Short Stories and General Musings
“Just walk away, like you always do!”
Jess reared back like she’d been slapped. “Like I do? You’re the one who runs away whenever I try to talk to you about anything serious!”
Jake threw his hands in the air. “Well, when you just launch into things, with no warning, when everything is going fine, yeah, I’m gonna react!”
“Going fine? Going fine?! Jake, are you blind? Things haven’t been fine for a long time.”
“Then why don’t you just leave?”
“Maybe I should!”
continue readingShe watched as he stalked toward her, a smile tugging at her lips. His brilliant green eyes gazed straight into hers, and he moved with a predatory grace, all loose muscle and subtle confidence. She itched to touch him, to feel his sleekness under her palms. Pride and independence flashed in his eyes, and she longed to know what he was thinking.
Finally he stood before her, full of non-nonchalant swagger. She watched his eyes widen as she lunged forward, scooping him up, holding him close to her chest.
“Who’s my good wittle kitty cat?!”
The small cat grumbled in her embrace. So much for being a fierce warrior…
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
“Okay, why are you following me?”
“What? I’m not following you.”
“Yes, you are. I saw you at the grocery store, the library, and on the bus. What gives?”
“Well…”
“WHY?!”
“No need to yell! Would you believe me if I told you-”
“That I’m, what, chosen? Not that cliché.”
“Well, things become cliché for a reason…”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m really not. Hey, no need to push!”
“Just leave me alone. I have enough going on without more crazy following me around.”
“About that…”
“Ugh. What?”
“Didn’t you ever wonder why crazy seems to follow you?”
“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Realization
Crashes unexpectedly,
How alone I am.
Longing for something
I’ve never known wells in me,
Like tears in my eyes.
I long to be seen,
To be understood, be touched,
To be someone’s choice.
I clench my eyes shut,
Breathing deep, willing away
The ache in my chest.
A moment, then two.
Numbness settles over me,
And I move along.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
I think they’d be disappointed.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Do you ever look back on your past selves,
And wonder what they would think,
Of who you are now?
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Ah, bureaucracy,
The bloated system somehow
Running everything.
I watch in sheer awe,
The improbability
Of it all stunning.
How can the world run
Smoothly when inside chaos
Reigns with iron fist?
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
To love anyone is to love everyone,
For there is a beauty shared amongst us –
A beauty called humanity.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Time to sleep
To drift
To ride the endless sea
Of dreams
Time to escape
To run
To leave the terrible thing
Called reality
Time to go
To play
To frolic
To enjoy what you can
Till the time is up
Time to rouse
To rise
To get away from the comfort
Of fantasy
And reenter the world of
Actuality
© The Lightning Tower, 2020
Dreams of my future
Dance past me, away from me,
And I can’t stop them.
I must learn, accept,
That my life is not the one
I thought it would be.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020