The clock tocks: barely thirteen hours to cram.

Bring me my casket before the morrow…

~*

Take me away! I must drown in my sorrows.

Went to class, blissfully unaware, wham!

I forgot there is a test tomorrow…

~*

There! A classmate’s notes I could borrow. Yes!

Do you mind? Sorry, should’ve last night. Damn!

Bring me my casket before the morrow…

~*

Go bury me in Mount Kilimanjaro!

Far out of sham, no one will know I’m spam…

I forgot there is a test tomorrow…

~*

Please master teacher? Because I’m so narrow

Delay, for me and you? No. Yes, ma’am.

Bring me my casket before the morrow…

~*

You’ll see me gone without any bravado…

My parents will roast me through like a lamb!

I forgot there is a test tomorrow…

Bring me my casket before the morrow…

Procrastination... Can $h!t you up

When he looked up, he could see the wall towering above him. Seemingly endless as the clouds could touch it. The wall of Jolon City.

Outside, he is outside of Jolon City. The unsafe, lethal, the enemy line where almost no one came back from.

The coarse trees terrifying and the ground threateningly cold. No more trimmed trees and paved stone floor. No paths leading into a familiar place.

Kayle wondered briefly, how did he get out here? And Crevan? What happened to him? Should he try to get back in? No one made it once they were removed.

Something terrible is protecting the walls.

So I leave alone like before. Away and hidden so they couldn’t see me. A few miles away is a long journey of walking.

They fly over me twittering like mortal birds, careless and taunting. They know it affects me and could show some sympathy but chose not to acknowledge me. I hear their laugh fading away, the floor becomes a little gray. Slightly cold, everything dimmed except for my garden.

Small but bigger than my house. I am prideful of it, it is mine. I know, from the glares I’ve seen, they want it. From Cathetel I received the look of fear, she is prideful of her garden as well and is used to being held in the honor of having the best garden. She also adores being one of the sentinels of the golden apple tree. I couldn’t take that away, not after there is so much dependency. I am content being in my garden, it is where I should be.

The ugly looks of distain pales beautifully by the look of gorgeous purple and green grapes. The jealousy incomparable against the glistening strawberries. I only need my garden; its life is my life to put it simply.

A letter is nailed against one of my pumpkins. Effectively wounding the pumpkin’s flawless surface.

The letter, undoubtedly soft, scripted in silver lines has fouled the pumpkin with its severe warning. The silver nail had made the pumpkin skin turn rotten black. The pumpkin is carried inside, the seeds could be salvaged. Once they are dry they will be put into my seed pouch I carry always in my pocket. The letter is ignored and tossed into a bin where other warning letters reside.

I notice I am low on the supply of stardust. A longer journey to the God city is what I hoped not to do until the council is done with the festival meeting.

I go anyway and pretend the shocked faces have nothing to do with my passing. For a moment the festival halted until behind me they resumed. They waited until I was far-gone, for a reason they did not want me to experience the celebration. I don’t mind, for me glorifying an angel was nothing to celebrate.

The stardust flows over hills and cliffs until it reached a whirlpool where it becomes good luck charms and miracles. Not unlike sand, it moves slowly

“There!” Crevan picked again without thought. Kayle went another way, leaving Crevan to sputter before going after him. Kayle went on to the way he knew was out of the manor.

“Where are you going?” Whispered Crevan. Kayle ignored him, went up a couple of stairs, left twice, one door, left, and there’s the front door. “Yes! We’re out!” Crevan shouted before Kayle could stop him.

“Who’s there?” The ugly voice of Lord Bramblebeet requested. Crevan yelped and ran to the door while Kayle hid behind a marble tower displaying a frame of an old yellowed sheet of paper that had been torn in half. One half fluttered down and landed on Kayle’s head. With cautious eyes on Lord Bramblebeet’s bulging ones, Kayle ignored the piece of paper.

“Thief! Kione thief! Guards! Guards!” Bramblebeet shouted uncontrollably. Crevan automatically went the opposite way of Bramblebeet and away from the front door. Ten guards followed him, Bramblebeet stayed where he is with a purple hue on his face. Kayle ducked out of sight behind the tower when the Lord turned to look at it. Kayle could feel the blood boiling on Lord Bramblebeet’s face when he screamed. “Thief! Get him he stole a piece! Thief! Bring back the paper! Thief!” Kayle heard his thundering footsteps running away from him and toward Crevan.

He does not come around,

whisper in your ear the answer

so clear as your friend across the table.

As am I an angel once,

come to guide, point the ways.

He who does not tell you the answer,

does not do so standing across from you.

How could you hear Him?

As I was an angel for a reason,

to speak the way he would not, for you.

What you’ve heard was yourself.

“Forget him, lets go. The hall is three stairs down.” Kayle persisted, anxiously looking around. Crevan ignored him and began climbing the iron man.

“Wow! He’s got no eyes Kayle! Awesome!” Crevan exclaimed, at once Kayle shushes fervently at him.

“Quiet you! The guards could’ve heard!” Kayle warned though his head told him there is nothing to fear here.

“Kayle there is nothing to fear here!” Crevan replied, Kayle gasped from the de-ja-vu. Crevan said aloud exactly what Kayle had already thought. Crevan noticed it quickly.

“What? Someone’s coming?” Crevan panicked.

“No!” Kayle hurriedly said, “Its nothing. I thought I- I saw something. It’s nothing.” Kayle assured both himself and Crevan. There was no need to get worked up over something tiny. With a sigh of relief Crevan hopped off the iron man, unaware of the inevitable reaction. Kayle watched in horror as the iron structure tilted, fell, and crashed like pots and pans.

“Kayle there is nothing to fear here!” Crevan replied, Kayle gasped ready to scream but caught himself in time. The iron man is intact it never fell. ‘Did this happen?’ Crevan continued inspecting the absent eyes of the iron man and pinched the man’s beak with awe. Kayle blinked and did a once over at the ground beside, exactly where the iron man had crashed. It did not happen, yet he saw it happen.

“Uh Crevan? Would you come down, slowly?” He empathized the word ‘slow’. Crevan grimaced and reluctantly climbed down.

“But a guy could be trapped in there!” Crevan whined.

“No there ain’t, its hollow.” Kayle remembered the crash, how the limbs came apart in pieces without a body in sight. “Let’s go. The guards are coming back.” Crevan grumbled, mumbling about ignoring those in need of rescue for selfish reasons.

The hall leading to the stairs astonished Kayle while Crevan didn’t care and was more interested in picking boogers out of his nose. The hall was richly decorated; tapestries all over the walls, carved furniture exquisitely polished, and shiny yellow metals adorned realistic paintings.

Where could the Elders get these objects? Kayle had never seen them in the city. Could the Elders be hoarding these? How could they? The answer was blurred in his eyes but nonetheless the idea is obvious. There, floating in front of his nose in slanted dark purple smoky letters.

“Greed?” Kayle spoke aloud, glancing at a painting of an old hag bent over grasping coins in her hands.

“This is it!” Crevan squealed jovially. Kayle reached and grasped the nearest doorknob; it was unusually cold, not right. “Well come on now, open it already!” Exasperated with Kayle’s stalling Crevan moved in and opened the door. The air draft was cold with a pinch of something else. It slithered around Kayle’s chest like invisible snakes. They shouldn’t be here. The hall Kayle determined to be the library is empty. Rows of useless shelves lined the walls whispered a taunting tale.

“What’s supposed to be here anyway? I don’t see nothing valuable!” Crevan sniffed, dusting the shelf with a finger.

“There’s supposed to be books here, they’re gone somewhere.” Kayle said without thinking. Thankfully Crevan didn’t hear, instead he was inspecting the shelves for anything left. He abhorred books to death and would no doubt throw a tantrum over the mention of it.

The shelves were coated thickly with one inch of grey dust and underneath it was black dust. It stuck onto Crevan’s hands then pants as he tried to wipe them off.

“They won’t come off,” Crevan mumbled. The black dust covered Crevan’s palms like second skin. His figure blurred, Kayle blinked fast as if it would set things right. The room brightened up, the color melted off the charred black walls and shelves revealing pristine white walls and rich brown shelves full of books. Crevan was nowhere to be found, vanished along with the blackness.

The door behind Kayle opened and Lord Bramblebeet stepped in hauntingly. Kayle stammered without explanation, looking into the Lord’s eyes. Expecting a furious order of consequence, but nothing. Lord Bramblebeet didn’t notice him. The Lord carried a lit torch, his head soaked sweat. Sounds of buildings crashing and tumbling overwhelmed Kayle. He didn’t have much time to think it through as Lord Bramblebeet ignited the shelves and everything on it in flames.

“Kayle! Hey stop playing!” Crevan’s voice echoed. Kayle could sense someone was shaking him but he couldn’t feel or see Crevan doing it.

The flames didn’t burn him; they weren’t scorching hot to him. Only worm on his fingertips and tickling his feet.

Lord Bramblebeet scrambled everywhere, snatching a few books before they burned. He fumbled with one of the books, screaming a few choice words and left it behind. The book was stuck between shelves; the fire ignored it and went for the other books.

Knowing the fire couldn’t hurt him, Kayle reached out for the book. The flames went through his arm and hand like a dream. The book glowed blue against the harsh fire, enchanting. His fingers tingled as it touched the book’s spine. Scripted words flew past his eyes like fine ribbons.

“Kayle!” A hard slap across the face jolted Kayle’s vision and it blurred for only a few seconds, then his senses came back with a final shove from Crevan.

“Hey!” Crevan gasped, his face blotched and red from screaming.

“You look terrible,” Kayle said softly, his mouth felt dry. “What happened to me?”

“You went blue eyed and stared at that thing! You didn’t listen to me when I told you to!” Crevan said exasperatedly.

“Blue eyed?” Kayle mumbled. A slight clatter and a shout startled both of them. They turned their head to the door they came from. For some reason Kayle wasn’t scared, as if whoever is behind the door is somebody he knew. Crevan hesitated for a moment before clenching Kayle’s arm and pulling him up/

“We gotta go, where to now?” Crevan whispered so light Kayle couldn’t hear but instinctively knew. Walking slowly backwards from the door, Kayle led Crevan to where he knew would be risky but safer than where they are now. The shouting started again with the shuffling and banging. Kayle felt a small tug in his stomach, the feeling opposite from the slithering snakes, it felt peaceful like he should go on and open the door. Too late to change his mind, they’ve reached the other exit, a black door. They went in while watching the other door, the shouting becoming indiscernible.

No one had attempted to sneak in and steal from them. Not because of respect or extreme security but because of the trembling fear the Elders had inflicted long ago.

They had assured reasonable safety and provided it with a price. There would be walls all around the city, with only two or three passages to the outside. It was reasonable to keep unwanted guests and dangerous guests out to conceal the passages from the people inside. Should the enemy find them then where could they go to hide? Would there be a disaster and they’re trapped? It was one of the questions Kayle had asked, whenether the walls are built to keep them in as well as to keep the enemies out.

Crevan despised the Elders’ decision with the walls and the sudden separation of the properly rich and the sinisterly poor, hence the Kione Clan. There were a lot of things the Elders did that were suspicious only to Kayle and Crevan. Others were too afraid to object and ignored Crevan’s persistent warnings. One of them was about the flickering lights inside the mansion. Crevan noticed they only flickered at a certain time of the night and people in groups of two disappeared just before that very night.

No one except Kayle noticed the grasses near the mansion, the stalks pointed away from the Elders’ home.

without care but pretending to struggle.

It is inhaling and unavailing

There isn’t much to go on but juggle.

-

What else is there beyond this world of now?

I expect it to be unaffected

For I want too much to dare give a bow

From it, I wish to be disconnected.

-

If only the rare plot is already made

I would be done playing this masquerade

Everyone is somewhat halfway polite

Tails to the anarchy seems about right

Even your closest best friends are not so nice

-

Fight with bite, I know what you did last night

Flirting with the red-eyed generation

Basking and eventually drowning

in the blinding limelight’s siren illusion.

-

Threats thrown during the height of the knife fright

provokes self-deception negotiation.

Yet amidst our pleads you carry on clowning

“It takes true death to be disillusioned”

-

You guiltily brought into that cheap shot

You have been caught against your own back wall,

Branded with the fleur-de-lis, the black spot.

Inevitably… your number’s been called.

Kayle, the werewolf, faces a terrible deed

Aw man consider that, he’d better not lose!

When the moon rises above, he’d better hide with speed!

Alas! He needs a footlong hero’s sandwich!

To eat with pleasure, the toasted goodness

Or hide, lest he be discovered!

Without pause he dives into a cave ditch!

Poor dude, depressed for his sandwich… unless…

Dig…dig… sha! A buried bone is recovered!