The Science of Music (The Three Languages)

Marilin Contreras

August grew up with his father, Harris, in a small town in the state of Washington. He sang and played his piano whenever he could, as he wished to pursue a career in the music industry. However, his father did not believe that he was capable of making it big time. So, he sent August to study biology in college against his own will.

Three days after August’s freshman year of college had begun, Harris found his son playing the piano in his room. Confused, he asked, “Son, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be studying in your college dormitory?”

August replied, “Father, the college you chose for me is far too big. The student-to-faculty ratio is too high.”

Harris thought for a second and said, “Alright, then, I will send you to a different college—a smaller college.”

August ended up coming back home just two days after his first day at his new college. While softly playing his piano, he complained to his father that the institute he had sent him to now was too small and didn’t have enough research facilities available for him. Harris became a little frustrated, but he understood and sent him to a different college.

“Just stay off the piano, son,” Harris warned.

Nevertheless, August returned home a third time and went straight to his piano once again. When Harris heard the piano, he entered his room and angrily asked August what he was doing back home.

“August, what on Earth are you doing back here again?!”

“Father, this college is not for me. I don’t have interest in the classes I am taking.'' August replied.

“I am not stupid!” Harris said angrily. “All you want to do is play this senseless piano!” He slammed down the piano’s fallboard.

“If you really think you can make a career out of this music stuff, then let's see you do it. Pack all of your things. This house is no longer your home!” Harris exclaimed.

August knew that his stubborn father had reached his peak and would not change his mind. He packed his things in his car and headed for Los Angeles–the place he believed would sprout his goal.

During his time in Los Angeles, August auditioned for various talent agencies looking for musically gifted people to recruit. Getting a call or email back from these agencies was rare. However, August remained strong towards his desire. A week after auditioning for one of the biggest agencies in the United States, High Hits Labels, August received an email from the company stating that they saw potential in him and would like for him to work alongside them. August jumped up and down in delight once he heard the news and quickly replied back to the email. He could not believe that he was one step closer to his dream.

This email went on to completely change August’s life. August spent two years gaining experience and training in the field of music. All of his hard work resulted in his debut as a solo artist, and he was very victorious. He grew a loyal fan base and shortly his name was all over the media. He was named the “New Star of the Year” in many news articles.

After releasing his first full album, August went on tour in the United States. During his last show, which happened to be in his hometown, he took a moment to observe his audience and embrace everything transpiring around him. August said into the mic, “Before this last song, I would like to thank you all for your support.” The crowd cheered loudly but slowly dimmed to silence to allow August to speak.

“In my household, I did not have the kind of support that I wish I did. I grew up with only my father, and he wasn’t a big fan of my dream of becoming a musician. He pushed for me to study a STEM major even though I did not wish to. In the end, our differences caused me to end up alone in California. However, I know my father was not a bad man. He just wanted me to take the safe route in life with a degree that could easily land me a job. I thank him for wanting the best for me and for at least trying to get me to like hard sciences.”

The crowd cheered some more. August looked around with a big smile. Suddenly, he recognized an all too familiar face. In the large crowd, his father smiled back at him. Then, his father raised one hand and put it on his chest as he looked down in shame to show his remorse towards his son. August never thought he would see his father act this way. His eyes filled with tears of joy–not because he proved his father wrong, but because his father had come to one of his performances. August stretched his arm out to his father to speak directly to him and said, “Father, I do not resent you. In the end, I made it. I now stand before you and express to you the success that comes along with studying the ‘science of music.’”         

⬕

G-dfather Death

David Davydov

One couple, a father and a mother, lived happily with their twelve children. When the mother was pregnant with their 13th child, a bad investment on the father’s part caused the family to become destitute. The wife died during childbirth, leaving her husband alone with the newborn boy. Panicked by the prospect of having another mouth to feed on his own, and swallowed by his grief, the father made up his mind one night to give up his son for adoption. That same night, the father fell into a deep sleep, and dreamt that he saw an angel, who said to him, “Do not be afraid to give up your son, sir. The forces of the world have seen your plight, and have offered themselves up to be his G-dfather.” The angel then motioned towards the door of the father’s room, as if ushering someone in. The door did not move, but the father suddenly felt a presence amongst him. The angel bowed.

The father asked, “What is this force?”

“He will be who He will be,” responded the angel, still kneeling. “He wishes to father your child when the time comes.”

“Will my son live a good life under His watch?”

The angel pondered the question for a moment, and then responded: “Under His guidance, your son will live a life for the sake of good, which will in turn assure the betterment of lives that follow. His life will be led in part according to his own actions, in length by the mercy of his fellow man, and in totality by the mercy of the Divine. Does that answer your question?”

“It does not. You speak in tongues. My son deserves certainty.”

The father felt the presence leave, and the room felt comparatively hollow in its absence. The angel straightened itself and repeated a motion similar to before. In a crash the door swung forth on its hinges, as a naked man entered the room. The guest confidently strode up towards the father’s bed, stopping just short of the angel, who cowered in disgust.

“Ah yes, Certainty!” He exclaimed, beaming down at the father. “I bring certainty through immediacy. Pleasure, riches, power, all will be available to your son with the utmost closeness and speed. He need not ever feel shame, nor fear, nor the hesitation that comes with moral consciousness, if you give him to me. I will not subjugate him as a father, nor will I forsake him as a G-D. He will be my equal!”  

“You play to my desires well,” said the father. “But who are you?”

“I am the Devil.”

“Then I want my son to have nothing to do with you. There is no certainty in the prince of lies.”

The Devil looked insulted. “I assure you, all I offer is the truth. If you cannot recognize that, your son does not deserve my tutelage.” He stormed off in a huff, slamming the door closed behind him.  

The angel motioned again. This time, a mist entered the room through the crack underneath the door. The mist filled the entire room, obscuring the man’s view of the angel that sat beside him, before condensing and taking the shape of a man in a cloak.

The father asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Death. I am the great equalizer. My grip is inevitable, my influence unavoidable. I will always lurk behind your son, as I do with everyone, whether you reject me or not.”

The father gave a sigh of relief. He was satisfied with what he saw and heard. “You are the right choice for my son. No need for you to lurk, he should know you by name. The righteous and the wicked fall evenly by your hand. You are a constant, and my son will learn to appreciate all that he has in recognition of that constant. The certainty of Death sanctifies all life through perspective.”

“You choose well. Your son will have much under my watch.”

The next Sunday, during the boy’s christening, the priest expressed his regret that the father could not find a man to serve the role of G-dfather. It was the father who held his own son during the baptism, or so it seemed. All throughout the ceremony, the church’s air was thick with mist. The priest shivered, thinking it strange that the mist had entered from where it usually resided in the nearby graveyard; the father gave a knowing smile as it enveloped his child.

The boy spent his childhood days in an adoption center. Nobody ever came to claim him; not even the other children would play with him, as they said he had a strange air about him. The boy, however, never felt lonely; he would tell others that a cloaked man of mist would visit him in his dreams, giving him words of love and positive affirmation. When the boy turned 18, he left the center to pursue the next chapter in his life. Death visited him again in his sleep, this time revealing that he was his G-dfather. He explained to the boy his origins, and how his father had given him up to Death to ensure his safekeeping. The boy was startled by this revelation as he had believed his family, like those of the other orphans, to be dead.

“I don’t understand,” exclaimed the boy, his voice choking with tears. “Why would he give me up? Did my father not love me?” Death tilted his dark head and studied his son curiously. He was equally as confused by this line of questioning.

“Of course he loved you! He provided for your future, did he not? He weighed his options, and he made the right choice. If he kept you, he would risk further poverty for his family, who might’ve perished under threat of starvation.”

“But I am his family! Was keeping me not worth the risk?”

Death laughed, “Foolish boy. Your sense of balance is skewed. You would sacrifice the certainty of a good life for the threat of death, all to remain with a miser? Your father is a man of sense, much like me. His decision was a simple calculus. Dry your tears, and put an end to your misseries, as with my help you will understand the cycle of life and death.”

 With a swirl of his cloak, Death guided the boy’s consciousness into a cemetery. The back section of the cemetery was lined with rows of wooden grave markers, most of which had no names inscribed upon them. Between the rows, there grew a herb, which Death pointed out to his son.

“Here is my gift to you,” said Death. “The herb that grows in the wake of the unnamed and unclaimed gives life to the sick. I will make you into a fantastic doctor! Whenever you are called to a patient, I will appear to you. If I pass over the sick person, you can announce with confidence to them that they will survive under your care. You will then discreetly, when they shake your hand, rub a lotion made from the herb into their skin, healing them of any illness. If, however, I allow the person to breathe me in, you must announce to them that you can be of no help to them, and that they will surely die. Such accuracy in your predictions will surely make you famous. Beware of using the herb against my will, lest you suffer dire consequences. No man can cheat me, not even my son.”

It did not come to pass entirely as Death predicted. The boy began his studies in medicine, only to leave after gaining respect for the field. “Doctors save people from their fate with their remedies,” thought the boy. “They don’t sit idly by as fate overtakes them.” The boy believed his gift was below the practice of a doctor, and out of a sense of guilt, opened up an alternative practice center rather than become an official doctor.

Patients would first begrudgingly enter the center, having no confidence in its legitimacy. The boy gave the life-saving lotion to those the mist passed over, and left to die those who breathed the mist in. Word quickly spread of him, first all throughout the city, then all throughout the country. Patients would come from far and wide just to seek his opinion, as they could always be certain of its accuracy. They would brag that the center should be held in high regard, as although it was “alternative medicine” it had more legitimate effects than the traditional practices of doctors. The boy cowered under the praise, feeling himself to be a dirty and guilty deceiver. He carried on with his work in shame, a bitter pretender shrouded in mist that only he could see.

One day, a poor man came to see the boy. The man was very sick, and begged for the boy to save his life. He was a single father with only one daughter, and he didn’t want to leave her orphaned. The boy pitied the man and his daughter, as he knew what it was like to be abandoned. To his dismay, the mist that hung over the man entered his nostrils.  

“Just this once I will go against Death’s wishes. He will have mercy on me, for I am his son,” thought the boy, as he rushed to rub the herb lotion into the poor man’s skin. With a start, the man coughed violently, and the mist was forced out of his mouth. When the boy went to sleep, he was confronted by Death. “You have betrayed my trust,” he said. I will forgive you this once, as you are my son and therefore my responsibility. Next time, I shall not be so kind. If you save a patient against my will, you will be the one to die.” The boy felt the bitter pang of remorse that comes with betraying one’s father, but it was quickly followed by a sense of elation: “In challenging fate I have become a true doctor!”

Several weeks later, the same poor man entered the boy’s office, this time with his daughter. The boy and the daughter’s eyes met, and they fell in love instantly. She was visibly very ill.

“Whatever I had, I must have passed it on to her,” cried the poor man. “Please, save my only child!”

Without hesitation, the boy reached for the lotion. He saw the mist enter the daughter’s nostrils, but that did not deter him. He rubbed the lotion into her skin, and she was healed instantly, coughing out the mist just as her father had done before. Upon realizing that he had betrayed Death yet again, the boy was terrified. He told the man and daughter that they must leave at once. They ran off to a cold, wooden house on the outskirts of the city. Maddened with desperation and love, the boy and the daughter pledged their loyalty to each other and married by oath on the spot. A heavy mist hung around them, but the boy paid it no attention. He resolved not to sleep, lest he see his G-dfather in his dreams. He went on like this with his new wife for weeks, even conceiving a child with her. However, he soon grew tired from exhaustion and collapsed into a deep sleep.

He dreamt he was in a cave, lit up by millions of candles. The cave light would flicker as some candles burned out while others sparked anew. The light of the candles stopped short of the pitch black walls and ceiling of the cave, which seemed to swirl and pitch back-and-forth before his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized these were not walls, but rather mist; the same mist he had grown familiar with throughout his life. The thick mist creeped towards him. Rather than creating the form of a man, it enveloped the boy, entering into his nostrils, his ears, his mouth. The voice of Death spoke in his mind: “You have been arrogant in cheating me twice, despite my warnings!”

“Please, spare me again! After all, am I not your son?”

“This is not personal, my son, it is simply a matter of business. You upset a crucial balance by giving life when death was the right option. Too much life has gone unchecked, and now you must die to restore order.”

The boy felt the same feelings of abandonment welling up inside him that he had felt when he learned of his origins. His throat welled with tears.

“Cruel men!” He shouted. “Pathetic fathers! Curse you and your calculus, your balance, your order, your cost-benefit analyses! Fate makes you cowards! Certainty makes you slaves!”

 Death sighed in a tone the boy could not distinguish between disappointment, or annoyed apathy. As he did so, the expanse of the cave seemed to shrink. “Fate makes us masters, my boy. Man, in accepting his futility and recognizing the limits of his kingdom, becomes a secure and content king, rather than a suffering servant. Your father understood that, which is why he gave you to me. As you are my son, I did you one final kindness by showing you how I work, before you meet your end.”

Death pointed to the candles. “Each candle is an individual life. They burn as time passes, and when they reach their end, the person dies. The tall ones usually belong to children, the half-sized ones belong to married men and women in their primes, and the small ones to the elderly. Every so often, children will die young, or the old will outlive the youth, such exceptions are rare but still plenty in the grand scheme of the world.” He pointed to a candle about to go out. “You are one of those exceptions, for that, my son, is your candle.”

The boy noticed that his candle was suspended, floating of its own accord, above a tall candle. He thought to himself: “Surely, when my candle is through, my flame will go on and light the one beneath it!” Death heard the boy’s thoughts, as his mist flowed through the depths of the boy’s spirit.

“Foolish child. Remember, your true father gave you to me, not the angel’s master. I deal in endings, not beginnings. Legacy is not my portion, and so it is not yours either.” With that, Death knocked over the tall candle, right as the boy’s small candle was extinguished. The boy died, and was fully Death’s property.

Up above, in the realm of the living, the boy’s wife awoke with a start as she suffered a miscarriage. The boy’s body was nowhere to be found. Rest assured, that his spirit was carried along by an ominous mist, and that he was finally brought to rest in the graves of the forgotten and unclaimed.

⬕

The Three Brothers

Farsiana Tarique

There was once a man who had three sons, and nothing else in the world but the house in which he lived. Now each of the sons wished to have the house after his father’s death, but the father loved them all alike and did not know what to do; he did not wish to sell the house, because the housing market was terrible these days and his forefathers had luckily bought it at a decent price, else he might have divided the money amongst the kids. At last, a plan came into his head, and he said to his sons, “Go into the world, and try each of you to learn a trade, and, when time has passed, he who lives the most successful life shall have the house.”

The sons were content with this. The eldest was determined to be a doctor, the second an engineer, and the third an entrepreneur. They agreed to meet again with their father in years' time and then each went their way while time took its course.

All three worked very hard for their futures. The first son stayed in school and spent days and nights studying. He refused to pick up phone calls to stay focused and skipped nearly a dozen holidays and gatherings. Eventually, he became a top surgeon with hundreds of patients in line. The second son learned of creativity and machinery and with much trial and error became one of the biggest names in architecture. His work was so desired that he had requests from all over the nation, leading him to spend much time traveling and working away from home. The third son spent much time thinking of things to make in their home and with time he ended up creating sugary candies. He stood on the streets selling them and enjoying the delightful gratitude of children and adults alike enjoying the tasty treat. He sold many candies but made barely enough to support a living. Soon he fell in love with a recurring customer and they started a family together with twins. They lived with nothing but the voices of their joyous children.

After the appointed time had passed, The brothers came together to meet with their father as promised. As so much time has passed, the engineer and surgeon decided to look around the house to reminisce about their childhood days. It was still the same house with all the same furniture but they couldn't help but notice the new family portraits including their brother.

While practicing for their speech, they carefully took a look over at their youngest brother playing with his children in the house while their father sits in the corner laughing along. The older brothers shake their heads in pity.

“It's a shame he couldn't get farther in life”, the first brother says. The second agrees.

 “We sacrificed everything for this. No sleep, the stress, and hard work.” They shake hands.

“May the best man win”

At last, the competition begins. The surgeon walks to the front and brings out a man to stand beside him. “Father, I’ve replaced nearly every organ inside this man and have granted him a new life!” Everyone claps their hands in astonishment.

“Very good!” says the father. He smiles proudly and pats his son on the back, “It's so good to see you! I understand why you’ve been gone so long, you must have worked so hard to accomplish such an impossible thing! Your brothers will have to exert themselves wonderfully, or the house will be yours.”

Next, the engineer stands in front and points a vast distance away.

“Father see that huge bridge over the water in that distance?”, the chairs rustle as everyone cranes their neck and nods. “I built that myself! Thousands of cars and people ride over it every single day!”

Everyone gasps at the feat. The father responds stunned, “Unbelievable! I’ve walked countless times over that bridge! I had no idea it was my own son! You should have told me before! Wow… It is getting extremely difficult to choose the winner!”

When it is time for the third son to come forth, his son and daughter giggle excitedly and rush to pull him up with his wife at his side.

He sheepishly stands and says, “Father, I’ve learned to make these candies with my children and we sell them on the streets.”

“Very well! Let me try this candy then!” says the father.

The children excitedly place a pear drop candy into the palm of their grandfather's hand and everyone watches carefully as he brings it up to his lips. The candymaker and his wife exchange nervous glances at each other but she then smiles in reassurance. The father rolls the candy carefully on his tongue and his eyebrows raise.

“Well that was quite delicious!” he says, a breath of relief and careful applause fills the air. The mood is heavy as the father with a troubled look glances slowly between each of his sons. Finally, he stands. He smiles slightly but his eyes hid a small hint of guilt.

“I'm very sorry for being a father who failed to provide enough for his sons.” He says and at hearing this, all the sons rush to his side for comfort. He adds with a quiver, “This house where we all made memories and grew up together had been the most valuable thing I had the honor of sharing with you all, and I hope we can continue to honor it.”

With the key in hand, he walks towards the surgeon. “I am very proud of you for your hardwork and dedication to your craft.” The son smiles expectantly before the father moves on to the engineer.

“Your head holds much creativity, your hand's talent. What a great craft.”

Confused, the sons watch as the father makes his way to the startled youngest. Everyone holds their breath to carefully listen to the words that follow.

“And lastly, I’m so very proud of you for living a life of fulfillment. A successful and happy life with the most beautiful family.” He then drops the key in the hands of his granddaughter. He smiles, “I hope you can continue to honor this house as we did all together.”

It took a while for the first two brothers to understand why things went the way they did. They watched paralyzed as the affectionate couple run around their new home chasing their children. The youngest turned to the others and ushered them to all come in.

With time the house had become an essential place for them all. The older brothers made sure to make time from work to visit and they would all meet back in their beloved childhood home. Slowly, they got better at managing a work/life balance and even moved in closer to each other. They honored the house, their family, and themself from that point on and lived happily ever after.

⬕

Cinderella

Sophia Lee

A poor husband and wife once lived in the countryside with their lovely daughter. Their farm was filled with pigs, cows, and chickens. Their daughter, Cinderella, grew fond of the animals and fed them daily. On the weekends, they would go to their local restaurant and order ten chicken wings with one can of soda. They would share and savor each bite along with laughing over made-up stories. Months later, Cinderella's mother grew very ill. They were too poor to afford weekly doctor visits when one day, Cinderella’s mother pulled her husband in and said, "take good care of Cinderella. She’ll need you more than you think." Her eyes then closed, leaving Cinderella and her father sobbing for hours non-stop. A few days later, Cinderella and her father buried her at a nearby cemetery and paid their last respects.  

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Wake up Cinderella!” said her father.

Cinderella groaned. “Coming.”          

Cinderella pulled out her favorite polka-dot shirt and a pair of black jeans. She tied her hair up and got dressed. When she went downstairs, she saw her dad in the kitchen making breakfast.  

Cinderella sat down as her father placed four pancakes on her plate. “Blueberry?! Goodness, they smell heavenly.”  

Her father smiled. “Eat up or else you’ll be late for your first day of school!”  

Cinderella is starting her junior year in high school in a new district. Cinderella is excited because she’s been homeschooled her entire life. Ever since her mother’s death, her father’s been working hard to provide for Cinderella. He recently found a job in the city and moved into a two-bedroom house. She quickly finished her pancakes and kissed her dad on the cheek and hurried off.  

As she was looking for a seat, she saw everyone talking to their friends. Cinderella sat down and smiled at the girls sitting across from her. They smiled back but quickly turned away. “Look at her raggedy clothes. She looks like she’s never taken a shower before,” one girl smirked. “Look at her hair. Why is it so tangled? She’s so humiliating,” the other girl snickered.  

Cinderella turned to the window and patiently waited for the bus to arrive at school. She was nervous but excited to make new friends. When she arrived, she stepped off the bus and took a deep breath. She walked up to the front door and suddenly felt everyone’s eyes on her.  

Why is everyone staring at me? She thought. Whatever, it’s only the first day and everyone knows you’re the new student. 

Her principal was standing in front of the school and welcomed her. She took Cinderella to her classroom. Her teacher asked everyone to introduce themselves and one thing they enjoy doing.

“Good morning, my name is Cinderella. I used to live on a farm and was homeschooled until I moved to the city. I like to read and spend time with animals. I hope to make good friends!”

“Thank you, Cinderella. We’re excited to have you!” said Ms. Smith.

They started learning geometry and living environment until it was time for lunch. All the kids were pushing each other to get the best tables. Cinderella found an empty table and put her stuff down. As she made her way to the lunch line, she saw the two girls from earlier on the side talking to their friends. She walked up to them and said, “I saw you two earlier on the bus! What are your names since I didn’t get them before?”

“We’re Elle and Elsie. If you’ll excuse us, we have important things to do,” said Elle.  

“Okay, see you guys around!” said Cinderella.  

Just as they were walking away, Elsie stopped and said, “By the way, can you wait in the lunch line for us and grab an extra two pizza slices? We’ll be back.”

Cinderella nodded her head. “Sure!”    

Cinderella was beyond eager because she felt like she made new friends. She grabbed three plates of hot pepperoni pizza and started walking out when the lunch lady stopped her and said, “That’ll be nine dollars. Cash only.”

Cinderella frowned. “I thought this was provided by the school?”  

“There were signs, darling. You’re holding up the line,” said the lunch lady.

Cinderella furrowed her eyebrows and gave in. She finished paying for the pizza and waited for Elle and Elsie to come back. When they arrived, they sat down and ate all of the food. They didn’t speak one word to Cinderella, and just as they were about to leave, Cinderella called out to them and said, “The pizza was three dollars per person. Can you guys pay me back?”  

Elle and Elsie chuckled. “We typically don’t pay people back. It’s only a couple of dollars, so why are you getting fussy over six dollars? However, it seems that you’re really poor…”

Cinderella immediately interrupted. “I’m not poor; most of my dad’s earnings go towards my house.”  

Elle grabbed her ponytail and said, “You can’t even look a little presentable. Your hair is more tangled than my future and your clothes are uglier than my grandmother’s.” Elsie pushed Cinderella onto the ground and spit her gum at her. They fist-bumped and left Cinderella on the ground.  

When Cinderella got off the bus, she ran inside her home with tears on her face into her father’s arms. “Today was the worst day ever! No one in school likes me and they all bullied me because we’re poor.”

“Calm down, darling, it’s only been the first day. Give it a few weeks; it’ll get better,” said her father.

It didn’t get better.

Elle and Elsie forced Cinderella to buy them lunch every day. When she didn’t, they’d push her onto tables and chairs. Slowly, her father noticed that his money was spent quicker than usual and exclaimed, “Let me speak to your school! Why are they taking away so much of my money?” Cinderella told her father it was for school uniforms and it was only a one-time thing.

One day at school, Elle and Elsie were about to push Cinderella against the lockers when a hand blocked them. They looked up and to their surprise, it was the most popular guy in the school, Travis. He’s a football jock who has all the girls drooling over him. He always smells like strawberries and has his fluffy brown hair parted to the side. His eyes are brown and always dress well.  

“Got something better to do?” Travis said.

Elle and Elsie beat their eyelashes. “May we help you?”  

Travis spoke in a stern voice. “You’re both getting on my nerves. I’m warning you two before I do something you don’t want to experience.”  

They hurried off with embarrassment on their faces. Travis grabbed Cinderella's hand and took her to a classroom. “Are you alright? Let me check if you’re bleeding.”

“No, I’m good. Thank you for what you did back there. I need to repay you somehow. Do you want to hang out this weekend?” said Cinderella.

Travis grinned. “Sure. Meet me at Denny’s at 8.”  

During the hangout, Cinderella talked about her homeschooling experience and her mother’s passing. Travis was understanding and supported her. He talked about his hobbies and before they knew it, they started hanging out more and more. Travis soon asked her out and years later, her relationship with Travis grew and they ended up talking about their futures together. They met each other’s families and loved each other dearly. On their seventh anniversary, Travis rang Cinderella’s doorbell and said he had a big surprise for her. She squealed and said, “What is it?!”

He pulled out a ring and said, “Cinderella, will you marry me?”

Cinderella’s hand flew to her mouth and she started crying. “Of course, Travis. I love you with all my heart. Dad! Travis proposed to me!”

“I know honey!! My daughter has grown so big. Mom would’ve been so proud of you.”

On July eighth, Cinderella and Travis got married. They’re now claimed as husband and wife and are living happily together for the rest of their lives.

⬕

The Robber Robs Her (Robber Bridegroom)

Abigail Kogan

“This is crazy. I can’t believe you’re making me consider this,” Jess laughed incredulously at Mariana. Jess was always such a careful little girl. How did she end up with a best friend like Mariana who always knew how to get her to agree to the wildest things? But this was where she drew the line—it was way outside her comfort zone and her usual tolerance of peer pressure. She was not going to give in to her friend.

“You know I’m right! Besides, look at him. He’s gorgeous. If I wasn’t dating Cal, I’d take him, you know I would.” Mariana pushed back at her friend. Jess had been paralyzed by indecision since the moment he invited her out to dinner. When was she not indecisive? She never could seem to act confidently—she was always second-guessing herself. But this was different, somehow. It seemed more momentous, something to consider carefully before acting. Jess didn’t dare open the message until she had figured out her response, which of course, she couldn’t decide on.

“I don’t know, Mari, why would I go? I don’t even feel excited about this. Shouldn’t I want to go on a date? I should just not answer him.”

“We’ve been having this conversation for days now! You’re just scared of commitment and decisions. You’ve been texting each other for the past few weeks and there haven’t been any red flags, right?” Mariana asked, somewhat rhetorically.

“No…” Jess mumbled defeatedly as she looked at the floor.

“And you know how hard it is to find good guys these days.”

“Yeah….” Jess relented, shuffling her feet.

“Perfect guys don’t just stumble across your Tinder page every day. And he is perfect. Maybe this guy is the guy of your dreams and you’re too scared to even check.” Mariana tilted her friend’s chin up gently with her finger and looked into her sad, brown eyes. “I can’t keep seeing you stay home every night. You deserve to have fun. You deserve to have someone. You know Cal and I love you, right? And we love whenever you come over to our place but I haven’t seen the real Jess in ages now. You seem like a hollow shell of your old self these days— all quiet and isolated. You deserve to be with someone who can bring you out of that shell. You know that I’m right. Just try it and maybe you’ll even enjoy yourself.”

Jess thought about it. Maybe Mariana was right. The longer she was single, the harder it became to not be single. After so many failed dates, Jess eventually stopped trying, kept her head down when her friends were hanging out, and decided it was less painful to stay home than confront her unfortunate reality. The more she stayed home, the more she realized that she hated the “dating scene”. But she was tired of feeling like a perpetual third wheel. Yes, she was nervous, but when was she ever not nervous? It’s just anticipatory anxiety. But she hated going out! Going out with someone will be good for you, Jess responded to herself.

“Fine! Fine! You’re right,” Jess said as Mariana smirked. God, she hated Mariana sometimes. She clicked on Justin’s profile and opened their chat. The lighthearted humor faded briefly as Jess’s face hardened and her eyebrows furrowed with slight trepidation. She deliberately and carefully typed out, “Saturday night would be great!”

*   *  *

“Thanks for agreeing to double date. I don’t think I could’ve done this alone.” Jess said as she reapplied her lipstick.

“First of all, yes, you could have. You’re a strong, independent, mature woman, and you can handle a first date. Second of all, I needed an excuse to have Cal take me out anyway. The longer we’ve been together, the more complacent he becomes in our relationship. Having him sit next to your stud of a date might not be the worst thing to wake him up.” Jess shook her head and laughed at her friend—she was always more than happy to stir up drama in her very happy and stable relationship. When would it be her turn? Jess thought as she looked in the mirror.

Mariana was also staring into the mirror, but while Jess looked at her reflection as if seeing herself for the first time and trying to figure out how to control her facial expressions, Mariana seemed like she knew every crease in her face and what had put it there, every birthmark and every freckle. She’s so naturally confident in her own skin and so in control of herself. How did Mariana do that? How was she able to take control of any situation she walks into? Jess wondered as she fidgeted with her hair, trying to make her curls look as good as they did two hours ago.

“Stop it right now! You look fierce and this date is going great, don’t you think?” Mariana said with a raised eyebrow and a stupid grin.

“If you say so,” Jess responded glumly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just not feeling it. I don’t know if he even likes me and I can’t believe I’m actually here. I hate going out and this date just feels like a chore, you know?”

“No, I absolutely do not know,” Mariana responded with a huff. “Why are you so insistent on sabotaging this date and yourself? Come out of your shell already! Justin has been nothing but nice to you all evening; you could at least return the courtesy.” Mariana fluffed her hair, shimmied her dress down to show off even more of her cleavage than was exposed before, and headed out of the bathroom.

Jess thought about it—had she been standoffish?  Maybe she wasn’t as energetic or engaging as she could have been. It just didn’t come as easily to her as it clearly does to Mariana. Being “on” this much socially was draining and Jess no longer had the stamina she once did. Justin was somewhat dreamy, she guessed, almost not allowing herself to admit that she could enjoy this evening. She ran her hands under the cold water of the sink, cooled the back of her neck that was beginning to stick with perspiration, and followed Mariana back to the table with a little bit of newfound determination.

“I wish we could,” Cal was saying with a smile to Justin. They seemed so chummy together after only being left alone for a couple of minutes. Justin had a winning smile and perfectly styled hair. He leaned back in his chair, seeming as comfortable as if the loud restaurant was his living room. “We have brunch with Mariana’s parents tomorrow morning and it would be best if I weren’t extraordinarily hungover.” He leaned in, whispering over the table to Justin, “I’m telling you, the old geezers have it in for me.” At this, Mariana playfully nudged Cal with her elbow. “Hey! Just telling it as it is. Your parents HATE me.”

“Maybe they hate you ‘cause you’re a scoundrel.”

“A scoundrel, me?!” Cal said with his usual level of sarcasm. Everyone at the table burst out laughing at this dramatic display. Jess sat watching, just now realizing how jealous she was of Mariana, how perfectly Cal complimented her even with all her complaints, and just how alone she was. She didn’t want to feel alone anymore. She shook this feeling off and gave her best smile to Justin.

“What are we talking about?” Jess asked coyly.

“Justin was just inviting us to go bar hopping with him, paint the town red, and all that,” Cal explained.

Mariana looked at Jess with eyes that could kill, almost as if saying “go out with him or else.” Jess swallowed hard, pushed aside her anxiety and worries, and with as much enthusiasm as she could muster said, “that sounds great!”

*   *  *

The first bar was loud, the second bar crowded, and after the third bar, she lost track. Jess was practically hanging off of Justin now, her hair was disheveled and her curls flattened, and her heels made standing up unbearable. She felt so immature. Why was the room spinning? She never had such a high tolerance for alcohol but she guessed she was more of a lightweight than she thought.

“Why don’t you come over to my place? Get you comfortable there? It’s a few minutes away,” Justin said with worry in his eyes. Maybe he was the gentleman everyone seemed to think he was and maybe she had simply been projecting her own insecurities out into this date. Her heart was beating a little too fast, but that was probably all the shots, Jess told herself. Jess had shared her live location with Mariana and she felt secure in knowing that she had someone keeping an eye on her, making sure she didn’t get lost in the night. She nodded and allowed Justin to walk her two blocks to his apartment.

*   *  *

She couldn’t remember the walk there or up the stairs, but she was keenly aware of the soft bed sheets under her. She looked around the room and saw paint peeling off the walls, clothes strewn about the floor, and what was that smell? She tried to sit up but her arms couldn’t sustain her weight and her head felt heavy. She dropped back onto the bed, just as Justin called out from somewhere, “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.” His voice sounded kind but something was hiding under it, some level of smugness.

Jess reached around for her phone but couldn’t find it anywhere. Where was her clutch? Her hand touched something on the bed, a packet of colorful pills. Starting to panic, Jess tried to sit up again, but couldn’t and tears began to well in her eyes. She shut them tight, trying to blink them out, and when she opened them again, Justin was hovering over her. He fidgeted with what remained of her curls and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. She tilted her head to try to brush his hand away but he was strong, much stronger than her, and he pushed her head into the pillow, roughly, violently, forcefully.

“What are…what are you doing?” Jess breathed out each syllable as much as she could but her eyes were drooping shut and her faculties were failing her. She heard ripping and felt the constraints of her tight dress releasing. She looked down without lifting her head and saw Justin hungrily tearing her clothes off. She could smell the salt of his perspiration and felt his sticky hands all over her. She didn’t dare open her mouth to scream or protest, besides what would she say that he didn’t already know?

There were no more lines drawn anywhere. There was no separation between her body and his. There were no boundaries he could not breach and there were no defenses left to guard her. There was no more Jess and no more Justin—only the tangle of bodies. There was no “mine” for her and there was only “mine” for him.

“You’re so perfect, babe.” He said, in between fierce kisses. “Why don’t you give me that smile of yours, huh?” The worry in his eyes was replaced with a terrible frenzy and they looked like they could kill, like they wanted to kill. “I know you want me and you know I’m right. Try to enjoy yourself.” Every attack on her body was deliberate and seemed to be carefully thought out for what would give him the most pleasure and her the most pain.

*   *  *

As she slipped in and out of consciousness, and as he moved his way up and down her body, Jess couldn’t help but think that maybe she deserved this. Maybe she deserved to be stuck here, paralyzed. Maybe she deserved for this beast to be devouring her. Maybe she deserved for him to cut her up and leave her broken and shattered. Maybe she deserved for him to rob her of her pride, her dignity, and the most private parts of her. How could she have been so naive and so stupid? So stupid of her to not to trust her instincts, so stupid of her to fall for his nice facade, and so, so stupid of her to be bullied into going out by Mariana, which is what really really infuriated her, that she fell to her friend’s persistent nagging. Mariana…

Mariana! Jess now thought with slight hope. Maybe she would find her and save her. She thought back to her live location, pinging somewhere on her best friend’s phone. Maybe Mariana would check on her. Maybe Mariana would call Jess and when she didn’t get a reply, come running to his disgusting apartment. Maybe Mariana would yank him off of her, out of her, and beat him repeatedly. Maybe Mariana would help her up and take her home, dry her tears, and tell her it would be all right. Maybe and maybe and maybe. The maybes swirled around her head and Jess silently sobbed as each of them sunk down. Maybe if she shut her eyes tightly enough, she could pretend it was only a bad dream.

There would be no fairy godmother to rescue her here. The path she left for her friend would remain unfollowed, hidden from the moonshine and buried deep underground. She finally realized, with this robber intertwined with her, that she was truly alone. Jess reflected; in the end, this happens to women every day, doesn’t it? She wasn’t special, just another statistic for the books, another cautionary tale. What proof would she have to condemn him, other than her hollow shell when he was finally done with her? As she lay there, with his body muffling her cries and groans, she knew no one would believe her story.

⬕

The Physician (The Godfather)

Fernando Tepalzingo

Once a hot summer day in 1999 as many immigrants from Mexico were trying to cross the border between Mexico and Texas. However few have survived and the other drowned in Rio Grande or captured by the border patrol. One man and his pregnant wife with 12 children were traveling through the walls of metal fences around the border. Fortunately there's an open area around the fence, thus the wife went through the area. But a cluster of people running like bulls came to the hole and tried to squeeze through, that result lost the trace of her husband as many people were struggling to get through like the days of Black Friday. As she searches for her husband, her water breaks and she’s going into labor. All of her children worry about her and move her to the nearest place to deliver her baby. Their children were worried about their mother, but one was going to search for their father. From a distance, the husband was trying to help an eldery man by dragging his body. This man’s body was slendey, very skinny as he had eaten for days. As he got close to the hole, he saw his son, waving. He can taste freedom and all of his worries are over. Sirens come in and many people rush into the hole and soon after the border patrol comes with their nasty look. They saw what the husband was doing and so they arrest for supect murder. They put him into solitary confinement without windows and all this poor husband is worried about his fate as he is trying to benefit his family.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”, someone laughed.

“My poor soul. You have no idea what you brought yourself. You should be with your family, instead of helping an old man LIKE ME!”

Then the old man had turned himself into a young, tall, handsome man with a tuxedo.

“Oh how terrible luck that you had my friend, I felt bad to put you in a rough spot”, said the man.

“Who are you!?”, said the husband.

 “I’m an immoral being who serves wishes for all people, but please call me Thanatos”.

“Okay, but why are you here,” the husband asked.

Thanatos replied, “I was wondering the same thing about you.”

The husband wants to come to America and search for someone to be a godfather for his thirteenth child. But as for the husband, no luck in his country.

“Hm, I see a ‘godfather’ you say. Well then I will happily accept to be your thirteenth child’s godfather, but in return: I need you to let go of one thing that is no need”. Then everything went to black and eyes were opened for this 13th child’s day.

Years have passed, the children have grown older, they now have successful and paid jobs, but soon after hearing the news about ICE had arrested many immigrants and were sentenced to deportation to Mexico for having no citizenship documents. All 12 children had to be deported to Mexico, but not one except the 13th child named Armando. Armando had lived in the US for 20 years since he’s born. Ever since the death of their mother, childbirth and disappearance of their father, the children had to live in foster homes and get adopted by middle class families. However, life in America wasn’t easy since they had no papers except for Armando. After hearing this, Armando bids farewell to his brothers and sister as his tears create a pool of so much grief that Armando handles the pain as for the meroinal of his mother. Armando was lazy and shut-in who dropped out of Medical school due to a recent final exam that he had failed. He has nothing to do for a living, so he decides to go for a walk.

As Armando made for the door with a sweater, his foster mother caught him and concern before he could get out unnoticed.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Her tone was calm and gentle as her hand held tightly. Armando rolled his eyes and maneuvered around her.

"What does it look like?"

Armando is a self-reliant delinquent who views the world as having no purpose in life and a person who doesn't take orders from no one. People that he met called him unlucky because of family issues, bad grades, and even pick fights as he pleased. That was middle school, but in high school he changed his ways and eventually went to college to study becoming a doctor. However as the past haunts, when people that he met make false rumors about him that will let him fail all of his courses.  Every Time as he walks around his neighborhood, people are afraid of him and constantly harass him and call him names. Personality changed overtime as life progressed.  As he strolls the alley looking for his marketing place, he stumbles across a man with a skull cane and well-dressed suit.

“I have been waiting for you, my godson,'' said the man. “Who the hell are you,” Armando questioned.

“Well, I am Thanatos, your father has chosen me to become your godfather.”

“What a minute, MY FATHER?! HOW?!”, said Armando in rage.

“Yes we just met during the times in the 90's and we have good times together, but sadly his fate was set for him after you’re born”, said Thanatos in a respectful manner. Then he goes on to tell him about his father and how he died.

“No way, he died from a dose of drugs that the Police had given him. Those damn police gringos, I will never forget them”, said Armando angrily.

“I know that losing a father was a big heart break, but have no fear, your wonderful godfather is here to help”.

“Look man, I don’t need a godfather who can baby me around alright. I do things on my own, so bye” said Armando.

“Wait. What if I told you, I can make you successful”, said Thanatos. Then Armando became interested and wondered what deal that he had offered.

Six years flew by as Armando becomes a very successful physician, thanks to his partnership with Thanatos. Every day, patients come from all over the world, and Armando fixed them up. But there’s a catch.

Thanatos had told him about the special medicine. “It’s very rare,” he’d said, “good for curing people who have anything, even the rarest diseases. You can use it to become rich and famous.” Thanatos’ face grew darker, “Sometimes, though, you will see me stand by the patient’s feet, and that means the patient is mine and must die.”

“WHAT WHY?!” Armando gasped.

 “What do you expect, I am Death.”

Armando was frightened about this and then the godfather told him a warning. “Once you agree to my terms, you must follow my rules. If you break or question my authority, your life will be payment of your bill”, said Thanatos. After that to this day, he had to follow the rules, curing people, and let Death do the work. He isn’t happy about this but his life depends on him. Everywhere he goes, reports of spreaded across the world of people dying after being healthy from the Physician. Every women, children, eldery who were the patients of Armando that he treated them all died by the hands of Death himself. Many protestors called him a fraud and the paparazzi followed him everywhere to get more info. Armando can’t imagine how horrible it is and regrets his decision. Soon all of that will change.    

One day, he was summoned by the mayor of New York, and asked Armando for his assistance.

“Ah Armando, Thank you for coming on short notice. The reason I called you is because my daughter is very ill and I would like you to please help”, said the mayor.

“But have you heard about the rumors? I'm a fraud. If I help to cure your daughter, bad things will happen”, said Armando. Still, he looked at the child and couldn’t watch her die. So he did what he had to do even though the consequences would come for him.

When he gives the medicine to the daughter, after three doses, the girl feels better and Death is standing next to her. As Death swings his scythe, Armando quickly pushes the girl out the bed and sacrifices his life to save her.

Everything is black and all black, but light comes. Closer and Closer, the one thing to spot is the alley. Soon after Armando realized that he’s back from the start where he met Thanatos. Armando was confused and wondered what had happened, he looked over and saw a glass window. All he sees are faces of the people living in different glass, then he notices that everyone is in the glass bottle. When he looks around in his area, he sees someone watching and realizes it is his father.

“Dad, you're here”, said Armando happily.  “Wait, why are you here?”

“I made a deal and I’m sorry”, his dad said.

Thanatos appears and looks down on them.

“You stupid mortal, you had to be the hero huh? Oh I see you met your father along the way. Well it doesn’t matter, I have other godchildren who do better than you. Well in the meantime, Enjoy your afterlife with daddy”, said Thanatos laughing maniacally. Armando shivers into horror and all he knows is that everything will go black again and lives there for the rest of his postlife.

⬕

Parasite (The Four Clever Brothers)

Emani Winds

Once upon a time, on a gloomy night with rain tapping against the umbrellas of city folk did a woman walk down the murky subway station. Speeding down the murky stairway and through the card scanner did the woman hear,“Stand clear of the closing doors, please” from the train as the doors begin to close. Sprinting down the last few stairs and dashing through the doors does she finally slow down and crash into a person in front of her.        

The man looked down at her with a frown and tired yet glaring eyes before turning away. With a sigh does the woman start to think of the list full of chores that need to be done at home. “Do I need to stop by the grocery store to pick up some eggs? What should I make for dinner?..” the woman starts to mutter to herself as she eventually looks up to see that she is at her stop. Stepping off the subway car and pushing through the swarm of people trying to get on was like fighting a battle.        

Finally making it out of the dusty train station and into the pounding rain was an improvement to getting home. Walking down the sidewalk into a brick apartment with an old gate, creaky doors, and run down elevator does the woman ascend to the second floor and walk to her front door. Opening the front door does a nerf bullet fly by her head and on the floor behind her followed by the yelling of the children. Setting down her bags by the door and shutting it does the woman yell at the kids and tell them to go to their room. The little boy and little girl stopped to groan and walk to their bedroom, shutting the door behind them with a loud bang. The other two shortly follow later behind their older siblings into their room and shut it for the night. With five mouths to feed, the woman had constantly been working overtime and had not been able to be home for long periods of time. The constant worrying that she feels from leaving behind her kids nagged at the back of her skull, but was soundly defeated when priorities had been thought of. Getting the apartment was hard enough but keeping it was choosing to be difficult, even with being a nurse at a wealthy hospital.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”
by Dale Carnigie

Act II

Being at school was a chore for the eldest brother as he was constantly asked “What do you want to be when you graduate?” by his counselor in a previous guidance session. “How was he supposed to know? Do they have a manual on different fields that he can look at?” were thoughts that swarmed his head as he was focusing on the speech he was supposed to perform in front of their graduation ceremony. He was always a good student and thought about teaching, but later it turned into a no once he realized he would deal with lots of kids. Going through other jobs in his head he finally chose one to focus on. With teachers praising him for his efforts in school to his friends that congratulated him for graduating at the end of his year, the eldest brother decided to become an astronaut.

During his valedictorian speech he quoted Carl Sagan, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” His family groaned while the school reveled in the quote brought to their attention but still smiled at the smile that the eldest brother showed for the quote. As if time broke, did the eldest brother leave the house barren of his presence to learn and train to become an astronaut did he finally reach his goal. Soon he would be going on his own up to the stars above to see all the possibilities that are out there waiting for him.

The eldest sister following her brother’s footsteps, dreams big as well. The thought of flying as her brother excited her and she decided to become a flight attendant. Going through the schooling had been grueling as she did not realize that there was so much more that goes into it blind and eventually she dropped out of the course. Not having the passion for it made the elder sister realize that she liked communicating with people and decided on being a secretary. Talking with people day and night while trying to create deals and improve the company that she works for had led to a promotion, which happened to be the personal secretary of the CEO. Getting little to no sleep was a habit that had developed over the years but with her new position was she going to utilize her inability to sleep for the betterment of the company.  

The youngest sister had been a very bubbly person in her childhood and yet as she grew up, she became more aggressive and snappish towards people, especially her family. She ended up always leaving home and coming back every two to three days later from a “friend’s” house. She got into an argument with her mother and never seemed to want to stop. The youngest sister ended up eventually moving out of their house once she got an early glimpse of the parent life herself due to her insatiable appetite for lechery. Though she had her child no more, the push had made her want to become a teacher. After time of learning herself did she become a teacher for second graders for years to come.

Finally, the youngest brother had always just laid on the couch and watched effortlessly  as his siblings were stressing about their big exams. Always wondering why his siblings stressed themselves out in order to get to where they want to be. Why did they want to suffer for so long only to suffer more in the end when they actually did get their jobs. Putting minimum effort and care did he decide to become a mechanic as he understood machines more than people. “Machines were less complex than a confusing person that can’t make up their mind on anything after all”, was the youngest brother’s thought that often occurred when he couldn't understand people.

Act III

Despite all the siblings going through different occupations, their mother had still wanted to try and spend time with them. So they arranged to meet up at their old house for old times sake. When all the siblings reached the building looking as it did before was a breath of relief for them. As soon as they were about to make the departure up the stairs they saw a flash of light before it flew into an alleyway just next to their apartment. The bright light had been bright yet was swift that it startled the siblings.

Curiosity had beat all feelings of being scared from the siblings' minds as they went up to the crater that the light had ended up in. Pushing through the random trash that laid in the way did the siblings see an egg transform from where the light had originally been. The egg was blue with purple lines that looked like strips laid across along with some yellow’s and green’s that made the egg look like bad tie dye. The eldest brother picked up the egg with ease and decided they should take it home with them. The elder sister was against it but was outvoted by her siblings on the notion. Bringing the egg home and showing their mother of the discovery that they made was rather peaceful until a few days later when the egg started hatching.

After the egg hatched did the alien decide to stick its head out of its shell. Surprisingly enough, the alien looked human and could pass for one if it wasn’t for its periwinkle skin, pointing ears, and extra third eye on their forehead. The siblings had deemed the alien harmless and left it with their mother for the first few days.

Act IV

When they tried to call their mother the call wouldn’t go through. So the youngest sibling went to go check on her. There was more silence that passed the following day as they stopped hearing from their youngest brother. Next the eldest sister went and checked up on her family members with an officer but later the next few days they didn’t hear from their sister either. They did see the police officer that went with her and when the older brother and youngest sister had caught up to them, they asked what happened at their home.

The officer had simply ignored them and minded his business when the siblings finally relented in their questioning. As they leave, they don’t hear the sound of a body tipping over and the officer’s body that was later announced as dead by the news . Finally, after two days the last siblings finally reach the house and find the body of his mother on the floor along with their younger brother and elder sister with no sighting of the alien. Being questioned by the police when the two other siblings woke up was unpleasant but necessary.

 Researchers found that the alien had attached itself to the siblings mother like a parasite and would end up killing her soon. Crestfallen, do the siblings start to give up hope when one of the researchers said we can save her if we return the alien back home to Mars.

Act V

Bringing the alien back to its original planet was going to prove difficult with no money or funds. Once the older pair of siblings heard of the problem did they get to work. The older brother had talked with his agency and authorities about the alien and how it proved to be a threat while the older sister was calling in favors from other companies that owed her. After getting the proper funds and a crew to take off to space did another problem arise, “How would they get the alien on the ship safely?” thought the researchers. The elder sister had gone to the alien and sung a song in order to sooth them, which got the alien to go to her without much harm. Placing  the alien in the ship did the final problem occur. Some parts of the ship needed fixing and the crew had no clue what the problem was and it prevented them from flying the ship. The youngest brother said to let him fix the problem and ended up finding the problem of the rocket ship along with a few more parts of the ship. At last, the older brother and his co-pilot had taken off in the rocket ship and headed towards Mars with the alien in tow.

They return the baby alien back to its family in space but have no way back home. The elder brother was in the rocket ship as he was slowly but surely making his way back to the boring planet of earth. Unfortunately, when they almost reach Earth, they hear a BANG! The side of their ship was damaged and if they try to make it down to Earth, they will be burned to a crisp. The older brother didn't see another way for them to return back to Earth unless they just took the risk of being burned. The co-pilot screams of the madness of the plan but is silenced by the ship’s slow decline to Earth. Making every few seconds of the trip down was nerve wracking, but eventually everything turned black.

No bright sun, no blue ocean, no green grass, just the black that seems to absorb his space. Then at once, the eldest brother woke up and learned he survived the crash of the rocket ship.  With every good news comes bad news. Walking after a month of his return was freeing the eldest brother from the confined space of his room, but on the way back he heard from the researchers that his  mother was stuck in a coma that morning. But that problem is to be solved another day . . .

⬕

An Unexpected Turn (The Twelve Brothers)

Harmony Chunilall

There once was a king and queen who lived happily together with their twelve sons, well, that is until I came along.

While growing up in the castle, there were always whispers of the twelve princes that disappeared twenty years ago and were never seen or heard from again. And that I was somehow responsible. I never paid much attention to it, always regarding it to be just another one of the maids’ silly rumors. However, now I can’t help but think that there must be some truth to it all.  

For several months someone had been secretly leaving envelopes around the castle, all addressed to me. Sealed within them were papers each covered with drawings and words that I couldn’t make out. Originally I had thought that my friends had been the ones leaving the notes, seeing that we often played scavenger hunt; after assembling the drawings together, I realized that it had been a map and the words on each of them formed one sentence, “Follow this path and all will be revealed.” Instantly, my curiosity piqued.

Now, after many twists and turns through a dark and cold passageway leading to a hidden dungeon beneath the castle, before me lies twelve coffins, each made out of english oak and lead, filled with wood shavings. Completely dazed, I took a deep breath and raised my lantern, searching for anything that could help reveal the purpose behind the notes. As I scan my surroundings for clues, near the entrance of the dungeon I notice twelve large framed portraits with my family's crest on the top center of each, covered in dust and cobwebs. As I walk towards it I realize that the portraits are all of men, each with silky luxuriant caramel hair, big mesmerizing hazel eyes, and a bright infectious smile; each bearing a resemblance to my parents, especially my mother.

What is all of this?

As I continue to glance at the portraits, I notice a white paper envelope tucked beneath one of them. Upon opening it, I found a letter, the handwriting had been similar to those I had found on the previous notes I had received. It read,

“Twenty years ago, before you were born, twelve princes occupied the vacant bedrooms you see within this castle. They lived happily with their parents, however one day, the king told his wife that if her thirteenth child is a girl, he will kill each of the twelve princes. Fearful of this occurring, the queen notified the princes and instructed them to hide until she gives birth, and if she is to give birth to a princess, they must leave the castle grounds completely and never return. Unfortunately for the princes, the queen later gave birth to an angelic little baby girl who, to everyone's surprise, was born with a star on her forehead. From that day on, the princes were never to be seen or heard from again. I am sure you have heard many whispers of this throughout the castle and today I am telling you that it is all true and you are the princess that was mentioned. It has still not been revealed why the king chose to have the princes killed, but what is known is that your family has lived unhappy lives for two decades and it is time for that to change. It is your duty to uncover the grievances of your fathers heart, find your brothers and restore your family to what it once was. You might be wondering who I am, but right now that isn’t of any importance. All will be revealed in due time. Good luck princess.”

I stare at the letter for several seconds before breaking out in laughter, unable to control myself.

This is absolute bull—

Before I am able to finish my thought, I hear footsteps from afar. Instinctively I hide behind one of the coffins and blow my lantern out. The sound of footsteps grows louder and a light becomes brighter as the individual draws nearer. I hear them as they enter the dungeon and sound stops. After a momentary silence, I hear a whimpering cry.

“My sons . . . I miss you dearly . . .”

I instantly recognize the voice to be my mothers, the queen.

Sons? What I read in the letter must be true after all.

Listening to my mother weep and the way her voice breaks every time she says something causes tears to well in my eyes and soon after, they begin racing down each of my cheeks. Five minutes passed and when I finally decided to quickly peek at her, I noticed her sitting on the floor fast asleep with her arms wrapped around one of the portraits. Taking the opportunity to leave before she notices me, I softly creep past her and make my way back up into the castle.

Days passed and I couldn’t erase what I had discovered and the sound of my mother weeping out of my head. I hadn’t realized it before but everywhere I walked within the castle I could sense the sad atmosphere all around me, especially when I looked at my parents. Because of this I have chosen to do as the letter has instructed. First, I have to get to the root of this problem.

During the last few days I have gathered as much information as I can from the maids. Reluctantly, my maid, Giselle, told me all that she knew about an incident that had taken place a few days prior to my father declaring that my brothers would be killed. According to her, he had received a letter, its contents never disclosed to anyone other than himself, and, after reading it he had abruptly locked himself in his studies and wrecked everything within it. After my brother's disappearance he convinced everyone in the kingdom that they had all died during a storm while voyaging to the neighboring kingdom, and ordered that anyone in the castle that spoke of what truly happened would be put to death, including their families.

“Do you know of a way that I would be able to figure out what could have possibly been written in that letter?” I asked her.

“I haven’t a clue, princess. However, the king’s courtier has mentioned previously that the king used to write about certain occurrences that took place in a private book he owned.  I’m sure he must have written about everything that happened that day. It must be somewhere in his study, if you can find that I am positive you’ll find what you’re looking for,” Giselle responded.

During nightfall, while everyone in the castle slumbered, I entered my father’s study and began my search for his book. Surprisingly after a few minutes I was able to locate it. It rested in his desk drawer next to a photograph of my brothers.

Why would he have a picture of the people he wanted to kill?

When I opened the book and began reading, I couldn't help but gaspe at what was written.

 In it, my father explained that the letter was in fact sent by one of his many opposers within our kingdom. In an effort to weaken the kingdom and prove to the people that my father wasn’t fit to be king, his opposers had devised a plan to make him believe that my brothers weren’t his sons, and instead, were the outcome of my mothers infidelity. Hoping that it would spark his rage and eventually have my brothers and mother killed as a result of that anger, they believed that by using that possible event, they would be able to turn the people against him. My father also went on to explain that even after discovering their ludicrous plan, despite it being his greatest desire to have his sons back, he was still unable to have them return due to the fear that those that oppose him will eventually attack and kill them, including his wife and newborn child.

This isn’t a choice he should have made on his own. Because of those imbeciles I have missed out on the opportunity to grow up surrounded by my brothers and with parents who are genuinely happy. I must find them and bring them home. This way we will tackle every hardship and defeat every enemy together.

I had previously heard from some of the maids that the last time they saw my brothers, they were headed in the direction of the woods, so the following day I took off on my adventure. I walked for several hours until I finally came across an enchanted little house near a large pond filled with beautiful flowers all around. When I enter, I find a handsome man with hazel eyes, and magnificent caramel hair sitting at a table, instantly recognizing him as one of the princes I had seen in the portraits.

After a few moments of silence, the man proceeds to ask me,“Who are you and what is your reason for entering my dwelling?”

From one of my pockets I pull out the photography that I had found in my fathers desk drawer and answered carefully, “I am a princess and I have journeyed far into these woods in search of my twelve brothers, and I will continue to do so even after I have reached the ends of the earth.”

I watch as the man’s face begins to beam with happiness and he then responds, “I am Benjamin, the youngest of the twelve brothers.”

Hearing those words I instantly begin to cry thinking of the relief my legs can finally have after walking for so long, and also realizing my parents will finally be happy once again. While wiping my tears Benjamin suddenly wraps his arms tightly around me and together we begin to cry with happiness.

When we finally sit down, Benjamin says, “I must warn you my dearest sister, our brothers and I have agreed to kill every girl that we meet after everything that had happened to us was because our mother gave birth to a girl. Therefore, you must wait in a room until they return home and I will speak with them regarding this matter.”

I suppose it's best if I wait until they have all gathered together to reveal everything to them.

I simply nod my head and smile at him as I make my way into one of the rooms. I waited until I heard the remaining brothers enter the home. When they sit around the table for dinner, I intently listen as they begin to speak.

“Has anything new happened today?” one of the brothers asks.

“Do you truly not know what has happened?” Benjamin questions.

“No,” the brothers answered.

“Then I shall tell you, but only if you all promise not to bring any harm to any girls that enter our home,” Benjamin responds.

“We promise,” they all yelled.

After a few moments of silence, Benjamin enters the room, softly takes my hand and slowly leads me out, revealing me to everyone.

“This is our sister,” he says.

They all examine me and I could see that happiness is beginning to glow inside of them. Unable to suppress their excitement, together they hugged and kissed me, each expressing the love they have for me; I couldn’t wait for my parents to experience this kind of happiness as well. Later that evening I reveled everything to them about what had truly happened and they all agreed to return to the castle with me the following day.

Upon our arrival at the castle, all of the maids were gathered at the entrance and began to cheer as they saw my brothers appear. We were met with many smiling faces and laughter all around.

“What is all of this?” my father asked coldly.

The servants turned to face my father and quickly ran away, scared of what might occur next. Standing before my brothers and I is our father and our mother, who has covered her mouth in disbelief at what she is seeing. After staring at my brothers silently, it became difficult for my father to mask his true emotions and broke out crying. All of us then gave our parents a big hug and cried uncontrollably as well.

My brothers and I explained to my parents that we must stay together as a family, and  together, we will fight, no longer living in fear because of things that have yet to happen. My father eagerly agreed and that night a feast was held in celebration of their return.

Before retiring to bed, I sit on a vanity chair silently as Giselle combs my hair.

“I knew you could do it princess,” she said suddenly.

“What do you mean? Did you know of my true plans to bring the princes back?” I asked.

“Of course, who do you think left all of those notes for you to find,” Giselle says while chuckling.

After realizing what she has said I immediately shot to my feet and face her.

“I have been a maid in this castle for the last forty two years and watched as everything changed for the worse. I hated seeing the way the joy and love within this castle slowly disappeared. And I definitely didn’t like hearing the way the other maids spoke ill of you, blaming you for what had happened. I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to do what I had instructed, but after seeing and hearing from the other maids that you were going around asking about the princes, I was positive that you’d be successful. I was right,” she explained.

I simply wrapped my arms around her tightly and said, “Thank you.”

From that day on, all was right once again. Together, we all lived happily ever after.

⬕

The Queen and Snow-White (Little Snow-White)

Monica Perez

I am here to tell you a story that’s been told many times over, but I’m here to tell you all the hidden details that you were never told. Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, a most beautiful Queen with fair skin, black hair, and red lips, sat upon her throne waiting for the upcoming birth of her daughter. Beside her sat the King, with equal excitement. Their marriage was a love match, one that would be talked about for centuries.

The Queen would come to give birth to a baby girl, even more beautiful than she. TheKing and Queen named their princess, Snow-White. Sadly, the Queen died giving birth toSnow-White. As per propriety the King had to remarry, although, it was clear to those that knew him that nobody would surmount to his old dear wife, and he could go the rest of his life without ever re-marrying.

A year later, the King would marry a beautiful woman, but she was prideful and demanded to be the most beautiful in town. Some say she was always prideful and haughty, I’mhere to tell you she became those things over time. It is true that she loved attention and power,but she never wanted to be viewed as the best until she felt she was the worst. The King always compared her to his previous Queen, and never called her beautiful or intelligent. He would callSnow-White these things, and through passing time it began to anger her.

The Queen was the youngest of seven in a poverty stricken family. Just like Snow-White,her mother passed away giving birth to her, and her father and siblings resented her for it. She did everything for her family with the hope of feeling loved and appreciated. She would make them proud, and she determinedly married a King to do so. She thought if she was confident and beautiful everyone would love her. She found an old mirror in one of the castle rooms and took it to her bed chamber. Whenever she felt unimportant she would ask the mirror,

“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall.
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

In her mind the mirror would answer—

“Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all!”

As time passed Snow-White grew up and became more and more beautiful. Her beauty didn't upset the Queen but rather the remarkable similarity to her mother did. It only made theKing love Snow-White more. One day the Queen asked the mirror,

“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall.
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

This time the mirror answered in her mind—

“Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.
But even more beautiful still is Snow-White.”

This immensely angered the Queen as the mirror that was supposed to make her feel confident and beautiful seemed to betray her. The Queen decided the only way she would be happy was if Snow-White were to leave the Kingdom. The Queen was intelligent even if no one seemed to tell her. Unlike the King, she picked up that Snow-White and the Huntsman seemed to be rather close. She noticed him sneak up into her room late at night, and noticed the letters she would secretly hand him when she grazed past him in the halls.

The Queen called the Huntsman to her and told him she had a mission for him. She told him, “Take Snow-White away into the forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her heart as a token.”

The Queen did not believe he would be able to go through with it. She thought they’d runaway together, and she would never have to worry about Snow-White again. She would only have to worry about getting a new Huntsman. “A great first thing for me and my husband to do,” she thought.

The Huntsman took Snow-White into the forest and told her all about the Queen's plan.

“What ought we to do?” he asked Snow-White.

“Give her what she wants,” she replied. “And come back for me in a week's time. I shall behere.”

The Huntsman found a wild boar and killed it, taking its heart back to the Queen. He gave the Queen the heart and dismissed himself from her room. The Queen looked at the heart resting in her hand, still warm. She looked at it in shock, then in horror, and then began to cry. When she stopped crying, she rationalized that this could not be Snow-White’s heart and therefore she asked the mirror,

“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall.
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

The mirror answered—

“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills Snow-White is still alive and well,
And none is so fair as she.”

Snow-White had found refuge in the forest around several weeping willows that allowed her shade and refuge while she awaited the Huntsman's return.

The Queen decided on a new plan, and returned the part of town she called home before she was Queen. She dressed herself as an old country woman and went to a Witch's cottage she was familiar with. Upon entering she spotted the most beautiful apples on display and asked the old witch about them.

“They are poisonous apples that will put whoever eats them into an eternal sleep. I cancurse them for you with a dream or nightmare if you wish,” she told the Queen.

*   *  *

The Queen, still dressed as an old country woman, went in search of Snow-White through the forest. When she found her peacefully resting beside a tree the Queen went up to her and offered her an apple. She hesitated at first, but alas took it and ate it as she was growing hungry and the apple looked so delicious it was hard to resist. She fell into a deep sleep and when the Huntsman returned a week later he pronounced her dead. He returned her back to the Kingdom And she was laid in a glass coffin to rest for eternity.

What you don’t know and I am here to tell you is that Snow-White remained in that slumper and dreamt an eternal dream. A dream in which her mother and father were still alive and happily together. A dream in which she married a handsome prince who looked much like the Huntsman. Snow-White would be happy and the Queen would be happy. While the Kingdomwould forever wonder what happened to Snow-White.

⬕

The Golden Goose

Sydney Rodiguez

There was a mother who had three sons, the youngest of whom was reviled, insulted, and ridiculed on every occasion.  Upon his birth, his mother had already felt a sort of animosity towards him. Being a single mother of three, the thought of dealing with yet another unplanned child infuriated her, hence why he was given the name “Dummling”.

It happened that the mother had requested her eldest son to go to the flea market and pick up some groceries for the evening's dinner, and before he left, she gave him a list of what she had needed and extra money as a gesture in case he wanted something of his own.

After completing his task and beginning his route back home, he was approached by a small gray-haired old guy who pleaded, "Please give me some food out of your basket; I am so hungry and thirsty."

But the prudent young man replied, "While I had purchased a little extra, if I give you some groceries, I would have none for myself; be off with you," and he left the small man there and continued. But as he continued along his journey, he made a mistake and tripped, spilling all of the food over the sidewalk, forcing him to return home and get himself cleaned up. This was the work of the small gray man.

Following this, the second son went to the flea market, and his mother handed him, like the eldest, a list and some additional money. The little elderly gray man met him similarly and requested for some food from his basket. But the second son, with good reason, said, "What I give you will be taken away from me; be off!" and walked away, leaving the little man there. His punishment, however, was not delayed; after only a few feet, he tripped and injured himself in the leg, requiring him to be carried home.

Then Dummling pleaded, "Mother, please let me go get your groceries." "Your brothers have wounded themselves with it," the mother replied, "leave it alone; you don't understand anything about it." But Dummling pleaded so long that she finally said, "Just go then, you'll get wiser by hurting yourself." His mother simply just recited the list to him, stating he had to remember it on his own, and with it, barely enough money to cover the cost of it all.

When he exited the flea market, the little old gray man greeted him and begged, "Give me some of your groceries; I am so hungry and thirsty." "My mother didn't give me enough to buy something of my own, but I believe I can give you a piece of bread from this loaf; if that pleases you, we'll sit down and eat," Dummling replied. So they sat, and when Dummling pulled out his basket, it was overflowing with extra treats that he didn’t purchase himself. Unaware of how these delicious treats appeared in his basket, it was as if he was pulling out an infinite supply of cakes, cookies, and fruit. He pulled them out one by one, and for quite some time, he was performing this ritual repeatedly until he reached the bottom. In utter disbelief Dummling exclaimed, “I was sure I left with just my mother’s groceries. I think I accidentally took another's basket.” But then he noticed that the groceries he was told to buy was in the mix of the plethora of food in front of him and so he looked back at the little gray man. Winking at him, the old man says, “No young boy, this basket is yours.”

So they ate and drank, and then the small old man remarked, "I will offer you good luck since you have a kind heart and are willing to split what you have." There's an old tree there; take this path and you'll find something at the top." The little man then walked away from him.

Dummling followed the trail to the tree, and when he got there, there was a goose at the top with pure gold feathers. Each feather glistened when in light, attracting the eyes of anyone who viewed it. He then picked her up and took her with him to an inn where he planned to spend the night. The host's three daughters noticed the goose and were inquisitive about what such a lovely bird could be, and that they would have liked to have one of its golden feathers.

"I will soon find an opportunity to pull out a feather," the eldest reasoned, and as soon as Dummling went out, she grasped the goose by the wing, but her finger and hand remained stuck to it.

The second came shortly after, thinking solely of how she could grab a feather for herself, but she had hardly touched her sister before she was restrained.

Finally, the third arrived with the same goal, and the others yelled, "Keep away; for heaven's sake, keep away!" But she didn't understand why she was supposed to stay away. "The others are there," she reasoned, "I might as well be there too," and dashed to them, but as soon as she touched her sister, she clung to her. As a result, they were forced to spend the night with the goose.

The next morning, Dummling took the goose under his arm and headed out, without thinking about the three females who were clutching it. They were forced to chase him down, now to the left, now to the right, just as he swerved.

The Pastor met them in the midst of the fields and, seeing the procession, remarked, "What a shame, you good-for-nothing females, why are you fleeing through the fields after this young man?" Is that reasonable?" At the same time, he grabbed the youngest's hand in an attempt to pull her away, but as soon as he touched her, he became caught and had to run behind.

Soon after, the gravedigger passed by and noticed his master, the Pastor, sprinting behind three girls. He was taken aback and exclaimed, "Hi, your reverence, why are you going so quickly?" Remember, we have a christening today!" While racing after him, he grabbed his sleeve but was likewise held fast to it.

While the five were marching, one behind the other, two laborers came from the fields carrying their hoes; the Pastor shouted out to them and begged them to release him and the gravedigger. But they hadn't even touched the gravedigger when they were stopped, and now there were seven of them trailing Dummling and the goose.

Soon after, he arrived in a city controlled by a monarch, who had a daughter who was so solemn that no one could make her laugh. So he issued an order that whoever could make her laugh could marry her. When Dummling heard this, he went with his goose and all her train before the King's daughter, and as soon as she saw the seven people racing on and on, one behind the other, she began to laugh pretty loudly, almost as if she would never stop. The King then came over to greet and congratulate his daughter's soon-to-be husband, but Dummling couldn’t believe who he was seeing.

The little old gray man came from the distance, this time with a crown and a well tailored suit, winking at him while saying, “Well done, Dummling. You were the only one who could make my daughter laugh after all of these years. I now give you permission to take her hand in marriage and soon enough, take over the throne.”

In incredulity, Dummling replied, “Your honor, it is with great pleasure that I will rightfully become your daughter’s husband, as well as the leader of this city.”

“I have no doubt that you would act otherwise,” the King answered back.

Dummling then asked for her to be his wife, and the ceremony was held. Dummling inherited the realm after the King died and lived happily with his wife for a long time.

⬕

Oh, Death (Death’s Messengers)

Da Eun Kim

Where am I? What was I doing here again? I am in Manhattan in the middle of the night and all my senses are being affronted from the heavy downpour. The blurred traffic lights are blinding me, and the blaring cars are deafening. The rain is starting to steam this trash island custard and it’s seeping in my new rubber boots.

Oh, right. I’m on the clock . . . I might have gotten sidetracked with the . . . nightlife. I stumble out of an alleyway behind a bar. I haphazardly wipe the face of the watch strapped to my right wrist and bring it to my face. I squint hard. It’s almost midnight according to the golden legs closing. This gig sucks. I have got to get another job. I look around, but not too fast since I feel like I’m going to hurl. Finally, I set my eyes on my target. Standing a yard in front of me is a young woman waiting at a crosswalk. She’s occasionally glancing over at me, clutching her messenger bag.

I burp in my mouth before speaking up. Excuse me, miss. I’m here to collect your soul.

“ . . . ”

What? Did you not hear me? I said, it’s time to go. My left eye twitches. Frankly, I came to New York City because They told me it would be “good for me” and a “nice change of scenery,” but these New Yorkers are really getting on my nerves.

“ . . . ”

Alright, that’s it. I grab the woman by her wrist, but she pulls back twice as forcefully, escaping my grasp.

“Creep!” She exclaims and she whips out a little aerosol can from her bag and sprays out its contents into my eyes.

OH, THE BURN. I stagger back and feel all the air leave my lungs. While I’m busy fighting the worsening bee sting sensations in my eyes, the woman hurriedly crosses the street. Laid out, I admit my defeat and let her get away. The warm rain rolls off my raincoat in pulsing veins. I’ll get you New Yorkers eventually. With my eyes swollen shut, I put myself to rest.

*   *  *

“H . . . Hello . . . hello? Are you alright?” My eyes struggle to peel open as if they were glued together. I see a dark figure looming over me. Focusing my eyes, I see that the voice came from the young person staring at me with dark, curious eyes. They’re holding an umbrella over us, so for just a moment, it feels like the rain, the cars, and time has stopped except us.

God? I groan as I feel my spine shift back into place on the concrete.

“Close.” They reach out a hand to me. I take it cautiously and they pull me up. I notice how small their hand is compared to mine. “What were you doing out here?” I had to explain how I was brutally pepper sprayed and left to die on these gross streets. They wince for my behalf. “Do you have somewhere to go?” They look at me, worried.

Not really, but I’ll find my way out of this.

They pause for a moment, “Well, if you don’t have somewhere to stay, I have an extra room in my apartment.” As I am about to go with them, I see that the hands on the clock are at midnight again, pointing straight that this queer stranger. I look back up and see them staring back at me. They have black curls framing their freckled face and they’re still holding my hand in theirs.

Life’s not fair, is what I would’ve said while I took their soul. I’m behind on my quota and management has been really hounding me to catch up, but they did just help me. So, I agree to go with them, for now.

*   *  *

Their apartment is lush and heavily embellished with plants. Monstera are reaching over my shoulder and the spindles of devil’s ivy are tugging at my coat sleeve. The windows are lined with succulents and ferns and almost every flat surface is crowded with terracotta pots of leafy greens.

“My name is Chrysanthemum, by the way. What’s your name? I just realized I hadn’t asked until now.”

It’s . . . Death . . . I waited for them to give me a reaction, but they just paused and nodded.

“Cool. Okay, Death.” They take off their coat and long boots.

You don’t think that’s weird? I ask, perplexed. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

“I’ve heard stranger chosen names. I thought your name might have been Columbo with the way you’re dressed.” They chortle a little and point at my ill-fitting beige trench coat. I have no idea what they mean. “Anyways, feel free to get comfortable. Do you eat cheese? I make a mean grilled cheese. Oh, and take off your shoes before stepping in further.” Discombobulated, I just nod and do as they say.

*   *  *

Chrys and I end up having dinner, and for the first time, I feel this foreign feeling of security. We plan to meet up again, and gradually we saw each other more often. It’s strange. I plan on collecting their soul once and for all every time, but by the end of the night, I’m laughing, and I feel a lightness in me. I want to be with them. Forever. Maybe I can just hold off on them.

It’s another night and we’re lying in bed together. Their head snuggles against my arm. I never stopped my duty to collect souls, but I also can’t betray this new duty. I feel compelled to stay with them more and more.

*   *  *

I . . . really like it here. I blurt out. I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but it’s true, nonetheless. They look up at me with their round doughy eyes and grin.

“Aw, really? I’m glad you do. I really like you being here, too.”

Hey, Chrys . . . What do you think about being together forever?

“Do you really mean that?”

Of course. You make me feel like I’m more than just an end to all things. Like maybe for once, I can just put everything down and live . . . a life. I want to do that with you. I ruffle their hair.

They blush, “I would be honored to live a life with you. I love you, Death.”

I . . . love you, too. Genuinely.

*   *  *

Many years pass, but we’re still together. At this point, they are bed bound and look gray and wilted. We spend most of our days taking trips to the hospital or reading together. Sometimes, they’ll ask to turn on music or go out to look at the plants in the nurseries nearby, but it’s not the same. They seem vacant. They call me over from the bedroom and I come to them one last time.

“Will you come hold me?” They reach out their hand to me and I hold it. It’s small and fragile, like origami. It pains me to see them like this. Chrys sees right through me. “Oh, Death.

It’s way too wet on your cheeks to be nothing.” If I say anything, I know more than words would spill out. After some pause, they turn to me again, “Death, I think it’s time for me to go.” I knew this was coming, but I feel more than I ever have.

I thought we were a team. They nod, but they don’t say anymore. You gave me a home. You fed me, scraping me off the street. I saw you for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. We made promises to one another. I thought you loved me.

“And I still do.”

You kissed death on its lips, and clung when you had nothing else. When you were staring me in the face every day, you prevailed my duty, my nature. Our cosmic love, was that not enough?

“You can stop me from dying, but it won’t stop the pain. The pain that I will never be able to move my hands right enough to take care of my plants. I can’t hold your hand while walking in the rain together. I can’t move without every fiber of my being creaking and moaning. You are Death. You are more than me.” They faintly say, choked up.

But without you, I am nothing. I feel the life draining from me, but I know must be done.

“I love you.”

I love you, too. The clock strikes midnight once again and I am alone.

⬕

The Little Man (Rumplestiltskin)

Sasha Heeralall

Once upon a time there lived a single father who only had one child, a beautiful daughter. The father worried that his daughter would have no future and no one to take care of her. To solve his problems he offered her to his boss, creating a deceptive lie that would trouble his daughter in the future.

“What purpose will she serve me?” said the boss.

“My daughter can create an abundance of money from sand,” said the father.

“This is wonderful, if she can make 1 million dollars by tomorrow morning, I can guarantee that she will be taken care of” said the boss.

The father locked his daughter in a confined room with a singular window that had been locked.

“If you do not turn this money into sand, you will not have any future and will suffer like I did” said the father.

The daughter sat in the room in distress as she observed the heaps of sand around her. She was outraged by the position her father had put her in and wished to be free and live a normal life. She sat in the room for hours, twiddling her thumbs and thinking of ways to achieve her goal. She had done research on her phone, and began to cry hysterically as she could not find a way to fulfill the deed. All she found was a fictional story online about an evil little man who could turn straw into gold. As she cried, she heard the window creak and snapped her neck in the same direction. Fearfully, she walked towards the window wondering how it was opened although it was locked. As she peered out the window, she saw nothing but darkness. Confused, she shut the window as the wind was blowing the sand around the room. As she turned around, she let out a long ear bleeding scream as she saw a tiny man standing directly behind her.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” she asked as she picked up a handful of sand.

“My name is not of importance, I am simply here to help you ma’am. I hope you were not planning to attack me with the sand, that would be quite odd.” replied the little man.

“How will you be able to help me? I must turn these heaps of sand into 1 million dollars by tomorrow and if I don’t succeed I shall be a failure to my father” said the daughter.

“What will you give me if I do it for you?” the little man inquired.

The daughter proceeded to take off her earrings and give them to the little man. The little man took the earrings with glee and proceeded to the heap of sand. He picked up a handful of sand and rubbed it between his fingers. To the daughter's amazement, money began falling from the palm of his hand onto the ground. She picked up a handful of money and her eyes opened wide in disbelief and in the blink of an eye, the little man was gone and in his place were stacks of money. Once again, she found herself alone in a room surrounded by the one thing that restricted her freedom.

The next morning, her father and his boss entered the room to find it filled with stacks of money. After counting the money, the girl had fulfilled his wishes, however, as greedy as he was, the boss locked her in the room once again but this time, she had to provide 10 million dollars.

Once again, the daughter was locked in the room with 10 times the amount of sand as before and wept, hoping that the little man would come once again. The little man appeared once again and asked,

“What will you give me if I do it for you?”

The daughter gave the little man a bracelet that was once worn by her mother. She didn’t care enough for this object as it was a reminder of how miserable her life was. In adoration, she watched as the little man began rubbing the sand between his hands, producing mass amounts of money once again. Curiosity got the best of her and she began to ask the man,

“What is your name?”

“That is none of your business” sneered the little man

The girl was taken aback as she did not expect such a harsh attitude from him.

“No need to be rude, I just want to know your name. You are doing a great deed by helping me, I would at least like to know your name, friend.” said the girl in a polite manner.

“I am no one’s friend, this is simply a transaction. I do something for you and you give me something in return, nothing else.” said the little man.

“Regardless of your reasoning, I am grateful for your help.” said the girl as she smiled at the little man.

The little man stared at her with a questioning look and for once, said something before he disappeared.

“Good luck and good night.”

Once again, the girl was alone as she stared out of the locked window into the starry night, longing to be freed.

Her father and his boss appeared once again in the morning, yet the boss demanded one final time that she make 1 billion dollars in a single night. However, this time she was fearful that she would have to give up the thing that she valued the most, her freedom. The little man appeared and asked her once again,

“What will you give me if I do it for you?”

“I have nothing else to offer you.” said the girl with a frown on her face.

“You must have something that you value,” said the little man.

“I have lived an unlucky life, born to a father who can no longer support or provide for me and a mother who abandoned us. There is nothing that I value more than to be free from this tormenting life. I find myself in this situation only because of my looks but I know if I had the support that I could be something more than just a pretty face.” said the girl while she looked down at the ground.

For a second, just for a second, the little man’s eyes reflected empathy for the poor girl. He then proceeded to tell the girl,

“I will turn this sand into money for you tonight on one condition. I will give you 3 days to guess my name, if you do, you will be free of any burdens and I will give you enough financial support for you to live your life. If you do not guess it by the end of the third day, you shall give me your life and work for me for eternity.”

 In the morning, the girl was greeted by her father’s boss but in contrast to the promise he made to her father, he threw her out on the streets. She panicked as she did not know where she was and found herself alone once again. She remembered the deal she made with the little man and searched all over the internet for possible names of the odd little man. Each night, the little man visited her and gave her one guess per day. Two days had passed by and she only had one try left. She had remembered the fictional story that she had found earlier and hoped that maybe, just maybe, this was his name. On the third night, the little man appeared and asked her one last time,

“What is my name?”

“Is your name Rumpelstiltskin?” asked the girl.

“Right you are, I guess I should stay true to our transaction.” said Rumpelstiltskin.

With the snap of a finger, the girl found herself in a beautiful apartment overlooking the city and tons of money to help her get started on her journey. As Rumpelstiltskin was about to leave, the girl stopped him and said

“Thank you for all your help and for giving me this opportunity. I do believe that you have a kind heart, friend.”

“You are most welcome, friend.”

⬕

The Lucky Child (The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs)

Ciara Waters

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who lived in an orphanage. The caretakers of the children had found the boy in a box floating down the river as a baby, and had decided to take him in. The caretakers named him Felix, Latin for luck, because they noticed that the box had been punctured as it floated along the river, and had it not gotten tangled in the bush they retrieved It from, Felix would have drowned. They knew nothing else of his origins.

Felix had grown up a happy child and found himself fulfilling the meaning of his name. He fell victim to several near-death accidents, but always managed to escape with not as much as a scratch on him. The worst of these accidents happened when he was 14 and was crossing the street in his village when he forgot to look both ways. The entire village could hear the carriage horses coming to an abrupt stop and the King’s voice booming

“Watch where you are going, peasant boy! And don’t get in my way again!”

“Sorry, your majesty.” The frightened boy replied before running the rest of the way home.

“Disrespectful low life little * * * !”, the King could be heard yelling as Felix scurried away.

And while Felix was known to have good luck, he was also known to be charming and well liked among everyone he met. A pleasant conversation with the kitchen staff often afforded him extra pancakes at breakfast, and his smile placed him in any position he wanted while playing soccer with the local children, regardless of his subpar athletics. So, despite being without a family or any wealth to his name, Felix was happy.

The King of the land had a decree in place that every man would have to serve two years in the army once they turned 18. The staff at the orphanage could often be heard saying

“And to think that all these boys will be in the barracks soon”

“Except Felix of course, that child would be lying in his bed!”

“Rules never seem to quite catch up with him do they!”.

However, the day came where Felix was lined up with the rest of his peers, ready to be inspected by the King and his men to be placed in their ranks in the army.

Now the King had many duties to carry on in his kingdom at this time, but being the petty fellow he was, he made a special effort to come out and inspect the boys of this orphanage. The Queen and all the royal couples’ advisors were perplexed as to why the King would do such a thing, as he was known to be a hot headed but otherwise logical ruler, and not one to waste time. When asked why he decided to make the journey by his wife, The King answered

“Years ago, I met the most disrespectful, irksome, crude teenage boy in that very village, running away to the orphanage after blocking my horses and interrupting my duties. I think it’s only right, seeing that he is roughly of age, that I pay him a special visit today and make sure he gets an appropriate rank in my military.”

“Very well then darling”, The Queen responded to her husband, before turning around and whispering to her advisors

“Make sure he packs his lavender and herbal tea to relax him please, It's very bad timing that he’s so angry on a day like this”.

Little did the King’s wife know that was not the true reason for the King’s interest in the boy, for he was the only one who knew Felix’s true origins.

Many years ago, the King had been on duty In Felix’s hometown, when he decided to go to the local fortune teller, as he, a secretly superstitious man, made a habit of doing across the

kingdom. This fortune teller predicted that the King would be succeeded on the throne by a former peasant, who would marry his daughter once he came of age. The King was disgusted by this news,

“A peasant! My daughter could never marry a peasant! They simply aren’t fit to rule. He must be born wealthy, or he is not good enough to be my heir.”

“No” the woman replied “Our future King will be a peasant, and he will win over your daughter entirely. He will be born in this very village.”

The King paused as he stared into the crystal ball, contemplating his next move. Finally, he spoke

“And where would I find the couple that is to give birth to my future son in law. I must make sure they are well looked after.”

The fortune teller, gifted in the divine arts but lacking common sense, happily gave the King the address of the parents of the prophesized baby boy, and he was off.

The King knocked on the door of the little shack down the street, and a shocked farmer answered.

“Your majesty! Welcome to our humble home! What brings you to this corner of the Kingdom?”

“I heard your wife has just given birth to a son. Prophecies are already circling regarding the child’s greatness, and I would like to see him. “

The farmer was surprised to hear this, as him and his wife were considered unremarkable in the village.

“Of course,” he agreed, “what have these prophecies been saying?” he asked as he carried the boy from his wife’s arms.

The King saw the way the man looked at his child and knew he would not give him up unless he offered a good reason.

“The Prophecies have predicted that your son will grow up to be a very successful man on my court, and he will become one of my greatest advisors.” The King held the child and continued

“I would like to take your son to the palace and raise him alongside my own children. He will be given the best education in the land, which will surely set him up for success in the nobility once his time comes.”

The couple were shocked at this offer but seeing what little resources they had to provide their own son and considering his prophesized potential, they agreed to let the King raise their child, with the promise that they would make the journey to court to visit once he became a successful nobleman.

Unmoved by the boy's loving parents, the King continued with his attempt to drown the child and thought he had succeeded. The possibility of Felix’s survival never crossed his mind, until his carriage almost ran over an annoying teenager on one of his royal visits. The King decided to determine who this boy was that had caused him such trouble, so he requested the documents of all the young male orphans of the village and came across a strange file mentioning a baby being found in a box, almost drowned, in the river the King had placed Felix in.

The King was furious that the same child had crossed him twice, and that he had to worry about the prophecy again. He vowed that when the time was right, he would make Felix pay and that he would never escape him again.

*   *  *

The King met Felix’s gaze once again after many years. This time in the lineup of boys being recruited to military ranks. The King and his men would go down the line and review each boys’ tests scores and documents and determine where they would best fit in the army. The brightest of the boys were placed in officer roles, whereas the most athletic were sent to assist in physical training, and boys that excelled in neither, were sent to be soldiers, and considering the number of wars the King had gotten himself into, this was the most dangerous position to be in.

“Felix, you have been assigned your role as a field soldier.” The guard said, before exiting the orphanage with a content looking King.

Felix now looked around to see the sympathetic eyes of his peers and caretakers and didn’t know what this new role would mean for him but prepared to leave home.

*   *  *

Regardless of the intensity of it all, Felix found himself making the best of military life. It wasn’t too different from the orphanage he decided, except for the looming reality of battle. He made friends with his fellow soldiers and even some of his supervisors. He still scammed the kitchen for extra food and enjoyed playing sports with the other men and while the peers found themselves ridden with anxiety regarding being sent to war, Felix found that it wasn’t something he thought of all that much.

Felix’s luck continued to save him during even the most gruesome battles, as he found himself moving positions or retreating at just the right moments. He was not known to be the most strategic soldier on the field, and while his peers failed to notice this, they did recognize that Felix left every battle without being injured.

A year went by, and reports of the new soldiers’ progress were requested by the King. He saw that Felix was still alive and well on the front lines, and exclaimed

“There’s no way this kid is still alive! After all, I have put him through. I need to stop being subtle and take care of him myself.”

He tuned to yell at his assistants

“Tell the seamstress to make me a military costume immediately”.

At the point of madness, the King rode off to the barracks in disguise, with his rifle and a plan.

The King hid in the bushes surrounding the barrack where he knew Felix would be sleeping and stalked him throughout the night. He saw Felix exiting the barrack, and emerged from the bushes, disguised in face and fashion as an enemy soldier.

He ran up behind Felix quietly, getting ready to shoot at him, when Felix turned around and screamed. He swerved in just the right direction to avoid the King’s bullet, and held up his own rifle, shooting at the enemy.

The King fell to the ground and looked up to see the Lucky Child’s eyes gazing into his for the last time before he passed away.

The men of the barracks heard Felix’s yells and ran outside. They looked down to see the dead man.

“Felix has just killed another one of our enemies!”

“And in the middle of the night too!”

“Felix has kept us all safe!”

The men buried the disguised body of their ruler before celebrating Felix’s success. He became known among the military as the boy who had kept them all safe from invasion.

*   *  *

Months passed and the palace was becoming concerned about the whereabouts of the King. Royal decrees declared the King dead, as no one was able to find him across the entire Kingdom. His wife and daughter mourned his loss and made royal journeys across the land to receive respects paid by their subjects.

The day came where the Queen and princess arrived on the barrack, and the men lined up to mourn the King. The officials decided that the Queen and her daughter should meet the luckiest soldier among them and expected Felix’s wit to bring them some joy.

“Your majesties. Welcome to our base, I am so sorry about the loss of your husband and father. I am sure you miss him dearly. Here at the military, we hope our service makes you proud and honors his memory.”

The Queen received Felix well and her daughter listened to their conversation intently. When the Queen walked away Felix spoke to the princess

“I’m sure it must be very hard without your father, I grew up in an orphanage so I can’t imagine what it must have been like having someone who looked after you so much, and then losing them.”

Hours passed by and the princess and Felix continued to get to know each other, until she had to return to the palace. She had enjoyed talking to Felix so much that she promised to visit the base often so they could continue their conversations. He was overjoyed to hear this, and even happier when the princess kept her word.

Years passed and the princess and Felix fell in love. She declared to the Queen that Felix is who she wanted to marry and remembering her husband’s hatred for the peasants of the land, the Queen hesitated. However, after speaking with Felix and hearing how much her daughter loved him, she agreed to let them marry.

Hearing of a royal wedding, a childless farmer couple from a small town decide to make the journey to the palace. For years they had waited on news of their son the King had taken away man years ago and promised to make a successful nobleman. The couple knew they would recognize their son’s face anywhere, as he was the splitting image of his father.

They arrived and saw the young man on the altar with a princess, and knew it was their son. They pushed past the guards and ran up the new prince and told him who they were and what had happened to him.

After speaking with his parents and reviewing his documents, Felix finally put the pieces of his life together, and was now content with his past, and excited for his new future with his family as King.

⬕

Rapunzel? (Rapunzel)

Elaina Noto

A long time ago, in a kingdom in Northern Italy, there lived a happy family who was expecting their second child. The mother of the child was very fortunate to have a normal pregnancy and birth. When their baby daughter, Josephine, was born, all of their fans were in awe of her beautiful smile and brown hair.  The couple spent their spare time taking pictures of Josie in their garden to post on their social media feeds.

The couple’s social media accounts were public, so anyone was able to view pictures of Josie, where the family lived, and what was happening in their lives. The family's followers would comment, share pictures, and admire how perfect they were. However, with all the love they were receiving, the family had no idea that they had a stalker tracking their every move.

When Josie turned three years old, the family threw her a huge birthday party. The family took endless amounts of photos of Josie on pony rides, eating ice cream, and playing with the other kids. They even made a video montage to capture every perfect moment. After seeing how beautiful Josie grew, that night, the stalker broke into the family's home and stole the child. To keep her new baby hidden, she locked her in a tower and changed her name to Rapunzel. The tall tower only had a staircase from the bottom and one window at the top. When Rapunzel got older, the stalker got rid of the side door and steps leading up to the tower, leaving just a window for her to leave from.

The stalker never introduced Rapunzel to technology, never allowed her to play outside, never cut her hair, and only let Rapunzel refer to her as “mother.” Even with all these “rules,” Rapunzel spent everyday with a smile on her face. The stalker couldn't have been more grateful for their mother daughter relationship.        

Rapunzel spent most of her days doing at home exercises, reading romantic novels, baking, and singing along to her mothers collection of operatic vinyls. Her personal favorite was Verdi’s La Traviata. As content as Rapunzel was, she often wondered why she wasn’t allowed outside. She longed to feel the grass beneath her feet and the sunshine on her face.

“Mother, what is the outside like? I really want to see the forest and meet new people. Why do you keep me inside like this?” Rapunzel asked.

The stalker tightened.“The world is a dangerous place for an innocent child like you dear. I couldn't bear to lose you,” Her mother responded in a cold tone.

“Oh mother, you wouldn’t—”.

“Enough child! You are not leaving this tower . . . EVER! Do not ask again or I will chop off your hair and leave you up here to starve!! The stalker screamed.

Rapunzel never saw that side of her mother before. The only mother she knew was the kind woman who cared for her. From that day on, she never asked her mother again and assumed that the world was a dangerous place.

*   *  *

About a month later, a young boy got lost riding through the woods. After his phone died, he noticed the tower. As startled as he was, he assumed no one lived there because it would be impossible to get down. He thought he was out of luck until he heard this voice coming from the tower, it sounded like a professional opera singer. As he grew closer to the tower, he saw the most beautiful young maiden. He thought that maybe she knew how to get out of the forest and back to the kingdom.

“Hey!” the boy called out.

What was that? Rapunzel turned around.

“Hello?” the boy said again.

Rapunzel looked down at the stranger and said, “Uh, hi . . . can I help you?”

“I heard you singing from down the way, I am lost in the woods and don’t know how to get home. Do you know how to get back to the kingdom from here?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I have never left this tower before,” Rapunzel responded.

“Oh? Then can I at least borrow a phone charger to call my parents?” the boy asked.

“What is a charger? And what is that metal box you are holding?” Rapunzel questioned. She was interested in the boy. He had dark brown hair and his face looked oddly similar to hers.

The boy froze, how does she not know what a phone is? “That is my phone, I use it to call and text people. Phones have been around for years now, how do you not have one?”

Before Rapunzel could respond, another boy came out of the woods. Except it wasn’t a boy, it was a guy way older than the child Rapunzel was talking to. Out of fear, Rapunzel ran inside and hid from them.

 “There you are Benny! I’ve been looking all over for you. Life 360 said your phone died?” The older guy said.  

“I’m fine William, I was just talking to this girl in the tower. You know she doesn’t even know what a phone is?” Benny responded.

“What girl?” Will saw the tower but didn’t see or hear anything.

“I promise you she was just here. Hey! Come back!” the boy yelled. “She was a beautiful Will. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes.”

“Really? How old did she look?” Will questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe a little younger than you? Can we go home now?” Benny sighed.

“Yeah sure,” Will said.

*   *  *

William was very intrigued by what his little brother saw. When he got home he called his best friend, the prince of the kingdom, and analyzed a picture of his little sister who went missing when he was eight years old.

  “Hey man, Benny got lost in the woods today and stumbled upon this tower. He said he saw this girl who was a little younger than us living there. I want to go back tomorrow and find out more about her? I wonder if it could be Josie?”

“Wow man, that's crazy! As your friend, I will go with you tomorrow, but do not get your hopes up. For all we know she could just be some random girl.” the prince said.

“I won’t, but we need to at least try. Let’s leave tomorrow morning at seven. Make sure you bring a charger” Will said remembering what happened to Benny.

“You got it bro, I’ll see you bright and early. Good night,” the prince said.

Will stayed up all night wondering, what if she has been alive this whole time? What if after all these years of heartbreak and searching that she is alive?  

*   *  *

The next morning, William and the prince rode out to the forest. When they approached the tower they heard the most beautiful sound. The prince’s eyes widened, “She sounds lovely,”

“Don’t get any ideas. We are here for one reason and one reason only,” William said as he playfully pushed him.

When the boys went to approach the tower they saw a mysterious woman walking towards the tower from the other direction. The boys hid behind a bush and observed the women.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” She hollered.

Every ounce of hope that was left in Will’s heart was gone. The prince was right, it wasn’t Josie, it was just some random girl with really long hair.

“How is that possible?” The prince questioned as he watched Rapunzel pull up this woman with nothing but her own hair.

The boys waited until the old women left. When she did, the prince mocked, “Rapunzel, Raupnuzel! Let down your hair?”

Rapunzel ran to her window and stared down at the two guys. She gasped, “What are you doing back here?”  

William stepped forward, “Listen, I am not here to hurt you. I just thought you were someone else. I’m leaving now.”

“You can always come back to the kingdom with me, I mean us.” the prince stuttered.  

“Forget it. It’s not her, let's go,” Will said, turning around.  

“What is this kingdom everyone is talking about?” Rapunzel questioned.

“The kingdom of Corona. You only live an hour away, how have you never been?” The prince asked.

“Mother says that the world is a dangerous place and that I am never allowed to leave this tower,” Rapunzel confessed.

“That’s very suspicious, a girl trapped in a tower her whole life? And she kind of looks like you. What if that mysterious woman changed her name when she was younger? This might actually be her,” the prince whispered to Will.

“Do you hear yourself? You sound ridiculous!” Will snapped back.

Rapunzel remembered her dream of seeing the world. What if they can help me leave the tower? Rapunzel knew that the only way for her to find out was if she knew more about them. If the boys tried to harm her, she was more than capable of defending herself.  

“I always wanted to see what was beyond this tower. However, I refuse to leave with total strangers. Come up to my tower so we discuss when to leave. It cannot be when my mother is home,” Rapunzel demanded.

“Yes of course!” The prince replied to Rapunzel. “This is your chance to really see if this is her. Plus, she’s so pretty, come on,” the prince said to Will as he walked towards the tower.

“Fine, we'll come up,” Will said, rolling his eyes at the prince who had the biggest grin on his face.

“Great! Then grab on,” Rapunzel said as she hoisted them both up. When the guys stepped into the tower, Rapunzel was very taken back. She was immediately attracted to the guy with blue eyes and darker hair, but there was something about the other boy that felt very familiar.

Will stared into Rapunzel’s brown eyes. He started to believe the prince’s theory because she did look exactly like him. He knew he couldn’t give up without learning more about her.

“So, Rapunzel. How long have you been living here?” Will asked.

“My whole life, although I remember the room being a lighter purple when I was a baby, I guess my mother had repainted it when I got older.” Rapunzel said as she showed the men around the tower.

Will felt defeated again until he remembered that Josie’s nursery was painted lilac. He turned to the prince and said, “I need to find out more about this woman who she is living with. I’m going to pretend to use the bathroom, please distract her.”

The prince’s heart was beating out of his chest, “Yeah I'll do my best,” he tried to say casually.

“So Rapunzel, I heard you singing before, where did you learn how to do that?” the prince asked.

“My mother has a collection of old vinyl records. I keep them in my room, do you want to see?”

“Yeah sure,”he followed her up to her bedroom.

After looking at her collection of vinyls for a while, the prince reached out and stroked Rapunzel’s hair and asked, “Why have you never cut your hair?”

“Mother says I’m not allowed to. Besides, it's our only way of getting out of here right?”  At this point she was so close to the prince that she could feel his breath and hear his rapid heartbeat.

The prince broke eye contact and said, “It’s beautiful, just like you.” He leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back. Rapunzel wondered, Is this what the girls in my books feel like?

Meanwhile, Will destroyed the tower looking for any evidence of Rapunzel being Josie. He was about to give up when he realized that he forgot to check one spot, under her mother’s mattress. To his surprise, he found a book and a cell phone. He opened the phone and it immediately opened to his family's instagram page. All the saved photos were of Josie when she was a baby, missing person posts, and recent pictures of Benny. Was she after him now too? Will put the phone in his pocket and tore open the book. Inside there was a collection of pictures and information about Josie along with family photos from when he was a young kid. Will cried, I found her. He turned around to grab Josie and the prince when he heard the dangerous woman screaming, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” After yelling some more, he heard a smash from the side of the tower. She was on her way up! Will ran upstairs to find Josie and the prince. He opened the door to the prince’s shirt on the floor and Rapunzel’s corset undone.

“Ew, that's my sister!” Will screamed.

The prince's eyes widened, “You know for sure?”

“What are you talking about?” Rapunzel jumped.

“I’ll explain later, the woman is back!” They turned around to find the stalker standing in the doorway.

“You godless child! Why are there men here? And why is your dress undone? ” The stalker screamed.

“Mother, they are just . . . ” Rapunzel looked at the two guys, she was at a loss for words. She had never been more confused.

“Her name is not Rapunzel, it’s Josie and she is my younger sister. You kidnapped her when she was three years old. She’s coming home with me,” Will grabbed Josie.

“Rapunzel dear, he is lying. I raised you from a baby. It has always been you and me, my perfect little girl. Is this what you want? To run away with men who only want you for personal pleasure?” The stalker glared at the prince.

Rapunzel fell to the ground and cried. She didn’t know who to believe.  

“Look here Josie, this is you,” Will said as he whipped out the stalker’s book.

Josie saw the pictures and recognized herself and her family. She brought the book to her chest and cried more. In the meantime, the prince texted the palace guards.

“Let's go,” Josie spoke up. She grabbed the prince's hand and Will’s hand and headed to the door.  

“Not so fast,” The stakers grabbed Rapunzel’s hair and sliced it right below her shoulder.

“Now you can never leave Rapunzel. As for them I will throw them down the window and make you watch them die.” She grabbed both boys by their hair! They broke free before they got to the windowsill and fought her off. The stalker grabbed a knife off the table and started to swing at the guys. She managed to slice Will's arm and the prince's chest. When Josie got involved she managed to steal the knife and corner the woman. All of a sudden, they heard voices through the tower. It was the guards! They handcuffed the stalker and brought her to jail where she was sentenced to live a hundred years in solitary confinement.

On the way back to the kingdom, the prince said, “You still look beautiful with short hair.”

Josie chuckled; she thought she looked ugly with her new haircut “Thanks,” she mumbled.

“You would make a great princess one day,” the prince grinned.

*   *  *    

As for Josie, she returned home with Will. The family cried tears of joy when they saw their baby girl. From that day on, the family made all of their social media accounts private. With Josie back, they were a family again. Josie spent all of her time doing every family activity she missed out on, except for when she was with her prince. Later on down the line, Josie’s dream came true, she married the prince and they saw the world together. After years of therapy, they all lived happily ever after.

⬕

A Wife’s Wish (The Fisherman and His Wife)

Zahava Kalb

Adam and Rosie lived in a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York. They were married for a few years now and Rosie dreamed of one day having a family of her own. However, she was afraid to confront Adam about it. Adam worked as a chef at a seafood restaurant by South Street Seaport. One day at work, Adam was preparing to make his famous trout chickpea dish with a side of grilled peppers and onions. He grabbed the fresh trout out of the bucket and onto the counter. Suddenly, the trout stood up, raised its fins, and shouted, “Do not cut! Do not cook! I am not the trout you think you took! I am a mermaid who can grant you five wishes. Just sing me a song, no need to create dirty dishes.”

The chef was startled. There was a talking trout! He did not care to make wishes and also did not care to kill this trout, he just wanted to make his dish. So he put the trout back in his bucket and continued with his day. After work, Adam took the subway home, thinking about the talking trout.  

“That was so strange, how can a trout grant wishes.” He wondered. “What kind of wishes would I even make?”

He returned home to Rosie in his small apartment with little food and leaks from his roof.  

Rosie asked Adam, “How was your day at work?”

“It was all right,” Adam answered, with no mention of the magical trout.  

As they were eating dinner Rosie had the perfect opportunity to mention an idea about a baby, however, she panicked and instead said, “it would be nice to one day have the ability to one day move out of this small apartment and have a bigger place so we can expand”, hinting at the idea. Adam suddenly thinks back to the trout that spoke to him at work today.  

“My wife has a wish and I have a way to fulfill it!” he thinks to himself.

The next day at the restaurant, Adam returns to the bucket where he left the talking fish hoping it would still be there. Luckily, he saw the magical fish laying in the bucket, so he began to sing,  

Trout, trout, this is so strange,
A talking animal who can make a change  
Please help me please my wife
One wish would save my life

The trout popped up and said, “What would you like, chef?”

“My wife wants to live in a townhouse in Williamsburg, her wish is to expand our home. However, I have no money to buy one.”

“Go home chef,” said the trout, “She is in a house. Your home is expanded.”  

Chef Adam is on his way home when Rosie calls him screaming, “Adam, our tiny apartment is gone. We now have a townhouse!”  

Adam responds “Yes honey aren’t you impressed with what I have gotten for you?”  

“Yes, truly dear, but how did you afford this?!” Rosie replies.  

“I just wanted your wishes to come true!” answered Adam. “Don’t worry about it.”

Weeks went by and they were so happy in their townhouse, yet Rosie still always had this desire to have a family. She appreciated that Adam physically expanded the walls of their home but that’s not what she meant. So one day she turned to Adam and said,  

“This is a beautiful home yet so empty and large. Don’t you feel as if there should be more things in it?!” implying to fill it with children.

“Ah ha you are right my dear I will work on filling it,” Adam responded thinking he knew exactly what his wife was implying.  

So the next day Adam goes back to his restaurant to work and returns to the bucket of the talking trout and sings,  

Trout, trout, this is so strange,
A talking animal who can make a change  
Please help me please my wife
One wish would save my life

“What do you want this time, sir?” says the trout. “My wife says our house is empty and would like it to be filled, so fill our new house with furniture, flowers, paintings, televisions, and sculptures. Make her feel that our home is filled!”

“alas go back home and those things you will see,” responded the trout.  

So Adam went home and said to Rosie, “look at all the furniture I filled our home with!”  

“Wow,” Rosie says with slight disappointment. Upset that her husband didn’t understand what she meant by filling the home.  

Weeks go by and Rosie becomes more saddened by her new home filled with furniture that no one uses. Couches with no children to sit on them. Paintings of flowers instead of family portraits and televisions are being used to watch the news as opposed to cartoons.  

One day Rosie turns to Adam and says “We have such a large house with so much furniture to fill it, but don’t you feel like it’s still empty with just the two of us?” hinting at a family, once again.  

Adam thought for a second. “What more do we need besides you and me in this house? But if you insist, I will work on it.”

Trout, trout, this is so strange,
A talking animal who can make a change  
Please help me please my wife
One wish would save my life

“Yes,” the trout says. “My wife feels our furnished home is empty with just the two of us. She wants a pet!”

“Alas,” the trout says. “Go home. You have pets running around!”

So Adam goes home and says to Rosie, “look at all your pets! You are no longer alone!”  

Rosie was upset. She did not want pets to fill her home! She did not want to clean dog poop, feed cats, train birds, or teach bunnies. She wanted a baby! Why won’t her husband understand her hints, she wonders?  

“Cats, dogs, rabbits, birds! Where did you get all these animals from? How wonderful,” Rosie says to make her husband feel good about himself.  

“I got them all for you!” says Adam. “I always want to fulfill your wishes.”

More weeks go by and Rosie and Adam live in their fully furnished, beautiful home with tons of pets. Rosie ponders each night how to tell her husband that she would like a family. Her hints are not working but she must continue to try.  

“He can buy all this stuff for us; the animals, paintings, the home”, she thinks to herself. He can support us having children as well.”  

One morning Rosie turns to Adam and says, “I love all these animals, but I wish I heard sweet little voices in the morning.” “Little songs and jingles as I go on with my day. All I hear now is barks and chirps.”

“Really?!” Adam responds. “Yes,” she says. “Well, why don’t you play some classical music or watch some calming videos?”  

“No,” says Rosie, “sweet voices are what I want.”

So Adam goes back to the work the next day to speak to his trout once again.  

Trout, trout, this is so strange,
A talking animal who can make a change  
Please help me please my wife
One wish would save my life

“What would you like now, sir?” says the trout.  

“My wife wants to hear sweet music and tunes. Give her a choir and an orchestra to be constantly singing to her.”  

“Alas. go home. The orchestra has arrived. Just a warning chef. After this, you only get one more wish, and then you are all on your own, and it’s time for me to go.”

So the chef goes home and before his wife enters the house, he says to her “I will provide for you sweet beautiful voices.” Rosie gets excited that Adam finally understands what she has asked for and shrieks. They walk into their entryway and see a large choir and orchestra singing and playing music. Drums, violins, grand pianos, guitars, flutes, trumpets, and even a harp! There are singers from every genre. Dancers to go along with the music. The whole thing was totally out of control.  

Rosie is shocked and so upset that she storms off. Adam is completely puzzled and doesn’t understand. “I got you the sweet music you wanted. Why are you upset?”

“You don’t understand what I am trying to tell you. I keep on hinting to you about my true desires, but you completely blow them out of proportion.” Rosie furiously says.  

Hours go by as Rosie wanders through the streets of Brooklyn crying, upset, and disappointed. She listens to sad music as she ponders her and her husband’s relationship.

“He doesn’t understand me. However, I have never actually told him straight out that I want a child. He’s my husband though, he should just know.”  

Meanwhile, at home, Adam is enjoying his beautiful townhouse, and the orchestra playing for him.  

“We have all this stuff. What more can she truly want? I got her a beautiful home, pets to keep her company while I’m at the restaurant, and murals of the finest art. Before, we had nothing! There’s only one thing left for me to do.” thought Adam.

He gets on the subway and goes back to his restaurant for his final wish.  

Trout, trout, this is so strange,
A talking animal who can make a change  
Please help me please my wife
One wish would save my life

“Hello chef, it's time for your final wish. What can I do for you? Want to bring your wife to a Broadway show? Give her a celebrity makeover or even take her to Paris?!” says the trout.  

“No,” the chef replies. “Help me understand what my wife would truly like. I want to make her happy for all of her life. She has told me she has been giving me hints yet I don’t understand. I’ve given her mansions and even brought in a five-piece band.”  

“Okay,” says the trout. “If that’s what you insist. Now go home. It’s time to open your eyes. Think about what your wife has been telling you, I know you are wise. What you have wished for may all undue, but now your wife is waiting for you”

Adam returns home and as he gets there, there is no longer a fancy house or fancy furniture or pets or a choir but just the plain old, dirty apartment they lived in before.  

He walks in and sees Rosie standing before him and she says,

“All of this time, all I wanted was a child. You misunderstood me and went wild. There is no way you could afford this all on your own, but you care about me, you have truly shown. I never wanted a cat or an orchestra or a fancy painting. A family of our own, I’ve been patiently waiting . . .

⬕

Speechless (The Riddle)

Sam Sokol

Penn just had graduated high school. He was looking to pursue an English degree with a focus in creative writing, seeing as he had such a great time writing poetry and short stories in his past school years. He had found himself in somewhat of a mental block, though, which made him unsure if he was truly ready for university. He signed up for a gap year program in Europe so that he could go on adventures throughout the continent, hoping to find inspiration and cure his temporary slump. He traveled to Rome, Zürich, Paris, all having their own gorgeous tourist attractions and fascinating cultures. At his trip’s near end, he sat by the end of his hotel room bed, reviewing and internalizing all that he had journalled about thus far on the trip: the mesmerizing, glistening skylines; the breathtaking but calm oceans; the crisp, soft smell of freshly baked croissants. Yet, there he sat, with his once creative mind as inspired as a librarian is loud.

At the very end of the year while in, as his hope was beginning to fade, Penn came across a newspaper advertisement in Manchester, which read,

CALLING ALL WRITERS AND STORYTELLERS

Ms. Paige — Renowned critic and #1 best selling author of Mystery Novels across Europe for 3 years running — offers you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity If Ms. Paige cannot predict the ending to any plot or tale, you are to be granted a one-book contract offer with the icon’ publishing company.

Penn took this ad to be a sign, and something that he just had to pursue. Finding her company’s headquarters, Penn was described the full conditions of the challenge. If he could stump Ms. Paige with her having three whole days to figure out his ending, he was to be rewarded the book offer and the world-wide recognition for besting her. However, if Ms. Paige was able to guess the story’s finale, he would have to work for her as an intern, working ungodly hours, being paid solely in exposure and experience. Although somewhat worried about being stuck with manual labor, he feared that this was his only way to garner inspiration.

The day came for Penn to confront Ms. Paige with his winner of a story. He told her a complex tale with many moving parts: a fierce prince looking to find meaning in life, a trustworthy but mysterious companion to fight alongside him, a love interest he hadn’t the slightest clue how to charm, and a deceitful and powerful witch plaguing and playing with him for fun. After he finished describing his tail, Ms. Paige seemed puzzled, but confident in herself as ever, as she was able to produce several plausible endings within minutes of pondering.

That night, before he went to bed, they convened in the conference room of the hotel he was staying at. She read off her list of five likely finishes to his tail. Yet, to her surprise, none of them was the finish he had cooked up. Slightly agitated, she left.

The next night, she came back to the hotel conference room before he went to sleep with ten more ways to neatly tie up the intricate plot. Yet, to her dismay, none were that which Penn had thought up. She left angrily and more importantly, worried.

On the final night, Ms. Paige brought him fifteen beautiful, heart-wrenching, and cathartic conclusions to his epic tale. But, to her shock and complete disconcertment, Penn informed her, with a grin, that none were correct. Ms. Paige stormed out, unwilling to believe that there could possibly be a worthy ending to his tale that she, one of the world’s authorities on Mystery writing, could not foresee.  

Hours later, when she was sure the boy was fast asleep, she snuck into his hotel room to try to induce his answer while he slept. Penn, though, having expected such a play from Ms. Paige, was discretely wide awake. When Ms. Paige asked the supposedly slumbering boy how the tale ends, he responded, “It has no ending. I was not able to come up with a single way to conclude it.” Ms. Paige sprung up with glee knowing two things: she was not losing her wits, and she would have yet another unpaid intern at her service by the morning.

When the sun arose, Penn and Ms. Paige came before her company’s board of directors to reach a verdict on his story. Ms. Paige called for the meeting to be over very swiftly, of course, as she was privy to the true ending. When the board requested she let them in on it, she explained that there was no ending, that the boy did not have a single resolution to the tale prepared. The board, intrigued, asked the boy if this was the case. Some say her face grew plum purple upon hearing the boy’s response. Other’s say that she grew so pale, they had seldom seen garlic whiter than Ms. Paige. And a minority report that she began to look so sickly, so pickley green in the cheeks, they were stunned that she was able to keep her breakfast in. No matter the color of Ms. Paige in the version of the story that you heard, everyone sees eye to eye that, for the first time in her life, Ms. Paige was rendered speechless after the boy offered not one, but thirty endings to his story. The board agreed to the fact that the boy did not only have a conclusion to his tale, but an abundant, beautiful, heart-wrenching, and cathartic bunch more in addition. The board granted Penn his book deal and with it, thirty solutions to his writer’s block.

Self-assured and pleased, Penn ended up going to college for a year, but quickly quit to write full time. He went on to publish several more books with the company until ultimately starting his own. His writing niche was mystery: namely with plots involving young protagonists and sly deceit.

⬕

 List of Illustrations

1. “The Science of Music” — Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division, The New York Public Library. "WPA Rhythm Band" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 - 1943. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/418da080-2893-0132-f493-58d385a7bbd0
2. “G-dfather Death” — The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "Effet de lumière." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-6f9f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
3. “The Three Brothers” — The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "[The fisher lad cometh to the grey master's house.]" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1915. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6afcb870-1efb-a1c6-e040-e00a18066576
4. “Cinderella” — Library of Congress. “Little girl in a park with Union Station in the background, Washington, D.C.” 1939. U.S. Library of Congress Flickr Photostream.
5. “The Robber Robs Her” — Images from the History of Medicine (IHM), National Library of Medicine. “Venereal Disease Prevention poster” National Library of Medicine Flickr Photostream, 2022. https://flic.kr/p/2nN6m4w
6. “The Physician” — Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Medicine and Public Health - Diorama of modern doctor's office (Francis Rigney)" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 - 1945. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-7bec-d471-e040-e00a180654d7
7. “Parasite” — Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Music Visualizations, Synchoric Orchestra dancing Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, first performed in 1919 at Shawn's Grand Ave., Los Angeles studio. (Later done in 1931 at Lewisohn Stadium, with children.)" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1919. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-87d3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
8. “An Unexpected Turn” — Harris & Ewing, photographer. William Jennings Bryan at Hotel LaFayette with group of boys. [Between 1915 and 1923] Photograph. http://.loc.gov/item/2016884896/
9. “The Queen and Snow-White” — The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Psyché and bed of Napoleon the First. French: style of the first empire, Chateau de Compiègne, France." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910 - 1911. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6db3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
10. “Golden Goose” — Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Six guineas entrance and a guinea a lesson" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1871. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/f4ceec50-1e94-0133-1175-58d385a7b928
11. “Oh, Death.” — Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Alastair Sim and the Ghost of Christmas Future in the motion picture A Christmas Carol a.k.a. Scrooge" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1951. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/d4bbd880-e402-012f-a031-58d385a7b928
12. “The Little Man” — The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Sharecropper woman worker, Southeast Missouri Farms" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1938. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/c7ac4b30-bdb9-0136-6dc8-358165ac2ad4
13. “The Lucky Child” — Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Lifting a wounded or sick soldier." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1861 - 1872. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-e7de-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
14. “Rapunzel?” — Klimt, Gustav. “Girl with Long Hair”. Private Collection, 1898.
15. “A Wife’s WIsh” — The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Wife and daughter of FSA client in front of fireplace of temporary home. Transylvania, Louisiana" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1939. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0d24e7f0-0634-0137-2426-5f39d462bfe3
16. “Speechless” — Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. "A Tuskegee student." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-8d7e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99