The Wise Woman

I covered myself so that no one in town would question the spots that were appearing around my body. My efforts were unneeded, if I had walked naked no one in the village would have really care, after all I was almost a slave.

It was a struggle to walk, much less make the journey to see the Wise Woman. She was a distributor of herbs, spices and the village’s only source of medicine. There were rumors that she would sacrifice live animals and eat children to keep her youthful figure, some say she’s been alive for over three centuries. I had never met her before, I was always afraid because of what people said she could do. Some villagers say she could make animals speak, she could keep loved ones from dying and some say she can send demons to your bed, and casts curses on those that have crossed her with her methods. The people of the village respected her because there were countless stories of her saving so many loved ones, but no one was dumb enough not to fear her. She delved into practices that many of those in the village believed to be of a darker nature.

No one crossed the Wise Woman, the land owners and Elders stayed clear of her, but would sought her counsel during droughts and strong storms. She was said to be able to control the weather if she willed it. No one said a bad word to her, many were to afraid to even think of her, terrified that the Wise Woman could hear their thoughts. The only person that ever had the guts to call her a “witch” was Leison, he was a lot larger than I was and a few years older; a beast of a man. He said he wasn’t scared of some old stupid witch who would be better off dead, once when he got drunk at the tavern. The next morning, Leison was nowhere to be found. His clothes still in his home, food and money there too. Almost as if he had just left the village with only the clothes on his back.

I didn’t want to see he, I was afraid, but I also knew that the rumors the people kept whispering about the Wise Woman were probably false. The people in the village love to make up stories and rumors; it keeps them entertained to talk about other people lives and secrets.

I finally got to her parcel of land, it looked normal, no dead animals or weird symbols, just plants and trees that looked well taken care of. I walked right up to her front door and knocked, feeling a bit more comfortable now. I had convinced myself that there was probably nothing to be afraid of, that she was probably just an old lady…. that was until the door opened. It creaked open, loud and slow, then I heard a shrill voice in the distance of the dark and empty home, “Come in.”

Auto Draft

Dear Rudy,

I’m doing the whole cheesy Valentine’s Day note because I’m way to shy and bad with words to actually say this stuff to your face haha. I want to start out by saying how happy I am that you are in my life. Every day I look forward to coming back to the dorm and spending time with you, even if we just lay on my bed or go on a thousand trips to Kin’s Market because I didn’t read the chicken pot pie package. Thanks for being patient with me, helping me work the printer, making me laugh, making me question the world, and giving me butterflies when we kiss 🙂 I love that you can rock a pink shirt. But if you wear that shirt while riding your scooter and walking your little fluffy white “dog” (that think is NOT a real dog), I just don’t think I could take it. Haha :p Your motivation and determination are so inspiring. I love that you have goals and want to change the world. I love that we accept each other, even though we are pretty much polar opposites. We are both kind of assholes, so at least we have that in common haha. I also love how natural it is to be with you. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you and am happy to be your girlfriend 🙂

Love,

Erin (a.k.a, old man eyebrows, a.k.a. fatass, a.k.a. lazyass, a.k.a. dumbass) 🙂 hehe

P.S. If I wasn’t a broke ass I would have gone out and bought some sexy new lingerie to wear for you. Sadly, I have no money, so you get this cheesy homemade card instead 🙂

Context Of Image: Erin is really bad at drawing hearts and always makes them look like upside-down butts. I don’t know why, she just does, hence, the “I fucked up :(“

Letters From Erin p.1

Dear Rudy,

     Well I am about to leave but I guess I felt like I had a few more things to say. Get ready for some serious cheesiness 🙂

You are my best friend. And you are super sexy, so that’s a plus. Even your farts are hot. I love laughing with you and spending all day in bed talking. Time just seems to go away when I’m with you. That’s why this month away from you is going to drag by; I am going to be aware of every moment I can’t be kissing you. I know we piss each other off, but you are the only guy who is worth arguing with. Anyways, I love you. And even if you have sex with a bazillion girls, remember none of them have a mustache like mine :p

Love,

Erin

P.S. I would love to hear your voice over break, so if you feel like calling that would be cool 🙂

P.P.S. Writing this note is going to make me super late to the airport… Jerk.

(Context For Cow Drawings: I really like cows and Erin knew they’re my favorite animal)

Credit To Erin McMorries

Nothing

I’d always been so afraid of living a life that didn’t matter; I would grow old and no one would remember me. It was my biggest fear, to just be forgotten like a cheap pop song, here for a summer and gone so quickly. I used to sometimes stay up at night just thinking about ways that I could change the world somehow; impacting it with a grand gesture to ensure everyone remembered me after I was gone.

That’s why I did it, I wanted to feel like I was part of something, I wanted to be remembered. The push back of the shotgun felt exhilarating, like I was finally doing something that was affecting people, even if they fell to the floor afterwards. Shell after shell, I was walking towards them as they tried to escape the gym, all shoving each other trying to get to the exit. It was no use, I had already chained the doors together from the outside, six minutes earlier. Puddles of blood everywhere, more forming with each squeeze of the trigger. More bodies fell, one after the other, until all their bodies were on the ground.

For some reason, I always imagined this same scenario but there would be an orchestra playing in the background. There wasn’t though, the screaming eventually stopped and all I could hear was my heavy breathing with my heart feeling like it was going to burst out of my chest. I immediately wanted to run for the exit, “maybe I can still escape before they get here.” Yet, deep down I knew I wouldn’t make it off the school grounds. I knew the only two options I had given myself and I chose the latter.

The mouth of the gun felt so strange in my mouth. I thought about how strange it felt for a good while, the fact that it took up so much space in my mouth. I know why I took so much time thinking about it though; it’s because I don’t want to think about what comes next. I’d rather go through a thousand years of pain, than find out that after I pull the trigger, it just ends, that all there is, is nothing. I really hope I make it on the TV, that would be cool, I’ve never been on the TV before.

New Neighbor

The baseball flies across the fence. A loud crash of glass

Christian and Rodney ran to the fence.

“Your mom is going to kill you.” Rodney says with a huge smile.

“Shut up, don’t say that, it’s your fault for throwing the ball so hard.” replies Christian.

They both jump up onto the boards of the privacy fence and peak their heads over to see where the ball went.

“Oh no, it’s the new neighbor’s house. Now, your mom really is going to kill you.” laughed Rodney.

“Oh God, why me?” whispered Christian.

Rodney punches Christian’s right arm, “that’s what happens when you got a mad swing.” he laughed again, “You’re going to the majors someday, I can tell” with a big smirk on his face.

Christian let out a small smirk, but then got serious. “Why haven’t they come out of the house yet, to check on the window?”

“I don’t know, maybe they aren’t home. Their driveway looks empty.” said Rodney.

“What your neighbor doesn’t know won’t hurt them. Plus, nobody saw where it came from” said Christian with a big smile on his face, “The ball could be anyone’s, everyone plays baseball around here.”

“Wait, isn’t that the ball with your name on it?” replied Rodney.

Christian’s face went from relieved to complete dread. His eyes grew large. Rodney started laughing like a lunatic falling off the fence and rolling on the grass to where he could barely breathe.

“This is all your fault, why couldn’t you just throw me a softball, ugh, I’m dead meat!” cried Christian clenching his hands on top of the wooden fence.

Rodney finally caught his breath and climbed back onto the fence, “Look don’t worry about it, let’s jump the fence, go in real quick, grab the ball and then nobody will ever know it was us.”

They both remained silent, looking at each other. Finally, Christian nodded his head, “Okay.”

They quickly jumped over the fence, and were into the new neighbor’s yard in no time. They ran up to the broken window and placed their backs against the exterior walls on opposite sides of the window, pretending they were in an action movie.

“Do you see the ball?” Christian looked, but couldn’t see well inside since the room wasn’t lit, the window was tinted black and the only light going into the room was from the daylight through the opening of the broken glass.

“I think so, it’s inside the house but I think I can reach it through the hole in the window.” replied Rodney, “Maybe I can grab it.”

They both look around the backyard to make sure no one was spying on them. Then Rodney tried to reach inside, “ It’s a little too far, like a few inches.”

“Here, let me try, I’m taller,” said Christian.

“Fine,” Rodney replied in defeat, “It’s not my fault my growth spurt hasn’t come yet.”

Christian was too focused on the ball; he needed to get it out of that house. He was reaching for it and was a couple inches away from it. He kept reaching and reaching but it was no use, it was too far yet he persisted, pressing the side of his face against the window.

Then he could feel two cold hands placing the baseball into his. It started Christian and he yanked his arm out of the house.

“Cool you got it, now let’s get out of here before someone sees us.” Said Rodney already running back towards the fence.

Christian was still a little flustered but followed Rodney, with the baseball with his name on it.

Towards the fence Christian ran, but before he climbed over it, he stopped to look back towards the window. He couldn’t see anything through the hole in the glass, yet had this eerie feeling like something was staring back at him.

Breaking Heart

She was putting her hunter green sweater back on, fixing her funny looking blue hat with the puffy black ball on top, when she reaches for the door. She extends her left arm grabbing the door knob, clenching it but before she can twist it open, she turns her head towards me; not completely, almost like she doesn’t want me to see her entire face. I can barely see the side of her face but I see a black mascara line on her cheek, a remnant of the tear that was rolling down her face, not a minute ago.

“You know, part of me always knew we weren’t right for each other. We fight way too much,” she paused. cracking a small broken smile, “not even my parents fought this much when they were getting divorced.”

I wanted to tell her I was sorry, to take back everything that had just been said. I wanted to put back together all the pieces of us that were whole for just a few more moments. We were something just a few minutes earlier, we had been in each others’ lives for four years doing everything together, and now, and now we’re just a broken piece of NOTHING.

“I’m sorr-” I uttered.

“No, don’t. I know you just want to fix this. You always just want to fix everything, but honestly, it’s better if you just don’t.” she continued, “ I honestly, thought this would work eventually and that’s why I stayed. I thought this could somehow just work, like in the movies.”

She turned her head with her face facing straight at me, tears began to roll down her cheeks again. Her eyes were so blue. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that blue before. She was so beautiful, just the sight of her in that moment made me lose my breath. I couldn’t breathe one word, like I was in a trance, just taking her in.

She picked up her right hand to wipe her face, still clenching the door knob with her left. She finally twisted it, opening the door, “I guess, I’ll see you around…” Out the door she was, already closing the door behind her.

A small whisper managed to escape my lips, “Wait…” I said.

I saw the door stay ajar for a second longer, like she was still there, holding it open. Then it finally closed and just like that, I felt like a chapter in my life had just finished.

Foggy

I can’t stay focused, my mind feels so foggy with all the medication the nurses put in me. Time moves by so fast, weeks feel like days, days feel like hours. Here it comes again, one of the nurses gets me with the thick needle, god I hate those needles… the sharp pain is followed by the pressure of the solution in the syringe. However, this time it’s different, I feel myself drifting further; the fog is there but now I can feel myself going into something deeper. They’re putting me to sleep again! It doesn’t make sense, the clock above my door reads that it’s only 3pm, they don’t usually put me to sleep until 8pm and not a minute sooner, something must be wrong. The darkness finally takes me and I drift to sleep.

I’m back at work, with my lab equipment and formulas on the board. I can see someone bringing me a report and discussing the details on how we might be able to achieve a successful trial. The conversation is engaging but I know the truth, I have to get the funding for our project, if we are to ever have a hope of attempting a successful trial. Our work is groundbreaking which has the potential to save so many lives and would revolutionize the world as we know it.

I feel so cold and light-headed, the soreness of my neck keeps me from turning my neck too much and my whole body aches. I hear muffled footsteps. I also can’t see very well, my vision is blurry and I can barely make out the tile floors. Why am I seeing the floor tiles go by? I finally come to, I’m being carried!

Okay focus, look around and try to figure out where I am. I try to look for a window, maybe it could be a clue to my location. I manage to get a glimpse through one of the windows to my right side but I just see darkness outside. It’s the dead of night and there’s tree branches waving outside. Where am I? Something has gone wrong because even though I can feel them trying to remain calm and collected, they’re moving with a sense of urgency; they must be in a hurry to get me to their destination.

They suddenly stop, the biggest one of the four guards places me on the ground in a sitting position, with my back against the wall. The four guards are dressed entirely in black and have stocky builds. The nurse that put me to sleep is also with them. The guard handcuffs my right wrist to the steel pipe extruding from the brick wall and then groups back with the others but still nearest to me.

My hearing is getting better. Why are the alarms going off? They are so loud.

Bang

The double doors that dissect the long hallway in front of us blast off. A thick smoke begins to encapsulates the room very quickly. I can barely make out a figure at the beginning of the hallway. The guards pull out handguns and start aiming past the smoke at the shadowy figure with their backs towards me. They are shouting at the figure but the figure keeps marching towards us. They start firing their weapons…

Class Clown

Murphy was sitting at his desk reading his favorite book, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.”

He wasn’t a very smart kid, he kept to himself and avoided conflict. His hair was red, his skin was pale and his nose always went blood red when he got nervous, which the kids would regularly tease him for by calling him the Class Clown.

The class was always rowdy and in complete chaos, with kids never listening to the teacher, Ms. Daily because she would just watch her favorite shows on her phone with her headphones on.

Murphy was reading his book, when Danny decided to come up behind him and give him a wet willie. Murphy was confused as he jumped out of the way once he felt his ear cold and wet.

“You’re such a boring clown, clowns are supposed to be stupid and funny, but you’re just stupid!,” Danny said with a big smirk on his face, “My little brother can read that book faster than you and he’s only 5.”

Murphy tried to ignore Danny, he usually would just leave him alone and move on to the next kid to pick on if Murphy ignored him.

Noticing that Murphy just went back to reading his book, annoyed Danny more than usual. “Hey, I’m talking to you.” Danny shouted at him, but Murphy continued to ignore him. This annoyed Danny to the point that he kicked the side of Murphy’s desk causing it to tip over and fall on its other side. A loud crash made the whole class pay attention. Then, the whole class began to laugh at Murphy, his nose got really red, to which everyone began to chant “Class Clown, Class Clown, Class Clown!”

Ms. Daily glanced at the situation for a moment but then went back to her phone.

Murphy got up slowly, but he wasn’t wearing a sad face or nervous at all, his face was completely stoic. He went to the back of the class where all the backpacks were piled up, put his bag on and went towards the front door.

“You going to go cry to the principal again, you poor little baby crier.” Yelled Danny across the classroom.

Murphy reached for the door, locking it.

Murphy reached into his backpack, and pulled out the handgun he stole from his oldest brother’s closet.

His brother had a lot of bullets.

screaming ensued

yelling

banging on the window and walls as everyone tried to escape

The room fell almost silent with only loose papers that had flown up and were now slowly falling to the ground.

He tucked in his uniform, as it had come undone from the back.

“I’ve got to admit, I expected a little more pizzazz if I’m being completely honest” said Murphy to the silent room.

He put his gun back into his bag and exhaled a breath of relief, “Man that felt good.”

Then he heard a coughing noise, as if chocking on water. He grabbed for his gun again and walked towards the source of the sounds slowly. A few bodies were covering her, but her head was still visible. In seeing him, her eyes opened twofold. It was Ms. Daily. Her choking grew faster, and she wiggled more and more, trying to escape but it was futile, she was stuck and under the mercy of this murderer. “Any last words before the end of this amazing performance, Ms. Daily?” Murphy said.

Her chocking continued, but was still able to blurt out a muffled word, “Why… why?” Showing her teeth in pain, with blood flooding out of her mouth.

“You see, I just don’t like this school, I don’t like the students, the teachers, and I really don’t appreciate the name Class Clown, which everyone loves to call me so much.”

He pressed the mouth of the gun against her forehead with a smile on his face.

“It’s funny, you call me a clown but y’all are the ones always clowning around. HAHAHAAHAHA!!”

a bullet fires and the room finally goes dead silent

It was so quiet you wouldn’t have guessed that just 5 minutes earlier kids were playing around and jumping off desks, paper footballs, running around the class, boys kissing girls, girls kissing boys, shooting spitballs, with the teacher at her desk just ignoring the students’ antics and watching her shows with her headphones on*

Murphy walked back towards his desk, picked it up and sat back down. He went back to the page he had left on and began reading, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie…”

War Chief

The woods were clattering, leaves restless, the rain was pouring heavier now.

“Don’t let them take me, just let me go and I will never return” she pleaded. Kerra was stoic, she remained unmoved by her emotions.

“I have a duty to uphold and a responsibility to my people” Kerra responded.

“I’ll do anything, I will fight your fight, I will be your slave if that’s what you desire but just let me live” Tears began to roll down Lira’s cheeks, “Give me another day, please!”

“This is the way of our people and what would they do to me if I didn’t execute you now? What would they think of me if I let you live? No, you die here and now, and I will ascend” said Kerra.

On her knees with her arms tied behind her back, Lira lowered her head. She knew there was nothing she could say to escape her fate.

Kerra stepped towards her and moved Lira’s hair to reveal her neck. “I will make sure it’s a clean cut” Kerra said raising her blade up in the air.

“Thank you sister” Lira responded with her voice wavering through the tears, “You will make a great war chief”

For a second, everything felt clear, she was about to ascend by removing the purity out of her life and becoming the war chief her people needed her to be.

She let the blade come down, with a fierceness. Clean cut, right through, with Lira’s head toppling into the puddle of mud. Kerra’s heart was pumping, her face was hot. She had finally ascended and become war chief of her people. An adrenaline was pumping throughout her body and to her chest, like if her heart was about to explode out of her very being.

The clattering of the woods began to subside. The rain turned to a faint drizzle. A hand pressed on her shoulder, startling Kerra slightly, “Breathe, just breathe. Don’t let them see you waver Kerra, don’t let them see you feel. They are watching you like vultures and only strength matters to them now.”

Kerra took a deep breathe and then another, “I know mother, I am war chief now and I will march us into the future. Nothing will hold me back.”