Swordsmanship (Sneak Peak)

My blade cut through the sack of grains in an instant. Applause could be heard in the background.

“Thank you everyone!” I bowed half-heartedly to the crowd of watching villagers.

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” A gruff voice said as I was knocked out of my disgraceful bow. The same sword I had attacked the grains with was being held to my neck. “You still have a long way to go.”
            “You spoil all my fun,” I growled, now stuck to the ground.

“Everyone leave! Now!” The voice yelled out into the crowd that was beginning to grow larger by the second.

“Oh, c’mon. They love me. You have to admit it, Arthur.” I giggled up at him.

“No, they love your hideous swordsmanship.” Arthur replied, the gruffness still apparent in his voice.

I scowled up at him. “That was rude. Now, remove the sword. Like you said, I’ve got work to do.”

Arthur raised an amused eyebrow. “Make me.”

“That’s sooo not happening.” I immediately replied.

“It’s part of your training, Adira. You have no choice in the matter.”

“I don’t even have a sword!” I argued.

“Precisely. You won’t always have a sword available during combat.” Arthur growled.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, but the villagers stay.”

Arthur gave me an icy smile. “They never left, they love you too much.”

“Are you being sarcastic?” I questioned.

“Stop getting distracted and fight me!” Arthur yelled.

“Whatever.” I mumbled then rolled quickly to the left avoiding the slashing of Arthur’s sword.

Arthur narrowed his brows. “Nice move, where did you learn it?”

“My teacher.” I glared at him. “My rude and distasteful teacher.” A chorus of laughter erupted from the crowd circled around us.

Arthur’s swings became more heavy and unforgiving. “So, my suspicions were right. You do talk about me outside of class. How flattering.”

“What?” I said as I dodge another swing that could have cut my arm off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Arthur ran towards me and jumped high into the air landing right in front of my face. I was too startled to move. The sword was placed against my neck, right where it was before we started this mess. “I know you like me.” He whispered.

My face turned exotically red. “How do you know that?” I squeaked.

“The villagers.” Arthur grumbled. “Did you really think they came to watch you?”

I turned my face away to avoid showing Arthur my embarrassed face. The action caused the sword to bite into my skin. I yelped in surprise.

“It’s so typical of you Adira. It’s something you’re going to have to change if you want to get into The Quest.” Arther smirked then removed the sword. “Practice is done for today.” Then he stalked off in the opposite direction.

The crowd cheered at his obvious win and kept cheering until he was out of sight. Then, they dispersed; no one noticing I was on the ground.

             ***

“I heard about it. Save yourself the embarrassment.” My mom chuckled at me.

            “Mom!” I yelled, almost choking on my food.

            “There is to be no yelling at the dinner table.” My Mom said, still grinning at me.

            I swallowed my food. “It was all Arthur, all right? He totally did it on purpose to embarrass me.”

            “No doubt.”

            I groaned. “Mom! I’m serious! I need a new teacher!”

            Mom stood up from the table as she was done with her food. “He’s the best one around. Besides, I’m the one that pays for these lessons. I think that I have a right to choose who teaches you.”

            I slam my face on the table dramatically. “I’ll die tomorrow if Arthur is there for practice.”

            “Well, it better be by Arthur’s hand then.” Mom replied unaffected.

            I gasped. “Mom!”
            “Shut up and clean the dinner table. I’m sick of your whining.” Mom scolded me.

            “Ugh. I hate this town and all the people in it!”

            “Watch your mouth.”

            I groaned again. “Yes, Mother.”

I'm From a House of Glass

I’m from a house of glass that tumbled to the ground.

From cracks and breaks all around, from corded tension,

And unclear roads.

To jumbled feelings and stepping stones.

 

I’m from a broken house.

But though it’s broken,

And cracks still show…

We glued our house together:

A new family with new walls

 

I’m from a stronger house.

One that doesn’t break or bend.

We built it out of

Rocks and bricks, a glue that doesn’t end.

 

I’m from a home that shelters and protects.

I have a family that builds me up, no matter where I end.

And though we had a broken house,

We learned from all the fractures…

Now we know when to bend and how to mend what is broken.

 

Heart in the River

1. The gaping hole
Silences my chest.
There is no more heartbeat.
No more sounds.

2. What once was a distant, quiet part
Of me,
Is now bleeding into the water.
It bleeds my soul.

3. The river that washes over my heart
Is blue.
Its icy touch stains the red,
And my heart withers into dust.
It withers into nothing.

4. As red dust dissolves into the water
And my heart slowly disappears,
My chest feels free of endless sorrow
I've had to feel for years.
As, my heart disappears.

5. Suddenly, the water looks enticing.
I want to wither away too!
I want to be the Earth,
The movement of the wind,
And the rain from the heavens.
I want to be the river.

6. The river washes over me,
The dark hole it takes.
It cleanses my spirit,
Along with the breaks
Of my soul that is no more.
And I am gone.
Gone.

I Miss You, Please Come Home

         I balanced on the edge of the boat, waiting for my fingertips to finally meet the water. I could hear, smell, and even taste the ocean's salty breath, but I wanted to feel it.
         "Careful Nadine, or you will fall."
         "I always am," I relplied with a slight grimace.
         I ignored the loud conversations on the boat and looked out into the blue vastness. It's like the ocean was calling me home. I wanted to be as close I could get.
         The ship had stopped moving ages ago. The anchor was keeping the ship still. I lowered myself onto the ledge of the boat and stuck my feet in. This gave me more satisfaction than my fingertips.
          I smiled at the warmth of the water. "It's good to be back. How's Mom doing?" The water tumbled around me with no response.
          "No answer huh?"
          The water then crashed onto the side of the boat. "Mom? I miss you. Please come home."

Short Story/Chapter

Bigger Things Out There

           The stars shined bright against the sky’s dark canvas.  It was clear, and undoubtedly beautiful.

            “It’s insane, right?”

            I gave Tavish a look. “Maybe not the word I would use to describe it, but yes.”

            Tavish chuckled.  “Then, how would you describe it?”

            I gave him a shy, uneven smile. “Honestly, I don’t know. There is something about the sky and the stars that make me hold my breath. When I think about the universe and the cosmos, it just makes me realize how small we are on the scale of things. There are bigger things out there, and we haven’t discovered most of them.”

            Tavish’s eyes became cloudy. “You think there are bigger things out there?”

            “Of course,” I instantly replied. I pushed my glasses up against my nose. “It’s been scientifically proven that there are other planets. And, it would be weird not to think there are other things as well.”

            “Be specific. What things?” Tavish pushed.

            “I don’t know why my beliefs matter to you.” I stated.

            Tavish shrugged. “I’m only curious.” Though, the clouds in his eyes hadn’t moved.

            The grass we were sitting on began to itch my legs. It was not a good idea to wear shorts. “Yes, I think that there are other life forms that exist away from the Milky Way Galaxy.”

            Tavish nodded. “Is that why you are so bent on proving it to everyone?”

            I wanted to run away from the question so, I dodged it.  “What?”

            Tavish smirked. “Why do you want to prove that other life forms exist?”

            I couldn’t tell him about what I saw. He would think I’m crazy, just like everybody else. “It is just something that interests me.”

            “It interests you so much that you don’t leave the observatory because of it?” Tavish asked.

            The question struck a nerve. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we talk about something else?”

            Tavish let out a quiet sigh. “What do you want to talk about?”

            “You.”

            “Me?”

            “Yes, I don’t know anything about you. And, I want to ask you something?” I mumbled.

            Tavish raised a perfect eyebrow. “What?”

            I gave him a shy look and pushed my glasses further up my nose. “Why me?”

            “What do you mean?” Tavish asked surprised at my question.

            “Why do you want to be my friend? Everyone makes fun of me all the time and no one likes me. Don’t you want to be with the cool people or something like that?

            Tavish grinned and almost laughed. “I like you. And, I think that you aren’t given the credit you are worth.”

            I blushed. “Really?”

            “Yes.”

            I took a moment to calm down, though my racing heart was making that difficult.  “I don’t think anyone will ever give me credit, but it’s nice to know that you think I deserve it.”

            Tavish shook his head. “Hey, look, I will help you prove it. I believe you.”

            “You will?” I asked, not really trusting Tavish’s judgment.

            Tavish nodded then stood up from the grass. However, his face was masked of emotion. “We should probably head back to camp.”

            “Probably,” I agreed. I stood up alongside Tavish then began to walk back to the campsite. I noticed that Tavish lingered behind. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

            As if knowing my secret question he said, “You go without me. I will catch up with you later. There is something I have to do first.”

            I shrugged then turned around to continue in the direction of the rest of the students. When I looked back to see what Tavish was doing, he was gone.

            And I was lost.

           

           

           

List Poem

Korea

By Melissa Jacobsen

A long, narrow pathway, fill

with cars that honk and scream.

With tall buildings, people, and heat that

creates steam.  Shops that collect

Won, houses who eat rice for dinner,

people who watch K-Drama instead of

American shows like “Saints and Sinners.”

The popular male actors and singers who shape

Pop-culture for most of Asia.

(Famous actors including 이민호 and 김현중!)

An ocean that gives summer romance and a bright,

hopeful day.

The modern language that stems from ancient history

Filled with bloody battles and high kings,

Evil senators,

many things.

Black hair, white skin.

Women and Men.

Sons and Daughters.

One Nation: White, Red, Black, and Blue

One Place,

Korea.

The Intern (Flash Fiction #2)

“He’s going into v-fib!” Some one yells close by.

“Get up you fools!” I hear the chief of the E.R. yell. “We need all the interns we can get!”

I shoved the rest of my sand-which in my mouth, annoyed. I was finally on break!

“Jessica! Are you coming?” Another intern asks already running to the code blue room.

I groan inwardly and race to the patient who was fighting for his life. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a cold stare from the chief.  “Jessica, begin CPR.”

I gulp. “Me?”

“Yes, you! Hurry up you idiot! Your patient is dying!”

I scampered towards the patient and placed my hands upon his chest. I pushed hard and began CPR.  Sweat dribbled down my face. I began to tire quickly. I looked at the cardiac monitor and stopped CPR long enough to check if there was any progress. There was a flat line.

“Grab the defibrillator!” The chief bellows in panic.

The defibrillator is passed to me and I place the paddles on the man’s chest.

“Charge to 200!” I yell. “Clear!” I shout at the staff in order to warn them of the incoming shock.

“Charge to 300!” The patient’s body convulsed. “Clear!” I continued to do this for quite a while. 

            Soon, the chief told everyone but me to step back. How am I supposed to do this by myself?!? I began to panic. My eyes search for the chief. “Chief! Help me!”

            “You will do this alone.”

             I kept trying to save the man but despite how hard I tried, he ended up losing his life.

            “Call it.”

            “Time of death 8:31 p.m.” I said quietly.

            The chief motioned me close. “You just killed your first patient,” he murmured to me. Then he walked out of the room.

Remembering to Count (Flash Fiction #1)

Smoke burned my eyes as I ran for shelter. Another bomb was about to drop from the plane and I did not want to be anywhere near the explosion.  I dove under a crumpled home and curled into a ball hoping that I would be safe one more day. 

I shut my eyes tightly envisioning the life I had before the war. It was painful, but in life threatening moments, it would be more painful to not remember anything. It seems all I do now is remember.

The ground trembled beneath my figure. The bomb must have finally hit the ground. I wonder how many friends I lost this time –I don’t want to think about it!-? I’ve lost so many that I couldn’t even begin to count them all.  Counting. It’s something I do now.  Days, deaths, bombs, bodies. I even count the appendages left on my body because too often, I see people with their arms or legs gone.