The black of the ocean waves was the color of the sorrow in my breast, a sorrow that was never far away and always visible.
I was once a man, not a great man, not a saintly man, but a good man, and a man nonetheless.
God himself had sent me away. I was truly now among the damned.
By the second cycle of the solstice of the warm time, the One will face the enemy. And the One will unearth the Shield of the Northern Lights and smote the enemy with daring and intelligence. The heart of the One is pious and evil will cower. Couatl will rise.
And the One will win the Armor of the Easter Dawn and defeat the enemy with audacity and wisdom. The body of the One is strong and ready to lead. Lammasu will pounce.
And the One will reveal the Bow of the Southern Star and conquer the enemy with courage and fine judgment. The sight of the One is true and the enemy cannot hide. Griffon will fly.
And the One will take the Sword of the Western Sun and triumph over the enemy with boldness and insight. The arm of the One is steady and heads will roll. Snow Giants will battle.
I did not choose to be a monster – a shell of a man – half-human, half-fiend. I am a tiefling. I am what I am.
Iona stared at me for a long time. “You are going to leave me a widow before I have a chance to become a bride.
Then it kissed me – not as a man would kiss a lover, not with tenderness or even passion. This was a kiss that stole the soul of men. Revulsion at this creature’s kiss was instantly replaced by the warmth stealing through my veins, as if my missing blood were being replenished and contrived to heal me. I craved to keep kissing the beast. My entire being awakened to that kiss feeding me ecstasy, feeding me life.
If a fight looks like a lot of fun, you should be suspicious. ‘If you ain’t scared of standing up for what’s right, you ain’t standing up for much.
I didn’t come up with the lie. It wasn’t mine. They handed the lie to me, and I tried like hell to make it work for a while.
I mean, I really liked him to the point where being around him was sort of wonderful and painful all at the same time, you know?
Please your mother: just lie around upstairs and smoke some pot. Be a revolutionary.
I could feel his hand on my waist, his arms around me, feel the rise and fall of his chest next to mine as I held my breath, and wished the sun would drop out of the sky.
She kissed me on the cheek, and my mom sang Theresa’s name from the open front door. She loves Theresa. I think she loves me more when I’m with her.
I’m still not totally sure I know what’s true about me.
If we held grudges for all the idiotic things we said and did as freshman and sophomores, the hallways would be silent.
I’ve always wanted to wake up one day in a world where I liked the right people, and they lied me in return. I worry it’ll never happen.
I do like the way people behave toward me and Theresa when we’re together-everyone’s voice changes to music, and we get all sorts of smiles.