I knew it was time to move on when even the trees around me wispered about me in the dark. I had to move on. I had to leave the world behind.

But the trees knew my face, the the white cloth could hide my shame.

Only toook a suitcase. I left my humble cottage in the woods.

I left it all so I could be a solitary being.

The black clothing hid my shame and grief.

The leaves rustling mocked me. The s...

Don’t you see it?

You and me, we are the same.

I can help you.

Just put the gun down.

I know what it feels like to be judged.

I understand why you’re scared.

Our brains work differently.

We are unique.

Just put the gun down.

I’m sorry to do this,

But if you don’t put the gun down

I’ll have to take it.

We are the same,

We are sick and disturbed and

Disgusting.

Just give me the gun.

Ju...

You never know what you’ll discover in the woods.

I sat in my rocking chair contemplating what to do about what I saw.

In all honesty I didn’t really want to get involved. Them spiritual matters didn’t suit a man like me, and I never particularly enjoyed being part of the resolution process.

I let out a long sigh with a smile.

The thing is, totems aren’t usually an issue really. They’re inanim...

“So, that’s her huh?” Isaiah asks. The woman creeps him out. Although he and Jeremy have sought cover behind some trees, he’s not entirely sure she can’t actually see them. He can’t believe Jeremy actually agreed to this.

“Yeah.” Jeremy exhales. He rubs his hands along his pants. “That’s her.”

Jeremy’s obvious nerves don’t make Isaiah feel better. “Man,” Isaiah scans his surroundings. “Why the ...

Along the sleepy hollow,

in the dead of night.

As the wind whispers

vehemently, giving me a fright.

I know a Cailleach is lurking,

fingers long and gnarly.

Like old branches twisting

across the night’s turning tide.

Hair a tangle of brambles,

her eyes covered in moss.

And yet still seeing everything

never blinking, eyes locked.

Hearing my feint footsteps,

as I navigate the road.

This time will...

Stalwart and obedient

A model child

I did what my mother told me

Never asked questions

Or showed obstinance

Raised to fear God

And fear it was

As damnation loomed constantly

In my fragile heart

They sent me away at sixteen

To a convent

Where women dressed identically

A black-and-white silent film

Devoid of substance

I didn’t object

It was not in my nature

If this was God’s plan for me...

“Life has been busy I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner some things just got out of hand but I'll make the trip tomorrow,” I said when I called my mom for the first time in years the call index on my phone piled up to 120 missed calls and voicemails tomorrow turned into a week then a week into a month

Until six years

I'm sorry I haven't been living the life you wanted me to and I'm sorry for b...

My father is constantly firing the maids. Says to them they have let him down and he has no choice but to let them go. It’s why I don’t care if one isn’t nice: they’ll only be here a few weeks at most.

This is why I just ignored the new maid walking through the forest when I was out playing, she looked firm, but young. The young maids never last long. Inexperienced - that’s what father says about...

The door— no no, the window, June told herself that a door would be much more dangerous so she was willing it to be no more than a window— flickered once but never lost the image seen through it; the woman in the dark, dark wood.

June cleared her throat again, still not brave enough to actually call out, to get the attention of the planeswalking thing before her. It would be like saying your nig...

Miranda adjusted herself even though there was no one around- no one but the falling leaves- to judge her. Her arms ached from carrying her heavy satchel; full to bursting with near everything she owned.

They would follow, she was fairly certain of that, but she assumed she had at least a few hours. As it happened, she assumed wrongly.

When the first branch broke, hundreds of feet behind her, ...