Greetings fellow readers and writers. It’s been some time since we last updated Prose. Today we’re excited to provide a peek behind the curtains and give you a glimpse of what we’ve been working on. 

Over the years, as we’ve added features and functionality to Prose, the app and its codebase have become increasingly unwieldy. As such, we decided to reimagine and rebuild Prose from the ground up. It’s still the same site you know and love, insofar as a Toyota Camry is just as much a car as a Porsche 911. 

We’ll have more exciting announcements in the weeks to come; but for now we hope you’ll give the new site a test drive and let us know what you think. You will find the next chapter at beta.theprose.com and we encourage you to share your thoughts at info@theprose.com.

Hey! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am no longer staying away from Prose! (Yeah, it's like, that ridiculous mosquito coming back to disturb your serene sleep ^-^) The exams, which I had been eating away my brains for, were just postponed. And I covered most of the portions too. [Or more like, devoured most of the textbooks :)] I mean, that's bad news for me, yes. But, staying away from the grid any longer doesn't make much sense. So let me try and come to a point-I am back!!!

And that means I might occasionally (more like, frequently) pop up in the notifications. Don't be alarmed! My mental stability, though it was always questionable, has not gone worse (yet ^-^). And the number of notifications that I would have to catch up with have clearly shown that this place was cheerful enough. Maybe lacking a bit, but do not worry, now that I am here, we are about to go crazy! Put on your seatbelts, people. This might be a roller coaster journey! Missed you guys! Love ya!

#nonfiction I mean, of course, it is!

Seated at a banquet

Points made to fly

Forever on a blanket

Stars fill the sky

A star will sometimes stumble

A star will sometimes fall

And down the star will tumble

Till nothing is left at all

What do they do you may ask,

“What do they eat?”, you say

They never dream of doing a task

But dance the night away

The desert sun scorched my head, my feet felt heavy as I trudged through the slippery, sinking sand. My throat was dry, my body ached for water; deep inside there was a stronger ache, one that made my heart ache so badly. I collapsed in the sand, a small bag thumping softly next to me, and closed my eyes. It felt so wonderful to lie still, I had been moving for days in the seemingly endless desert. My water had run out long ago and I had very little food left. I squinted my eyes open, trying to ignore the parched feeling in my throat. There was no way I could go on much longer without water, perhaps there would be an oasis further. Perhaps my family was not far ahead. I slowly pulled myself to a sitting postion and stared out at the desert sand. The innocent blue sky held no clouds and the scorching sun was set in the middle of the sky, it had to be around noon. I forced myself to move on, trying to ignore the growling pains in my stomach. Suddenly I stopped, there was a man standing in the distance. His body seemed to be moving in place like liquid, the heat waves probably caused the movement. He smiled and waved, I lifted a hand and starting running, the sand caused me stumble. I drew closer and closer, yet the man still seemed far away. Finally I stopped, panting, it was no use, the closer I got the further away the man became. After I caught my breath I looked out to where the man was standing, he was gone. I was alone again. I collapsed in a heap on the sand, exhausted, thristy, and hungry. My eyes closed again and I imagined myself in a pool, the cool water lapping against me.

***

A voice broke through my thoughts. “Janessa, get up!”

I oepned my eyes and tumbled out of bed onto the floor. “Mom?” I looked up at her through sleepy eyes.

A cool hand grabbed my wrist. “Are you ok?” My mom helped me stand.

I slowly stood. “Yeah.. where am I?” I rubbed my eyes, relieved that I was only dreaming about getting lost in the desert.

“Janessa, the heat must have affected you big time.” Mom sat me back onto the bed.

I tilted my head. “What are you talking about?” I ran a hand through my hair, then jerked away. There was sand in my hair? How? Wasn’t it all a dream?

“You got lost from our group, your father found you wandering through the desert. You were very dehydrated and dazed.” She handed me a glass of water and I sipped it, the cool liquid felt so refreshing. “Remember..?”

I slowly shook my head, “But I was dreaming..” My voice faded.

***

My eyes blinked open, I was still in the desert, the heat as sweltering as ever. A man stood over me, holding a bottle of water. “Miss?” His voice held a thick accent. “Are you alright?”

I stood and grabbed the bottle, only to find the man gone and myself grabbing at the open air. A sob escaped my throat, causing it to hurt. My knees sunk back into the sand. I tried to cry, but no tears came from my eyes. I rocked back and forth in the hot sand. Finally I stood and decided to go on.

***

A cool cloth swept across my forehead. “Jan?” A male voice asked.

I moved slighly and forced my eyes open. “Dad?” I tried to sit up but was pushed back down.

“You need to rest.” He handed me a bottle of water.

I took it, my hand shook. “Was it a dream?” I asked, then took a sip of the water.

“A dream?” Dad looked at me confused. “Janessa, what do you remember?” He pulled the cloth away.

“I-I was lost in the desert..” I stammered.

Dad looked at me funny again. “Janessa..” His voice echoed in my mind then faded away.

***

*Bleeep-a-Bleeep* *Bleeep-a-Bleeep* The alarm clock shook me out of my sleep. I sat up and glanced around me, I was safe in my bed. I smacked the alarm clock and laid back down. “It was all a dream.” I murmured to myself. “Just a-” I stopped, stood up and went to the window of my room. Outside was the vast desert full of golden sand. I went and slipped on my shoes then pulled my foot out. “Sand?” I poured sand out of my shoes.

I let the shoe drop, my heart nearly stopped, my clothes were torn and dirty. My hands shook as I grabbed the bottle of water beside my bed.

“Oh you’re awake!” Mom stepped into the room and smiled. Her smile faded. “Janessa, what’s wrong?”

My voice shook and confusion clouded my mind. “What happened to me?” I asked, scared and confused.

“Honey, are you all right?” Mom touched my cheek. “You look pale.”

I fell back onto the bed, a familiar hurt, lost feeling swept over me. Suddenly I remembered what happened, it wasn’t just a dream.

~~~~~~

#fiction

She stared into his eyes, quitely breaking inside. Smiling, holding back tears, she said, "Don't worry, I'll see you soon."

"Good night," he whispered.

She reached out to touch him, trying to feel close to him. "Good night." She ended the Zoom call, sobbing and praying for quarantine to end.

Tell me it’s okay. Tell me I’m going to wake up tomorrow and the sun will shine through the shutter blinds like it always used to, making patterns on the floorboards and turning the dust in the air into little golden specks, and that while my eyes are still half closed I’ll smell the fragrance of coffee and something frying in the kitchen. Tell me that tonight I’ll hold my baby in my arms, feel her soft little body against mine, her fingers running gently through my hair as she drifts off to sleep, safe and warm. Tell me that when I lie in bed, in that comfortable state between consciousness and dreams, I will hear only your soft breathing, the creak of the bed as you turn, the gentle sighs of sleep. Tell me that when I walk out the door I will see a beautiful world, a world that isn’t crushed and broken; that I will feel whole and my heart will pulse with hope and I’ll know that I’m living and not simply surviving painfully with each new day. Tell me that I can still cry with joy as well as sorrow. I’ll believe you, for just a moment. While you hold me and I bury my face on your shoulder, I’ll believe that nothing ever changed and we still have a family, a home, a life. I can’t tell it to myself anymore. I need to feel it in the squeeze of your hand on my arm and know it from the reassurance in your soft voice. I need to hear it from your lips.

Please ... just tell me it’s okay.

(In case you didn’t read the first comment I posted, this is just a fictional piece I wrote for fun. I imagine it to be something like the prologue to a dystopian novel. It doesn’t reflect my own thoughts, but the thoughts of a character whose life has been crushed. Perhaps her husband has died and she’s trying to tell herself he’s not gone. That’s my opinion, anyway :)

So, I was thinking. I have only two months of school life left. The exams are all approaching soon. And this result has quite an impact on deciding my future. So, maybe I should consider staying away from some things for a while-From Facebook to Youtube, and maybe Prose.

I mean, for almost a month, I was not able to finish a single post. And I don't think I really would be able to do that in the coming months too. So, maybe instead of attempting and failing in multitasking, again and again, I think I should focus on one task right now. And considering the current circumstances, the top priority should be learning, of course. So, this is almost like a short goodbye.

I mean, I would come back, of course. This place is now a part of my life. I am not leaving this place (At least not anytime soon. You see, life can be unpredictable ^-^). So, I might not be around here for a while. I might be busy devouring textbooks. So, I will miss you guys. But I will be back soon ^-^

PS: And the day I return, I am announcing my arrival by taking down this post, lol. It seems far too emotional for my type ^-^ So until someday halfway April, keep this place cheerful, won't ya ^-^

So often I sit down at my desk or on the old playhouse steps or down on the lawn as I am doing now, and I spend at least ten minutes staring at the sky, listening to everything around me and being eaten alive by a multitude of mosquitos while contemplating my day and wondering what I’m going to write.

And even after writing for five minutes I haven’t really said anything. All I’ve done is complain about my lack of inspiration.

~ I wrote this in my journal a while ago, and sadly no further inspiration came to me.