Tag: Loss

Karthentrex — The Lorekeeper

by Desnei, posted in A City of Glass, Rise of the First Blight

Some beings are born into existence but some are created from emotions in excess. Myths are given life through the feelings that are shared. There are many universes that react differently. A few don’t change, some even change ever so slightly, and there is even one that has become a dream itself. Well one of the more volatile universes created living versions of myths. Pan was one of them trying to see how life truly was.

The humans of that Earth hated these creatures for being a mockery of life. Surely humans were the mockery if anything. They started killing off the myths one by one for a reason hid from the masses. It was the Romans of that universe who did this. They wanted control but the myths gave people hope which leads to the downfall of any empire that caters to the wealthy.

One hot day on the Mediterranean a fleet of ships transported hundreds to a secret location, a mass burial ground. Charybdis attacked the ship carrying Pan and his brother Karthentrex to their execution. Fate had them wash ashore Daedalus’ labyrinth where they came face to face with a new myth.

A tree grew at the heart of the labyrinth. Both Pan and Karthentrex set off on a journey to find that tree. Many threats presented themselves but it wasn’t until the last one that one of the satyrs died. Stone statues came to life and took Pan to the ferryman awaiting every dream given life.

Karthentrex cried but pushed pass the army of statues. He passed out when he reached the tree at the center which wasn’t terrible because the army couldn’t enter. When he awoke his first word was. . .

“Pan. . .”

A natural disturbance catches Karthentrex’s attention. The tree was dying. An Eternal Time Blossom, a tree often referred to as a gauge for a universe’s demise, was dying. Karthentrex grabbed the thing he kept from Pan, a wooden fife, and played a lovely tune. No matter what magic he used the tree never showed any sign of healing.

“If the universe is dying we don’t have much time. My last offer is my heart born of flesh and myth. It serves no purpose than to keep me alive but with that life comes untold possibilities. Creatures may never accomplish the perfect possibilities. What of a tree that is tied to the universe’s heart? Surely you can do what I cannot. Take what is mine and make everything right as you see best. Have free will for once.”

Karthentrex ripped out his heart. The tree absorbed the heart and healed Karthentrex’s wound. Afterwards fog enshrouded the chamber as a visage appeared.

“I, a being created for the longevity of this universe, accept your gift. Us Grand Time Blossoms have our roots transcending space and time connecting ourselves to the Universe Core. It is a hub where the universes disperse mass data into. Most creatures we call the data their soul but it isn’t that grand. Memories are replicated creating a consciousness in a being that isn’t you. Universes must follow strict guidelines to keep certain memories from being created. Those memories would be a virus to the whole system calling for a reboot of existence. Although it wouldn’t be terrible we still want to prevent it. The wealth of information has nothing to compare in value. Why would we wish to erase it all?

Foolish we have become in our relations with the beings of our universes. Accepting your gift is a sign of our depravity affecting the whole system. You bestow upon me free will and I bestow to you everything that is known at any point in history. The future is seen in branches so be weary of how deep you gaze. Any being could become lost in this knowledge that is more treacherous than this here maze.

Lastly this form will die so take these two seeds and plant them wherever you like. One is the good in existence and the other is the bad. You need to plant both. Trust me Karthentrex I am looking out for every creature in this universe. I see that this may lead to something terrible but you are the only one who can do this. In a day this universe will die if you don’t plant these seeds. They will allow me to re-tether myself to the Universe Core giving this universe another chance. Thank you.”

Karthentrex planted the seed that looked good and destroyed the other. He listened to the Grand Time Blossom just thought he could save the world from pain if he destroyed the bad seed. Nothing drastically changed and the tree couldn’t revoke the promise because the seeds weren’t a part of it. Free choice for eternal knowledge was their deal. So why did Karthentrex not use his eternal knowledge to know he messed up? He didn’t instantly know how to use it. Which he will in years figure it out and see just what he did.

The far reaching effects of this choice will create a new path for this universe. Creating thirteen blights that will ravage a single planet, the Earth, until either it spreads to the Grand Time Blossom or the beings fix the wrongs they had made.

So I write the first book called A City of Glass to explore centuries after Karthentrex’s choice. The world changed greatly since then. I can’t wait to show it. Welcome to the Rise of the First Blight.
sa;bdry

Runes Carved into the Sky

by Desnei, posted in Poetry, Short Story

Magic, a flight of fancy to most
But something of great beauty,
Weaves together the strings
Of our hearts. Close your eyes to see.

     We have been standing at borderlines wondering when things will change. Tears have been shed and lives have been lost in these moments of hysteria. When everything comes to an end we are left with the shards of what we once had. The whole world shattered apart like a picture frame dropped on the floor.

It is impossible to get back what is lost. Our hearts plead and beg for the past to return. When time is an arrow we can’t reclaim a state of before or after just now. We could argue what is the best course of action or we can deal with the immediate problem.

The media wants it to be an issue not a tragedy. When we divide instead of coming together we have lost. We’ve been hypnotized. Show a little heart not your pride when pushed to the line. A strong tower crumbles down harder but love never burns through the fires of war. Change the strategy if you desire victory.

War will not fix the wound Humanity shares. When people don’t see the light in others the world surely gets darker. That is a principle in life most get accustom to. A loneliness one can feel while surrounded by others. Let us look into that before speaking about the more profound circumstances we face as a species.

Loneliness still hurts more than anything else. If people are told to do what everyone else does when they don’t agree with it then it becomes hard to know what is right to feel. The truth to that ends up being quite selfish. Do what you believe is right and someday you will meet others that feel the same. Loneliness exists just try your best not to let it change who you are.

Such a feeling of isolation often leads to terrible disasters. — 1. The person will do anything to fit in. 2. Others use lonely people to convert them from normal citizens to radicals. 3. They tend to believe what they are told instead of standing up. — Loneliness is one of many things that bring about the dissolution of civilization. How do others combat it?

Find the strings of our hearts and weave them together. The only way to change this is by being there for those that need you. Sometimes it isn’t a choice we willingly make. However small this step is it can be the thing that brings another person back from the edge. We have all been there at the edge of our wits without a clear view of the future. Be a friend to the ones in need because it is a long way down.

We are crashing from the highs,
Artificial and far from the Earth,
Nowhere to go just down, down,
Down. Heart in our throats
We don’t know where to step.
Falling in reverse, changing the story.

Reach your hand out at the cliff.
Console my burning pain until tears
Extinguish the flame. I have many fears
Constricting my heart until it’s stiff.

If only a kind hand could cross the veil
Of eternal night. My fate soon will seal.

     We can’t avoid what has happened so from today live a little better. See the heart strings cross boundaries that were until now unseen. Love for others might seem hard but open the path between yourself and another. Can be one or many just watch how close you get, respect their hearts and yours, and see what comes. One can love others as friends to save them.

Truth be told that I wasn’t sure what to say except in a poem reverberating deep within. . .

The moment I felt the true world
Return to me I looked at the night sky.
Stars were stars except now they
Gained a greater existence. Runes
Carved into place for all to see.
Do they light the way back home?

Magic of hearts and runes of starlight
Bless a road I have reached at. I just might. . .

See what awaits us beyond the past.
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A Heart’s Reset

by Desnei, posted in Poetry

I took the time and built something
I thought would last. Every choice
A mistake because I lost my face
In the mirror. A bell unable to ring.

Recreate what is inside and fail.
Well I lost my way in a fairy tale.

Please forgive me. I know I was never
Good enough to put my fears to rest.
They crept upon me bringing darkness
Upon blue skies. My heart tears apart
Like a love note a young boy never sent.
Or maybe the tears he cried, he was rejected
Because he wasn’t good enough at the time.
Love evaded him for so long until a day came
Where someone saw something in him.
She left so quickly as if a cherry blossom
Making him miss her even more. He
quickly amassed love stories but no path.
None of them stayed by his side.
Now a man he still cries the nights away
Wishing he never ever knew love.
Made amends with an old love just to
Find himself unable to stay. How ironic?

I am him, lost inside of my own heart
Without a compass to lead me home.

Every memory replays in my head
Like punishment for how I lived.
How can I atone? The answer thrived
Deep in me. Find a path that I can tread.

Send me back home as my heart
Goes supernova. I must face
My own demons to be free again.
I walked away so I learn to smile
Because life is too short. I’m sorry.
My heart needs to start over. . .
sa;bdry

Peace Isn’t Always Happy (Self-Destruct)

by Desnei, posted in Poetry

Serenity. A careless whisper
Takes it toll like a hidden dagger.
My whole entire peace of mind decays
And the interior becomes exposed.
Twist my heart, unsettle my nerves,
Burn my will, erase me from your mind.

Rewind the scene just to disengage!

On the day this began you sat there
With a smile tempting inner monsters.
I was intoxicated by both sin and fear
Unable to move. For starters,

The peace I cherished was boring.
I dreaded the truth but realized it
As my heart reverberated the dullness
Like I was hollow and empty inside.
Break the bindings around my ankles!

I summoned the hurricane to see my demise.

Waters, the tears forgotten, receded
Just to return home once more. I heeded
The signs but remained on the beach.
Everything has finally fell out of reach.

Why did your words still strike me?
Armor couldn’t block what I had let in
To my heart. Our blood runs the same.

Set the charges on my mind’s wall
Then blast through every barrier beyond.
This is war to bring me back from the Rivers
Because the coin I gave the Ferryman was fake.

Your eyes are the map that brings me to life.

Caught by the tug and pull of others
I abandoned myself in pursuit of lies.
But even when torn apart one thing frees
Me. Something that gives angels new feathers.

It is only you returning hope to my hands.
Together we’ll begin a journey to new lands.

Please tell me the storm is over. . .lie to me.
sa;bdry

Goodbye: A Wish

by Desnei, posted in Poetry

I await here succumbed by the dark.
Shadows swallowed, forms merged,
Hearts laid to rest, and yet tears still lurk.
The stars shining on the last tide forged.

The words spoke from fear circumvent
In my ears like screams left unheard.
Voyage to my core, I must see what hurt
More. Walking away or trying to repent?

We had seen the walls begin to build.
The cups, our hearts, were finally filled.

When you hear the world then heed it.
I would never want you to regret our love.
And for that you must be ready to forget
What we had made. Please just forgive
Me because this hurts but I don’t regret.

Darkness had set on my eyes.
Days in the Sun awaiting the shade
As a respite from what had been made.
A day I saw the glitter leave your eyes.

I welcomed the coming nightfall.
Find your path as I start to find my own.
We must before the birds call.

Time is moving, the Earth is turning;
We are caught in an eternal dance.
The rhythm stays the same,
But not always in the way we want.
I truly did try to be there.
In truth I was your stepping stone
Leading you from a little puddle
To a midnight pond. Cast a stone
Much like a wish into the unknown,
When the dark bursts into light.

It might be really hard now but we will survive
Because in life sometimes you should take a dive.

sa;bdry

The Scarlet Tears

by Desnei, posted in Poetry

Time starts hesitating.
Our words go silent
But our ears still reverberate.
Rage, sympathy, forgiveness;
All things lost in translation.
I came here to say goodbye.

These scarlet tears flow.
Your warmth draining away,
Breath shallowing, eyes dilating,
And memories reeling once more.

Truly my words confide no mercy.
I chose this lonely path of heresy
But it does me no pleasure, dear friend.
I live to have no regrets in the end.

We were friends standing side by side;
It pained me to see us drifting apart ever so far.
The divide we created through choices. Mar
the pact, we meet here blade to blade.

These scarlet tears flow.
Your warmth draining away,
Breath shallowing, eyes dilating,
And memories reeling once more.

In your paradise find us once again
On the pastures of green as children.
sa;bdry

The Fall of a Blade

by Desnei, posted in Poetry

Spinning thoughts reel to and fro
Giving a constant sound to the carnage.
Some sharp words scrape to know
What’s on the outside. Escaping their cage.
Nothing more than a dark crow
Cawing at the moon. Begging for the page
To turn, abandoning the past so it may grow,
But finding every plea unheard. Rage,
Does rage ensue? Cast aside on an ice floe
Left to its devices. Somehow it will manage.
The world’s cruelty tells us just to row
Down this river when we try to disengage.
I let go of my desolate feelings like snow
Falling from the sky. The end of an age.

The blade of my beliefs pierces muddy soil
Sealing itself in a prison made of my own toil.
My heart, torn by the sight, oozes burning oil.

Do I pick up the blade once again
Or should I walk away for the rest of my life?
I’m sure a man sits upon an eave playing a fife
To my struggle against my flaw, my sin.
If I pick it up I will blind myself with glory.
No one will pull me back. It’ll be my story.
In my own hands I will either lose or win.

I really only wanted to make things right
But somehow along the way I lost my sight.

A dam I constructed to keep out the flood
That has been filling my mind with mud.
I let the sword drop to the ground with a thud,
Pick up what remains of me, wash off the blood,
And move along. For my heart is still but a bud.

Someday my heart might bloom to be beautiful and freed.
And the sword will return on that day under a new creed.
sa;bdry

A City of Glass: Part I, Chapter III

by Desnei, posted in Short Story

“I must return to my other form. If only I could stay like this a little while longer. Hold me until I am no more.” small tears roll down her cheeks.

“Olivia,” I wrap my arms around her shimmering visage, “It doesn’t matter what form you end up taking. You’ll forever be you. I love you not your flesh. Stay close to me if you feel cold, put your trust in me, and look towards the future. Everything is unknown. I need you by my side until the very end.”

“Do you mean all that Rayne?” We both lean in for a kiss. The cold water feels warm for this moment of intimacy. I touch her warm lips, our tongues me between, and I find myself lost in the beauty that is Olivia. It’s moments like these that make life worth living. If only it could last forever.

“Uhm I. . .” a man coughs in the distance “Are we intruding sir? It seems you have something for wisps.” I abruptly stop to see Olivia’s wisp in front of my eyes. I blush out of embarrassment at them coming across this unfolding scene.

“You caught me. I saw the wisps on the Ocean and had to come out here for my guilty pleasure.”

The big man who spoke first scratches his head. A few of them talk about something in whispers and laughs. An affirming cough stops their gossip but the big man tosses one of them into the water.

“Do you see any other wisps out there Sean?”

“First off, what gives you the idea of throwing me into the ocean? Secondly, I see no wisps around here except one. Oh and Captain Aerion. . .” Aerion throws a tacklebox at him.

“Well Sir where did all the wisps go to? If in your pants I’m leaving you with my crew mate for a talk. Wisps don’t belong there!” Aerion tosses his hands in the air and walks in a half circle.

“I have no clue how the wisps disappeared. I fell into the water on the coast of Dragacia and this wisp led me here. They saw I was on the brink of death and dissolved into my skin. Have you ever heard of that before?”

Aerion scratches his chin as he looks me over. Silence fills the open air, another crew mate grabs a few bottles of beer out of a cooler, the one in the ocean swims back to the ship with the tackle box, and everyone sighs even Olivia’s wisp. They help me into the boat.

“Find yourself a seat. Anywhere is fine.” I move a fishing pole over to sit down on the side of the boat. “I often walked the streets as a young lad in my very early twenties. I didn’t know if I was after trouble or women but both were hazardous to my health. Neither wanted me although I kept going for those walks to talk with the sailors, soldiers, and anyone coming in from the port. One harsh Winter found two crews lost in the sea. I went onto the sea with a few soldiers to find the sailors but we found ourselves in the middle of a nasty storm.”

“How did you escape? Most times a rescue party can’t take a large ship. I’m sorry I love stories like this.”

“We had a ship that could barely hold the five of us on it. The boat nearly capsized what felt like eight times. Every wave we crossed felt like a life’s journey, A soldier shouted ‘I see the two crews in the distance!’ we followed the direction he told us to go. Everyone helped each other to tie ropes to the vessels. Somebody up in the Heavens abandoned us on those waters. A trial to see who would be fit to walk away from that tragedy. We cheered when the ropes were finally tied but only I saw the waters recede. A legendary tide  rose above us like a beast straight out of Hell with teeth gnashing and spit flying. The amount of hearts that dropped made a sound so terrifying that every fiber of our beings were left asunder. Kid, I’m sorry give me a few minutes to honor the memory of those who died on that day.”

Each member of the crew places their drinks down. We sit there in silence watching the tides under the stars and moonlight. Thoughts of people sacrificing everything for others create an anchor holding the rest of us upon a thin plain known as reality. The pain of losing a good person for any reason can destroy anyone. Why do others have to hurt them? Why must we be afraid? A horror that reminds me that I’m finite.

A City of Glass: Part I, Chapter II

by Desnei, posted in Short Story

I open my eyes to see her head fall down onto my shoulder. She struggles to breathe but forces her head to turn towards my left ear. Her heartbeat speeds up, fear makes us both tremble, and I finally notice the blood. A bullet lodged itself in her rib cage after piercing one of her lungs.

“I forgot to tell. . .you why I came here. The royal army. . .sent their new. . .regiment to kill. . .the Mystical Veil. People who believe in religion. . .practice magic. . .aren’t deem human. . .will die. I wanted. . .you to. . .be hap. . .happy.” Her breathing stops but she kisses my cheek.

“I am happy! Don’t go before you know that. I was extremely happy that you came here to save me! You never let go of your promise to be there whenever I fall apart. I don’t want to leave your body here. What’s the purpose of all this? Please I need to hear you once again! Don’t die!”

“Ru..uh..n. . .” She rolls off of me with her failing strength.

My heart drops to the bottom of my chest while tears flood my eyes. I struggle getting my feet underneath me. The world spins around me and my stomach feels uneasy. I can’t hold it back. I never found myself shy to blood but this is far too much, too personal, and too real.

I get myself steady after the queasiness passes. Her last word repeats in my head. Run. Run. Run. Run. Shouts of men can be heard in the forest before the cliff. I can’t get pass them and I know that. I look to the sky beyond the cliff to see the Sun setting. My heart beats faster and faster until I begin running headlong towards the edge.

“I’m not worth your bullets! I’ll end this for you! Don’t go looking for me because the ocean will be my grave unless fate has something else in store for me! Let’s place a bet! If I come back I won’t be alone and we’ll take back this land for the memory of all who died to your destructive beliefs!!!” Gunfire sprays from the forest but not a shot hits me as I leap off the cliff.

I feel like I’m flying until gravity pulls me towards the rocks. Regrets cry out from within but I can’t say a word  as I fall like a spear into the sea. I’m sorry I couldn’t get away. They weren’t going to talk and I wanted to die next to you. Why did you tell me to run? Run to where? Save me somebody! My silent screams dig themselves into my spine forcing me to feel this unrelenting, crawling chill.

     Today is the worst day ever. I let my emotions get in the way and I almost killed myself. I killed the one person who made this life bearable. Her blood is on my hands. What God would. . .no this is the act of indecent men. If there is a God I need you now. Do whatever it takes just let me live through this day. I want to live on to be a thorn in the hide of evil so I can show light even in the dark. And if that is too much to ask then let her take my place in Heaven. I know she never believed in you but she never judged me for believing. She encouraged me to love you and if it wasn’t for her I’d be lost in my own sorrow. A life for a life is fair trade. I can’t ask for anything more.

    I close my eyes in anticipation of the end. The whole world shrinks to this place in the way a tragedy highlights the death of the protagonist. A single man isn’t wholly good or wholly evil but today one takes the stage. I am saying my last rights in my head as a wind touches my back as I am flung forward into salty water. My eyes open in my confusion to see a light above my head.

“A little wisp? They hide from people. What is it doing here? Did you. . .” I reach my hand towards the ball of light. “Who are you?” A familiar warmth startles me.  “Is this even possible?”

“Run.” The small wisp moves ahead and waits for me. I float in the water in a breathless daze while I look at my hand. “Run.”

I swim towards the light. The wisp keeps moving into the open ocean. Night descends upon us, the wisp leads on, I follow, and my heart feels her presence all around me. Whispers can be heard somewhere off in the distance but I can’t stop. My life is still in the hands of fate. The freezing water is slowing me down. My sense of touch fades away.

Suddenly the wisp rushes off into the night without me. Cold stiffens my joints and stings my throat. I can’t move. Did I follow a random wisp for no reason risking my life in the process? The warmth was so real like Olivia’s. I miss her. I grasped at the first thing to remind me of her. An old love  found in the warmth of another. I’m truly pathetic if I seek her so badly. Love is a great thing until the day it falls from the hands of whoever holds it. I still feel her love although she’s gone.

My eyes begin closing. A lot of little lights come into view in front of me. My body starts shutting down. Darkness covers everything once again. I could float endlessly in the tides like a rocking chair lulling me to sleep. Pinholes of warmth spread across my body letting me open my eyes once more. The wisps fade into my skin, they sing a song as they come to me, and magically my life recovers.

The world we once loved,
It has been made different and changed.
Some point we fell from our life
And found ourselves under a scythe.

Together we sing of light
To break us out of this endless night.
Our tears can flood
But no more do we have blood.

Something holds us to the Earthen soil
Although we left this mortal coil.

     Every light fuses with my body except for one. It floats in my reach as if waiting for something. Olivia’s light hasn’t touched me yet. Can this be her? What should I do? I reach my hand out towards the light only to see Olivia materialize before me. The whole world feels right once again.

     “I can’t stay long Rayne. I came to give you a final goodbye in this form. I’ll follow you endlessly as a wisp though. I heard you blaming yourself. Dumb ass! I did what I wanted to do because I love you. If I didn’t I would’ve let you get impaled by those rocks earlier.”

     “Do you have to criticize me even when you’re dead? I thought maybe this could be romantic but. . .” she kisses me quickly.

     “I do love you and that’s why I criticize. A ship will be here soon. I’ll be a wisp by the time they reach us. These people hunt a rare fish that breeds under the light of wisps. Go with them to wherever. You’ll have a good life. Forget about the past, keep me near, and move forward. Rayne, babe, I need you to promise me that you won’t ever come back to Dragacia. A horrible genocide will begin. I can’t handle the thought of losing you to those soldiers. Please promise me.” her body begins to shimmer and fragment.

     “I promise. We can be together forever this way. I’ll never let go of that as long as you’re around.” I kiss her back just before she turns back into a wisp.

A City of Glass: Part I, Chapter I

by Desnei, posted in Short Story

     My feet stand at the ledge of a cliff. Jagged rocks at the bottom claw towards the sky above. The gentle wind begs me to take another step, my heart clings to the Earth with memories, and the whole world spins on. I stare across the blue sea while licking my dry lips.

     “These ghosts follow so closely to reality. Inside these machines it’s electricity giving meaning to their movements. Is every dream the remnant of a creature or the decay of metal? If pain has no reason and dreams are meant to shatter then I can’t stay here anymore. Let me take this step, my gentle heart, because we weren’t strong enough to face the horrors of this world.” I try to take a step but my body won’t listen. “Why can’t I just run away from this place? Days after days I find myself here again. I’m unable to will myself.”

     Rushed footsteps echo from behind as two arms wrap around my chest. I fall backwards against a soft body. A hand plays with my hair and light giggles fill the world with joy. I reach up to touch a familiar cheek as warm as sunlight. Both of us smile for what feels like an eternity.

     “You look happy. Why. . .” she slaps me across the face, “Why in the world would you think about jumping!? You’re such a dumb ass sometimes. Did you know that? I won’t let you up until you answer me. Why?”

“Other people live so blindly. I can’t even tell if we’re the same creature. I don’t know if I want to know the truth. They told me that my God is an illusion. I told them they’re wrong but no I’m the criminal for believing in something more. What’s so wrong to look beyond this place of broken dreams? I want to get away from them before my heart breaks apart. You stopped me from taking the step into the other world. Do you do it out of love or do  you want me to fall and shatter? The cynics in this world push me too far. I can’t even see the good sometimes. Maybe they’re right that there’s no God.”

     “They’re wrong. God lives inside of you. Nobody can take away what makes you you. Let them say we are wrong and diseased and let them know we won’t ever change. If you don’t defend who you are they will rip you apart,put their beliefs inside of you and sow you back together with your own heart strings.” She slowly bends over to kiss my cheek.

We sit there in silence. The only noise is the song of birds echoing endlessly throughout the coast. If I listen closer I can hear her heartbeat. Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum. I wrap an arm around her making her smile at me. A shiver runs down my spine. Words fill my mind but a knot in my throat stifles every attempt to utter a single breath.

     She leans against me, I let her get as close as she wants, we both turn our faces toward each other, eyes meet, a fire inside burns ever brighter, we lean in for the kiss, our lips touch, her tongue touches mine, time stands still, and a glorious light fills my eyes. Sensations flood my mind. I can’t tell what is going on but part of me doesn’t care. The haze in my mind clears up to show her above me staring into my eyes with a lost, enchanted demeanor.

     “Where does this begin and end? Caught in a swirling whirlwind. I want so much to give you all of my heart. The lovely way you enter my life, break the shell on my heart like a castle  wall, and maybe this a coup d’etat but I know my sins so I’m willing to place my life in your hands. Bring justice or bring salvation.”

     “Lay silent me Lord. Talk is cheap on the edge of love and lust. We could give in, let go, and be free. I love you.” A gun sounds off in the distance creating a chilling moment where time felt surreal in a bad way.