In the dark I rose, awoken by something powerful yet anonymous. The air was thick and fog blanketed the long grass. As my head emerged, fireflies led the way out of the garden, I followed the trail and eventually a tree came into view. Coiled around it was an amber snake, frozen in time, its …
Every short dancer’s worst nightmare was here, May 15th 2026, the claustrophobic casting day for Swan Lake. The unfair decisions of who gets the superior roles of the iconic ballet known by the whole population of the world. Piercing pins stab lycra leotards with nerve-wracking numbers. Ninety-seven aspiring ballerinas formed perfect lines as a dreary …
Three years ago was when it happened. It ruined his life, relentless grief consumed his everyday until these so called ‘best years of his life’ became so blurry that they seeped into one another turning empty and meaningless. On the 12th of November 2008, he was a naive young teenager, unknowing and innocent, the idea …
Creak. Clunk. I shot up in bed and scoured the room for a light switch. The noises won’t stop. Staying the night in a stranger’s house is the last thing I wanted, but the offer at the time felt boundlessly warmer than the cold streets, so I agreed, and followed him into a vast, dull …
The first time that Noah noticed something was wrong with Jamie was when Jamie laughed. Not because the joke wasn’t funny. Because Jamie hadn’t laughed like that before. It was too perfect, too loud, almost as if he had listened to people laughing and copied the sound without understanding why. The pair had known each …
The scent of sweet blueberry baked muffins made its way out of the tiny box kitchen and up the stairs. Maisie’s favourite wake up call. She always set out two plates on the small wooden dining table, made two cups of tea and whispered ‘morning mum’ before digging into her muffin. “Did I tell you …
“Whe-e-en is yo-ur —–?” Distorting, warping images of Liam glitch across the screen, his deep blue eyes melting into his soulless sockets. “I’m sorry, what?” Fiona asks, watching her boyfriend deform on her laptop screen Her dorm walls: dripping in posters of her favourite bands, University merchandise hanging proudly, textbooks taking over her desk and …
Late at night, I was lying awake mindlessly feeding my addiction and trying to escape my pointless life I lived. I wanted to change. I wanted to help, inspire and teach but I didn’t have the effort to make it real. I started a fake account online. At first, I thought nothing of it, people …
Something felt wrong the moment I woke up that morning. Although there was nothing in particular that gave it away, part of me simply knew. It was a gut feeling. Everything was in place but the shadows-the shadows stretched across the walls in long grey shape cast by the morning light, seemingly ordinary. Maybe they …
