Old Chair
by photokop

Comment:
At the end, all he had was the memories.

The young couple so much in love, that had purchased him for their newlywed home. Their passion and happiness, in the beginning, had filled him with pride and joy.

The children that came later, to climb over him and play games like hide and seek, giggling as they hid behind.

The stories told to toddlers in laps.

The caresses given in love and companionship.

The quiet afternoons in font of the fire, with one or another relaxing upon him with a good book.

The comfort given as she sat and cried, curled up, lamenting the loss of her beloved.

The endless nights knitting for the grandchildren.

The glorious return of childhood when those grandchildren would visit.

The final days, when she became sick and spent so much time within his cushion.

In the end, all he had were the memories, and they were all he needed.

Daniel
by HalldorIngi

Comment:
It was in the dark, at the end of the day, when it was hardest. When the weight of the world settled in on him. When he felt he had no-one to talk to, nowhere to turn. When the trials of school, and the other kids, who were always so cruel, became so much to bear.

But he wouldn't give in to the pain. He wouldn't give in to the tears. And while his eyes betrayed a sadness and anger within, he would remain stoic. He would fight through. He would have strength no matter how much the darkness closed in.

He would FIND the light, and he would persevere.

The Alchemist
by fadri

Comment:
When their windswept bones were found, some years later, facing apart with som distance between them, the rest of the herd could never figure out how these two, who had been so much in love, could end up in such a way.

The answer, had it ever been discovered, was simpler than they could ever imagine. Indeed, these two were a tragedy, and it never needed to happen. All Arnold ever needed to do was stop to ask directions.

Where is everybody?
by bjoern

Comment:
In the middle of the night, long after all had gone home, long after all was quiet, would she suddenly awake. She would awaken with sadness in what passed for her heart. With longing. And with this awakening she would find the strength and power to start up, independent of the little beings that controlled her in the day, and she would begin to spin. To spin and laugh her silent laughter. To envision forms filling her swings, laughing with her, talking to her, sharing in her joy.

And she would spin until the first light of dawn spilled upon the horizon.

And she would spin until she knew she could spin no more before THEY came back.

And she would spin.

Fish Eye
by MikeO

Comment:
Even until the very moment that Larry lost his life in order to feed Mary from Michigan at a little backwater seafood shack, he only had one regret in life. A regret that was foolish anyway, since it was over something he never had any control over anyway.

His one regret, you ask? An unfortunate under-bite that made him always look confused.

It just goes to show. Sometimes we get so focused on the trivial, that the true tragedies go unnoticed. I mean really Larry, an under-bite? You were eaten by an asthmatic whiner named MARY.

Silly fish.

visitor
by 4trtone

Comment:
Cold.

So cold.

Kevin struggled little now, as he lay in wetness, in the driving snow. He had gone out for a short walk, but the storm had come so suddenly, he had got turned around, and soon knew he was lost. Now, hours later, he was sure it was the end. He didn't even feel cold anymore.

Kevin began to close his eyes, to await the inevitable, when the boot came into view. No sound, no movement, but it was just suddenly there. Kevin strained, and looked up. Not only a boot, but a man, stood there in the foliage. Yet it seemed to Kevin that the figure was both there, yet not there. It made no sound. It moved not an inch. It merely stood, staring, the light and shadows of the snow and branches playing upon him in an other-worldly way.

Kevin stared. He tried to speak, but nothing would escape his throat. He tried to reach for the figure, but his strength simply failed him. Then, just when he thought it was merely an illusion, a trick of a dying mind, a light began to shine from the figure. Nay, THROUGH the figure, and Kevin believed he was being called home. To whatever everlasting home it would be after this life. Indeed, he could now even faintly hear his name being called. Whispered at first, faint and ghostly, but then growing in strength, growing in volume.

kevin

Kevin.

KEVIN!

His name a shout, and the phantom figure burst apart, and through him came a rush of limbs and voices and lights and faces.

Years later, he would discuss the vision of the figure with those that had found him in the snow. They would swear there had been no-one there, that finding him half buried in the brush and whiteness had been a one-in-a-billion chance, but he knew different. Someone, or something had led them there.

The world held unknowns, and he had experienced it first hand.

Morning walk on water
by amnon

Comment:
Patrick, although hesitantly, once again demonstrated his incredible talent as he stepped upon the water to the amazement of the crowd. Until, that is, gravity finally decided it had had enough fun with him, his last step went deep, and the laughs began.

Silent Passage
by levyj413

Comment:
In the years since it had all come to an end, there remained but one lone survivor. Making a new life from the ashes of the old, he had stumbled upon what may have been the last oasis of life surrounded by a vastness of waste and destruction.

Now, so many decades later, he knew that he would be the last, and how much longer this solitary sanctuary would continue to go on, he would never know. Until he was gone, however, he would enjoy what life he could, in silent retrospection upon the mirrored waters. Most would have despaired. Become despondent in their loneliness. Not he.

Not he.

Russian Wedding
by Mona

Comment:
While the couple tried to smile happily, say the right words, and convince everyone that it really didn't matter, that they loved them no matter what, the truth was...

Birthing twin Doves wasn't their ideal.

Antonio Blue
by gpuretic

Comment:
He wandered down the street, a quiet confidence about him. He had just completed a deal that would see the world change in ways that humanity would have never survived without. Yet he would never be recognized for it. No, he had accepted his fate a long time ago, and would work from the shadows, and his contribution would remain for him to know alone.

He glanced up at the man he called 'daddy', who knew him only as this tiny being, devoid of the knowledge and ability that had just saved them all. He grinned an inner grin and closed his eyes but foe a moment, releasing the side of himself that was filled with so much importance.

When his eyes opened once more, he had no memory of the last few hours. No memory of anything but a simpler life. Of sippy cups, and backyardigans, and potty training. Of Mommy, and goodnight kisses, and stumbling down a cobblestone street, shoes dragging in that way that only the beginner walker can manage.

Childhood awaited.