Historical
The Ballad of Fa Lan
In the 5th century A.D., the great country of China was in an uproar. The Great Wall had just been completed, but the country and it's people - particularly toward the North - were constantly under seige by their neighboring enemy, the Huns. It had become a common practice for the Huns to invade bordering villages in the night, slaughtering all in their path and stealing young maidens to take as brides. Many villages - with heavy hearts - created pacts with the Hun leaders to give their daughters over willingly, in an effort to spare the rest of their people from death and destruction. Lan's village was no exception.
By Natalie Gray4 years ago in Fiction
Roman Soldier
He had a picture of Mercedes in his hand. She, a national symbol of the Ukrainian woman every young soldier wanted to marry and start a family with in the countryside. Yet she’d been taken away from the electro night clubs filled with house music and used to gain information on a Russian Mail Order bride site. Only the tale of her rescue spread across the frontline with soldiers facing each other, and the risk of coronavirus; the reason their mouths were covered with facemasks.
By Cyrus Emerson4 years ago in Fiction
Amy
Montgomery Smith was ready to die. He even knew how he would want to go. He wasn’t sure when; he could have waited until Sunday evening. Yes, he could do it then, after a weekend of getting ready, though there was not much to get ready for. Dying can’t be that complicated, he would probably succeed on the first try. But what if he somehow talks himself out of it during the weekend? Then he would just go to work on Monday, listening to Hank all day long, Hank, who decided he was Montgomery Smith’s friend even though Montgomery Smith had never given any implication that the feeling would be mutual. At lunchtime, which Montgomery Smith used to spend alone, Hank would be there, following him outside the factory, to his favourite bench in the courtyard, just under the tall tree.
By John H. Knight4 years ago in Fiction
Ages Past
Kha, Head Archeologist of Ptolomy IV, carefully brushed off the stone tablet he had just unearthed, engraved with heiratic script. Nearby, a Blot of Scribes sat under a shade, recording the findings in both Egyptian and Greek, to be archived and studied in the Great Library at Alexandria. More, armed with wax tablets and styles rather than papyrus and brushes, were scattered around the dig site, taking notes as the scientists dictated.
By Natasja Rose4 years ago in Fiction
Far From Home
The air was heady with the subtle incense of wisteria after rain. Other flowers were mixed in with the wisteria, and unfamiliar scents that Thomas supposed were unique to country living. About the only thing truly familiar was the noise and smoke of the train engine as it chugged along, carriages crammed full of children being sent away from London to the relative safety of the countryside.
By Natasja Rose4 years ago in Fiction
Roaring Into The Abyss
They call it the Roaring 20s. Hopeful, in a way. As if all we have to do to banish the lingering spectre of the Great War is to shout loud enough. To party as if the war never happened. As if the legions of dead will be alive again, or the maimed and crippled made whole once more.
By Natasja Rose4 years ago in Fiction
Dark Bee The Soul Of Envy. Top Story - April 2023.
1906, Isle of Wight (United Kingdom). Your sister Harriet has brought you with her on a trip to The Isle, which in itself is quite exceptional. Used to living inland, you are now surrounded by sea. Besides, your family could have never afforded to come to this prized resort, with its micro-climate, baths, soft yellow sand and beautifully trimmed grasslands renowned for its beehives. A beautiful picture indeed, were it not for your sister's husband, Wilbur. The boat trip was rocky, at least by your terrestrial standards, although your brother-in-law made a point of clapping your shoulder with a condescending "Stop whining so, Leslie, the sea is calm today!"
By Claire Guérin4 years ago in Fiction
Drone in Deepwater. Second Place in The Mystery Box Challenge.
1894 In Deepwater, the night was reserved for idle contemplation. While the frogs croaked and the crickets chittered and the thick, dark water lapped against the reeds, Sadie lit a candle and her husband, Frank, smoked a pipe.
By Bella Nerina4 years ago in Fiction
Voyeur in the Bascàl. Runner-Up in The Mystery Box Challenge.
Deacon Dillabaud nurtured the vacant expression of a daydreamer. He sat solitary in his apartment while fidgeting with his necktie; a bowl of oatmeal chilled into a loaf beneath his restless fingers. Stacks of neatly filed newspapers lay unread before him on the stained oak table.
By Zack Graham4 years ago in Fiction
