Once upon a time there was a king of a small land who had three beautiful daughters. He wished more than anything that each would marry a prince, and bring more fortune to his family. On the eighteenth birthday of the eldest daughter, the king invited the lords and princes of close by to a great ball. The first to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage was the eldest prince from the neighboring country. “Ah,” said the ki...

She grabbed my arm, jolting me, her flawless lavender-pink nails digging into my skin. “Where have you been,” she hissed. The fruity, sugary fragrance of her perfume filled my nostrils. Insolence by Guerlain. As sickeningly sweet as it was, I yearned for it when it was not there. She wrenched me away from what I was doing. Forgotten, my textbook fell to the desk. She forced me to look into her hazel eyes. “You were suppos...

The cold inconsistent wind was irritating her, blowing her long brown bangs into her eyes, swirling around her bare legs, and teasingly lifting her short blue skirt. Emma cursed her uniform under her breath. It was autumn and the temperature was dropping, even as the breeze swept golden brown leaves onto the court. Emma took a slow breath, knocking stray thoughts out of her tired head. Her eyes focused and landed on the s...

I don’t know what you are to me, But you do give me joy, You’re not my crush or eye candy You’re not my lover boy. I have a boyfriend as you know, We’re even not quite friends? We’ve known each other for some time, so,I guess, well that depends. It’s when I see you walking past, Your headphones on your head, My spirits do rise up quite fast, With no words even said. It’s when you smile and turn away, No wish for conversat...

Chasing It’s when you turn and look away, From me your eyes do shift and stray, My heart, it sinks into dismay. It’s when it’s night and we’re alone, In leaving me you are so prone, To then ignore my saddened tone. It’s when I know it’s not your fault, We’re not the same, like pepper, salt, The way you think, brings the result. It’s when you’re not aware of me, That’s when I care the most to be, The only one who holds the...

Soft slow music was playing, the lights dim and flickering over the mass of people around me. Every movement in the crowd had slowed to match the rhythm, voices were lowered to barely a whisper, and the crazy dancers had subsided to drifting through the club, like a breeze that teased the Mt. Everest peak so used to 60-knot winds. A pair of strong, masculine hands were lightly resting on my hips as I swayed lazily, their...

 Sweetly, tenderly love me! Throw thy strong arms around me,  Hug me in thy warm embrace,  Let me be your hidden key. Softly, gently please love me!  Press your lips against my own,  Like spring seeds our love be sown,  Bud and grow delicately. Desperately do love me!  Pull me roughly to a kiss,  Let your craving hands insist,  Roam my body eagerly. Strongly, longingly love me!  Beg me with eyes to succumb,  Give away the...

The flight to Japan had been 3 hours longer than planned, but Carrie was unfazed. Even with dark shadows under her eyes, she displayed a carefree, happy smile for all the other exhausted passengers getting off the plane to see. She snatched her small suitcase from a very flustered Japanese businessman, who started bowing and apologizing profusely after realizing his mistake. Carrie remembered what it was to bow and quickl...

Just a message for him while he's all alone... Sunrise I think the sun's setting, It's long past nine o' clock. Are you good at betting? Time is going tick tock. They say it's like a rock, Just a ball of matter But did I see it knock On the door or scatter, I think it's the latter, Time is passing us by, It doesn't even matter, If it does sink or fly. If asked would maybe lie, Maybe say it's going round, Too scared to say...

Into a foreign land I fell, Where eyes were cold and few could tell, That I was scared and lonely there, That I knew not what land thought fair. I was ready I was brave, So I thought til I was made, To understand my place in hell, Though it be one I learned too well. My fellows there they did demise, A plan of hate and great despise, To fall on me so very hard, My heart was broke to one small shard. (Now I know this horri...

Sometimes I take you for granted, Our relationship is slanted, You’re absolutely devoted, Your faith and love denoted. Sometimes I’m mean and rude, You always put up with my mood, I’m angered thrice as fast as you, I’m a little hard to subdue. Yet there you are never angered, Attentive to my every word, And so I’ve learned to always know To expect a hug and not a blow. Of course this goes to my head you know, It puts me u...

Continued from “A Day At The Bookstore: The Morning” Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story are based on real life people. Let me remind you: my name is Aya, I’m 19, and I work at a large bookstore downtown. I had a huge crush on my coworker Daniel, a silent, confident 21-year-old, and throughout the events of a particular morning, we arranged to have lunch together, after an unexpected passionate kiss. So here...

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story are based on real life people. I work at a well-run, popular bookstore. Located on the corner of 6 th street and Rugged Way, it’s in the center of downtown. We get a lot of customers from all round the city, as one of the largest bookstores, and also gain the attention of tourists from the nearby airport. We offer some of the best maps and guides at the cheapest prices, and...

When she graduated from Kellogg Northwestern University in Illinois, Kelly was probably the happiest woman on earth. Not only had Kelly received her Managerial Analytics Certificate in four years, placing as one of the top students in her year, and already been interviewed and accepted for a high paying job in a private company, she also had a perfect life outside of school and work. Her parents (both healthy and married...

I have always admired the Arctic Fox. A beautiful, serene animal that is as sly as any other fox, but glowing with a touch of innocence as they struggle through snow and ice on the tundra to survive. One day, I will be an Arctic Fox. My name is Misaki, and here I begin my story. At the end of high school, I had never had a boyfriend. I had been asked out three times but refused all of them. Even though in senior year I ha...