Tag: Fiction
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The Hero and the Beast
The layers of fur did little to keep out the cold. The hero could feel it in his bones, and though he’d trekked over many a mountain, none had been as ferocious as this one. But despite its harshness, the weather was only half the battle. The hero had also evaded three territorial snow giants,…
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Grey
The floor trembled beneath the pink skin of my grey paws. Earlier that day on August 4th, 2020, as I later heard mom call it, nothing extraordinary had happened. I woke up grandma as soon as I could see a crack of light outside – I can’t remember if I thought she was dead after…
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Here Comes The Sun
The beer fizzed in his hand, cold against his burning skin. Jona shut the fridge with a thud, the sound echoing through the hollow house. Sunlight streamed in, uninvited, golden and heavy. It poured across the tiles, traced the counters, and fell against the curtains, which then swayed like they remembered how to dance. Birds…
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Beirut the City, Beirut the Airport
On Transience, Matters of the Heart, Random Encounters, and Other Airport Wonderings It’s 3AM. I’m standing in line for the mundane security check, my head dizzy from the wine and hash. At least this time I made it past check-in, not with plenty of time to spare, but with just enough that I know I’ll…
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I Come Bearing Gifts
Every day, Saai woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pray. He brushed his teeth, showered, combed his hair and beard, wore his olive-green robes, shined his metal legs, and headed to his corner of the bedroom where he connected. Every day, he sat on his modest praying chair, hands on his knees, feeling the smooth…
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White confetti
Darine opens her eyes; her vision is blurred with white confetti. She fixes her head in the fluff of her mother’s sweater. Earlier that day, Darine sat on a plastic chair on the balcony reading Perks of Being a Wallflower. Her mother sat on the floor next to her with a bucket of water and…
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The Hakawati That Saved My Life
A few months ago, on another mundane Saturday, I had a dream I used to have as a child – a decapitated woman sat in a tub of her own blood, her head beside her on the white tiles, gnawing at an apple. That morning, as I prepared my usual black coffee, I imagined myself…