Leave

Hellen lied on her side on the bed, holding her knees against her chest, crying silently. Standing by the other side of the bed, Gabriel looked at her, he touched her lightly on her left shoulder. 

-Go away.-she sobbed. 

-Hellen,...

-Go. Away.-Hellen cut him. 

-I think we need to talk.-Gabriel insisted. 

Hellen sat up, grabbing a pillow as protection. Her eyes were red and her brown hair was all tangled. 

-We need to talk about what?-she spat.-There's nothing to talk about. 

-Hel,...

-No, don't call me that. You've got no right. You'd always tell me how much you loved me, how much you cared about me. Only words, and empty words on top of that.

-I do love you. But,...

-I'm done, Gabriel. You don't love me, you never did. You only love yourself. And barely because you don't know how to love. 

-Hellen. 

She threw the pillow at him. 

-Leave! Don't you want to leave so much? Go away!-she was shouting by then. 

-I don't want to leave, I have to leave. This is important, Hellen. 

-Everything is more important than I am. It doesn't matter how many things I've given up, your problems are always more important. 

-I'll come back.- he said as he picked up his bag from the floor. 

-Good, come back. I won't be waiting for you this time. 

Captive

It was the first time Diane was free in years. She had been captive in a jail without bars, and she hadn't acknowledged it until it was too late, but she was finally free, and she had already forgotten how freedom felt like or what she was supposed to do. 

Her captivity had started the day she had meet Steve. At first, he seemed a good guy, he made her laugh and teased her. And he worried about her. He would give her counsel and helped her improve, but at the same time he kept his problems to himself. Slowly, but steadily, Steve managed to cut all the relationships that Diane had. He was jealous, and had a way to make Diane feel bad for not pouring all her energy into their relationship. Even if he didn't. Soon, everything in Diane's life revolved around Steve. And that was when he started treating her like furniture. He didn't care about what she felt, or about how she still wanted to help him even if he didn't deserve it. Their relationship became one-sided and all that mattered was what Steve wanted. Diane was only a tool yo serve him. 

One day, Steve vanished. Diane sat at home waiting for him to return, but in the end she accepted that he wouldn't and that there was nothing there tying her down. She was free, and it was a strange feeling after all that time of having Steve tell her what to do. She opened the door and went out of the house tentatively, expecting a calamity with each step. However, nothing happened and with every step she became more free leaving her prison, and Steve, behind. 

Under the bed

Ti was a monster-under-the-bed. He was small and hairy and had long fingers with sharp nails. He had lived all his life under Sally's bed, since she was a toddler, and his job was to scare her if she ever got out of bed at night. Ti's job was a boring one, it involved lots of waiting, and also having to move around every time Sally changed houses, as he was bound to her for life. 

Ti wasn't a very good monster-under-the-bed, he had never scared Sally, and sometimes he fell asleep during his work hours. He had been with Sally for almost thirty years and he knew that he would never scare her. All that time waiting under her bed had led him to know her fairly well, he had heard her sleep peacefully when she was a teen, whisper in teenage love some years later, and he had witnessed how partners came and went bringing their own monsters-under-the-bed in the process. Of late, though, Sally spent her nights sleepless, turning and tossing on the bed, finally crying herself to sleep. Every time Ti wanted to crawl out of under the bed and hug her between his furry arms. Yet, he knew he couldn't do it. He knew that Sally would be too scared about the monstrosity he was, that she would recoil at the sight of his long fingers and sharp nails, of his small eyes set to close one to the other. And Ti stayed under the bed blaming his nature for not being able to do anything for Sally, biting his fingers when he heard her cry, being a monster-under-the-bed. 

Broken

The first time Delilah broke she was only sixteen. She was young, very young, yet she thought she knew everything about love. Delilah had been dating a classmate for two years, and, young as she was, she thought their love would be forever. He broke her heart, as young boys are known to do. And a part of her soul also broke, a really small part, but it left her full of self-doubt. The second time she was broken was a bit later, as she applied for university, she had always been a brilliant student, and she had never been afraid of working hard. Everyone had told her she would be able to go anywhere she wanted, yet she got turned down by her first choice. That had left her filled with self-pity and self-guilt, blaming herself for not being good enough. And, although she didn't realize, another piece of her soul broke. 

From that point on her life was full of soul-ripping moments that tore Delilah apart little by little. She wasn't aware of it, but she unwillingly searched for people who could fix her, who could put her broken soul together, and by doing so she only broke it further. She realized she was broken by the age of twenty-six, one night sitting down alone in her apartment. Her best friend had just told her that she was getting married and she realized she was the only one who was alone. Why did no one want do date her? She searched for her soul and saw it as it was, broken in a thousand pieces, ripped apart beyond recognition. She recoiled in horror, she was broken, that was why no one wanted her. She spent the following months avoiding human interaction, pitying herself, telling herself that she was not worth anything. Convinced everyone secretly hated her and that she would never be able to form a lasting bond with anyone.  

Delilah fell down on that dark pit hard and long before she realized that what she needed to do was to heal herself. Before she realized that everyone had a broken soul and they still got through life with it. Before she realized that her soul would always be broken, that all she could do was patch it up together and hope for it to stay together for as long as it could. 

Scars

Her eyes twinkled with her smile as she listened to her friend. Masha always had the best advice and time for everyone's problems, and her friend knew that. Her friend was having love troubles and Masha knew she needed to talk. It was always the same, one of her friends would call her and she would get next to them in no time. She lived for her friends. Other than that she was a solitary person. Masha would do things alone all the time without giving it a second thought, her friends would always tell her how brave she was, and she simply smiled and continued being reckless about her own safety. Single, with a job that payed well, and with a ton of friends, Masha seemed to have the perfect life.a perfect happy life. 

Once the door of her apartment was closed behind her, everything would change. The smiling Masha would disappear, she would take off the mask she wore to the world and be herself. She would strip from her clothes to show the scars that crisscrossed the skin on her tights. Scars she had made herself and that she knew wouldn't show with any of the clothes she used to wear. Sometimes she had fresh wounds that she would press to feel physical pain that numbed the psychological one. Sometimes there were only scars, one on top of the other, and she knew it would not do, that the only way to take her mind away from all the suffering was with more harm. No one knew she did that. As no one knew the real reason for her recklessness. No one could suspect that she willingly put herself in danger, in mortal danger, to have someone else do what she was too afraid to do. To have someone else take her life for her. But no one ever knew because she never told. Because she was made to listen, not to talk, to pretend everything was okay, even when life was hell. To harm herself. 

A wish upon a star

Dan pulled me closer, the mountain air was cold, colder now that the sun had set. We had climbed up where the lights of the city couldn't be seen and the sky was full of stars. And stars was what we wanted to see. There was a meteor shower that night, and we always said we would go watch it. Dan had brought dinner and we had shared it while watching the sun set. After that we cuddled waiting for the shower to start. I hadn't been that happy in a long time. 

The first shooting star fell before our eyes, after that more fell. I tried to count them, and tried to make a wish upon each of them, but I gave up after thirty. Some where bright, and some where dimmer. Suddenly a really bright one crossed our sight. 

-Make a wish now, this one is going to work for sure.-Dan whispered in my ear. 

I closed my eyes and made my wish. We slept together under the stars and woke up with the sunrise. It was time to go back home. We had left the car down at the town, and hiked back there only to find the town completely devastated by the fire. There was no one on the streets, and I couldn't help but wonder if anyone had survived. Our car had completely burned down. Dan called the insurance company while I called my mom. She didn't pick up the phone, which was strange because she always kept her phone close. I turned around to Dan who shook his head in despair. We tried to contact anyone we could think of, but no one replied. I suddenly remembered my wish from the previous night and shivered. 

-Dan, I think it's my fault. 

-Don't be silly, how could it be your fault? They must be busy. 

-It's my fault.- I started crying.- I wished for that moment to last forever. And now everyone is dead. 

-We don't know if everyone is dead.- Dan tried to convince me, but started feeling scared I could be right. 

It took us two weeks to find out I had been right from the start. 

Fly away

A furtive smile, a quick glance, her hand brushing her brown hair. She had been sitting across the bar alone and he had been wondering whether he should go talk to her. She caught him staring at her and smiled openly. He took his beer and sat next to her.

-Do you mind if I sit with you?- he asked. 

-Not at all.- her eyes twinkled under the dim lights. 

He extended his hand to shake hers, she had warm and soft hands. 

-Sverre.

-Aderyn.-she smiled, amused.-Do you do this often?

 -What? 

-Talk to girls you don't know. 

He flashed a confident smile. 

-No, but I'm going back home tomorrow, so I have nothing to lose. 

-I see.

They talked for the whole night, until the bar closed. After that they walked through the empty city, feeling they shared more than they could have ever imagined. They sat on a bench by the port and saw the sun rise. 

-So, you're going home today,...- Aderyn said, feeling chills down her spine, could she care about that guy she had just met. 

-Yes. 

She looked at him, staring at his light blue eyes with her green eyes. He kissed her. She closed her eyes and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him closer. 

-Come with me.- he said, his forehead touching hers. 

-Where? 

-Home. 

She looked at him. 

-Yes.- she whispered and kissed him again. 

Enemy

The prisoner was tied up and half-dragged behind a horse when he arrived to the Armstrong village. Kids threw stones at him and old women spat at his feet. A scouting party had found him in the forests around the village and had quickly recognized him as a member of a rival clan, the Keens. The Armstrongs considered to be barbarians who only lived for rape and pillaging, and their kids were taught to hate their enemies from a tender age. The Armstrong warriors had led several incursioms to stop the Keen raids, only to be attacked again. 

Joseph Keen didn't look fierce or dangerous, his hands tied up with a rope that forced him to follow the pace of the horse, his hair caked with fire, and his clothes a little more than rags. He looked down to his feet, doing nothing to avoid the stones and the spit. They took him to the chief house were he was put on manacles and left to the elements. He spent two days tied there, without food, water or shelter, until the Armstrong chief decided to talk to him. He was dragged to the town square, where the whole clan was waiting for his appearance. They all booed, however no one threw anything at him, and he felt grateful for it. The chief was sitting in the middle of the square and he was made to kneel im front of him. 

-Are you Joseph Keen from the Keen clan?- the voice of the chief boomed through the square. 

-I am.- Joseph's voice was coarse from the lack of water and no one could hear him. 

-Louder.- the order was like a whip, and Joseph feared they would use a real one if he didn't managed to speak up. 

-Yes, I am Joseph Keen from the Keen clan. 

-Do you admit being member of a clan of muderers, rapists, and pillagers? Do you admit being the worst class of barbarian? 

Joseph realized that he wasn't getting a trial, he had already been ruled guilty, that was just public humiliation for the sake of it, to give the townsfolk something to talk about, a show of sorts. He was as good as dead. And with that realization, bravery bloomed. 

-I do, my clan is all that as much as yours is. Around the Keen's fireplaces tales of the terrible Armstrongs are told to the children to scare them off, and every time your banners are seen near our village families tremble wondering who's going to be alive by the end of the day. Women cry and protect each other, parents hide their young daughters inside cellars to keep them safe, older men sacrifice themselves. You are as bad as we are. We are only defending ourselves from your attacks, we are only taking revenge, an eye for an eye. You call us cruel, you say we butcher your people, but you do exactly the same and still think you are the good ones. 

-Liar!- the crowd roared. They were angry, Joseph had made them angry. 

-You've treated me like a dog.- Joseph turned around to face them.-Worse than that, you've treated me like a hunting trophy. And you dare to call me liar? You've treated me with utmost cruelty, and yet we are the barvarians. Look at yourselves! 

-Enough!- the chief forced everyone into silence.-You are accused of murder and rape in the name of your clan. If it hadn't been for your defiance, you'd have received a merciful death, but the accusations you've made to the good name of our clan can't escape punishment and you'll be tortured to death. 

Joseph cursed himself, he had expected them to simply cut off his head, he wouldn't be able to endure torture, he wasn't a warrior, only a poor farmer. Tears rolled down his face realizing he would never see his wife or his little daughter again. Yet, no one took pity of him, they all saw him as a beast, when they were the ones who lacked humanity.

Share

It was a quarter past eight, Juno was late. Simon had been waiting for twenty minutes and he was starting to worry. She appeared across the street, smiling her long hair streaming on the wind. She apologized for her lateness. Simon smiled and lead her to the restaurant where they had the reservation. Juno took his arm and cheerfully asked him about his day. It was their third date, and he felt it was going to the right place. 

At the restaurant they talked about everything, Juno's brown eyes smiling at him behind her long lashes. She had freckles on her nose and cheeks, and was very tan. She was pure energy. Simon was fascinated and he still couldn't believe he was dating her. During the dessert the conversation became a bit more insightful. 

-What do you think about polyamory?- Juno asked. 

-What? 

-Do you think it is possible to love more than one person at the same time? 

Simon thought about it while eating the lemon pie he had ordered. 

-Maybe. I guess,... I'm not sure. You can love several people at the same time, but in a romantic way,... How can you be sure that you love them both at the same level? And how should one feel when they are not getting undivided love? How should it feel to share someone?- he formulated outloud. 

-Love is not something limited. Our ability to love is endless. And if you love someone you want to make them happy, even if making them happy means sharing them with someone. 

-I don't know, I've never thought about it. Why did you ask, anyway? 

Juno looked at him straight in the eye. She was serious for the first time. 

-I need to tell you something, there is someone else in my life, someone I have loved for years, who has been there for me. Someone I still love. However, of late, I've found myself increasingly attracted to you. And I don't want to choose. I can't choose. I want both of you. 

-You have a boyfriend?- Simon replied, startled, raising his voice more than he needed to. 

-Shh! Girlfriend, actually. 

-Does she know we are going out together? 

-Of course she does! I would have never accepted your invitation if she hadn't been okay with it. 

-I don't know what to say.- he replied shacking his head. 

-I needed you to know. I needed to come clean. If I we are going to start a relationship you need to know who I am: a person who doesn't believe in loving only one person and who falls in love with that person regardless of anything else. 

-Juno,... I really don't know. 

-Think about it. You have as much time as you need. I'll be waiting for your call. 

After that she stood up, kissed him on the cheek, and went to pay the bill. Simon stayed at the table his head lost in clouds, he had two options, share that wonderful woman or lose her forever, but, was he willing to share? 

Evening

She looks away from her computer, the white light is making her eyes hurt. Outside, the sun is already setting, she remembered seeing it rise as she arrived at her office. It wouldn't have been so bad, hadn't it been summer. But it was summer, and seeing the sun set while she was still working only meant one thing; she had worked more than twelve hours again. She had been working long days for long, longer than she could remember, longer than she should have. She couldn't remember the point when long days at work stopped being rare and became the routine. By then she spent more time at work than out of it. Hours flew and she was glued to her computer, typing as if there were nothing else in the world. It was all she did, work and go home to sleep. One day after the other, sometimes even during the weekends.

She told herself that it was because she had lots of work to do, that it was temporary, that she would have more time to herself as soon as the project finished. She lied to herself and believed it. But the truth was that she was afraid. She was scared of getting home to an empty house, to receive silence as the only answer when she opened the door of her apartment. She was afraid of facing her loneliness, of having to admit that there were days when she needed someone to hug her. She was afraid of getting into her bed and find only cold sheets. And most of all, she was afraid of having to admit that she had brought all that on herself, that it was her who pushed everyone out of her life, that it was her who never wanted to meet anyone new. She was alone because she made it so. She was alone with her work and that was everything she had.