Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Phoenix Princess

Once, when the world was young and new, a powerful wizard fell in love with a beautiful princess. He wooed her with gifts of jewels, priceless treasures, and promises of great power over the peoples of the land. But she did not return his love, for she could see that he was corrupt with evil in his heart.

Even when the wizard threatened to use his magic to cast the world into darkness forever, she would not relinquish her love to him.

Enraged, the wizard called upon his powers to plunge the world into an eternal blackness.

The princess then begged and pleaded with the wizard to take it back, she promised to be his bride, if only he would bring the light back. But the effort that it took him to shroud the world in its black veil, had been too great, and the wizard died with a twisted smile upon his lips.

Overwrought with guilt, the princess ran to the highest mountain top, and leapt into the eternal night sky.

As she ascended, her heart burst; burst into a fiery phoenix, soaring on high, illuminating the darkness.

The phoenix stayed aloft for as long as it could, bringing light back to the world for an entire day. And when it could no longer burn bright enough, it dived down into the horizon to rest; slumbering with a warm, pale glow that softened the pitch of dark.

Once it had rest, the phoenix arose, once more ablaze with light for the dawn.

Thus it was, that the world had been immersed into darkness by anger and greed, and saved from its dark fate each morning by the broken heart of the Phoenix Princess.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Swanlight

As the daylight dims, where evening and night meet, strange shadows cast by the streetlamps, create pockets of darkness in the doorways and alcoves of the city street.

In the friscalating dusk light, dangers that hide in the bright of day, come out from the recesses of the mind, to play tricks in the unfamiliar night.

Greasy, amber light flickers in places we know to be safe; filling them with imagined mysteries we know not to be. But ones we cannot help but see.

Beckoning us in, it welcomes us with open arms. The shadows entice us with their dark charms.

We enter in; slip breathlessly into the night. And we pass forever, out of sight.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

It had not been a hallucination, Theodore thought fiercely.

It had not been a figment of his imagination. He had seen the giant tortoise by the park. Hadn't he?

He had seen the big domed shape on the green grass that edged the marshy stream running on the border of the big city park. Out of the corner of his eye as he had run passed on one of his daily jogs.

At first he had thought it was just a clump of grass and dirt, but he could have sworn he had seen it move.

He regretted not stopping at the time and going back to check, because now the question haunted him. Did he see a giant tortoise in the middle of the city, lounging on the grassy green lawn of the park?

When he made the claim that he had to his friends and family, they just laughed and thought he was just telling one of his fancy stories.

And maybe it was.

He had gone back to the spot maybe times, sometimes armed with a camera, and sometimes just altering his jogging route to check periodically for the big turtle. But it was never there.

It was maddening.

He had almost come to believe it had been just his imagination, until one fall evening Theodore was on a quick run, not even realizing he was running passed the fabled patch of grass, when there it was.

The big tortoise. Just sitting there, almost awaiting his arrival.

Theodore stopped, almost jumping with excitement. He had to cover his mouth with his hand from laughing out loud with joy. He did not want to spook the animal away. Though how fast a giant tortoise could flee did not enter his mind; it was racing with exhilaration.

He stood and stared at the big animal for a long while, as it simply regarded him with kind old eyes; eyes that seemed to smile back at the jubilant Theodore.

Slowly he began to move toward the kindly old tortoise and as he neared, its head bobbed up and down as if it were approving of Theodore's approach.

The dimming autumn sunlight began to reverse and brighten into a spring morning as Theodore reached out his hand to the moss-patched dome of the tortoise's shell.

Its head still bobbing with approval, Theodore placed his hand on the textured surface of the shell. His smile broke into laughter as he felt a warmth pour over him as the daylight shinned on their private patch of grass.

Knowing that it was the right thing to do, Theodore sidled the massive turtle and mounted its shelled back.

Sitting atop the tortoise, Theodore threw back his head as he laughed as he had when he had been young; full of pure delight.

Slowly the tortoise plodded around the soft grass lawn as Theodore smiled and laughed, the summer sun warming his face.

For what might have been moments, or a lifetime, he rode around on the tortoise's shell, all the while laughing until tears welled in his eyes.

At last, they rode into the light that bordered their grassy field and both he and his turtle friend were enveloped by the white light.

When Theodore opened his eyes he was standing on the sidewalk beside the park. Shadows were growing within the threes and the autumn air was becoming quickly chilled as the light drained from the evening sky.

Theodore looked around for the tortoise but it was no where in sight. Had it been there?

The memory of riding around on the turtle's back began to fade like a dream as he stood panting from his jog. He shook his head and continued his run home; the question still in his mind. Had he seen the tortoise or just imagined it?

By the time he arrived back at home he had decided that he would keep the memory to himself. Not a story or hallucination.

A memory of riding the tortoise in the bright summer sun.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Sand Storm

In the deep desert, the sands whipped, cutting through the air likes sharpened knives.

So thick was the sand cloud that it blotted out the sky, leaving no trace of horizon to the west. But in the center of the swirling mass of sands, a darker figure appeared.

Moving through with ease, the figure came closer to the edge of the storm. Cloaked, the figure came to the boarder of the storm and stood, as if no winds whip at all, just inside the curtain of sand; which ceased moving as the figure stopped.

From under their darkly veiled hood, staring of the storm as it raged about, the figure remained un-phased by its cutting sands.

Purposely, the figure moved out from the sands' curtain, into the clear air before it.

After watching and waiting for a time, the figure then raised their arms up and the storm sands grew into the sky even higher. Then with a quick motion, the figure dropped their arms down, and the sandstorm died out in unison.

From the dispersing sands, surrounding the cloaked figure by the thousands, emerged an great army. All clad in sandy coloured cloth, tightly wrapped around their bodies, the legions all swayed in the deadly silence of the brightly lit morning.

Their leader, still staring into the distance, pulled back the hood that hid them from sight. The bright blue hue of the man's eyes matched the azure of the sky. They pierced through the distance as he stared eastward.

A leather cloth still masked his mouth and nose from the arid desert air, but his eyes chowed the snarl upon his hidden lips.

Hatred seethed within the bright blue of his gaze, firmly set on the shimmering city that lay on the far horizon.

Silver towers reaching up to the sky, crowded by smaller buildings, all silver as well, stood out in the desert landscape like a shinning crown.

And the leader of the massive desert horde glared at it with all the furies of the sands, blowing within his eyes.

With a sudden flourish of his cloaked arms, he lifted them high above his darkly-haired head. The calm sands swirled up around the soldiers and they all disappeared within the storm once more.

As the curtain of sands grew to block out the western sky again, their leader pulled the dark hood back on; shrouding the bright blue of his eyes in shadow.

And when he was ready, the storm moved upon him, swallowed him whole, and covered everything in darkness.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Dark Reflection

His dark reflection in the window changed. He could see the features of his face move from shadow to light as the train moved through the tunnels.

At one moment it was the bright, friendly, familiar visage he saw day in, day out. But the next, it was distorted and strange; a frightening doppelganger of himself, staring back from the other side of the glass.

And as the reflection stared, an evil smile spread across its face; a grin that sent a chill down his spine.

For as the smile broadened and darkened, he recognized whom he was facing. It was the dark part of himself that he hid away. Every secret, lie, or malicious thought that he had buried deep within was staring back at him; staring with burning, black eyes. Terror filled him and he began to scream.

As his screams filled the subway car and I turned up the music in my headphones, I thought with a sigh; I knew I shouldn't have sat down next to this guy.

Oh well, only two more stops to go.