awimaloneinspace

[awimaloneinspace]

Loneliness

Loneliness is listening to a love song that

Asks for you to think about someone,

But no one comes to mind.

[awimaloneinspace]

Duty

I remember the long, but warm nights. As the fireplace's fiery embrace enveloped us in warmth. Your flushed face rested upon my arms and yours, wrapped tightly around my waist. A knock on the door broke the monotonous sound of fire crackling. I quickly replaced myself with a pillow and walked towards the door. A messenger in blue stood before our door. His expression - clearly well flogged by the harsh winter - was a mixture of exhaustion and fear. He held a letter to my face, and the royal seal in red stood out from the brown envelope. I snatched the missive from him and gave him a slight nod. In a few seconds after the door closed, he disappeared into the veil of winter. I remember when you held on to me the next morning as we stood at the door. The sun had broken through the dark clouds, yet you were shivering. You told me not to worry, "It's nothing, I'm just cold.", as i felt your lukewarm tears stain my shoulders. I gave the back of your head a light pat, and whispered sweet nothings to you. By now, time has moved past far enough and I had to leave. After our final exchange, I pulled myself away from your grasp. I turned away and took a step, forbidding myself of another glimpse of your teary-eyed face. The next few steps were the hardest; I held back my tears as I deny myself of love once again. --- CCs welcomed.

[awimaloneinspace]

Cute Girl

Why does she do that?

Coming and going coolly

And my mind wanders

[awimaloneinspace]

Scary Monsters and Nice Blades #2

Where she was running, she did not know, but her legs were definitely taking her somewhere in the opposite direction of the facility. The light was fading out as the sun's blanket of light slowly melted into the horizon. She only stopped when she stumbled upon a village... Or what was left of it. A large wooden hut, presumbly the town hall, was ablaze in purple fire. --- The girl looked at the long dirt road, in her way were debris from huts that have met their fiery doom and a group of people gathering. The girl tried to keep her pace, but when she got closer to the group of people, she noticed that they were not human at all. Their iris were auburn in color... These were demons! The girl's breathing grew heavier, a strange feeling swept across her mind, her vision was blurring and vignetting. Acting upon her instincts the girl lunged at the first one facing her and bit into its shoulders, the taste of demon's blood was surprisingly sweet and savory. But that ended quickly as she was thrown to the dirt path. She swallowed the small piece of demon flesh in between her teeth and tried to reposition herself. But the demons were already grabbing her limbs to try to get a piece of pie. One of the demons came up to her thighs and bit down, the pain registered instantly and she screamed. Another one towering over her body bit down onto her shoulders. The ash littered dirt path was quickly washed with blood. Then, a familiar sound of metal contacting flesh echoed in the air. One of the demons and its body was split from shoulder to waist. A figure in a black trenchcoat wielding a steel blade was shoving the demons and hacking them to pieces. A demon held the man's blade in its chest, almost seemingly trying to assist its demon brothers, but the man in trenchcoat abandoned the sword and stabbed the demon's head with a dagger which seemed like it came from nowhere. By the time all the demons were bits and pieces, the girl had multiple cavities on her body. The girl's tear ducts were slowly filling, she realised she had forgotten to cry throughout the ordeal. "Eat." Her vision was still in a rage induced mess, but she could make out what the man was holding out to her, a piece of demon flesh. She bit into it but only took a few mouthfuls before her vision fully blacked out into nothingness.

[awimaloneinspace]

Scary Monsters and Nice Blades #1

"Kneel." The blacksmith commanded as his hand hovered in front of her face. The girl, dressed in a black wrap dress obeyed and dropped her knees onto the cold wooden floor. The floor was wet and cold, drenched from the dripping of the old roof. The weather has been grey since last night, but it chose only to rain a few minutes ago. The blacksmith was bleeding from his nose, the amount of concentration and time invested... All dripping from his nostrils. His final project, he placed in the protection of this girl. The girl's eyes turned white and started glowing, as if placed a trance. "Goddess Elena, overseer of blacksmiths. This one beseeches you. Pray that my blade finds this vessel worthy, for when the time comes, it finds a worthy handler. My blade, protect your sheath, she is but only a child, but made to carry a heavy burden. My sheath, my own daughter..." The blacksmith chokes on his tears, but continues, "Goddess Elena... INVOKE!" --- The rocking motion slammed her forehead on the seat. The carriage was now travelling off-road, not her favourite type of terrain. She rubbed her head, but it made the pain worse. "Vessal, we will be arriving at the Facility soon, please refrain from falling asleep." A lady dressed in a white dress reprimanded her. "Understood." said the girl in black as her eyes wandered into the vast valley. The world plunged into chaos when a demonic portal emerged from the Outerlands. One by one, cities fell and lives ended without any chance of retaliation. A crack research unit, now known as "The Perish" was founded to combat demonic activity. Utilizing magical weapons, they seek to rid the world of these fiends. But all these came at a dire price, magical weapons don't just exist and stay magical, they require a reservoir of lifeforce to exist. To accomodate this, they utilised humans to become vessals of these weapons, otherwise known as "Holy Arms". Without warning, the carriage halted, the lady in the flower dress and the vessal flew into the wooden walls of the carriage. "Coachman, what is the meaning of this obnoxious stopping?" the flower dress lady said. "M... M'lady." The coachman appeared at the small window opening at the front of the carriage, "There's a man in the middle of the road!" It happened right after the word "road"  left the coachman's lips. A shiny object emerged from the carriage walls, splitting the coachman's head in the middle. Blood splattered into the carriage but the lady in the flower dress drew a dagger from her waist band and held it tightly in the hand, her eyes focused on the carriage's backdoor. "Vessal, stay in the carriage." the flower dress lady said as she opened the backdoor. The girl nodded and rubbed her forehead, it hurt a lot less now. She could hear the lady's footsteps, skirting around the carriage, trying to find the aggressor that led to the coachman's demise. A moment later, the sounds of metal hitting each other started ringing through the carriage. "The weapon, surrender it to me, nun." The man with a deep voice said, "That weapon is useless in the Facility's hands, as with all the other ones. The taking of innocent lives ends now!" "You do not understand our mission. Your reckless actions have delayed the possibility of saving our species." The nun retorted. "You've been taking more lives than saving them. Enough talk, i'll cut you down like the demons you are!" The man raised his weapon and charged at the nun. They started to fight again, but it all ended quickly as the blade of the man ran through the flower dress lady's thigh. "Vessal, ru-run!", the lady screamed as she held the man's blade down with her hands to stop him from chasing the girl. Of course, this did not deter the man for long, he brought a swift end to the lady by meeting her neck with his blade. He strolled down to the carriage's door, only to find the dead coachman staring at him. The girl was already gone.

[awimaloneinspace]

Bookmark Reminiscence

Years later.

She sat down on her chair. Stuffed and exhausted from work she imagine herself to be years before. Her eyes looked for something to do, despite her muscles screaming for a break.

A book stood out from her shelves. She liked to read, so these books were a collection of all her inspiration at work. She took the book in her hands. The book aged finely and its papers, turned to gold.

Magic happened as she flipped the pages. These books collected something else, memories of places and people. Books were always lent, although some were hardly returned in pristine condition, to which she raised her eyebrow at.

Then she remembered, a person whom she lent this book to. Certainly there was no reason to, but she pondered on this person. What happened, why and how?

Perhaps there was a time, on a different string, where there might have been a slight pique of her interest.

That, and maybe there might have been a fleeting moment of chance to seek resolution. But time flowed, and the pages could not speak.

A lenity, as she shut the book. Again, the person did not understand.

A pity, as she shelved the book. Again, the person was lost among many.

A great sadness, as she walked away. A fleeting moment of chance, lost again.

[awimaloneinspace]

Sunset

Deep Blue moonlit sky Your Orange skirt flirts the edge Towards the path home

[awimaloneinspace]

Photographs

“What are you going to do with the old pictures?”

I’ll look at them everyday, and i’ll cry everyday. 

Until i forget everything about you.

[awimaloneinspace]

Habits

I've let go of many habits. But when it came to letting you go; it became a habit to forget you.

[awimaloneinspace]

Warmth

Warm blanket and sheets Laying together with me Again our eyes meet

[awimaloneinspace]

Sunrise

Timelaspe of the dawn Oh how i stand still in awe As light blankets me

[awimaloneinspace]

Morning Breeze

The leaves casts shadows In the morning glow i breathe Fresh wind fills the room

[awimaloneinspace]

In the Rain

Below the Dark Clouds Petrichor Comes With the Rain I Look Up and Breathe

[awimaloneinspace]

Monthly Powers

On the first day of December, the chill wind swept through the room and it woke John up. The sun was slowly rising above the city landscape, blanketing the room with warm orange light. John stood up from the bed and caught a whiff of lavender. “Strange,” John said to himself, “I don’t think i own any lavender products.” Without thinking too much into it, he went into the bathroom to do his morning ritual.

John stepped down the stairs while setting the windsor on his tie. The news was on, with the headlines saying “Mysterious flying human figure in November still not solved!”. The smell of bacon and eggs flooded the living room. The plate of breakfast was on the kitchen counter. “Why would there be breakfast?” John thought. Things were getting stranger by the second, but it felt alright. The conflicting feeling in his chest gave him a headache.

A yellow sticky note was beside the plate. “My last gift to you - Em”.

John held the note closer to his face and read it again. It didn’t make any sense to him. Was he drunk at a party last night? Wait- What the hell happened in the past week? He could not remember, but tears evicted themselves from his eyes.

John looked towards the television and saw another sticky note next to the remote. He crushed the first one in his hands and jammed it into his left pocket. The note next to the remote read “Remember to switch the TV off - Em”. The voice in his reading the note was a woman with a calming voice.

John reached for his phone on top of the coffee table and switched it on. The screen glowed and he saw a woman who was shielding her face with a cup, only leaving a beautiful smile and two dimples. That cup, of course, John recognised it. It was one of the cup sets he bought at the supermarket.

He put on the trench coat over his suit and went outside. The street lamps were still on and the road was wet. John didn’t know where he was going, but his legs were taking him somewhere as if he’s already been there for months. He finally stopped at the end of a old stone bridge. Which was covered heavily with snow, as if the bridge was made out of the white things itself.

He saw a woman standing there, facing the city landscape, staring at the sunrise. She was smiling, but tears were rolling down from her cheeks.

John took a deep breath and walked towards her.

“Emily.” “John?!” She quickly wiped her tears. “I… I nearly forgot.” He stammered “No…” “I can’t believe i forgot.” “John…” She sniffled “Em.”

John stepped forward and hugged her. The smell of lavender. Her two dimples. He remembers.

“Your power in December. Is to make everyone forget who you are.” John said with his head two inches from Emily’s face. “But my heart felt something missing on day 1. And it has brought me to you.”

I rarely ever write romance. But i thought of this one night before i drifted off to sleep. Wrote it the following morning.

Felt that i couldn’t cement the connection between readers and the short. But, hope you like it.

[awimaloneinspace]

Dark Beyond #3

“Have you heard the news?”

“No i don’t believe i have.”

“They say that the inn on the cliffside facing the capital was attacked by harpies.”

“They are certainly getting bolder… But still no news of us going on the offensive-”

“Oei, heads up, wyverns approaching.”

The two guards stood in attention as the wyverns flew nearer to the tower.

“Lord Kole of the White Order has arrived!”

Kole handed over the reins of his wyvern to the quartermaster and entered the hall.

The hall was fitted with a huge chandelier and a large table filled with maps of every kind. On the wall, a huge grey drapery with an image of a black gate hung.

“Ah, Kole.” Said a man in a well fitted leather vest, “I heard of the mishap at the cliffs.”

“Aye, wasn’t pretty.” Kole waved away the maid who offered to take his coat. “We lost a few good tradesmen in there.”

“Wine?” The leather fitted individual lifted up an empty goblet.

“Not today Brandon.” Kole repositioned the heavy oak chair and sat down on it. “Are the others here yet? We have no time to waste.”

“Of course.” Brandon waved over a maid and whispered into her ear and gave a spank on her bottom to Kole’s disgust. “Lovely things aren’t they?”

A man clad in armour, whose face looked like he had seen a hundred battles entered the hall. Beside him, was a young girl who looked like she had seen blood spill as well.

“Lord Anjev of the Tide Hunters has arrived. Accompanied by Lady Prisma.” The guard cried into the hall.

“Kole. Brandon.” Anjev gave a nod of acknowledgement. Prisma followed her father’s salutations and sat beside him. A maid entered the hall with a tray of tea cups and a tea pot and served the father-daughter pair.

Kole cleared his throat to get the attention of the other lords, “Ambushing trading carts, attacking tradesmen on foot. That’s one matter.” said Kole, “But attacking a White Order patrol and an Inn is certainly another.”

“Nero is certainly getting bolder no doubt. I’ve seen the reports from my scouts,” Brandon took a parchment from the table and read it aloud, “Damage suggests a party of at least six harpies. Blunt sword markings on the patrol’s armour suggest a group of kobolds or goblins were involved as well.”

“Yes yes…” said Anjev as he places the tea back on the saucer, “And do suggest that that is enough reason to begin another expedition into the Dark Beyond?”

“You know the last one carried back something we could barely contain Kole. ” said Anjev with a concerning look on his face.

“Should i send a message to the tree huggers?” said Brandon, “Lady of the woods might want to have a say in this.”

“Kiera shot down the last two messengers i sent. Im guessing that’s a no for me, but if i could get one of your flags over, we might get her opinion on this.” said Brandon gleefully as he sealed the letter with wax.

“This game is dangerous Kole… I still wake up in the night to the screams of men and women dying in the dark lands.” Anjev said as he buried his face into his hands.

“Anjev. The frequency of their attacks are increasing with each moon. ” Kole retorded, “Sooner or later, we’d have no one experienced enough to face the dark. What’s left then? Brandon and his gang of bandit hunters?”

Anjev groaned as he slammed his teacup on the table. Smashing the cup into pieces, some embedded itself into his wrinkled hands and the oaken table.

“This expedition,” said Anjev with a stern look on his face, “Must be, and will be, the last one we ever do. Because if there’s a next time. You’re going in alone.”

And as if on cue, lightning struck. The air smell of petrichor as dark clouds blanket the hold. Rain didn’t bode well for soldiers - even the most seasoned ones. All morale drop, as the rain fell from the skies.

Even so, a single wyvern flies out from the Black Gates, carrying a single letter towards the Doubtful Woods, addressed to none other than Lady Kiera.

—

This chapter introduces 4 new characters to the series. Anjev is a fierce warrior, but being a father, has a growing guilt over the men he sent to die in previous expeditions to the Dark Beyond.

Brandon is a young lord, i have big big plans for him in future chapters. His relationship with the characters is a unique one as he is much much younger than the other lords.

Prisma will also play a critical role in the series in the future.

Kiera is also one of the lords of the capital and a leader of an organization. Who is she? Why didn’t she appear for the meeting?

Wait out for #4 :)

[awimaloneinspace]

A skirmish

It was a stale and foggy morning. Some sunlight pierced through the windows into the room where John slept. As the sunlight reached the old man's face, he sat upright, as if he had been sleeping for all of eternity. He turned to look at the side table, where his beautiful wife Monica was smiling at him. John touched the picture frame and his lips formed a smile as he said "Good morning my love." John reached for his walking stick hanging on the metal bed frame. The reliance on this wooden stick was due to the lameness of his leg. John touched his thigh and gave a sigh as he pushed himself up to support himself on the walking stick. John took a slow walk down the stairs, it creaked with each step he took. Sunday mornings were quiet, cars did not pass by as often as they would during the weekdays. It gave John a sense of tranquil. Something that was he begging for just 35 years ago. He sat down on his comfortable sofa and reached for a photo album, and the tears started flowing. The roar of the propeller planes flew past and a few of the guys shouted "Give em' hell boys!". Fox company of the 5th infantry battalion were moving through dense vegetation to flank enemy lines in the west. The route was tough, but the men knew that the success of their attack will determine whether the frontline forces would fight for a month or a week. "We've got some armour elements rolling in from south of us to assist us." Staff Sergeant Murray said as he slammed the headset down on the radio set. "Catch is, we'll need to hold out 3 hours for them to even see us. Anything less, you can start building yourselves caskets and send your sorry ass back to town." "Aye sarge" said the weary looking soldiers. The war has been going on for 3 weeks, something a green soldier such as Private John was not expecting. He cannot even remember when the last break was, all he knew was that there were a lot of trees and a hundred sounds from insects he has not heard before in his life, even as a farm boy. "Open field, on your guard, stay tight." A lush golden field of dried grass cut into the forest, the far end was covered in fog and was not visible. "Eh Fox 2, weapons on the ready." Corporal Heinz ordered, "Advance!". John followed behind him with his rifle pointing forward. He seemed to have taken too big a step when Corporal Heinz said "Oei John, get your ass back here and-". He was cut off by the sound of an artillery shell going off. "ARTY, FALL BACK TO THE TREE LINE GOD DAMN IT!" Private John was sure he heard the fall back command from Staff Sergeant Murray, but his legs were frozen. Corporal Heinz who was talking to him seconds ago was now pieces of meat scattered across the golden field. Gun shots were coming in from the opposite side of the fields that were covered in the fog. John was still stuck to the same spot, unaware of his surroundings. His green shirt, painted with streaks of red and brown, remnants of Corporal Heinz. A second shell landed about 10 metres from John and he fell to the ground. John's legs felt like it was on fire. He looked down to his legs to find that it was covered in blood. He screamed for help, but it was masked by gunfire. "Private! Pull yourself together!" said a voice from behind, "Can you stand?". It was Murray crouching beside him. John felt Murray dragging him back into the forest, the lush green field before him was now littered with bodies. "Private, stay here, we'll get evac, do you understand me?" said Murray as he leaned John on a tree with a few others, gun shots from the other end of the field was now nearing their side of the forest. "Hey, you! Tend to his wound." A medic came to his side and started bandaging his thigh. John looked around, he saw Murray dragging another one of their comrades to another tree before using the radio set and heading back out into the field. And then, John's vision blurred and faded to nothingness. The sun opened up his eyes and he took a deep breath of fresh air. "Wh-where am i?" John was still dazed, was the battle over? He checked his surroundings and found a nurse beside his bed. "You're back at headquarters in the hospital. You're fine, don't worry." said the nurse, smiling as she placed some pills on a tray on the side table. "Wh-where is my platoon? Do you know where they are?" "Im afraid not. But there were a lot of casualties from where you came from. I hope your friends are all okay." A few weeks later, the war was over. There were difficulties picking up the pieces, but John managed to come into contact with some members of his company. The counter attack was a success, but with dire consequences. Staff Sergeant Murray managed to hold out with the surviving forces till the tanks rolled in, but he perished during the flanking of the opposing forces. John closed the photo album and tears started rolling down his wrinkled face again. He stood up and slowly walked back up on the stairs. --- A re-written piece of what i wrote my O levels paper. Of course i will prefer the original, but i can't exactly recall the bits and pieces that made the story sad. This piece didn't turn out as to be as sad as i hoped for it to be (after reading it twice). I think i should've done some form of character building for his comrades.

[awimaloneinspace]

Dark Beyond #2

“Dark fliers, trolls and possibility of an stitchup.” Said a knight with a claymore sheathed behind him, “Poor kid. Fresh off the tower too. Probably tried to warn the inn of the attack.”

“They won’t be far off. We will move on east towards Macklemore’s uncle’s eatery to check up on things there.” Motioned the knight who had a bright silver sheath by his side, impregnated with a sword with a golden hilt, “Jericho and Aury, strip his armour and sword and return it to the armoury, burn him with the rest of our guests in the bar.”

Where The Travellers’ Inn once stood, a great fire took its place.

“Wyverns sighted!” The bannerman shouted from the nearby rocks. “White tower with a red horse, Lord Kole has arrived!”

The wyverns swept up a good ton of sand and gravel which bounced off the armour of the knights on the ground.

“My lord.” “Ser Lodis. What do you make of this?”

A man with thick white beard got off from one of the wyverns. A short maroon cape danced behind his back as he walked towards the knight with the silver sheath.

“Attacks started from the roof. The beams wouldn’t hold. Lanterns started dropping. And you got yourself a wooden oven. Found some black feathers on the way here.”

“Harpies all the way in here. I believe this is the nearest they got since Brightwater.”

“Nero is expanding my lord, and they are getting bolder. We have to take the offensive as soon as possible.”

“Lodis. You know that i have pushed for this for a very long time. The council does not approve.”

“They just destroyed an inn about ten kilometers from the capital. With all due respect Lord Kole, if you don’t muster our forces now. The next attack might be at our own doorstep.”

“Patience. I know you and your team are capable of, you are all highly experienced, but the dark beyond is not to be trifled with. You know of the dangers they pose.”

Kole returned on the wyvern and gave a kick to its ribs. The accompanying high guards followed suit.

“Our order was founded to defend the people of the capital. If we go on the offensive and fail. The capital will be defenseless. I know your intentions are good Lodis; that is why i’ll send word to the other towers. You have my word.”

Lodis nodded and bowed.

The wyverns screeched as they took off into the summer greens