by Angela Kempe

 The Alps carved the skyline with its frosty jagged edge, laying across the soft blue of the sky like torn decoupage. I shivered a little in my long white dress, kicking at the dirt with my cowboy boots and hiding my cold hands in the pockets of my white knit sweater. The dusty trail overlooked a grassy meadow, and I could see a few Swiss cabins and some trees gently adorning the majestic landscape while the snowy mountains towered above them.

I stared into the eyes of my husband. His face was worn and tired from years of raising a family, but his smile was still as bright as a child’s as he gazed lovingly back at me.

“We made it,” he said.

The children were already fidgeting restlessly. Timmy was wiggling in his suit like a worm and Grace had slowly started inching towards the rocks. They were too young to really understand, but for me it was a new commitment. A commitment to another ten years of life, and this time maybe we’d be more mature and ready for it. This time we might not rush into things. We’d bring our total selves and somehow it might be better.

“I love you for who you are and who you will become. In sickness and in health, I will love you unconditionally and forgive you without reservation. I promise to be a friend to you and to journey through this life together as your partner. I will listen to you and respect you. And as your equal, I will share my spirituality and the lessons I learn in life. I will lift you up when you can no longer stand and smile proudly as you achieve your dreams. I know that life has ups and downs, and I will be with you through all the highs and lows, so that we may one day look back at this great accomplishment: our lifetime commitment to each other.”

John slipped the ring over my finger. I had sent for it to be custom made. It had our original diamond in the middle and our children’s birthstones on either side. Ten small diamonds representing our ten years of marriage were set around the main diamond. And as John held my hand, the ring caught the morning light and sparkled.

In my mind it was beautiful. In my mind everything was perfect. I turned the ring in my hand as I looked out the airplane window.

Why couldn’t he commit to me like I did him? I thought.

“Mommy,” Grace said, nudging my arm.

A tear streamed down my cheek.

“Are we ever going to see Daddy again?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said and took her hand. “But it will be different now.”

by Angela Kempe

The day James lost Suzy to cancer was the day he gave up on life. But he hadn’t given up on his dreams of exploration. He vowed to go back to The Challenger Deep before he died and solve the great mystery of the abyss. It was the deepest part of the ocean; seven miles deep. More than the height of Mt. Everest turned upside down with an equivalent of three SUVs of pressure squeezing every square inch of his submarine. James’ final adventure would be to go back to that dark place and find what every explorer dreamed of: New life.

James plunged his green submarine down into the abyss and waited hour after hour for the first sign of the ocean floor. At three thousand feet there was no light left from the sun. He sat in his black cap and shirt, balled up in a sphere that was his only safety from the extreme pressures of the sea.

“Suzy,” he whispered as he brushed his fingers over the wrinkled portrait of his beloved.

Before, he had reason to fight for his life in the deep, but now everything on the surface seemed trivial. Kids were grown and had seemingly forgotten about him. The ex-wives hated his guts. No, today he would push his submarine to its limit.

As he descended to five thousand feet, he saw a school of amphipods swim passed the lights of his camera. Their bodies glowed neon pink as they passed the submarine. He observed the occasional deep sea fish whose bioluminescent bodies glowed in the dark distance. But as he fell deeper, so did every sign of life vanish one by one until he was finally truly alone.

Suddenly, the controls began to flash. It was nothing new to him. He examined the alarms. An oil leak brought him up early before. The oil looked good this time, but he could hear the creaking of the sub walls as they began to crush like an aluminum can. He started tapping his fingers in his lap nervously, reminding himself to breathe. Breathe. Just breathe.

Then the submarine grazed the bottom of the sea floor. He brought it down ever so gently, knowing that if he landed too hard, it would surely kick up a storm of loose sediment that would fog up the sea around him like thick milk.

“I’ve reached the bottom,” he said over the radio.

“Roger that.”

He looked earnestly at the camera, the repetitive sound of alarms pinging in his ears.

“I don’t see much of anything yet. Just the same things as last time.”

He scanned the sea floor for life, but the bottom of The Challenger Deep was as desolate as the surface of the moon. The light of the submarine gave off a hazy blue glow. He missed Suzy’s voice on the radio. He could have used it right about now.

Hours passed and still nothing. Then, that same cloud of oil came up from the side of the sub. This was the end. He hadn’t any time left.

“I’ve detected an oil leak. I’m going to have to ascend soon.”

“Roger that.”

The voice of the marine was monotone and casual. Just a soldier doing his job, not Suzy, who would have been excited or worried for him.

“I’m going to bring her around one more time before I go.”

James brought his sub around and pointed the camera into the dark behind him. That same underwater desert he knew so well stretched before him. He took some last soil samples and pressed a few buttons to begin his ascent.

Then, he noticed a glimmer of light in the distance. James perked up in his sphere. He tried to move his legs that had gone numb hours ago and were aching horribly, but he couldn’t move them enough to ease the pain. Didn’t help that he was seventy-years-old.

“What was that?”

A few minutes later he saw another flash of light. He read the sonar anxiously. He couldn’t believe it. What he thought was a large rock formation was something hiding against the steep wall of the trench, and as it came towards him it flashed a yellow light in the water.

James didn’t have time to think. He stuttered at the radio in horror. If his instruments were right, that creature was five times larger than his submarine. He tried to gather himself as the creature swam towards him.

“I see something. It’s big…” he gasped.

Sweat began to drip from his hat down into the white of his trimmed beard. His hands were clammy with fear. The creature came into the light of the camera. Its body became a wall of flesh in front of him.

“Dear Lord,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, the animal flashed another light. This time the light was so blinding that James had to squeeze his eyes shut in pain.

All that was left in the end was the deep lonely ocean, and another mystery of the great Challenger Deep.

by Angela Kempe

They say that I wasn't conceived before my parents were married, but I remember it anyway. My mother's strong cheeks were blushing like pink roses as she stared contentedly at her beloved. Her lace veil flowed gently behind her in the cool Oregon breeze. Long sleeved, holding a bouquet of wild flowers, she stood in her satin wedding gown as beautiful as the roses blossoming around her.

I rest my head on a chunk of wispy clouds hovering over them, and gazed longingly down at my parents. Under the white gazebo, my father smiled in a rented light blue suit. The red highlights in his thick beard glistened in the sun. He could only stare at her beauty as he listened to the Priest, white teeth beaming with pride. 

Around them were gathered family and friends sitting happily in white fold-up chairs decorated with fake white flowers and leafy garland. I knew it was time to go, but I dared to steal one more look.

As Grandma cried in the front row, a great peace came over me. That was my loving family.

"Bye Mommy and Daddy," I said as I was whisked away by a strong force, sweeping me back to heaven.

Dear Diary,

I told you before that I really wanted a pet alien spider. They call them “Spiderlings.” My friend Veronica brought one to school and she was the most popular girl at lunch. But, my mom doesn’t want me to get one because they cost too much money. She told me that if I want one then I have to clean up the dog’s mess for one month. Well, it’s been twenty-three days and I’m poo’d out! I didn’t know our fluffy dog, Sammy, had that much poo in him. I think he needs to go on a diet for sure.

Anyway, by the time the month is over, I will be the only one left in class that didn’t get one! Mom doesn’t even care. She said I don’t have to worry. Even though they found the Spiderlings on Mars, they’ve been reproducing them in captivity and there are enough to go around for every house to have one. In fact, they said that by Christmastime next month there should be one Spiderling for every American house!

Well, something happened after school today. I was taking the bus home, when all of the sudden every car on the whole entire street just stopped! Out of nowhere. And a few people on the bus stopped moving entirely. We all started shouting at the bus driver, but he didn’t respond. He was like in this coma or something. Then, a girl in my class started crying and then a bunch of people started leaving. I was like the only one left at the back of the bus. Because I’m dorky and always follow directions. I was waiting for the bus driver to come to, when the bus driver let out this big moan, rolled back his eyes, and just left the bus in the middle of the street!

When I got out of the bus, I could see him and a bunch of other people wandering around like ZOMBIES! People started screaming, so I started running. I ran straight home and locked myself in my room. I was trying to think about what was going on. Why was this happening? Well, I started thinking and I think it had something to do with those Spiderlings. The kids that became Zombies were the ones that had brought their Spiderlings to school in their backpacks. I’ve been hiding in my room ever since and thought that maybe I should just write one last entry in my diary. You know, just incase we all die tonight. I can’t wait for my mom to get home. I’m so scared!

Hold on, I think she’s home…

Oh, no. I can hear her in the kitchen. She just said, “Aria! I brought something home for you. It’s an early surprise!”

I guess this is it. Bye Diary…

Aria

by Angela Kempe

We are all broken

Like the cake that was smashed

Still hot from the oven

But to the floor crashed

We are all broken

Like ornaments shattered

When that cat got tangled

And we lost what had mattered

We are all broken

Like ceramic cracked vases

With carefully glued edges

That fill dusty spaces

We are all broken

Our bones stiffly creaking

Like the boards of a staircase

moaning and speaking

We are all broken

Like rocking chairs crippled

By memories flowing

From an old women, whittled

We are all broken

Make no mistake

For if we can live

Then we can break