Space (75 words)
Emergency lights flickered. Astronaut Jack Archer stared out the cracked window to find a yellow pin prick of light against the black velvet universe.
He knew the risks when he volunteered, he didn’t care.
Pluto couldn’t be any colder or more desolate than living on Earth without his late wife.
He clipped her photo to the dashboard. Her face would deliver everlasting peace. He didn’t need anything more.
Humming engines died.
Darkness engulfed the spaceship.
The Lonely Immortal (Book Excerpt)
“Are you okay?”
“The souls of the dead see my light. They believe it is their opportunity to reenter our world. It happens every time I enter a cemetery.”
“You can feel them?”
“They pass through me like light through a prism.”
Spirits swirled inside Amani in a whirlpool of ancient scents, tastes, joys, and tears. The haunting pain of unfulfilled dreams from their previous lives pinched his heart.
Angelo came to a sudden realization. “This is the closest an immortal can come to feeling death.”
Amani inhaled deeply, longing to breathe in their hopes of a new life, the passions of lovers past, the cold inevitability of death.
“How do you feel having souls of the dead inside of you?”
“Alive.”
———–
Cursed to live forever, Amani befriends Angelo, a cranky Vietnam veteran who searches for his long lost love. Sharing the story of his 5,000 year journey searching for his perpetually reincarnating twin flame, Amani the immortal, learns the true meaning of life from his dying friend.
This manuscript, my notes. and outline, have been registered and are protected by the U.S. Copyright Office (within the Library of Congress).
The Experiment
Jackson volunteered for the dangerous experiment.
Scientists advised him of everything that could go wrong.
Who knew everything would go right?
Total recall; they said it was impossible.
Memories coursed through him like blood through his veins. Every heartbreak, toddler fall, prenatal sensation. Trapped in a state of eternal nostalgia.
They said he would recall every memory.
No one knew he would relive every pain.
Jackson finally understood some things are meant to be forgotten.
The Selfie Queen
Never met a mirror
She didn’t love
Until one day
She was trapped
In a house of mirrors
That only reflected
The ugliness inside.
Detective Jake Monroe examined the bloody crime scene. All the expected signs were there; the slashed throat, the look of terror in her eyes, and missing shoes.
The Riverside Killer struck again.
“Number five is a blonde?”
He turned to look at his partner Max who entered the hotel room.
“Do we know her name?”
“Let me see,” Jake scooped up her purse to search for her ID.
“You must be relieved.”
Jake sighed. “Was that necessary?”
Max shrugged. “Hey, at least this time there’s no evidence tying her to you.”
Opening her purse, Jake found a photo of himself.
Faith thought about adding the word “less” to her name.
She had no idea who started the war. It didn’t matter. Nothing remained; just wreckage and ashes.
Days since she saw another living human, she shaded her eyes from the dust clouds.
What kind of God would allow this to happen? The same sadistic, bastard who let her survive.
Giggling.
Faith frowned. Entering an overturned subway, she pushed a corpse with her boot and found a baby.
“Hey, how will I know your name baby girl?”
Someone had pinned a folded note to the baby’s blouse.
She read it.
“Hope.”
Photo taken from Pinterest.
Tony sat alone at a restaurant.
A sleek brunette sat at a table near him. Her skirt rode up her silky thighs revealing more than he expected.
His attention appeared to amuse her.
Damn, she caught me watching her. Tony looked away.
Tired of being single, he looked back at her. Beautiful.
Lipstick easing over her pouty lips, she stopped to give him a long lingering stare.
Oh, the chemistry. He groaned. She feels it too.
Tony shifted in his seat to conceal his excitement.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he assured his twelve year old daughter. “It couldn’t be better.”
Photo taken from Pinterest
Jackson walked through the lonely streets.
Wanting to learn more about his past, he volunteered for the dangerous experiment.
Scientists advised him of everything that could go wrong. They never suspected everything would go right.
Total recall, perfect memory; some said it couldn’t be accomplished.
Yet, long lost memories rushed through him like light through a prism.
Lost loves, toddler falls, even prenatal sensations.
He lived trapped in an eternal state of nostalgia.
They told him he would recall every memory.
No one warned him he would relive every pain.
Jackson finally understood some things are meant to be forgotten.
Photo taken from Google Images
Astronaut Jack Archer stared through the cracked window. The sun appeared like a bright yellow pin prick in the universe.
The ship’s lights flickered.
After the damaged suffered on the rough landing, power may last days or hours.
Archer knew the risks when he volunteered for this mission. He didn’t care.
Life on Pluto couldn’t be any colder or more desolate than living on Earth without his late wife.
He clipped her photo to the dashboard. He would be happy to die admiring her face.
She would bring him eternal peace.
Power suddenly shutoff.
Infinite darkness invaded the tiny vessel.
.
Once there was a tiny
firefly who wanted to
glow upon this world.
A task impossible for
one lonesome bulb.
Every night she shined
so bright yet she never
became a star. Until all
her little friends joined in
to illuminate the dark.
One firefly alone could
never change a world,
but thousands working
together can create a
universe here on Earth.
My wife found this image in Google and asked me to write a poem about the Firefly who wanted to be a star.
The Lonely Author 