E.L. Martin
Bio
Powered by Nature, Humanity, Humor, Food, Lifestyle, Fiction, and Culture; Oh, and a questionable amount of coffee.
Achievements (1)
Stories (114/0)
Miss Marigold
Marjorie looked at the gorgeous golden-orange flower. She felt fearful, anxious, dismal, and dull. Her nerves had been numb for some time. She repressed the urge to burst into tears. How could something so bright and beautiful dare to exist? It was as if the flower was poking out of the ground merely to mock her existence. Where had she gone wrong in her life? What had she done that she could not be this meticulously detailed, vibrant flower, but instead the shell of a human being who was once alive? When did she become a mere cog in the machine?
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
The Quiet Ones
They say my dad never seemed to get angry. The years I spent with him; I never once saw him lash out. It didn't matter if I failed a test in school. It didn't matter how many fights I got in. All he would say to me is, "Johnny, you've got to control your temper. Find an outlet and pursue it."
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
"The Devil's Food"
"That is the devil's food," Mother stated, sneering at a young woman outside of a local coffee shop. I looked at the young woman's plate with envy. I know envy a sin, but at least her mother never deprived her of one of the most supposedly delicious foods in every normal family's culture. A frothed latte sat next to her plate with a slice of chocolate cake. The layered, iced decadence tempted my eyes and made my mouth water despite having no idea what it might taste like. The icing appeared light and fluffy, and appeared to be filled with the devil's own ingredient, cocoa. A coffee or latte was never to touch my lips, but even more adamantly a piece of chocolate cake was never acceptable either. Back in the 1900s the chocolate creation of devil's food cake came into being, and my family had been depriving their children of it ever since. It sounds crazy, and it is. Despite this, I've come to realize many religious families buy into multitudes of delusions.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
The Barns That Built Me
It was a simple life and humble beginning in Appalachia. My father built an old barn way out in the countryside. The barn itself appeared little more than a shack. We lived in a trailer with clean well water. The power went out frequently due to falling trees and weather. I remember making a trip to purchase a generator in a terrible snowstorm because we had no way to run the well pump, and had ran out of the water we saved. The cows, pigs, and horses were always fed, the hay was baled each year, and additions were added onto the barn as income became available.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
Humanity's Extinction
I remember when the world government announced the extermination of humanity within 24 hours. The cause wasn't a meteorite, an extra-terrestrial invasion, or a world-wide nuclear frenzy between countries. It was a conscious decision made by the world government for population control and "the good of the planet." A bioweapon had been engineered to directly obliterate mankind on an atomic level. No corpses or disease would remain from its victims. Their bodies would vanish, and the murder would be as clean as if they never existed in the first place.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Fiction
Dreams and Anxieties
I woke up gasping, fearing for my life. It was yet again another bad dream. It is amazing how waking life can come to bed with you. The mind, amazing in its creation, tries to piece together and foretell the potential outcome of or present an interpretation of your current life situation. Maybe you are being pursued by a stalker, running from something or someone, wrapped in snakes, losing teeth, or falling. If you are someone who remembers their dreams vividly, you will understand what I'm talking about. At some point, we've all experienced it.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
"One Size Fits All" Isn't The Case.
One of my favorite "emo" songs is "Puzzle Pieces" by Framing Hanley. It is an anthem I know well and is a truism for many of us at various points in our lives. There is always somewhere you won't belong even if you force it. The idea of a "One Size Fits All" or "One Size Fits Most" when it comes to life just isn't the case, and it is time to break that stigma. It may work for hats, but life isn't a hat. Even with hats, we all know someone with a big enough head no hat can possibly fit. (I'm talking about ego here.)
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
The Chest's Contents
A foreboding noise came from the locked chest. Though ominous, it made a familiar, comforting sound like a long-lost timepiece. Such ancient technology shouldn't be running at present, right? Very few things were running at all anymore, after all. Yet the chest pounded once more, "tick tock, click clock." The owner recalled a fable she heard as a young child, the story of Pandora's box. She remembered the woman who unleashed the demons into the world. She often wondered if that was her ancestor. Old sayings like, "curiosity killed the cat" were found in what was left of old literature books she noticed scattered in crumbles of buildings. She often wondered if those were true literary novels or the crumpled remnants of a note one wrote to their child or partner in hopes of keeping something secret.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Fiction
Season of Growth and Change
This season will be full of growth and change for Dear Gemini. You may have a new addition to your family in the form of a sibling, pet, child, grandchild, in-law, or friend. You may find yourself developing new interests, discovering interests you didn't know you had, or reinvesting time and energy into the things you once loved. This is a time to shift priorities, focus, and discover your inner self. You will come to a place in your life where the opinions of others won't matter as much as they would have previously. This may be a difficult thing for you to realize. The process may be time-consuming and painful, but it will be for your own long-term benefit. While you may make gains in many areas, you may experience loss in others. The additions in your life will find a way to make up for the subtractions. The items or people you lose will be worth the trade. This will be an unpredictable and tumultuous time, but there will be a part of you that embraces these changes. In embracing these changes, you will grow and improve. In the future, you may even look back on memories of this time with fondness as it will be the time that changed the direction of your life for the better. Like the two sides as the pairing of a Gemini, growth comes with change, and with change comes growth.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans
Are All Geminis this Complicated?
When I found out I was pregnant in September and due in June, I remember crossing my fingers and saying, "Oh, please let this baby be born under Cancer instead of Gemini. I can handle a Cancer zodiac sign, but a Gemini I'm not so sure about. I'll love this baby no matter what, but this could make things difficult. What if we don't get along when they're older? How am I going to raise them without them hating me?" The double-sided nature I had witnessed of the Gemini firsthand in many of my relatives, co-workers, love interests, and supervisors had never gone well for me. It was the sign I wanted to love but seemed to always hurt me. I hated that I jumped to those conclusions and felt that way. I did not want to stereotype, and I certainly didn't want to feel the same pain I felt with others with my child. It sounds crazy, and it is. After all, can the time someone is born really matter that much to their personality and interactions with others? I didn't want to believe so, but my early experiences had unfortunately made me feel otherwise.
By E.L. Martin3 years ago in Humans