Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology

Everblossom

  An anthology that will quench your thirst for more than the ordinary.

  Everblossom is a journey through poems and short stories that may seem ordinary on the surface but dig a little deeper and the world not only shifts . . . It changes.

  The author who brought you Iwishacana/Acanawishi, now brings you a dash of everything from dark fantasy to the paranormal to romance. So prepare yourself to delve into the three stages of the flower from bud to blossom then back to seed; you’ll go through them all with a whole new perspective on what it all truly means.

  Everblossom:

  A Short Story and Poetry Anthology

  Larissa Hinton

  Copyright © 2011 by Larissa Hinton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author ([email protected]).

  Cover art designed by the author but the photo supplied by shutterstock

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  Seed

  Seed to Seed to Seed

  *In the Beginning

  Childhood

  Crack

  The Colors of the Rainbow

  From Mother to Fetus

  The One to Fear

  Born Without a Heart

  This Moment

  Bud

  Sprout

  *Crash and Burn

  Sideways Glance

  *Forget

  WSV #4

  Changes

  WSV #8

  *Family Reunion

  A Good Girl

  Blossom

  Wither

  College Life

  English Major Dues

  *Wrinkle

  Bills, Bills, Bills

  *Forget Me Nots

  In Death You Speak

  *Transcend

  Jesse

  Black and White

  WSV #3

  *These particular stories were written with protagonist and antagonist seen in these other novels (not all are available yet): V, Iwishacana/Acanawishi, and Angel Diaries. For more information, please visit my blog: https://teacherwritebookaholicohmy.blogspot.com/

  Introduction

  I would like to introduce you to my short story and poetry anthology. I bet all you guys are shaking or scratching your head in frustration wondering why I even put poetry in this anthology. I have no idea if this has been done or not, but when I started this anthology, it all seemed to flow just right.

  Even though I started this anthology with the thought that maybe I should just include short stories, I started to realize that my poetry has never had the spotlight. My writing started with poetry when I was in eighth grade when a teacher asked us to compose some poems, and you’ll see some of my very first poetry in the very beginning of this anthology, Seed. I decided that it would be inappropriate for me to just leave out some of my finest—and not so finest—humble beginnings as a poet. You will also see a budding, so to speak, of my short story writing. I just started writing short stories this past year and I have to say, I do love the idea.

  Anyway, I know another question you are just dying to let out: what kind of stories and poems are in this anthology? If you have read any of my previous work, you will notice that I play with the idea of light and dark fantasy with a touch of gore. This isn’t exactly a Howl-O-Scream sort of anthology but it is not for the faint of heart. Some pieces will make you wince, especially stories like “Wrinkle” and the poem “English Major Dues”.

  However, the rest of the works will make you think and wince for different reasons other than gore. Some of them are touching and some will make you think in a whole new way. And that’s the whole point of this anthology: to play with your mind, to play with the idea of what is ordinary.

  So without further ado, I invite you to enjoy and ponder over my anthology, Everblossom.

  Seed

  Seed to Seed to Seed

  Bud to blossom

  till dusk til noon

  from sunlight to sunset

  do you know the circle of life?

  From the womb to the grave

  from blood to dust

  this is how the world began

  and how it shall end

  to seed to seed to seed . . .

  In the Beginning, There Were Fairy Tales

  Once upon a time, in a dimension far, far away, lived a homeless man who swam with all his might to find land. He wasn’t your stereotypical homeless bum either: he had magic powers. Or so he thought, anyway.

  Any-who, moving on with the miraculous story . . . So in this weird, mysterious place, the waves were sweeping high, threatening to crash and swallow the poor man in one small gulp but then a miracle happened: he found land!

  His eyes teared up at the beautiful white sand that appeared to him, almost like a mirage, except he could touch it and feel it sift between his fingers. He laid there upon that beach and heard his belly growl like a mean tiger suddenly hunger for prey. He closed his eyes and wished for food. And bam, like Disney said it would happen, it really happened. The food came up just as he wished it. He stared at his hands, gripped around thick turkey thighs, dripping with grease that he licked, and surprisingly, it tasted just like turkey.

  This was no dream, it was real. He bit into the turkey leg then swallowed, only to found it was difficult to swallow. He needed water so obviously he wished for it, and bam, water came pouring down in torrents, bathing him in a sea of white and blue. Then it stopped. The homeless man smiled and ate the most delicious meal in his life. When he turned around and viewed the small island, he knew he had a lot of work to do.

  After five days of resting and wishing with all of his might, he created some place that never existed before he landed on the mysterious island, a place where he could finally call home. The sand was replaced with lush grass which was then covered with pavement and then upon the pavement were buildings and places to shop, and the mega mansion he always knew he should and would have—eventually anyway.

  All he needed now were people but he wanted to build one last thing: a direct contrast to his place where nature and the city untied in such a beautiful way which could only be dreamed of. He dreamed of the place he left, a city where werewolves and vampires would stroll and be forever separated by the cross of a single strip of land. He built The Dead End.

  He knew it wasn’t the best idea for a city name, but he didn’t really care since he wasn’t going to be there anyway. He wished for tall trees that spanned for miles and miles, that had one little corner of civilization where bad people would stay. Then he came up with a most brilliant brilliant plan: build a force field . . . Or at least wish up one.

  Next, with all his brain and power, he thought of a blue echoing electrifying force shield that kept everyone separated with paths of good.

  and evil. Now it was time to build people to fill it. He went to his mega mansion where a blank sheet of paper instantly appeared with the normal human outline. He looked and puzzled over it. Then it hit him: colors! Make them all kinds of different colors. Blue, green, purple, red and, of course, white (which he knew wasn’t a real color but he since it was his place, he made it into a color). Then the picture popped out with the first woman created, who was to be his wife, a gorgeous woman who would make everyone’s mouth water and eyes fill with lust. He looked at her and she look
ed at him. Then he looked at the rest of how his city would look like. Perfect.

  All that was left was a name. He slept next to his new wife and thought over ideas that continued to come to him, but as we know, he is not such a great person with names. So the wife sat up and whispered in his ear, “Iwishacana.” Thus was the name of the wishful place and language was clear. Since he himself was a man who only spoke Greek, so would everyone else.

  Little did he know that even though he was a big time man now, having made a land out of just wishes and that his people would be what he wanted, life is continuous change. Nothing would stay as he wanted them to be. That there were always wishes that could be broken and evil could never be contained in one place. He didn’t know that people from the other universe who knew nothing about Iwishacana would soon come to destroy it. As he fell asleep in his precious wife‟s arms who would do nothing but create problems in his life, he felt content and happy for the last time he lived. It was simply the beginning of the end.

  Childhood

  Kick your legs

  high into the air

  hear a thousand laughs

  run

  into the woods

  don’t be afraid

  swing on that great vine

  scream like a banshee

  dance

  laugh

  point and slap your knee

  sleep on a huge blanket

  watch lion king

  laugh like a hyena

  belch like a true prince

  and puff out your chest

  like a real man

  show your dimples

  play in the sand

  watch how the grains slip through your

  tiny

  fingers

  make sure to run

  run like the wind ruffles through your hair

  do not care about adult things

  just go out there

  be impatient

  stomp your tiny little feet

  and pout with those huge puppy-dog eyes

  and pretty mouth

  sharpen your tongue

  talk like a poet

  talk like your daddy or mommy

  dearest mommy

  show her all your scrapes

  and pout just like her

  don’t forget daddy

  show him your strength like a tiger

  wrestle your sister to the floor

  and hear her wail

  since you may not have a second chance

  at your dear friend, childhood.

  Crack

  The hit, the sound, the heat and the moment hit her in the pit of her stomach. My God, what have I done? she thought.

  Lucia’s face sharpened, her angelic face turned monstrously adult, and she slapped her across her right cheek. It was as soft as a pillow slapping the bed but all the same the mother cupped her own cheek. She stared back at her child in awe at the intensity in somebody so young. Her eyes glittered like filthy diamonds finally rising to the surface to be cleaned and claimed by men.

  She whispered, “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!”

  The mother tried to curl her into her arms, to make her forget the horrible incident, to remove the spit from her cheek that her daughter had lunged at her. It was simply a trick her friends at preschool taught her. Instinct took over as soon as the spit landed her cheek: she slapped her.

  Lucia, instead of seeking comfort in her mother’s arms, ran away into her room and slammed the door shut. The mother put her head in her hands. That child was driving her crazy. Footsteps softly padded towards her and when she looked up, she saw her husband’s penetrating brown eyes studying her own.

  “Baby, what the hell happened?” He whispered, gathering her into his arms.

  She looked up into his eyes seeking understanding, but knew she wouldn’t find any. “I slapped her John. I didn’t mean to—”

  He stood up releasing her just as easily as he had pulled her into his embrace. “How many times have I told you not to do that?”

  “I didn’t mean to. She spit on me and I just reacted.” She studied her shoes as she swiped them back and forth against the cracked linoleum floor.

  “By slapping her?” He clenched his fist. “Damn it. You cannot just simply react. You’ve got to think things through. My God, what would the neighbors think?”

  Laureen looked up at John with confusion coloring her eyes. “If you would stop calling the police every time something occurs maybe then the neighbors wouldn’t bother us anymore.”

  There was a beat of silence before John spoke again. “I can’t keep sending her to school with bruises. It won’t be long before one of her teachers notices and has the smart idea to call CPS.”

  “I know. I know,” Laureen said, then looked back down and mumbled, “We could move.”

  “We can’t afford to move again. We have to fix this once and for all.” John walked back into his bedroom, grabbed his briefcase, and set it on the creaky dining room table. He slapped the papers on the table and rubbed his hand over his mouth. “It’s the only way.”

  Laureen frowned and picked up the papers. She paled as the words began to form in her head. “Terminate Parental Rights?” After all she has put up for this family and now this?

  “Sign and send it along with the divorce papers to our lawyer tomorrow. I also packed all of your things this morning. They’re right inside the closet . . .”

  His words turned into knives, each of them stabbing her in the heart with every single stroke of a practiced painter. Her world tilted on her axis as she continued to hold on to the papers. How could this happen? How could this have ever occurred?

  * * *

  Lucia grabbed a dart with a grin and aimed it at a picture of Laureen. She let it fly. It pinned her mother right in that gigantic heart of hers. The pictures next to it were similar with equal amounts of pin-sized holes in them, at least a dozen of pictures with beautiful women torn from the wedding picture of her dad. She released another dart into the previous one with the blonde hair and weird smile. How many more women will it take for her dad to notice her?

  She gripped the darts tightly then placed them gently on the desk. Lucia couldn’t let the anger conquer her. She opened her baby book and slid out the newest photo of the woman her dad has dated recently behind Laureen’s back.

  One down, one to go.

  The Colors of the Rainbow

  Rainbows,

  something that comes after rain

  that can’t be explained except that

  is just there and meant to be

  enjoyed and wondered at.

  The Rainbow has magic of its

  own of turning kids frowns

  upside down and dreadful days

  into glorious days.

  With the mixture of green, purple, yellow,

  red, blue, orange and indigo how

  could it not?

  All of these colors have their

  individual meaning and

  expression.

  All of their individual meanings are listed below:

  Green the color of life

  Purple the color of royalty

  Yellow the color of joy

  Orange the color of sunshine on a cloudy day

  Red and Blue the colors of America

  Indigo the color of singing birds

  These colors make a beautiful sight

  after a playful and sometimes

  dreadful rain.

  So treasure a rainbow for as long

  as you can.

  From Mother to Fetus

  My Dearest Sweet Fetus,

  You are my world, my everything. Without you in my belly kicking me with every single ounce of strength, I would not survive. I sacrificed for you, my body, my perfect image, just to breathe life into your lungs. Never forget the sacrifice when you grow older, when your hips sway to exotic beats of the forbidden jungle and a guy tries to pull the same shit he tried on me. He will never love you as I do
. This love cannot be destroyed, our link will never be diminished until death do us part. Literally. Physically. Irrevocably.

  Do not try to separate our link, our chain. It was made, it was written in gold way before our time. It is in our DNA, in our genes, in our blood to be linked forever. You will need to lean on me as I will lean on you to be my support beam, my everything. You are not without your faults as I am not perfect either. We will fight, young one. We will be so mad at each other that hate will only be a stone throw away, but we must remain a united front against the world and for ourselves.

  You see, sweet child of mine, we are an anomaly. We are special. We are something the world hasn’t seen despite what they may call you, you and I we are special. We are not to take crap from nobody. We are to forever stand tall as beautiful women of color that we are. Yes, you may not know what colored means in society but you will soon learn that color isn’t something to marvel and explore like the colors of the rainbow. For the world, it’s something to hold over your head. To forever label you as an outsider who will never get the fabulous white card of privilege.

  But let me tell you something, precious: you don’t want it. You could strive for years seeking their approval and try to smart, begrudge, or even elbow your way into their world or their lifestyle but you know what? It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. The glamorous life is all about showing people what you got instead of enjoying it and baby, I want you to live.

  Most people were determined, especially your father, to kick you out of this world because of your specialness, because you were “ill-timed”, but you are still here. You will forever be in my heart and a part of me. I couldn’t let you go even if I tried. You are mine in this world and in the next. Never forget this all that I tell you, child. All that you are to me and to the world. Go do what God has made you to do. And do it well.

  Love,

  Mother

  The One to Fear

  I am the outsider

  I am the witness

  you never see.

  I am always on the outside looking in.

  And I’m always watching,

  I know everything.

  I know your darkest secrets,

  and your inner desires.

  I am the outsider.

  While you cheated on