The multi-shaped mosaic pieces scatter in a wave of disorder. One thousand interlocking individual parts disrupt the landscape of my table, screaming for organization. My inner turmoil speaks to the mess as I settle into calm, whispering to them, “Don’t worry.” Assembling stress and anxiety fade—moments of quietude. By Shari Marshall – 2024 Written in… Continue reading A state of disturbance
Time is not a promise. You live in my heart and my memories. You’ve been gone for years, yet your absence affects me the same with an emptiness and a longing to feel your parental embrace. I talk to you in those moments when I need a parent. My understanding has changed. Often in real… Continue reading From Beyond
Writing when the words come little by little, only touching your creative mind without reaching fruition, can be like grasping at fairy dust. Thoughts and words—elusive grains of sand caught in the wind. Some are minuscule and golden with that soft flour-like feel as they slip between your fingers, inviting magic but not achieving it.… Continue reading Creative Expression
I’ve been trying to write a short story. My word count aim is between seven and ten thousand. The current word count is less than four thousand words and it has been hard-pressed to get those onto paper. I’m not sure why the words aren’t flowing with ease, but I haven’t been pushing either. I… Continue reading Another learning curve in my writing life.
“Rascally missing book!” I grumble, acknowledging that it’s my fault for bringing home a book from the enchantment library. A library with dim lighting cast by floating lights. The old book smell is intense, and the shelving is medieval in appearance. It’s an irresistible building. Regardless, it’s a wonder the book was on the shelf… Continue reading The Lost Book
I watch it rise, the bottom seemingly dropping away. It’s a semitransparent blue, deceiving in its deadliness. Its apparent transparency is a trick of nature to draw in unsuspecting prey because although you can see the immediate area before you the vastness of its reach is extraordinary. The immensity allows undetectable threats to surface or… Continue reading Dropping Away
The colours blur together: yellows, pinks, oranges, and light blues. Moving shapes like the coloured glass of a kaleidoscope. Each colour and pattern are representatives of my jumbled emotions. The colours bleed out to shades of red—a warning of danger-bearing emotions—as the sequence continues to dance. I’m trapped, glued to the eyepiece as the tube… Continue reading Kaleidoscope
At one point, early in my parenting career, I thought that my youngest son would never learn how to speak. There’s no reason to learn if someone is going to do it for you. I can’t hazard a guess how many times I had to stop my older son from answering for his brother. What… Continue reading Tongue Box – A Teaser Post for Chimera and Curses
“Are you prepared for tea with the Faerie Queen?” Tilly assesses Nora. “You’re not!”Nora blushes.Tilly’s eyes flare. “Tea will be served in a lacquered walnut. This is important,” Tilly’s foot stomps. “Nora, listen!”“Yeap, walnuts,” Nora says with an eyeroll. “No problem.”“There is a problem, Nora! What do you do with the leaf?”“Leaf?”Tilly sighs. “The walnut… Continue reading Ritual Involved Tea
I have to stop their fatal mistake. “Check your colours,” I yell as I run, waving my arms frantically. They’re trying to use only cloud white balloons. “STOP.” I holler. “You need more colours.” I blow out the breath I was holding and turn toward the balloon stand, grabbing two blue and two yellow to… Continue reading Balloons on a bumper
Brewing Coffee, Twisting Words & Breaking Pencils 