oneword.com

Manhattan, with its tall shivery buildings held in embraces of cold stone and silver glass, frozen in repose over the night sky and distant horizons. She loved Manhattan with its last two syllables tripping over each other on her tongue and the small personal cafes with their walls of warmth defrosting her face after a battle with the chill wind. She loved steadfast winter in Manhattan with streetlights shattering sparks over shiny stones embedded in the sidewalk asphalt, shining in rainbows against the stark black of the evening sky. She loved Manhattan in its death and its dark, and loved Manhattan all the more in its life and its light, accepting the city for what it was: a story cherished in the hearts of children, a dream crumpled at the bottom of a desolate, polluted river, a hope with wings spread against the shuttered landscape, a yearning desire to be free. Manhattan was all these things, and more.

Her face is nestled against his shoulder; she’s burrowed into the warmth and safety of his embrace. She’s long since stopped sniffling, and her quiet huffs and jerky movements have gradually melted away into soft and quivering breaths. Her long hair is mussed and tangled, itchy against his neck. Her tears have dried on her face, but his shirt remains wet against his skin where she’d cried on him. It’s terribly uncomfortable, holding her: her weight is pressed into him and she’s surprisingly heavy for someone so slender, but he wouldn’t let go of her for the world.

He feels her breath flutter against his cheek and he smiles.

The end is near, they told her, and that was partly what enabled her to go on.
She looked them in the eye and reiterated: “I don’t want to die.”
Their reply was simple: “Then don’t let it end.”

she loved the smell and the feel and the look of blank paper. she raised her eyes from the sheet of white in front of her and breathed a happy sigh. the sky outside her window panes was foggy, with gray clouds and […]

she hesitates- one crucial second gone. her dagger’s diverted, whereas moments ago it would have buried itself deep into his chest. she shakes her head. it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter anymore, nothing […]

do the angels smile when they
peer down upon the squalid earth?
and feel fortunate that they reside above in
heaven? or do they cry raindrops and shed icy
water like pearls onto our glossy, innocent existence?

I could be nominated for the world’s biggest coward. I only know that I would never get anywhere if I didn’t act. Yet the opportunity slipped by and I remained there, crouching, afraid, unsure, guilty. I was […]

His hands trembled slightly. He leaned over, fought against his conscience, and finally picked up the diary. It lay limp and fragile and dusty in his hands. A chronicle of someone else’s life: a privacy that he […]

who am i kidding? ghosts are not real. they simply float in the corner of my vision, like a rainy day that has lightened into slight sprinkles, until all that is left are the puddles, flowing over the drenched […]