Peeling off the smile And the jokes Peeling off the energy And my voice

My unmasking would be a shock for most I hide parts of myself And show parts everyone knows

I’m a thinker But I talk the most I’m an empath Who roasts

I rarely find joy in sleep But tired is all I claim to be

I’m exactly what people want But nobody knows me Only when no one is watching Will you meet the person I’m masking

White fur with splotches of black

Rippling with a Mohawk down her spine.

Pupils wide in adoration

Big green eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

Body alway resting

Ears up and alert.

Runs at every inconvenience

Especially when she senses trouble.

Regularly making dumb decisions

But quick to gaze in judgement.

Doesn’t like attention or too much love

But always around for the sorrow

To lay right beside you

Until you feel whole again.

Thats Felice for you

Exactly like me

Exactly how I raised her to be.

He followed closely behind his mother grasping her pant leg, the weight of the bag slowing him down. His little legs burning from the non stop moving and breath coming out in gasp and wheeze.

“_Only a little longer, my baby. We’re almost there.” _ __

His mother rich voice breaking through his thoughts. Glancing up, he eyed the form of a sleeping baby on his mother back and the distructive tool in her hand. The looming trees creating shadows he hated so much and the sun slowly descending, darkening the sky. He wished for his dad, uncle mac, Chrissy, anyone else to be with them but they were alone.

“Mama, how much longer till we get there.” __

“ we’re almost_ their baby, every single step brings us closer than the last.”_ __

He stayed silent taking in her words. He glanced down at his feet then glanced behind him. ‘1 step’ he thought, ‘2 , 3, 4, 5…’

She gazed down at her baby boy watching his coily hair bounce. They were not almost there but that wasn’t something she would worry her babies with. 

Her husband and family were out there but she was worried how she would find them. Thinking back, As soon as this creature came to earth, she knew their would be trouble. While they distracted so many with their new inventions and nice words, she saw the darkness within their eyes. Her traumatic experiences blessed her with a extraordinary intuition.

Guess what? She was right but this time, her ‘told you so’ left her numb and tired.

The rotting smell permeated through her nose. She listened to groans and dragging feet. She felt around her: a wall on her right and empty space on her left. She knew this was anything but normal. She wished her sister would have told her why she put her here

She made a soft sound in frustration. Her situation was limited so she clicked her tounge softly. As the noise trailed around the room she started to understand where she was at. She in a tight space but beside her left is a drop down; likely a drop that leads to the floor.

She still could here the faint groans and smelling that grotesque smell, She knew she was in a dire situation but she had to get down. Using the side of whatever she sitting on as a ledge to hang onto and her foot to trail down the walls. She landed on the clothes, one time being messy saved her.

She made another soft click. The door is just in front of her, She turned her head, behind her is square shaped obstructions. She turned around walking closer to the boxy silhouettes before crouching. Leaning as close as she can she smelled food and plastics, maybe water.

She couldn’t take this with her but she also doesn’t have to leave. In all honesty it’s likely more dangerous for her. She only has 4 senses to work with and staying in one place is easier for her to function. With that in mind, she decided to stay here for alittle while. She understood she couldn’t stay their forever But for now that is her plan.

The horses in the stable went wild; they knew of the coming storm

There cries echoed into the distance like a bad alarm

Whereas clusters of birds flew overhead in all forms

The trees shock as animals made their escape

The horses, however, cried and cried

Still no one came

They jostled and bumped their enclosed space as a violent attempt to flee

They couldn’t escape these stables

That were a protection from the outside

Now a danger from within

The horses finally understood

They were abandoned

I love saving strange creatures, Though I’m not technically supposed to.

But today, I might be following the rules.

A lady called me talking about a Rat, possum, raccoon looking creature.

I thought, oh, it must be a different species. But really,

WHAT IS THAT?

I saw it when I first stepped foot into her living room The creature was definitely strange looking.

It turned its head to stare at me like I was the weird one. I was fully bamboozled.

I wanted to ask the lady “What you want me to do about it?’

Reality check, I’m the exterminator, I’m supposed to help her.

I don’t know what this thing can do. Admittedly, it’s a mix of ugly and cute.

I have a warm professional demeanor But just so we’re all clear-

I don’t know what im doing And nobody else has to know

I just want to go home And I only got to work 30 minutes ago.

The floor board whined at my weight. The cry louder than it usually is. My heart beating in my ear And my breath, shallow.

I listened, I waited Holding my breath. Where are they? My ears perk up at any sound: Whipping of wind The distant cries of people a creak, behind me.

I twist my head, peering over my shoulder 5 yards away The man stood, Tapping on the floor boards from the fresh blood Dripping from the tip of his fingers. His mouth coated in chunks of flesh His face littered with scars An empty holes where eyes were supposed to be

I knew, he knew I was there He could hear if you breath to deeply Let alone if the floor creaked. It’s a risk to take my eyes away But he wasn’t the only one. Only problem, Where is the other one?

I slowly turned my head sideways Far enough to see both directions from my peripherals. In front of me, A looming figure further away. Behind me, the bloody man inching closer. I’ve seen both of them chase, it’s nothing to underestimate. Two options, The side hallway or wait. The basement is not an option.

After a moment A gutteral scream pierced the air. I darted forward into the side hallway Not minding the creaking floors The deafening noise blocks out all other sounds.

Whining through the hallway Barely noticing the speed I’m moving at. I reach the front door and grasped the knob As I was about to open the door The scream gurgles to a silence. A unwelcome silence.

Oh shoot

I turned my head over my shoulder. Empty I have to do it If I wait there’s no chance

3

2

1

They told us the sky is the limit That wasn’t true. But we wrap ourselves in ideas Forgetting to even move.

Trapping our minds in mars Forgetting our bodies on earth. We always want to float away But why cant we just stay and appreciate.

We’re so busy trapped in the possibility We forget we’re here, being gifted the present. So Don’t let yourself float away to the moon, Or you’ll miss the flowers under your feet that bloom.

The door jingled. A person glided through the entrance. In his dingy brown shirt, The undeniable proof of his years working there. With the same routine, everyday, since the late 1980’s.

He loathed everything about this shop after the 5th year. The way the door sung at an intrusion. The way the floor cried at almost any weight. The way every customer looks exactly the same, With eyes searching for a mystery but quivering like they had Parkinsons disease.

He hated his reputation throughout the city “It’s The man who stays with warlocks and witches With trinkets and crystals, he searches for his next victim” __ That same saying was known throughout the city And it followed him.

That saying popped out of places, And liked to rest on his shoulder. Pointed it gnarled fingers at his head, And held him like a hostage. He’s a victim of this place, the last he hopes.

His eyes stare drooped from behind the workers desk, His eyes glazed in exhaustion, He’s no longer a young man with energy flowing like water. He hated being here but theirs no other way about it, As he looks through his peripheral vision at the mirror in the corner.

His younger self made the mistake of looking. Not nearly as bad as the statement that followed, “I know your watching me.” His younger self to curious for his own good. It wasn’t till the next day when something happened.

TAP

TAP

TAP

The young man popped up from his brief nap, And stared in the corner where the mirror sat. He stared so hard, he saw a figure zoom by. His head shot around the shop hoping it’s just a customer going by But no one was their just him and the mirror. He glanced back and a distorted smile appeared.

From that point forward the tapping never stopped And if you stare to hard at the mirror something always popped up. As much as he hated it he would never leave, He already knew the risk of being here, he had a goal. Before he started working their, people would go missing here. He didn’t care at the time, until it was sister that was a face on the newspaper.

Now he stays in the store as a preventative measure. The mistreatment is regular but no ones been taken since Because the mirror is being watched as much as it watches him. He, unfortunately, grows older but his soul will not let him wither.

So many come to the store thinking he’s the monster. They don’t know that the monster sits right behind them. They don’t know that his presence here is to protect them from the darkness that lingers. They don’t know, though it hurts to be verbally accosted so often, He knows what he’s doing is greater than him.

Tragically, He never found his sister, He never found out what waits in the mirror But for some reason, it never targeted him, So he can only count his blessings if he has any. As his bones grow weary and his skin gets wrinkly He knew he won’t live forever But he will stay in that shop for a long time after.

BUT Once he leaves, May they all plead for mercy. A mercy they never gave to the man who watched the mirrror.

In a neighborhood, more dangerous than most A young woman roams. Her awkward gate of feigned confidence And slight tremble in her throat, Is a clear sign of her discomfort And unfortunately for her, everybody knows.

If it wasn’t her strut then it was her clothes. The clothes shown on tv shows to represent these neighborhoods. She wears old clothes slightly beat up believing that’s how it goes. But she should’ve thought harder before doing so. They know an outsider like winter knows snow.

She shouldn’t have been there and she herself knows. But as a mother, her children’s safety comes first as most mothers know. Her knees knocking her eyes jumping around as she passed from house to house hoping they would just come out. But no her children are no where to be found.

Then she sees red and blue lights flashing off in the distance. She hopes this will be the saving grace that she oh so needed. So she walks and walks and never stops. And the lights get no closer, nor to far Because she is not their at all.

Shes laying on the white bed The periodic beeping of her breathing as eerie as it is comforting Now and Forever trapped in her mind. Because that memory was her last as she lays in a coma And her now grown children watching over her.

They will never find out how far there ma would go to protect them. They will never know how her soul, even in a frozen body, still searches for them.