Tiny Bear

Once there was a tiny bear that lived in the forest. Abandoned by his fellow bears because of his small stature, he roamed the towering trees of wood alone, searching for a purpose to his teeny, tiny life.

One day, while he was trying to catch giant salmon in the rushing stream, the tiny bear caught the scent of a camp fire cooking something that smelled delicious, so he let his nose lead him toward a campsite where a family of humans were preparing their mid-day meal.

Easily hiding behind an old stump, the tiny bear looked on as the family of campers bustled around the site; everyone doing their part to get the meal ready, except for two of the young boys who were off to the side of their shelter dome, playing.

Although, when the tiny bear looked closer, he could see they were playing, but larger boy was controlling the smaller one's own arms, making the younger boy hit himself with his own hands, and it seemed the smaller boy was helpless to struggle against it.

This filled the tiny bear with anger, for it reminded him of when his bigger, stronger siblings used to push and paw him around just because he was so much smaller than them. So, he growled his small, but deep growl and barrelled his way across the campsite toward the two human children and leapt into the air, somersaulting into a ball to hit squarely into the middle of the older boy's back.

The boy cried out in surprise and tumbled forward, letting go of his brother as he sprawled out on the damp ground. Bouncing back up on all fours, the tiny bear growled at the downed boy as he stood between him and the smaller brother, who now stood dumbfounded at the sight of the little black bear.

With startled yelp, the older boy jumped to his feet and ran crying to his mother who was checking on the simmering pot over the fire.

The bully defeated, the tiny bear turned to the other boy, who still stood twice the bear's height, and sniffed at him with a friendly air. The boy kneeled cautiously down and held out his hand so the tiny bear pushed his head underneath it, allowing the boy to pet him.

Clearly this boy was in need of protection, and what better protection was there than that of a portable wild bear by your side?

After some begging and promising to take care of him, the boy's family said it was alright to keep the tiny bear and they took him with them when they left.

From then on, the two were inseparable, boy and bear, and there was no challenge or bully too great for them to overcome.

Finally, the tiny bear had found his purpose and as the young boy grew into a man, the tiny bear stayed with him.

Until the day the tiny old bear had grown frail and tired, and passed away in his friend's arms as he wept for his small, loyal companion.

Not wanting to be without his tiny bear comrade, the young man had him stuffed and treated so that when the time came, he could pass him along to his own son, to be the child's protector.

Thus is the tale of the first stuffed toy bear.

Hideous

Sometimes it is hard to be a hideous monster, Gorak thought to himself as he stomped home after the long, dark night.

Not the terrifying the humans that slipped into the dark nether regions of the Darkness, between Waking world and the world of Dreams part; that was the fun part.

No, it was the drudging hours spent waiting in cramped, damp spaces like beneath cellar staircases, under close-to-the-floor beds, or in over-filled and disorganized closets, just for the few fleeting moments when a frightened human happened to catch a glimpse of his nightmarish form.

Their screams were delicious, but his massive size made for many uncomfortable nights.

And though he was well-liked in the Company, and the higher-ups were happy with his performance, it was always those slick, wraith-like types that were all long fingers and teeth that kept getting promoted over him; he lacked the drive to bring new and innovative ideas to the field of terror to really make it.

He was just a big, lumbering beast that looked scary but he never got into the mind games that his supervisors were looking for in upper management. Or so they said at his quarterly revues, but he knew they thought he was too dumb to be really life-scaringly scary.

Maybe he was, he thought, maybe he would just be the grotesque hulk that lurked in the dark, night in and night out until he was too old and too tired to do anything else.

With a big sigh he turned up the walkway to his small, one bedroom cave, pushed the door boulder aside and lurched sadly inside. He plopped down on his recliner chair and turned on the television to see what new horrors were happening around the world he could use in his nightly excursions.

Slowly, his heavy eye lids began to droop and, like most days, he fell asleep in his chair in front of the flickering images of the atrocities the humans did to themselves; if only he could think of something half as terrible as those, he would be chairman of the board already.

Instead he drifted into his usual nightmare, the one where he worked at the animal shelter with hundreds of cute puppies and fluffy kittens all jumping on him and licking his face. It was real terror.

Betwixt

Betwixt the shadow of night and the light of day, out on the horizon of the dawn, there lies a plain of existence separate from our own; a realm where all things are possible and time is stretched out into eternity.

There are some who say that there is no such place, that it is a fleeting fantasy of those that wish to escape reality. They say what lies out on the horizon is only more horizon, a shimmering haze that tricks the foolish into venturing out further and further, until they become lost and drowned out in the frigid sea.

Yet, this is untrue, this fact I know; know it in my heart, that there is another world beyond the edge of this one, and it is there that I must go.

Galloping across the grassy plains, my horse charges on as I push him to dash on; onward fervently, toward the glimmer on the horizon; onward toward the gateway that leads to another realm amongst the golden clouds that hang there.

While keeping my sights ahead toward my goal, in my mind I look inward to see the pleading faces of my family, imploring me not to strike out on my quest. I had tried to explain to them, tried to make them see; there was another world out there; I needed there to be.

But they would not listen, so it was with a heavy heart that I stole away in the night, to race against the rising sun; to meet that perfect moment where the first sliver of daylight breaks through the cloak of night, to reveal the way in.

If only I could be fast enough, I could see her again.

As we moved closer to where I knew the land would give way to the crystal blue waters of the sea, doubt crept, sneaking in to my sorrow-filled thoughts.

It must be there; it had to be, for why else would she not have returned to her devoted love; why had she not returned to me?

I too had thought her tales of the realm between worlds to be a foolish dream, so away from me she had run; towards the dawn's new born sun, until she had vanished into its bright, golden light.

Now my only hope is to find the land she has already found; to tell her I was wrong, that I do believe in that place, in her realm above the sea and below the sky above, where we can be together forever as one.

Sprinting now, the wind whipping in our faces, man and beast moving together, racing to the edge of consciousness; memories of my love's smiling face blurring in my mind's eye, as the horizon melds with the land and sky, allowing us to gallop on through to the realm in between.

Here betwixt the shadow of night and the light of day, I have found you, my love, you were right, and now forever here we will stay. Far away from the grey world we left down below; far away from the cold, cruel sea, where our earthly bodies now lay.

The Beast

"Many have come before you." The great beast told him in its rumbling voice that shook the ground beneath his feet. "And all have failed. But, come, brave fool; come and take your turn."

Alejandro steadied himself from the tremors and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. He had ventured long and far into the dark Forest of the North, searching for the Beast of Legend; a creature the elders of his village had told tales of since times gone by, so ancient and massive that it was said to have existed since the dawn of time, possibly even before that.

Like all the children of the village, he had grown up listening to these tales, filling his head with ambitions of adventure and glory. And once he had grown up strong and skilled, he had set forth on his quest to hunt down and kill the Beast.

It had been an arduous journey, filled with much peril that tested him to his very limits. Through poisonous swamps that robbed him of his strength, an expansive river which caused him to forget who he was and where he was heading, even a crystal cavern where he had come face to face with his own dark reflection.

Yet he had triumphed over all these trials and tribulations to reach the edge of the Forest; to finally arrive at the very and of the world.

The Beast spoke true enough though, on his voyage Alejandro had come across the remains of the many warriors that had come before and not made it as far as he had. This had filled his heart with pride and renewed strength, for he had come further than any had before; he had found the Beast and would triumph over it as well.

The Beast's massive head swung around atop its great, scaled neck and looked down upon the tiny man standing ready to strike on the ground so far below with its grotesquely huge eye.

It laughed and the world shook.

"I can hear your thoughts, boy." It rumbled amusedly. "And you are mistaken. It is not as if the others had not made it this far. It is that they came to realize what you shortly will. And, like them, the knowledge will drive you screaming in madness."

Alejandro's nerve wavered slightly; what did the great creature mean?

No, he thought, steeling himself once more, it was toying with him, trying to make him lose his resolve; but he would not break, he would not fail.

Before the Beast could muddle his mettle further, Alejandra leapt into action and charged toward where the huge creature's neck had erupted from the edge of the cliff that dropped abruptly at the forest's end.

With a fierce shout, Alejandro took a mighty leap and jumped onto the Beast's thick neck and ran up its long, curving slope, brandishing his sword and baring his teeth.

As he neared the humongous head, he hefted his sword above his own head, readying to rein deadly blows upon the old monster.

He then caught sight of the view beyond the Beast's massive form; beyond the cliff's edge, and it froze his heart and stopped him dead in his tracks.

For below where he stood upon the reptilian-like neck of the ancient creature he had come to slay, was nothingness.

No land far below, no rushing river being fed from a high waterfall, not even clouds or sky; only the nothingness of space that hung all around them, the stars and the sphere of the sun shining far off in the distance.

Alejandro looked back at the cliff's edge and saw that it was made up of the enormous form of the Beast; everything was. The land itself was riding on the back of the Beast's scaly back.

The truth flooded his mind and everything began to swirl as he lost his balance and slipped backwards, hitting the hard surface of the Beast's neck and bouncing off to fall, screaming out into the void of space.

His final vision, before his mind fell into the madness that was the abyss below, was of the entirety of his world floating above him in space as he plunged further and further away from it, into the darkness, and the Beast laughed its gravely laugh.

Fortune

The street lamps flickered in the distance and then, one by one, started to blink out.

Sonja's mind raced with fear as the darkness of the deserted street marched toward her with each failing lamp post.

This cannot be happening. She thought to herself. That old fraud could not have done this.

It was only her mind playing tricks on her.

But the dark spreading toward her seemed very real and very final as she stood on the damp sidewalk, frozen with fright.

She should not have listen to Fiona; her stupid friend had suggested that it would be fun to go to the old fortune teller tonight instead of going to the usual Halloween parties. And when the creepy woman in the cluttered and incense-stinking shop had suggested Fiona was a shallow and vapid person, she should not have let her storm out without paying the woman for her unappreciated services.

The crone had grown scarily angry and muttered some incantation in a language Sonja did not understand or even recognize. Before she could go after her friend, the crazed woman clutched at her arm with a bony hand, cursing that, 'the darkness will take the both of you!'

Sonja pulled herself away and ran out of the grimy shop after her friend, however, Fiona was no where to be seen. Sonja called after her as she quickly walked back down the street the way they came but her friend had seemed to have just vanished into the night.

As she had walked on, there seemed to be fewer and fewer people out on the street, until it felt as though the entire neighbourhood had been abandoned and Sonja was left alone in the lamp-lit night.

And now, those lights were going out as she stood and watched fearfully, until all but the lone streetlamp post that shined down upon her were darkened.

From her tiny island of light, she looked frantically around; searching for signs of any other illumination, but there was only the complete and utter darkness that surrounded her now.

As her eyes strained to see anything in the pitch black that lay beyond the circle of amber light she dared not move from, something large and hideous moved in the shadows just on the edge of her field of vision.

Sonja's blood turned to ice as she heard the unmistakable sound of heavy hooves stepping on the cement of dark sidewalk outside the circle of lamp light.

A huge and menacing presence loomed up from the darkness behind her, and though she dared not turn to see it, she knew it had come for her.

One single, crunching hoof clomped down; breaking into the sanctuary of light, and Sonja let out a blood-curdling cry, sprinting out into the darkness; her fear of what lay in wait abandoned to the need to get away from whatever nightmare was behind.

Her scream was cut abruptly short as a car horn blared and its tires screeched on the pavement, too late to avoid hitting the woman that had suddenly run out into the middle of the street.

As the diver got out a saw the crumpled body of Sonja lying on the ground in front of his car, he looked around at the well-lit street and called out for the passer-bys to call for help.

In the crowd of people the had gathered to witness the grisly scene, the little old fortune teller stood watching, her wrinkled and creased face, distorted by the lamp light, and by the cruel smile she wore with satisfaction.

Wendy and the Whale

Wendy laid back and looked up at the vast swirl of stars as they drifted by, relaxing her breathing to match that of the great beast's beneath her.

Sometimes, even she got caught up in their quest and forgot to take the time and really appreciate the beauty that surrounded them, so it was nice to just lay there and breathe.

Scanning the constantly changing kaleidoscope of twinkling stars, she caught sight of her tent out of the top of her vision. Her modest little dwelling was a few meters away from where she lay and a wave of contentment washed over her as she looked upon it.

Here, so far away from everything she had ever known, it was all she really needed. It gave her a sense of pride that she was able to get by with just a sturdy, green canvas tent and cot; not even the fact that they were pitched on the back of a giant whale as it swam its way across immensity of space.

She rolled onto her side and patted the whale's rubbery skin lovingly as it sang out its own contentment with its high pitched cooing song.

The massive orb of a derelict moon reflected the solar system's distant sun's light a pale blue as the whale crossed over its expanse; a small silhouette against the moon's surface.

Wendy and the whale had travelled through many lonely star systems together, in search of the lost space cruiser that held her home planet's entire population inside its great, city-sized hold.

The ship had been on its mission to seek out a new, viable home planet after the destruction of their own, when Wendy had accidentally opened the aquarium containment unit while sneaking in to swim with the big whale.

The two vagabonds tumbled out into space as the ship jumped to the next system, leaving them to follow slowly behind; to try and pick up any signs of the engine's particle trail and track them from galaxy to galaxy.

So, in fact, it might have been Wendy and the whale that were lost, though she could not really put any blame on the whale. It was her fault they were wandering through the cosmos, and she was determined to find a way to reunite them with the ship, and their families.

But for now, it was nice to take a break and enjoy the wonders of the universe as she rode through them on the back of a whale.

As the strange creature made its way passed the blue moon, a small ship drifted cautiously in the shadows of a slowly turning asteroid, its pilot sat watching from the cockpit; watching and waiting to see where the beast and its tiny passenger would lead them next...

My Love

Why do you shake, my love?

Though, the fire is roaring with its heat so bright,

There is indeed a chill in the air that cuts me to the very bone.

Why do you shiver and quake, my love?

For it was I that was lost in the dark and cold of the woods tonight,

Though I cannot remember how I came to be there, dirty and alone.

Why have you gone so pale, my love?

It was I who had visions so terrible and full of fright;

Visions of being buried alive in the earth so deep,

For past sins I had to atone.

Why do you not come to me, my love?

I have returned home to you, but you do not delight.

After I awoke in that muddied field,

At the foot of that foreboding tombstone.

What is that you whisper, my love?

I cannot not hear what you have said.

Mutterings to yourself,

That I cannot be here...

That I am dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk7B-E4oIWA