Smiles and poses.

A moment stuck

in Time.

Joy and excitement

Captured.

In time,

many photographs are collected.

Landscapes, wefies, selfies.

Some happy, some engulfed in

Melancholy.

Regardless...

Send me the pictures

you took of

Us two.

Because they’re the memories

of

Me and You.

So I’ll never forget those scenes of my life;

And I will relive hose moments when it’s the end of my line.

Perhaps you may visit me,

maybe you never will.

Perhaps some dreams are never meant to come true.

But I’ll wait.

~~~~~

As you grow up,

Innocence will be lost.

Down they go into the oblivion of Void.

If you visit me,

I’ll have nothing more to ask.

When my hair turns white,

and yours remains

Black.

I’ll just have one request.

Live your life without any regrets.

If you need to,

just

Forget.

You can forget me

if

it lessens the pain and hurt.

Let me forever remain a sweet memory,

of

Long, long ago.

In that pure heart.

To cry is to shed tears.

And many shed tears in the dark.

Tears stream down their faces as they lament.

Anguish and regret blurs their eyes.

Others cry with tears welled up in their eyes.

No, don’t cry, don’t cry, I will not cry,

but in their hearts tears have already been shed.

They sit in a corner,

watching others fawn over the weepers,

and wonder,

“Oh, why not I?”

Friends are people who betray you and make fun of you.

But they never fail to notice when you cry.

They are the

Ones,

who quietly say,

stand at your shoulder,

and

whisper in your ear.

“It’s okay.”

And you know,

it’s all that needs to be said.

Sometimes we try to catch the reflection of the moon in the water;

Needless to say, it doesn’t work.

Sometimes we just do our work with intense fervor;

Contrary to our expectations,

Nothing happens.

Nothing.

We scream,

shout

and

writhe.

Why the agony of living in this world?

Nothing happens here.

You ask yourself.

“Why toil for a lifetime?”

But no answer is heard.

Again, nothing.

Nothingness;

Oblivion;

Void.

Falling into the depths

of darkness.

Inescapable darkness.

You hear nothing

see

nothing,

feel nothing.

And we just decide to leave this world of endless

Pain.

But

as there are exceptions to everything,

there is an

Exception

to this.

Some people just

keep crawling even when they are knocked flat onto the ground.

Others ridicule them as worms but they ignore it.

They crawl on their knees even when they don’t have the strength to go on anymore

and

continue living in relish of this unforgiving world.

To find their purposes,

to find their dreams.

To fulfill their purposes

and

to try again

and again

and again.

Catching the moon in the water.

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; It is going on even when you do not have the strength.” ~Theodore Roosevelt

Courage

or

Folly?

You tell me.

I was backed up against a wall, haggard breaths forming mist in front of my mouth. Still, I tried desperately to move back, in some hope that the wall behind might just give way. My fists pounded on the wall behind me, using every bit of oxygen I had inside me to scream, once, “Let me out! I swear! LET ME OUT!”

The footsteps came closer towards me as my legs threatened to give out. I skittered left and right in hopes of getting further away from the sound. Though, no matter where I moved, they were still around me.

“No, no, no! Is this a trick? If it is, it’s not funny. So not funny,” my teeth chattered as my mouth struggled to form the words.

But deep inside, I knew. This was an abandoned warehouse. The name spoke for it. No one had been inside in a long, long time.

The footsteps were only a meter away from me, now. I strained my eyes to make out several figures of different shape and sizes through the meager ray of light shining through the ceiling boards.

Around me, were faceless creatures, walking in a mechanical manner, one foot in front of the other. My heart palpitated quicker as they came closer, and yet closer again.

They were all foreign, something that no one had ever seen before. But I knew what they were.

That was my last thought as I was buried under the pile of bodies, struggling for breath. Blacking out.

Grandpa was right. I shouldn’t have come here. 

I should have believed him. 

They were alive. 

“It can’t be. No, this must be wrong.”

The glint in our eyes told him otherwise.

At that moment, all blood drained from his face as it become stark white, pallid and something in him just broke. He let out a howl like a cornered animal and began dashing off into the woods, as far as his malnourished body could carry him.

Without a moment’s hesitation, we gave chase.

Footsteps thundered on the soil as we kicked up leaves and dust chasing Justin. His figure was the only thing we saw. The only thing in our impoverished corneas. The sound of broken twigs rang out all around Justin.

Closer, closer and closer.

He must have heard it, for he pushed himself to run faster.

Justin’s ragged breaths echoed in our ears. His leg hit a rock and the momentum sent him tumbling forward.

By the time he hit the ground, we were all there. No command was given, just instinct. 

We surrounded him and he was caught. He was slowly succumbing to his inevitable fate.

And a piercing howl reverberated throughout the woods.

~~~~~

I looked around the gathered circle of sunken eyes and pallid skin, each face home to a drooling mouth made grotesque with hunger, eyes alive with yearning as the acrid smell of searing meat wafted from the fiery embers.

The food was cooked.

Weeks on an island, stranded did something to us. It made us insane. For food.

Ravenous hands reached out as the prepared flesh was passed out to each member of our ragtag group of survivors. The insanity in their eyes shone as they grasped the meat as if it were their lives.

I passed a charred slice to my young daughter and grimaced as she hastily tore into it, juices from each bite greasing her lips and chin.

But I took my time, savoring the intense, smoky flavor of great piquancy, letting the

morsels dissolve in my mouth and explode across my tongue.

All we could think was food.

It might have been wrong, but it was delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Sorry Justin.

Pangs of guilt had replaced our pangs of hunger after we had devoured our meal.

It wasn’t that we disliked Justin, it was just that he drew the shortest straw.

Even when the moon rises high in the sky,

I won’t ever forget you.

Your smiles. your laughter,

your frowns, your flustered stutters.

Sometimes I wonder why our tears only flow down when we close our eyes.

I think

It’s because when we close our eyes,

we have given up.

And when we do not,

we face our troubles with unwavering strength and courage.

As I will continue into the future remembering you.

~~~~~

The sun has risen.

The beginning of all things.

As the first time I met you.

You were perfect.

You are perfect.

You will forever be perfect.

Three words that hang in the air,

I’m sure you know what I want to say.

In the mountain range

where I see nothing but white.

White is easily tainted by other colours,

but also has the ability to influence the rest.

I am surrounded in overbearing white.

Snow and frost blanket me.

In this place

destitute of people alive.

I remember.

Mother,

You raise me up,

so I can stand on mountains.

Light fills her hopeful eyes,

A lantern in front of her she holds.

Eyes entrapped by what’s before her,

Chin tilted up, something of higher standing.

Up in the sky, oh so bright,

What does she see?

Something round,

A sun in the night.

Yes, it’s the moon,

Like a lantern. 

Covering herself from the misty cold,

With a cloak of feathers she has.

Standing unwavering amidst the wind,

as she sends off her 

kin.

A look of sadness fills her eyes,

Yet filled with determination as well.

Fortitude

is courage in the face of trouble.

Go,

go and

come back.

I'll keep waiting for you,

till

forever. 

She stands in front of gates,

With a lantern and key in hand.

Where the gates lead,

She does not know

but with her decision,

her feet solidly stand.

She does not waver,

In the face of uncertainty,

She will face whatever comes,

Whatever it may be.

That’s the decision all children have to make

when they stand at the crossroads of the future.