In the darkest shadows of my home Two chilling silhouettes lurk alone I try to catch them, but they are quick They never fall for any of my tricks

Their amber eyes are bright with fire Their razor claws sharper than briars Black as night, they hide in the dark I try to ignore them, but really it’s hard

They watch my every moment, no matter the business Whether I’m working, resting, or up doing fitness When I’m watching TV, they are there, beneath my couch Even in bed, I can always sense that they’re around

They are a pair of cruel and vicious dark forces They kill for sport, then scare me with the corpses Of the tiny, helpless creatures who couldn’t escape I fear one day I may face the same fate

And that’s not the worst of it, I’ll tell you what is These monsters are destructive, and not only a little bit They appear on the mantle to throw down my flowerpots And lunge onto the table just to knock my food off

Shattered Christmas ornaments Broken strings on instruments Damaged wires and cracked plates See what these monsters have done to my place?

Having visitors over is never any fun When these dark creatures are always on the run They scratch up strangers, and hiss at my friends When on Earth will my misery end?

Ah, but I suppose I suppose it’s not all bad It was my own fault, it was them I chose So when they get on my nerves, and I want to explode I remind myself that it was I who gave them this home For they are not really monsters, or demons, or even ghosts They are only my cats And I love them as my own

ASHLEY’S SPACE JOURNAL

October 1, 2043

I wasn’t expecting that my first entry would be describing a terrifying crash rather than a safe landing, but here we are. The goal of this solo trip was simply to arrive on Mars and snap some photos, but inexplicably my ship crashed when I was only about halfway there. To my immense gratitude, I ended up crashing not into an asteroid or comet but another planet, one that, although it is completely new to us and was undiscovered before now, appears eerily similar to Earth from afar.

Luckily, I was just able to contact those at base and inform them of my location before all connection was lost. The rescue team will arrive in an estimated two days, so in the meantime, I suppose I should explore this foreign planet as much as I can.

October 1, 2043

It’s remarkable; from what I’ve seen of this planet so far, it is not only similar to Earth but completely identical. It’s a Goldilocks planet, thriving with a multitude of different animals, plants, and yes, even humans! Upon exiting my spaceship, I found that I had crashed in a large field filled with sunflowers and lush green grass.

I had only to walk a little before I discovered a small neighborhood, whose inhabitants were not the insect-eyed green men I might have expected to find but rather humans, humans just like us- old, young, male, female, two eyes, ten fingers, two legs- everything is the same. I was doubly shocked when I learned that every existing language on Earth is also spoken here, and also that I had luckily landed in this planet’s equivalent of America, where most of those around me speak fluent English. So, I conversed with the people living in this town, explaining where I come from and how I came to be here, and have thus far not been able to find a single feature of them or this planet that distinguishes them from what we have on Earth.

Their average lifespan is around 75-80 years. Their pregnant women carry the baby for nine months before giving birth. Their age of majority, depending on which country one lives in, ranges from 15-21. They build factories, have jobs, use currency, live under governments and kingdoms. Their children enjoy playing games and watching TV- yes, even TVs and the Internet exist on this planet. They keep pets, play instruments, create beautiful art. There are schools, and hospitals, and post offices, and amusement parks- really, it’s all so uncanny.

I will continue to observe this planet with great interest.

October 2, 2043

Well, I finally found it. It was purely accidental, but I found it nonetheless. The one difference between humans on Earth and the ones living here. When Anna (one of the town’s inhabitants who I befriended yesterday) tripped over a large stone on the ground and scraped her knee, I was astonished by the color of her blood. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet- she was bleeding a rainbow! She was puzzled by my surprise, and then was surprised herself when I told her that our blood on Earth is only crimson.

Now that I am aware of this unusual feature, its implications are both fascinating and somewhat amusing; it means that a smear of rainbow on this planet isn’t the work of an artist, but a bloodstain. The scenes featured in horror movies might include a deadly knife dripping in rainbow and painful wounds that ooze the seven colors. While a history book depicting a battlefield filled with Skittle-colored bodies of fallen soldiers might appear rather silly to us, it’s a very serious matter to them. A children’s cartoon in which an animated sparkling unicorn throws up rainbows might be entertaining and funny for kids on Earth, but for the young children on this planet it would be downright traumatizing and most likely receive complaints from angered parents. And, perhaps, it need not be mentioned, but of course this new discovery also means that all of the women on this planet are greeted with rainbows once a month.

On this planet, though, I suppose I am using the wrong word; they don’t call the seven-colored arc in the sky a rainbow, but a bloodbow, as it resembles their blood. And, not surprisingly, they refer to their lunar eclipses as simply Red Moons rather than Blood Moons, since the color red by itself carries no indication of blood to them.

Well, my rescue team arrives tomorrow, and I have much to tell and show them. I am honored to have made such an astounding discovery and look forward to learning more about these amazing people: The humans with rainbow blood in their veins.

I have never been so nervous in my life. I regret agreeing to this, I should have just told her I couldn’t do it. Sure, she’d have gotten upset, but she’s one person. Here, the eyes of practically everyone in school are trained directly on me. I wish I’d at least gotten time to practice!

Well, I’ve finished tons of English essays under pressure and passed with flying colors. How hard can giving one little speech be? After all, it’s not as if I’ll be getting graded on this.

I remember the last words she spoke to me this morning and draw in a deep breath. It doesn’t have to be perfect…

I clear my throat. “Fellow students of Ariella High, I’m sure you’re just as thrilled and excited as I am that another school year is coming to an end. Overall, I would like to say that…”

All at once my mind blanks out. Shoot. I knew this would happen! What should I say next?

A whole few seconds have passed, I’ve been hesitating for too long now, so I rack my brain and hastily finish, “… that I believe we all had a good time this school year.”

There’s silence for a moment.

Then one kid calls out, “That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna say? But so much crazy stuff happened this year!”

“And we did NOT have a good time!” some girl adds disdainfully. “This was honestly one of the WORST school years ever!”

“And why do you say that?” I ask, wondering if this prom speech is about to turn into speech and debate.

“Valerie- do you not remember what happened when school started?” one boy demands. “Practically everyone got food poisoning from the cafeteria lunch and school got cancelled for a week!”

“And that day when some freshman brought her dog to school and it ran around biting people!”

“Don’t forget about the time when all of us Juniors got a prank email telling us it was Pajama Day. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was arriving to school like that?”

More and more kids begin angrily recalling the year’s events.

“Mr. Lee got bitten by a poisonous spider and his substitute gave us all triple the amount of homework! For six months!”

“The janitor got fired because people spread rumors that he was doing drugs!”

“Cockroaches infested a bunch of the portable classrooms!”

“That motivational speaker who came here last month turned out to be a kidnapper!”

“The classroom elevator broke down while my friend was inside and she was stuck in there for two hours before they fixed it!”

“How can you possibly say this was a good year?” the girl from earlier asks me, hands placed on her hips. “Well? Tell us, Valerie!”

“Um… well, I-“ I stare into the crowd, struggling to think of a response. They’re right about all that stuff happening. This year WAS pretty bad. But, what was it my sister always says? “There’s always a silver lining”?

“She can’t think of anything,” one loud, tall boy jeers rudely, “There was NOTHING good about this year and she knows it. This year sucked and so does this school.”

A jab of anger hits me, which is understandable considering our principal is my uncle. “Now, wait just a second,” I say, raising my chin. “Just because a lot of not-so-good things happened this year, doesn’t mean nothing good came from it. After the food poisoning episode, the lunch ladies realized where they’d gone wrong and put real effort into changing the food- to the point where almost everyone now agrees it’s better than any school food they’ve ever had. And no, Luke, that girl’s dog was NOT biting anyone. It just licked a few people and then got picked up by the girl’s mom without much trouble. And Jamie, falling for a prank message is on you- you should have checked who it was sent by, like a lot of other Juniors did. What happened to our janitor was terrible, but I think it taught us all an important lesson about how harmful spreading rumors can be. Besides, after his name was cleared he got his job back. And yes, I agree that the cockroach thing was gross, but remember this was our first year ever using the portable classrooms. The teachers learned from the incident really quickly and found effective ways to keep their classrooms clean after that. Also, finding out that Darwin Schmidt was a criminal is exactly what gave our school the push it needed to up its security, the same way the elevator incident convinced the staff to reevaluate its safety and have it rebuilt so that it’s more secure, and stable. This school may not be perfect, not even close, but it is a school that learns from its mistakes and does all it can to correct them. And think about it- if all these seemingly bad incidents led to the school gaining better security, better hygiene, better security, and better safety- then that proves they’ve done more good than bad. No matter what we face, I believe Ariella High will continue to grow as a school and ultimately become a better place for it. And that is why I believe that, in the LONG run, we did have a good time this year.”

A long silence hangs in the air.

I hold my breath. Did I really just say all of that? This doesn’t feel real…

Then… there’s applause.

I heave out a huge sigh of relief as I leave the stage, away from all the eyes and finally having a moment to myself.

Honestly, they were right about one thing; a lot of crazy things have happened this school year. But really, the craziest thing of all is the fact that no one realized I’m actually Valerie’s twin sister, and that I only agreed this morning to take her place as the speech-giver after she unexpectedly got sick.

“Hi, Cory! Do you wanna play with us today?”

The fourth grade boy hesitated, then shook his head and mumbled, “No, thanks. I’d.. rather not.”

“Are you sure?” the girl standing before him asked hopefully. “You’re always by yourself. Don’t you wanna hang out with us sometime? We’re really fun, I promise!” The three kids behind her nodded as if in confirmation.

“I…” Cory swallowed as he stared into her bright blue eyes. They were so earnest and friendly, holding no trace of scorn or mistrust, but still… how could he know for sure? What if it was all some trick, and she and her friends were only planning to torment him once he was alone with them? It had happened once, it could happen again, it WOULD happen again, he still had that scar on his arm from those terrifying bullies in second grade… he couldn’t trust her, he couldn’t trust any of them…

“Cory?” the girl asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He blinked, avoiding her gaze. “It’s okay. Really. I’m… fine with being by myself.”

“Well… okay, if you say so,” the girl responded lightly. She led the other kids towards the playground and Cory started to turn when he heard one of their voices remark dryly, “I told you he’d say no. I don’t know why you even wanted him to join us in the first place.”

“I just thought he could use a friend,” the girl answered with a shrug. “I don’t think he has any.”

“If he wanted friends, then maybe he’d stop acting so weird all the time,” one of the other girls replied disdainfully.

“Jasmine! That’s so rude!”

“Well, it’s true! He’s always spacing out during class and acting scared whenever someone talks to him.”

“Both of his parent died when he was eight, remember? You shouldn’t judge him, you should feel bad for him.”

Cory didn’t hear the rest, because as soon as his parents had been mentioned he’d instantly begun running, desperately racing to the one place in school he knew he’d feel safe.

The library was mostly empty today, and as soon as Cory entered he immediately made for the tiny, secluded corner on the far right side of the building, concealed almost entirely by rows upon rows of shelves. There would be a soft orange beanbag he could lie on as always, maybe even a couple of stuffed animals he could clutch if no one was watching.

But when he arrived at the spot, he found that it was already occupied by a short, brown-haired girl. She was younger than him, he could tell- a third grader, probably. In her hands was a fantasy novel of some kind but it seemed that her mind was already filled with other thoughts, because tears were streaming down her face as she wept softly.

Cory looked down at her for a few moments, his gaze unreadable. “Why are you crying?” he asked quietly. Then he immediately regretted it, because he knew that whatever her answer would be would probably only make him hate her. It was wrong of him, he knew, but he just couldn’t stand it, he couldn’t stand seeing anyone cry over stupid, trivial things like bad grades or scraped knees, they had nothing to be sad about because their problems would never, ever compare to watching both your parents die protecting you from a shooter just a second before the police arrived.

The girl sniffed, wiping one eye as she looked up at him. “I’m scared,” she whimpered.

“Of what?”

“The…” More tears welled up in her eyes. “The Kcattacinap Monster.”

A flare of anger rose in Cory’s chest. “There’s no stupid monster. That’s just something you made up.” Why create a fake fear for yourself when there’s enough suffering to experience in the real world? he wondered resentfully.

But her answer surprised him. “I know- I know it’s not real, but I’m still scared. My mommy always told me to be brave. And when I couldn’t be brave, she pretended to protect me from it, and then I felt better. But now she’s… gone.”

Cory’s breath caught slightly. “Oh… you mean she’s…?”

The brown-haired girl nodded, removing her round black glasses and wiping them on her shirt. “She was sick. And now she can’t protect me from the monster anymore.”

Cory hesitated, then carefully sat down in front of her and crossed his legs. “Well… I’m not afraid of any monster. I can protect you.”

“Really?” The girl blinked, gazing at him in awe. “But the monster is so scary- it attacks me when I don’t expect it, and follows me whenever I try to get away from it.”

“Ah,” Cory answered softly. “You know, I… think I’ve seen this monster before, too. But- that means I can still protect you, since I’ve fought it before.”

“Wow,” she whispered, managing a smile as she wiped her tears. “You’re so brave.”

“Brave?” Cory echoed, looking away. “I’m not brave. I’m scared of a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

He drew in a deep breath, and for the first time voiced out loud all the fears that had been hidden in his heart. “Being judged. Being lied to. People thinking I’m weird. People thinking they have to feel sorry for me all the time. Never having any real friends. The rest of my family disappearing. Being…” He swallowed, suddenly feeling more afraid than he ever had. “… alone.”

“Hm.” The girl looked up at him thoughtfully as if in a new light as she wiped away the last of her tears. “Well… I’m not scared of any of those things. So, that means I can protect you from them, the way you’ll protect me from the monster- right?”

An unexpected feeling of warmth rushed through Cory and for the first time in a long while, he allowed himself a small smile. “Yeah… I guess so.”

Perhaps he wouldn’t have to be alone in the world after all.

When I fell from the sky And crashed into your backyard With a twisted leg and a broken wing I thought it was over, that I’d lost everything

Then your face appeared from the window Astonished and dismayed In your pajamas and slippers, you stepped outside And took me in so I would not die

I didn’t understand, at first, what your intentions were Were you a friend, here to help me, or a predator come to finish me off? But then you bandaged my wing, offered me water and food And I understood what you were- a human who cared for animals, too

Weeks spent together went by And I grew to love you My rescuer, my healer, my friend A part of me still wishes it didn’t have to come to an end

I learned much about you How you love Summer days, and despise the cold of Winter You showed me all of your favorite books, and games Held me close in a blanket when stormy nights of thunder came

I listened to you play your violin And sometimes joined to sing along We made music together, and memories, in all the time that we spent A part of me still wishes it never had to come to an end

But at long last When my wings were mended And I could take to the air once more I knew I had to leave, for I was made to fly and soar

On that day, when I left you You were shedding tears, I saw And I know in my heart that if I were human like you There would have been a fountain of droplets in my eyes, too

I’m sorry For leaving But the sky is where I belong

So off I went On the wing Gliding and wheeling and coasting with gladness To soar freely is beautiful, any bird can attest

I hope you truly know What a wondrous difference you made Though I was nothing but a broken turtledove You chose to save me, with unconditional love

And perhaps when I left you, you thought I’d forget That my memory of you and your kindness would fade But I want you to know that that will never be true For the rest of time and forevermore, this grateful bird will always remember you

My rescuer, my healer, my friend

“Rise and shine, sweetheart.”

Victoria’s eyes flew open at the annoyingly raspy tone. She stared up at her kidnapper, furious but unsurprised. “You again!” she tried to shout, but her voice was muffled by the balled-up sock in her mouth. The man before her grinned, and Victoria looked down at his shoeless, grimy feet to see that he was wearing only one sock.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve brought you here,” the man said, gesturing around the dimly lit warehouse. Victoria rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to also facepalm as her hands were tied up. Of course she knew why she was here. The man had been stalking her for the past five years. This was really bad timing for her, though; she had been on her way to her wedding when he’d nabbed her. He was becoming very tiring.

“Let’s just say, you haven’t done very well at keeping your handy little power a secret.”

Victoria feigned a look of surprise, and the man laughed. “That’s right, I know that you have the ability to heal any wound or illness with a single touch.” He walked over to a dusty table and picked up a long, filthy-looking syringe before glancing at her and smiling eerily. “Don’t worry, sweetie… this won’t hurt a bit.”

As he headed towards her, Victoria felt herself growing hot. This man had really picked the wrong day to mess with her. And then, he started aiming the syringe at her face of all places! Just as the needle was about to pierce her cheek, she looked him dead in the eye and served him up a nice big knuckle sandwich.

He staggered back, eyes wide in shock as he stared at her free, untied hands. “What?! But- but how?!” His eyes darted to the ropes on the floor, which were now singed and blackened.

Victoria smirked as she removed the gag from her mouth. “Looks like I did do pretty well at keeping my secrets. You didn’t really think an extraordinary girl like me would have only one power, did you?”

Flicking her hands towards him with precision, she smiled as a tall ring of flames appeared around him.

“Ahhh!” the man yelped. “Okay, okay! I’ll leave you alone, okay, just please get rid of the fire!” He hopped from foot to foot, waving his arms wildly and Victoria couldn’t help but simply watch his dance in amusement. Then, after a few moments, she snapped her fingers, and the flames gradually vanished.

The man gasped, panting heavily. Then, he took one last look at his hostage-turned-attacker before promptly passing out.

Shaking her head, Victoria knelt down and quickly healed any burns that the man had received. Then, after checking the entire area to make sure that no one else was or had been around to see her display of talent, she placed her hand on the unconscious man’s head and concentrated hard, willing his mind to lose all of today’s contents. And then she left, flipping her raven-black hair as she went.

“Oh my gosh, that sounds terrifying! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Ah, don’t worry about me, I’ve been doing training to strengthen my powers since I was a kid. The guy was the one who was terrified in the end.” Victoria smiled at her new husband, Kevin, who had been more upset about his love’s disappearance than the wedding being postponed. After everything had been sorted out and the two had become officially married, she had waited until they were in a quiet spot to tell him the whole, true reason for her absence.

“You said the guy’s been stalking you for five years?” Kevin asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “I wonder why he waited so long to make a move.”

Victoria grinned, a mischievous glint in her green eyes. “Actually… he didn’t wait. This was my thirty-seventh encounter with him. Every time I’ve escaped him, I’ve always made sure to erase his memories afterward, so to him, I suppose he does think that he’s been waiting a while.”

“Wow.” Kevin let out a small whistle. “Thirty seven… don’t you think you should report him to the police or something?”

Victoria shrugged. “Nah… it’s more fun this way. I’m sure this wasn’t the last time I’ll be seeing him, so I’m excited to see what kind of plan he’ll come up with next.”

Home to kings and queens With walls, gates, drawbridge and moat Yes, castles are grand!

Frank and Brianna are an unlikely duo.

They first met each other at the age of six, finding a bit of comfort in one another as a horrible fire was ravaging their neighborhood. Surrounded on all sides by the flames, they huddled together hopelessly, certain that their short lives would be coming to an end. And then, just in the nick of time, a firefighter swooped in to save the day, and ever since then, Frank and Brianna have scarcely left each other’s sides.

At school, the other kids whisper mean things about Frank when they think he isn’t listening. When Brianna is alone, they tell her to ditch him. Even the teachers wonder how the two ever became friends. They are lenient with Brianna and encourage her if she fails, yet they jump on Frank for every mistake he makes.

Despite all this, Brianna stays loyal, and Frank keeps his head up. They value their friendship more than the stereotypes that others might assign to them. From age six to age twelve, their relationship has never wavered. They help each other with homework and studies, they play games and sports when they have time, and, when the weather is good, they ride their bikes around the neighborhood together. Some scowl at Frank, some smile at Brianna, but there are also others, those decent people who judge them for them.

The truth is, though, that the two children have long since stopped caring. Frank knows that he is not his father, and Brianna knows that she is imperfect just as everyone else. Even if Brianna’s father, a well-known policeman, was the one who arrested Frank’s father, the arsonist who started the neighborhood fire all those years ago, it doesn’t matter. Their lives are their own, and they plan to stay best friends until the end of time itself.

Su N. Flower is a cheery young woman Always bright and beaming Her warmth is never an illusion And with kindness she is teeming

Her skin is as dark as night And her messy hair is of gold Her green boots and gloves, they glitter in the light Along with her dress of emerald

Su loves helping the families in need And so she provides food for many To the Hammsturs and Berds, she gives her seeds And to the Bumbelbeas her nectar, so they have strength to make honey

At the end of a busy day, Su returns home and perhaps falls into a doze Then, in the mood for a late night snack, She might open up a box of her favorite Gluc O’s And maybe she’ll smile, because she feels there is nothing her joyful life lacks

Rapunzel shrieked in terror as the ground grew closer and closer.

She had only meant to lean out the window a little bit to catch sight of an adorable baby bunny that had wandered just below the tower, but one clumsy trip later and she now found herself headed straight for the deadly thorn bushes.

She braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her face with her arms. But instead of crashing into the piercing thorns, Rapunzel felt herself land on something… soft? She blinked open her eyes and found herself in a world of sand. She gasped in delight, as she had only ever seen sand in the books she read at the tower. Fascinated, she picked up a handful of sand and then slowly poured it out, watching as it sprinkled down like an hourglass. Then she gasped again, but in fear this time. The tower… she had left the tower! How had she even ended up here? What would her mother do when she found the tower empty?

Rapunzel bit her lip, then sighed. Clearly something magical was happening, and in most of the books she’d read that included magic, things had always seemed to sort themselves out in the end. She sat up looked around, hoping that perhaps she could see some kind of portal or fairy wand that had taken her here, but nothing in the area seemed magical.

“Oh, well,” she murmured to herself. “The best thing I can do for now is explore… and hope that Mother won’t be too mad at me. But the moment I find out how to get back home, I’m out of here. I hope the people here aren’t the type who’ll want my hair… but it’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

Rapunzel stood up, then grimaced as she realized that there was sand littered throughout her long golden hair. It would take weeks to wash all that out!

Shaking her head, she stared around, suddenly feeling anxious and self-conscious when she saw the amount of people here, and how oddly dressed they were! Young children played in the sand, building impressive-looking castles made of sand and running around, laughing joyfully. The adults lay on their backs on long, flat chairs, shaded from the Sun by a large umbrella protruding from the ground. They wore strange dark coverings over their eyes, like hard, rectangular masks without any eye holes that curved at the bottoms. In the distance, Rapunzel saw that there was an ocean, and she caught her breath as she beheld its beauty. It was so much more than the illustrations in her books, and for a few moments, she simply stood, gazing at it. The people here seemed to like the ocean too, as several were rushing towards it and splashing each other playfully.

Then, the girl’s eyes widened when she saw that a few people were actually ON the ocean’s tall blue waves; they stood balancing atop long flat boards, smiling and waving to those on the sand.

“How can that be?” she whispered to herself. “They must be magical! Perhaps they can help me get home!”

As the wave subsided and one of the ocean-riders stepped off his board onto the shore, Rapunzel quickly ran over to him, lifting her dress above her ankles so as not to trip clumsily as she had in the tower. When she reached him, she panted for a few moments before simply asking, “A-Are you magical?”

“Huh?” he said, and the people around them began murmuring uncertainly. Rapunzel wasn’t sure if these people wanted her hair or if they just thought its incredible length was strange, but either way she ran her hand over her golden locks anxiously.

The man didn’t seem to understand, so Rapunzel pointed at the board in his hands. “You used that thing to ride on the ocean! It must be magical, right?”

The man blinked and gave her a slightly concerned look at first, but then he just shrugged and gave her a friendly smile. “Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not magic. It’s surfing.”

“Surfing?” Rapunzel echoed, amazed. She grinned. “Can you teach me?”

“Sure, come on.” The man beckoned her with a wave, and Rapunzel quickly followed, excitement bubbling within her at the thought of this new adventure.

Perhaps going back to the tower could wait.