Psychological
The Self Locked Inside. Top Story - December 2025.
Long has she awaited your arrival, roaming the dark halls of night with nothing but the glittering stars for light. Draped in a cloak of steel, her skin a sheen of deepest crimson - she's stared at her reflection for decades upon the shattered mirrors, looking for a sign that she was made for this destiny, this lonely fate.
By Amanda Starks11 months ago in Fiction
The Brown Meridian . Content Warning.
Cloy, listen to me. My throat feels parched from the history you and I shared. I can't call this our home anymore; you can’t either. But believe this: my departure was an act of abnegation; I didn’t abandon you. I have escaped, and now the burden of this entity falls on you.
By Caitlin Charlton11 months ago in Fiction
One Step Closer
One Step Back, Two Shadows Forward by Theodore Homuth I should say upfront that I’ve never been one to put stock in signs or omens or any of that ethereal nonsense. People who swear by them—they’re the type who scan the world like it’s a cryptic crossword puzzle, connecting dots that were never meant to be linked. A license plate number that matches your birthday. A single white feather drifting down onto a cracked sidewalk in the dead of winter. Dreams that linger like half-remembered conversations, whispering promises of destiny when they’re really just your brain recycling yesterday’s stress. I’ve always been wired differently, grounded in the tangible, the stuff that leaves marks you can’t ignore. Rent receipts crumpled in my pocket, stained with coffee rings from too many late nights. Calluses etched into my palms from gripping a mop handle too tightly. The dull, insistent ache in my lower back after pulling a double shift at some dead-end gig, the kind that makes you wonder if your spine is plotting a quiet rebellion.
By Theodore Homuth11 months ago in Fiction
Who We Am vs Who Am We?
“We’d like to have a word with you.” “Y-y-yes?” “Another woman." "I beg your pardon?" "Just talking to myself. Shall we get started? Let’s see, I have your papers here. It all boils down to this, really. Are you one of us? And I mean, really...one of us?”
By Gerard DiLeo11 months ago in Fiction
The Unwanted Package:. AI-Generated.
The package arrived on a Tuesday—a day so painfully ordinary that it felt scripted. It sat motionless on my porch, wrapped in thick brown paper and bound with a coarse twine that looked as if it belonged to a different century. There was no return address, no courier stamp, and no postage marking. There was only my name, Elias Thorne, written in a cramped, shaky hand that felt hauntingly familiar.
By The Writer...A_Awan11 months ago in Fiction
Operating Without A Map
PLEASE PROCEED CAREFULLY Before You Proceed PAUSE HERE. You may be tempted to escape. Do not. Speed does not equal clarity. It only makes the damage harder to name later. Check what you are carrying. Not what you planned to carry— what you actually have on you now. You will not be given directions. You will not be told when you’ve gone too far. This process assumes you are already lost. PROCEED ANYWAY. What to Do When Directions Fail First, understand that failure is not always loud. Sometimes directions fail quietly, one instruction at a time, until you realize you are still following something that no longer leads anywhere. When this happens, stop asking what you did wrong. The directions were written for a different version of you. They assumed circumstances that no longer exist. Do not attempt to force accuracy where relevance has expired. Do not argue with what no longer applies. Acknowledge the failure without dramatizing it. Loss of direction does not require collapse. It requires honesty. How to Breathe Without Air You will panic here. This is expected. Breathing without air means learning how to remain when everything that supported you is gone. It is not graceful. It is not impressive. It is slow, repetitive, and often invisible to others. Count what you can. Moments. Steps. Seconds. Reduce survival to the smallest possible action and repeat it until it stops shaking. BREATHE. You are not meant to feel strong here. You are meant to stay. If You Get Lost, Stop Do not keep moving out of fear. Motion is not always progress. STOP. Stop long enough to notice what you are avoiding. Lost does not mean gone. It means unmoored. If stopping feels unbearable, STAY. Discomfort is information. Ignoring it is a choice. Necessary Measures Contain what you can. This is not the time for reinvention. Drink water. Sleep when possible. Lower expectations without lowering standards. Necessary measures are not inspiring. They are repetitive. They are boring. They work. Guidelines for Existing Anyway Existence does not require certainty. Only compliance with the moment. Show up imperfectly. Leave early if needed. Return only if you have to. Do not measure your worth by how well you are holding it together. Survival is not performance. Procedure for Standing Still Standing still is not quitting. It is choosing not to make things worse. Stand still long enough for your nervous system to stop asking for permission to flee. Stand still until urgency loosens its grip. Stillness will not solve anything. But it will keep you intact long enough to decide what comes next. Conditions of Survival You must be willing to disappoint. You must be willing to be misunderstood. You must be willing to stop explaining. Survival requires boundaries that make other people uncomfortable. Accept this early. Between Decisions This is the hardest part. Not the choosing— the waiting. Between decisions, everything feels suspended. Nothing resolves. Nothing moves. Do not rush this space. It is where clarity forms without being forced. What Happens After You Decide After you decide, there is no immediate relief. Only consequence. Some things improve. Some things disappear. Some things follow you longer than expected. Do not reopen the decision to soothe guilt. Stand by it quietly. The Cost of Knowing Knowing changes what you can tolerate. It narrows your options and sharpens your limits. Once you know, you cannot unknow. Plan accordingly. What to Do When Nothing Fits Stop trying to belong to places that require you to disappear. Ill-fitting environments do not improve with endurance. If nothing fits, it may be because you have outgrown the shape you were expected to remain in. This is not a failure. It is an exit. What to Do When You Fail Name it without cruelty. Failure is data, not a verdict. REST. Then try again differently. Do not punish yourself for learning slowly. Some lessons repeat until you stop resisting them. When You Are Done Explaining Stop defending your choices. The people who need explanations are not the ones who will understand them. Silence is not avoidance here. It is refusal. This Will Not Fix Anything This process does not promise healing. It does not guarantee peace. What it offers is continuity. You will still be here when this passes. Notes for No One in Particular If you are reading this, it may already be too late to follow it cleanly. That’s fine. Most of this was written after the fact. A List of What Remains You remain. Your breath remains. Your ability to choose remains. That is enough. Failure to Follow These Steps May Result In Disorientation. Repetition. Loss. Or survival. RESULTS MAY VARY. In Case of an Emergency Return to the smallest possible action. BREATHE. STOP. STAY. Ask for help if you can. Forgive yourself if you can’t. After Everything Else Continue anyway. Not because it is noble. Not because it is hopeful. Because you are still here.
By Tifani Power 11 months ago in Fiction
Evergreen
The snow fell in soft, silent waves as the Cooper family’s SUV wound its way up the mountain road. The destination: a remote cabin surrounded by a pristine evergreen forest. Jeff Cooper had booked the cabin for his wife, Diane, and their two kids, Emily and Sam, hoping to rekindle the family’s bond after a difficult year.
By V-Ink Stories11 months ago in Fiction
Frostbite
The forecast had predicted light flurries, nothing unusual for the quiet mountain town where the Bell family lived. But by nightfall, the snowstorm had turned ferocious, battering the windows with icy gusts and blanketing the world outside in a suffocating white void.
By V-Ink Stories11 months ago in Fiction
Home for the Holidys
Snow blanketed the winding road as Nora drove toward the old family estate, her hands tight on the wheel. She hadn’t been home in years, not since the screaming fights and slammed doors that marked her departure. But her mother’s voice on the phone—quivering, pleading—had cut through her resolve.
By V-Ink Stories11 months ago in Fiction
