant. The thought of pushing an eight-pound baby out of my body made me sick to my stomach. I felt embarrassed. Growing up in a conservative Catholic household, pregnancy was supposed to happen strictly between husband and wife. If you weren’t bound by the sanctity of marriage, it was an abomination. Even my entirely pro-life father suggested abortion. Like he wanted me to get one. I didn’t. I felt alone. Though half of the world has the opportunity to go through this experience, I had no one to talk to about it. Between my parent’s disappointment and the fact that I was twenty-one and unmarried, no one understood why I would want to “give up my youth”. I didn’t seem like the type to ever have children. And I wasn’t. And I didn’t want to. I needed to.
By Ashley Lima3 years ago in Confessions
The Bee's Knees
I bought my first camera at 16 - I still use it to this day. It took me 3 months to save up at my first minimum wage job. My parents discouraged me from getting it, saying it would be a waste of money. That it was too expensive and I should save for my future. I stand by the fact that spending that money paved the way for my future. I have never stopped taking pictures.
By Ashley Lima3 years ago in Earth
Climate Change and Who to Blame?
We do need to make effort to be as green as possible. We should recycle our cardboard, plastic, and aluminum. We should use paper and reusable bags instead of plastic. We should limit our use of straws or trade them out for paper ones. We should avoid mass consumption of unnecessary items. However, at the end of the day, this crisis is not our fault. Why does it seem as though all of the pressure is put on little people to make a change? Sometimes we have no choice in the matter. We use what is available to us because they're the only options we have.
By Ashley Lima3 years ago in Earth