Dwell with Snaedis

It's midnight when a man violates the curfew ordinance outside of their town. Not just that, he neglects the signage of speed restrictions that were mounted in every corner beside the road. He drives fast without the foresight of seeing the probable contingencies that might happen along the way. Nevertheless, he remains confident about what he is doing; it is midnight, and no one's wondering around during this time.

His eyes are full of tears as he looks straight to the highway while driving fiercely. With infusions of frustration and anger, he hits the steering wheel using his own hands. He steps the accelerator harder in which causes the car to run fast.

About an hour later, he screams so loud. This hinders him from the chance to notice what was going on in front of him! His face suddenly slaps onto the steering wheel that causes him to step on the clutch immediately!

"What was that?" He asks in extreme nervousness.

His sight became blurred that he can only see a figure of an aged man who fell unconsciously in front of the car. Because of what just happened, he quickly gets out to check the unforeseen damage that he caused.

From there, he sees the blood that runs from the head of the man towards his direction. The poor man's eyes are wide open and reddish. The reckless driver steps closer to the man to do further inspection. Upon checking the pulses of the worn man, there was no sign of life.

The man is dead.

His hands are shaking. His body feels the shivering of the wind's coldness as he stands and roams his eyes around him to check if there are CCTVs nearby. Fortunately, as he wishes, there are none. Because of this instance, he immediately goes back to his car and escapes the crime that he committed.

Sarah Codache

The prismatic ambiance around me dissolved into opaque. The busy corridor turned more chaotic and blurred. People walked everywhere inside this vast concrete building as they vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but deep traces of their footsteps.

While I sat beside a stall full of dresses with varied necklines, I roamed my eyes around and found my mother and sister choosing some fancy outfits. I patiently waited for them to finish until I found myself tapping my feet on the ground while slouching.

Suddenly, a man approached me with a triangular-shaped sandwich with slices of mangoes in his hands. He's wearing a leathered-powder-colored jacket and marmalade feathered deck shoes.

"Do you want some? You look hungry." Insisting on the urge to give his food, he let out a smile with his deep-set eyes looking at me, which brought comfort and trust to take the sandwich. Although I do not know what he was saying, the word 'hungry' was familiar to me. It's a term given by mom every time I felt something wandering inside my stomach.

With crinkle eyes, I nodded and immediately grabbed the food.

As I was eating, I heard him sighed. His mood suddenly changed. When he glanced towards the translucent window, his deep-set eyes became soothing. I looked at him with a furrowed brow for a while before focusing on what was outside that window.

"Finally, the rain stops dropping like angry lions." He giggled. Then his consciousness went back to me. "So? Is the sandwich tasty?" He babbled while leaning forward.

I did not reply. He bowed his head and had trouble maintaining eye contact when I looked at him.

I continued eating while waiting for his response. At this time, I only heard my own teeth bumping with each other. I wanted him to listen to my voice saying the sandwich was delicious, but I did not feel like I need to tell him with reasons that I barely can explain.

He let out a deep breath. "Anyway, whose with you right now? It seems like you're alone." He resumed while roaming his eyes around us. His soothing deep-set eyes turned snooty. His right hand was grabbing something sharp in between his jacket.

What was that?

My hands were slowly shaking without noticing it in the first place. Due to that, I immediately mishandled the sandwich.

And the last time I knew, I was screaming, causing the people to feel unsafe. Their sharp eyes were looking at me like newly sharpened arrows. I even heard the sparse of everyone's voice saying 'I was crazy' and 'uneducated' as I nervously looked around them with a disorganized mind. I can feel my heart and breathing were racing towards the peak of my consciousness.

I ran towards the counter full of crimson fascinator hats and threw them away! Some people froze and stared with wide eyes; some narrowed their eyes while creasing their bow. I continued to scream. I even did not notice that the man a while ago was no longer here.

Until such time, my mother and sister came with increased breathing. They both squinted their eyes shut. My mom consoled me as she tried to make me still while my sister was standing much faraway from us.

"Sarah, honey, please calm down." My mom pleaded with teary eyes. She used her full strength to stop me from using my hands to destroy things. However, no matter what she did, I still managed to escape until she released me.

"Mom! Can we go home now? I'm tired." My sister, Sophia, yelled. I was staring at her, hoping to help mom but, she quickly turned away until I can no longer vividly see her.

-

"Autism? You mean people with craziness?" I can hear the distant echoing the voice of my sister.

"No, I mean-autisms are not crazy." Mom stepped with her hands on her chest while her feet were pointed towards Sophia.

"Eh?" She lets out an exasperated sigh, leaned back to the wall while crossing her arms. She paused for a while before she began to speak while my mother was trying to console the rough atmosphere between them.

I hope everything is okay.

"She's turning herself around while having a tiptoe. And the worst, she even screamed a fury in the middle of the mall without any reason. Do these characteristics considered to be what crazy people do?" Sophia hissed aggressively ran her hands through her hair.

"Sophia, what you are talking about is schizophrenia, not autism." Mom insisted, stepped towards Sophia with a smile. It seems like mom wanted to have an optimistic atmosphere.

I can see from my room how my sister rolled her eyes in front of mom.

But my mom looks persistent in arguing with my sister, so she breathed for a while before she faced Sophia with quivering lips. She held one of Sophia's hands before she continued. "I know what you feel, Sophia. Yes, it's hard, but I'm her mom, and she's your sister. There's nobody else who will stand for her except the both of us." My mom's eyes were teary, and so was my sister.

I leaned towards the door of my room to clearly see what they were talking about. I saw Sophia wiped her tears away, but she still rebuked. "But she's so annoying! She's very useless! I am tired of facing all of those laughter, judgments, and bullying all because of her!"

"Abandon Sarah, mom." Resisting the impulse to stomp her foot, she let out her breath in a huff and turned away, leaving mom speechless.

My mom carefully leaned towards the wall-gradually made herself sat down on the floor where the picture of the whole family was mounted. She was looking straight towards nowhere, and tears continued dropping all over her face.

She was crying without noise.

I was too distracted by what was happening. Because of this, I slowly stepped outside of my room towards my mom. As soon as I stood a few steps away from her, she faced me with a gentle smile. I was fascinated by the way her protruding caramel eyes touched mine. She immediately stood up and wiped her tears using her bare hands.

She held my shoulders and murmured with a smile painted on her face. "Oh-ah... Do you want something?"

I exclaimed. Definitely!

"You want something yellow?" She hinted with extreme excitement. I quickly nodded, showing her how delighted I was.

"I knew it! You want mangoes!"

Yay!

We jumped together, and mom hugged me tightly.

Wake Louchette

The rain roared with this hazy morning, pattering each corner of every colossal building. The clouds were getting porpoise with bare crepuscular light touching my face through this transparent thick, laminated layered glass. With steeple fingers, I sat on a swivel chair inside my office while spotting at some people coming in of our busy entrance running, probably because they're late at work. I felt dejected to see how incompetent people are during rush hour.

I frowned. What a wonderful day ahead!

I turned back, facing my desk. I placed my elbows over it while my hands held together. My eyes narrowed as I was in a deep consciousness of the possible feedbacks we will receive about the grey matter simulation, which our team did towards our newfangled specimen.

I was in the middle of deep thought when my colleague rushed towards my office with heavy steps and rapid breathing.

"I got the result!" He exclaimed. Woah! It sounds like he was bringing a piece of good news! My eyes twinkled as he pressed closer with enthusiasm, but I remained impassive towards him.

"What's the good news?" I inquired while getting a bunch of newspapers beside my desk. I flipped some pages and focused more of my attention on the ones written under the editorial section.

I heard him laughed. "Lmao, stop acting like you do not even know what I am about to tell you."

I glanced at him for a while before I sneered at him. "Spill it, Lance Spiller."

"Stop saying my full name! It sounds suffocating when you're the one pronouncing it!" He belted like a chipmunk. He was acting like a damn child again.

I was aware of the report he was about to tell; it's just that I don't want to make first moves. I pretend to calmly put back the newspapers, massaged my temples, and shook my head in front of him.

"Alright! Then why are you here?"

He roamed around my office while having a great walking posture. He lifted his head, chest out, and spoke.

"Well, well, well. Guess what?" He shuffled towards me with his healthy eyes. He slowly grabbed a paper inside the folder he was holding then showed it in front of my face.

"We are given a promotion because of the work we've done!" He rejoiced while making an awkward dance move all over the office.

It was kind of annoying to see him doing that stuff, but I was glad I made friends with him.

"Hand over me the papers, please," I commanded, neglecting the silly thing he did.

"What a delicate expression of yours, my friend." He stepped closer while giving me the papers. "Here, get it. Make sure to check the reports, word for word, including the board's feedback. " Then he immediately kept a bit long distance between him and the table.

He kept on glancing at me as he added. "Also, do not forget to attend the short celebration at the hall later, as usual."

I quickly scanned the papers and ordered him to go out. Although he made a teasing sound before he finally left, at least he was gone.

-

"Congratulations!" The surprising honk and whir sounds from traditional party gadgets embraced my heavy arms as I got home. My mother hugged me immediately without her noticing that my shoes were still on. She kissed my cheeks while my fellow siblings continued to make noises.

"My son, I heard you got promoted. I already knew you could do it. Well done!" My mom cheered. She clapped her hands and hummed while going to the kitchen with one of my siblings. Apparently, they also prepared some food.

I tried my best to carry my tawny-colored bag full of workloads, but my eyelids were heavy, and I couldn't stop yawning. Damn, I felt so tired.

"You need help, Wake?" My brother, Josh, asked with an encouraging voice. He held my bag and smiled. I stared at his leathered jacket for a second, realizing that he was wearing an expensive one.

My brother noticed me. He touched his jacket, and he asked. "Wh-why are you staring at my clothes?"

"I am wondering how much money you earn from your job for you to buy that expensive apparel."

He kept on glancing sideways and rubbed his eyes before answering me. "I earned more than enough." He declared while shrugging his shoulders.

I sensed something off about his response, but I chose not to take it seriously.

I paused for a while before I replied. "Okay," I gave my bag to him, "bring that to my room upstairs." And with a blink of an eye, I left him.

I ran towards my room, hopped over my bed to take a rest. After Josh placed my bag under the table, he immediately went back downstairs.

Everyone was busy except for me. I was exhausted. Other neighbors went to our house to enjoy the mini party too, and of course, because of the food. I watched the visitors through the room's window; I only knew some of them. They were once again here for the food, not because of my promotion itself. They were celebrating.

A few minutes later, my phone rang. I hurriedly took my phone from my pants pocket and saw that it was Lance calling me. I let out an exasperated sigh and pressed my lips together before answering the call.

"What's the matter?" I shouted a bit due to extreme annoyance.

"Oh bro, chill, I called you because the board wants you in the office right now. They said your presence is a must."

"Does it really need to be right now? Can you tell them to have it tomorrow? It's already 2 PM."

"I did, but they insisted. They said it's something urgent."

I clasp my wrist behind my back. "Ugh, wait for me then."

"Thanks, hurry up! We are all here."

After hearing his response, I quickly dropped the call, grabbed my bag, changed my blazer outfit, and went back to the office.

Fortunately, it wasn't raining anymore.