Lucid Sands

by the not-so-lucid mind

Golden sands surround me. Spreading sheets lay soft on the ground, layer upon layer of silk. Little grains of  millions. The vastness and minuscule detail of something so big made of something so small. I grasp onto it hard, and the grains slip through my hand and fall back to join the rest. The coarse matter, something so harsh yet fluid.

I sit down and close my eyes. The warmth envelop me and I breathe in the salty air. The warmness pulse through me. It starts from my back and moves down my spine and extends to my arms and legs, calm waves of the heat moving through and washing out. Sweat runs down my temple. I do not wipe it away, I have no want to do so. I am comfortable here.

The wind wisps and I hear the echoes carried from the infinite spaces around. With shut eyes, I imagine the far reaches of the world. In the far North there would be the cold ice caps. Ah, the whiteness. The cold. And an involuntary shiver runs through me, but it subsides almost instantly and the heat runs through me again. To the east, the great jungles of Asia and the forests filled with strange creatures. To the west, the great cities with their people-filled streets. The crowd, the noise, the stench. I am happy to be away from these. To the south, I do not know. I have not been there.

But I am here, no more I imagine of where I am. It does not matter. I am here. I am nowhere. And I am at peace.

Then the voice of consciousness says, "Fuck! Stop this fucking nonsense. You are going to die out here."

The Written Road

by the morbidly optimistic student

Completed the 1st draft of The Beckoning last week. Pretty pleased with that, received mixed responses from my friends, will improve upon it to really bring the point home.

Just today started writing another horror short story called Logical Relations. This one is going quite fast, in that I'm almost done with it. And it isn't that much shorter than The Beckoning which took me about a month plus. Hopefully that means I'm going faster. Anyways, Logical Relations is up to 1600 words now.

I will probably go back to Play With Me when I'm done with this. That is the first short story that I started with and have of yet, to sew it all together. All the main bits are there, just need to put the finishing touches. Considering to enter either The Beckoning or Play With Me for the AHWA competition.

Then I will perhaps look to get into working on Town for Two, ah, my fossilized gem. I shall dig more and polish you yet. My precious...

Maybe move away from horror a bit, getting me a bit nutty now.

The Lunatic Next Door

To the Building Management


Dear Sir,

My name is Larry Henderson and I live in Block H. I think I'm a decent enough guy, I don't give my neighbors trouble and greet them every time I pass them in the hallway. Mrs. Dailly lives across me and we are on very good terms. Well, given she is a nervous creature and I can never tell what she is muttering half the time. I have lived in fairly stable financial conditions for the past seven years and take good care of my space and lead a healthy living. I also appreciate very much the well-maintained garden and well-provided eatery.

Now you must wonder sir why has this individual written to you telling about how well he is doing. I just liked to start by pointing out the things that the management has done well and I applaud your continuous diligence in these aspects. But all is not well. The pressing issue I wish the management to consider is the new tenant that has just moved into the space next to mine, a Mr. Edward Collins. During the day, I can hear incessant noise of things being thrown against the walls and someone jumping around. Also a horrible shrieking voice I could only think to be of Mr. Collins attempt of what I believe is singing. Once I approached Mr. Collins in the garden to discuss these issues. I was greeted with rudeness and he shoved me to the side. The squabble that ensued I fully regret.

I understand the management's desperation to fill the empty space left by the late Mr. Donnegan. So unfortunate for the boy to have his life ended in such a manner. Such a peculiar accident to be drowning in a sink of water. I was actually present to witness this and even attempted to revive Mr. Donnegan by releasing the water from his body by puncturing an airway for him to breathe. Even after this was done, Mr. Donnegan could not be saved. Though this being an unfortunate event, I believe it very poor judgment that the management should settle for such lowly an applicant to fill the late Mr. Donnegan's quarters. This affect not only immediately me for the reasons I have stated previously, but also that of my fellow neighbors who would surely not approve of Mr. Collins.

I impress you upon this last point if you are not as of yet completely convinced of your erroneous decision. During the night when all is quiet, I hear crying and screaming and laughing from Mr. Collins's room. The very first night this occurred I was very much frightened for my safety. I was hoping that this would stop but it seemed to continue for some time. There were knocks on Mr. Collins's door by some of my more impatient neighbors. This would calm the noises for a while but the noises would start again. The neighbors would knock on the door again and perhaps go into his room an persuade him to be quiet. I myself would never intrude upon another man's business in such an unbecoming hour but from this the management should clearly see this man is not really of sound mind.

I implore upon you sir to evict Mr. Collins from our complex. If no action is taken, I believe the situation might escalate. If this is the case, I fear I have no other option but to take this issue upon myself and find a resolution.

Yours sincerely,
Larry Henderson

















-------------------------St. Mary Mental Institution-----------------------