Short Stories and General Musings
Thunder thrashes in the sky, each strike filled with rage.
Under their blankets, children cower in fear.
Every rattle of the house, sends them deeper under the covers.
Some dream of a better day, the sun warm and breeze mild.
Darkness creeps around each corner, hiding secrets great and small.
Against all odds the storm abates, sending them out into glorious sunshine.
Yet the wise among them know, the storm is never really over.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
“Because there’s still a fucking pandemic! I know, it’s one thing if you have to go out for your job, like if you’re an essential worker or whatever, but come on, swanning around town because you’re bored, not distancing or wearing a mask, and being pissed at so-called ‘oppression’ is just such bullshit! And so stupid. There is real oppression out there, and it’s not affecting these assholes who are being asked to wear a mask.”
Hmm, Milo thought, watching his human storm around the kitchen. Something’s got her all riled up. He flicked his tail, content to perch on his carpeted tower. All the better to survey his domain. His human had been spending a lot more time at home lately. At first, it had annoyed Milo, but he’d quickly gotten used to having her around. He actually preferred it, not that he’d ever let her know.
continue reading Bzzz.
Weight falls like Atlas
Dropping the world.
Bzzz.
Gone are rules of beauty
That confine us.
Bzzz.
Gone are expectations
That drown us.
Bzzz.
Gone are capitalistic necessities
That indebt us.
Bzzz.
There is freedom in the lightness
And a clarity in the air.
Bzzz.I am myself.
Bzzz.I am beautiful.
Bzzz.I am free.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
“Dr. Johnson, you really need to do something about Chantel Richards.” The administrator waved his hands about in exasperation.
Dr. Johnson sighed, lifting her gaze from the laptop before her. Bureaucrats. Always interrupting important work for their rambles.
“Why?”
The man shuffled his feet. “Weren’t you listening?”
“No, I wasn’t. You have interrupted a very important line of thought, so I’d suggest you get on with it.”
continue readingThe Universe has always existed, and it always will. No beginning, no end, no middle – an eternal continuance.
But at some point, Something woke up.
Something decided there should be more to the Universe besides its own existence. The Universe was beautiful, magical, but empty. There was no Life in the Universe.
And so Something decided to do something about it. Something found a planet, just right for its plans. It was a small planet, held together around a molten core. It had land and sky, and seas all around.
Something knew it was perfect.
It circled the planet, planning. There was so much space, so many options.
As a being of the Universe, Something could see all of time, past, present, future, all running at once.
It could see that if it meddled on this planet, wonderful things would happen.
It could see that if it meddled on this planet, terrible things would happen.
Something had to make a decision. Was it worth it, to create Life that would be so full of pain and struggle, so full of fear and rage?
Something shuffled through time, looking for a moment in the madness; just one, to give it hope.
It paused, focusing on one image. A child sat, dark curly hair surrounding her like a shining aura, her brown skin warm from the sun. Her eyes were closed against the world whizzing past her, and a small smile lit up her face.
This was the moment for which Something was looking. A moment of purity, of love, of peace, stolen away from the world that wanted to crush it, triumphant in its innocent transcendence.
If this moment was possible, then maybe, just maybe, the Universe could handle a little Life.
Something breathed on the planet, and so it was.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
I used to think it strange,
Listening to the old fable,
That Hope kept such bad company
In Pandora’s gilded box.
Curiosity got the better of her,
As it usually does,
And horrors were released
By vindictive deities.
War
Hatred
Greed
Pain
Disease
Poverty
Death
And yet Hope was left behind,
Sealed in tight
When Pandora realized the trick
Played on her by fate.
But I think I understand now.
Hope can be beautiful,
But it can also bring us pain.
A pain we live with every day.
We hold out Hope,
Waiting for things to change,
To be better,
To make a difference
To save us.
And yet.
Hope can be the pain in our chests,
The fog in our eyes.
Hope lingers just out of reach,
Mocking our suffering.
I think I understand the story now.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Broken bits of story
Float across my mind,
Teasing me
With their potential.
I sit,
Staring at an empty page,
Waiting for the words
To come and find me.
My fingers wait,
Still as stone.
Or they fly,
Dancing on their own.
I am eternally surprised
How something can be
So easy, and so hard,
At the same time.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
There is magic in the air,
I can feel it on my skin,
Somewhere a storm is brewing,
And about to head my way.
I hear a warning from the trees,
As they waver to and fro.
Seek shelter! They cry, Take heed!
The rain is on its way!
I smell the drops just as they fall,
And feel them on my skin.
The rain brings with it a fresh hope,
For change,
And growth,
And peace of mind.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
“But you just told me a few weeks ago that you were ready to start dating? Why won’t you just talk to this guy, I think he’d be perfect for you!”
“Yeah, but Carly,” Shayne said, staring at the blurry image of her best friend on the computer screen, “that was before everything went to shit and we all had to go on lock down. Why should I bother trying to meet anyone now, when I won’t even be able to see them for months?”
Carly crossed her arms, a sure sign she was going to dig in her heels. “It’s not like the early stages of dating are even that different. Everyone just talks through the apps or texts at first anyway. And there’s video calls, and regular calls-”
“Thrilling.”
continue readingThe habits we want
Always seem to be the ones
Hardest to keep up.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020