Creative Writing Corner

The Blackened Room

I stand in what remained of my- his room and look around at my surroundings. All of his belongings were gone, replaced by blackened walls and floor from the apparent explosion. Upon further examination of the barren room however, I find strange symbols imprinted into the walls and floor.

My golden eyes light up in excitement as I realize these were the same symbols from the book! I stared intently at the walls, scanning them for any leads when suddenly my head began to swim, which almost instantly became intense pain as HIS voice screamed in indignation. Assaulting my mind with wave after wave of furious screeches, his words crash into my mind like bullets wracking me with pain causing me to collapse to the ground. My body writhes and twist as I feebly attempt to defend my mind from his endless onslaught, which slowly crescendoed, and then disappearing as suddenly as he came. I shudder as I hold myself in a puddle of my own sweat. Slowly, I regain control of my body and stand up silently whispering to myself “As wise men say, you reap what you sow.”

-Connor Calhoun (1/23/17)

Drowsy

The fingers of darkness crept out at me

The winding road, as far as the eye could see

Each hill seemed a mountain

Each dip a fountain

I was so tired, the hour so late.

My eyes drooped, I guess this is fate

I didn't even notice, the road it did bend.

Didn't even blink when I met my end

-Kyleigh Whitsell (1/10/17)

A Rose

A beautiful rose in the morning sun... glowing and defined by the most delicate of petals. This is what I think when I think of you... looking down upon a meadow in the morning sunrise, thousands of flowers fill the scenery, glowing and flowing with the soothing gusts of wind. Simply walking through it, feeling the petals brush against my legs as I look for the perfect rose to keep. I search and search... only to come and stand in front of a simple red rose, thorns all over its stem formed of protection as well as a warning, and deep ruby petals softly swaying back and forth... swishing and swashing in the wind of the morning skies breath. I kneel and smile as words of joy and care seem to come to me through the air and hit me like a cannon ball shot into the wind... only to fully form a sentence as the form of a lover's caress lies across my cheek and tongue, simply to say these words as I look into the nights sky.

"It's not what the rose looks or smells like to humans blind eye... it's the meaning and care behind the flower that truly symbolizes what makes someone happy~"

-Jake Simpson (11/14/16)

Paradox

A Continuing Story

A lock, and a key, one and the same.

A chest, and its treasure, one and the same.

A problem, and a solution, one and the same.

Everyone desires answers, but when the answers themselves are even more questions that are asked, well… that’s when everybody starts to run away. Life desires order, and humanity shines a little bit too brightly as the epitome of this philosophy. Unlike most life, however, humans are a little more daring; most of them like a challenge. Humans like to explore. Humans like to discover. Humans like to answer. What is there to answer? Nothing short of the greatest questions of the Universe.

Over 500 years from the present day (unless, of course, you’re reading this 500 years from publication. It might be in your newspapers if that’s the case), an artifact is discovered. It looks simple enough; a small tetrahedron, about the size of a football, with a purplish-silver coloration, very smooth, and is constantly vibrating slightly. Very shallow grooves are etched into all sides to form an enigmatic pattern, streaks of soft blue light flowing slowly through them. To 500-years- older-humanity, this seemed much less suspicious than it would today; strange spacelike artifacts become the norm to a society that finally mastered interstellar travel. An unnamed scientist tasked with analyzing these seemingly mundane artifacts found its patterns peculiar, and deviating from routine, ran a Stage 2 scan to find any matches within humanity’s database for these strangely simple designs. Upon finding a grand total of 0 matches, he became eager to share his finding. After several days of processing, a thorough examination concluded that, despite the near-infinitely miniscule chances that it were the case, the artifact found happened to be the Definite Answer, or more accurately, Answers. This inter-dimensional puzzle was one that, if solved, could answer any and all questions asked to it, about anything. Why are we cognizant? What is our purpose? Which came first; the chicken or the egg? And which is more delicious? Of course, the catch was solving it.

To solve this puzzle, the outer shell of the D.A. must be shattered to reach the key within. Its structure is perfect as to disallow for any sort of cut or bore, so it must be completely shattered. However, the key inside must be fitted to the outer shell in order for it to operate. A question humanity must answer without the D.A.’s help; Is this even possible? Most would say it isn’t. The ultimate paradox, the ultimate risk, and the ultimate reward. All one and the same.

-Braden Birchman (10/27/16)