The temple had seen many years of solitude. Great pillars of white had gone gray without cleansing, and the floor gritty with withered vegetation that had been swept within by the breath of wind.

When the priestesses found this abandoned temple, they found beauty beneath the cobwebs. They discovered joy beneath the film of time. It only needed to be uncovered. Their labor was hard, and often did the handles of their brooms break and splinter their palms. But they labored on, uncovering a sanctuary for themselves. It happened quicker then they ever could have imagined, watching the marble gleam and soak in the sun. Their heartbeats reverberated deep into the foundation, and the temple opened its eyes to a new life.
Read the rest of this entry »

The wind cut through the hoop of her earring, sending its chill throughout the entire ring. Therefore, the upper portion of her ear was painfully throbbing only seconds after she stepped free from her car. Shoving her hand into her purse, she pinned the bag between the car door and her hip – relying on her vehicle to provide some sort of shield for the weather. Fumbling through empty cigarette cartons for the sole one that still rattled with a lone smoke inside, she withdrew it and thumped her finger on the bottom of the carton. Shit happened, of course. That trick never worked, and when it did, she only would manage to send a whole arsenal of cigarettes into the air. Lack of party-trick abilities aside, this ritual was being performed only to give her heart time to slow down. The parking lot was short, and if her walk was too slow it’d be all too evident that she was searching the other cars for familiarity. It was the last thing she wanted to look, wary. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Her pulse visibly jackhammered in her gaunt stomach, shuddering beneath her navel. Moving her hand from her chest to her belly, she pushed her fingertips against her flesh and down onto her aorta. She was fuckin’ disappointed that it didn’t beat out some sort of morse-code solution to her problem.

Then there was movement against her back. Ah. Right. Her. Dessie rolled her head back until it came into contact with a well muscled shoulder. “You know.” she lifted her hand into the air, studying the backs of her grimy and ragged nails. “If any of us had to be awake, somehow, I didn’t expect this combination.”

Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re healthy, loved and ambitious – your death at twenty nine will always come as a surprise. She could still taste the raisin bagel she had for breakfast on the back of her tongue, mixed with fear-soured salvia. The woman was leaning against the molding wood panels of an abandoned boarding house, her damp hands clenched around the grip of her service weapon. Between breaths, she thought only of her family, waiting for her to barge exhaustedly through the door for a late dinner. Her partner was forgiving, she always was, even though she was left with the responsibility of raising their son at home.

Read the rest of this entry »