For you who have lost everything, come, gather around these gentle flames, and allow your soul to be rekindled. — Bern stands by the bonfire-to-be, hoisting massive branches of dry wood onto a colossal pile. He stumbles through the process, persevering despite fresh blisters forming on his hands and immense fatigue pestering his mind. Surrounding him are his comrades of the fire brigade, breathing heavily as they push man-sized boulders…

Shera is forced to flee into a world of his own creation. — Shera lay outside in the snow, wearing nothing but his father’s old shirt. Its thin fabric obstructs the cold as well as a shield of paper blocks a sword, serving merely as a pretense of defense. Thus, the chill breeze has free reigns as it wages war on the poor…

It’s just a bunch of snakes said their latest snack — My bare feet grind against the rough cavern floor as I run along the dimly-lit corridor. It hurts like hell, but whatever it was back there is worse than bloodied fucking feet. I throw a furtive glance behind my shoulder, and sure enough. There is movement in the distance. Slithering…

Smash the Jar, and from the Ashes, a Phoenix Will Rise. — If you seek to reinvent yourself, you must first uncover the truth — the truth of the taint which plagues your weary mind. It is hard, I know. …

Two brothers, together till the end. — He loved him with all his heart, and maybe that’s why he never told the truth, afraid of losing the one person for whom he truly cared. But as with all secrets, especially the dark ones, one can only hope to preserve secrecy for so long. As onlookers, we can…

The story of a young man’s attempt to fulfill his grandfather’s last wish. — Jonathan hooks his hundredth-something worm, desperation mounting with the waning of the sun. Time is running out. His grandfather’s health is rapidly deteriorating, and there’s no telling he’ll survive another day. Jonathan glares at the sea as though offended by its serenity, knowing full well that he’s being unreasonable. Here…

It’s an emergency. — Your flight leaves in 1h 20 mins. The taxi’s outside. It’s already honked once. 1h 19 mins. Honk. You can’t find your teddy bear. 18 mins. You hear the taxi start. Honk. 17. Where’s the damn plushie? 13. Engine running! 10. Honk honk. GODDAMMIT. You throw the weekend bag over…

Born different. — Once upon a time, in an otherwise inconspicuous village, a woman gestated an extraordinary baby. When a baby is born, it cries; this is common knowledge. And evidently, the infant let out a sound that could be classified as a “cry.” But it was not a human baby’s scream that…