So we were all at Kaia’s house dressed up like Alice in Wonderland: I was Alice (of course), Kaia was the Cheshire Cat, Bella was the White Rabbit, and Carly was the Queen of Hearts.

We had just finished Scream, and then Kaia smirked. “Y’all know what time it is?”

"For what?" I asked.

"Oh no," Carly said. "Two weeks ago, you said that and had that smile, and we ended up in a haunted corn maze, and Lilith dislocated her ankle,” Carly said, pointing to my brace.

"It's fine," I lied, trying to keep Kaia and Carly from fighting. Kaia may be a foot and a half taller than Carly and definitely meaner, but Carly could still mess her up.

“Oh, this is a lot safer... but Bella won’t like it,” Kaia said before laughing.

Bella...

The gym smelled like hairspray and cheap perfume.

I coughed, momentarily overcome by the thick scent. I looked around: silver balloons shaped like crowns floated near the stage, and the lights hit the disco ball and sent broken pieces of color spinning across the crowd. Everyone looked perfect.

Everyone except me.

I stood behind the bleachers with a camera strap digging into my neck. I wasn't there to dance or to date—I was there to snap photos of the annual Homecoming Dance for the yearbook.

I usually didn't mind my yearbook assignments. Being the school photographer means two things: you get to see everything, and no one really sees you. I'm not even against school dances--student government actually did a great job with the...

There was no time for anyone to prepare.

In fact, it seemed like all of it happened all at once.

In a split second, one third of the world’s population was gone.

 

How could 2.6 billion people die at the same time with no obvious cause? Why and how they died was the question all the doctors left tried to answer, but they could never figure it out. As far as I’m concerned, there never has and never will be an answer. Especially now. See, doctors and scientists all needed sleep, and just like that, our medical professionals were gone within the first few days.

Only those that could hold out--like me--are able to survive in this wasteland.

Obviously, a population crisis happening in an instant completely fractured the...

Along the dark burrow of grass and snow,

Winds careen and wrap around poles of red,

And I breathe in exhaustion and apprehension ahead 

Of kingdoms born that deserve the knife.

The same exact words are repeated in time:

Nothing changes—we don’t stay the same.

We grow and spread and play the game.

I couldn’t think of a better way to live my decline

 

My love's in stone and whistle reeds

And fields unaffected by the forces that take eye 

Without mercy of our godless communion.

Take me completely, and let us survive 

In service of each other and our wants and dreams.

 

No death come before me, and no death shall I see.

Relapse of my brain, and you wring me out—

You wrench me...

Winter comes with a gentle grace,
Snowflakes dance in a quiet space.
The world turns white, and
blankets come out
as blankets come down,
as trees stand tall with snow on top of
their leafless branches.
 
Frosty mornings greet the dawn,
with cold breaths
and an icy cover all around.
People shiver
and feel numb.
 
Yet they play in the snow,
Building snowmen row by row.
The air is crisp, the nights are long,
With winter's charms inside a song.
 
Fires crackle, warm
and bright
in cozy homes while outside
the night is filled with stars,
and their fires crackle too.

 
Winter whispers through the trees,
with a chill,
but in this cold, we feel the beauty
found everywhere,
in every snowflake on the...