Like, Literarily! - Issue 2

Issue 2 / January 2016

Like,

Literarily!

CNG

Issue 2 / December 2015

Like,

Literarily!

The Bilingual, Student-run Literary Journal of CNG

Like, Literarily!

Managing Editor:

Lorenzo Castellanos

Poetry Editors:

Zohar Ziff Mikaela Basso

Fiction Editors:

Sergio Lozano Sarah Kim Isabella Izquierdo

Marketing Coordinator: Marketing Assistant:

Luciana Cataldo Beatriz Acevedo

Cover Art:

Maria José Gonzalez - Graphic Design

Graphic Art:

Juanita Ferrer Martin Galán Maria José Archila

Faculty Advisors: Alice Pettway Ernesto Carriazo Zamira Paez Cure Alma Guzman

Design and Layout: Zamira Paez Cure Special thanks to:

The CNG Publications Department To Principal Shaysann Kaun

Printed in: Bogotá, Colombia 2015

By Panamericana Formas e Impresos S.A.

Table of Contents Poetry Full Circle by Sofía Cortés ……………...……………….........……...….....

7

Drizzle by Zohar Ziff ………………...…………….....................................

8

Llovizna by Zohar Ziff (Translated by Zohar Ziff and Sergio Lozano) .............

9 Untitled by Jack Andrew Lieberson ………………………...…………….. 10 The Thief of the Night by Andrés Sanclemente ……………................... 11 Untitled by Jack Andrew Lieberson ……...........………........................... 12 Fiction The Janitor by Carlos Leon…………………............................................ 14 El Conserje by Carlos Leon (Translated by Zohar Ziff and Sergio Lorenzo) ... 15

Snow White (the Accurate Version) by Ivana Hakim ............................... 16 A Clear View by Felipe Echeverri……..…………................................ 20 The Night Shift by Tomás Valencia ……………………….......................

27 The Unanswered Question by Josefina Londoño ………........................ 33 The Dark Days in the Life of Eddie Johnson by Felipe Medina ………... 39

WINNERS | 2014-2015 CONTEST

Congratulations to the winners in the following categories: Poetry First Place: “Oh, How They Seduce Macbeth Inside the Bramble Tomb” by Zohar Ziff Second Place: “Lost in a Mindless Voyage” by Camila Silva Third Place: “Tides of Truth” by Adelaida López Fiction First Place: “Altus” by Mateo C. Hunt Second Place: “Just Like Humans” by Gabriela Franco Third Place: “Un Soldado Caído” by Juliana Montana Art First Place: Gabriela Franco

Oh, How They Seduce Macbeth Inside the Bramble Tomb

Zoe Ziff

The murder of Duncan, the shrunken king, Is prophesized to be by the hand of Macbeth.

The usurper’s rivals scorned, Macbeth’s mind, controlled by demons, is destroyed.

Ambition flourishes from inside his soul.

Mercilessness takes power as witches draw savagery from within.

All sentiment gone, Macbeth is numb.

POETRY

Poesía

Cue river of blood.

Lost in a Mindless Voyage

Camila Silva

Can we be truly lonely in the world?

Is it possible there is nothing more than just a tiny pale white dot unfurled

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7

Full Circle

Adelaida López For me it began a bright summer’s day, A clueless little creature introduced Witnessing the world, yet nothing to say.

Taking it all in, intrigue was produced.

Then comes the time to take a little step, A step towards future independence.

A time for mistakes, a time for missteps, An adult is in the fast ascendance.

Too often we’re told to do what we love, To be honest, and work hard in your life.

To live in peace, harmony, like a dove, And be good to your husband, kids, and wife.

In a blink of an eye it is all gone.

Too soon it becomes your turn to move on.

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Drizzle

Zohar Ziff Rain on the window Reminds me of tears rolling From our souls to the ends of our bodies.

How much heartbreak Did the raindrop experience In its temporary existence?

When water on the glass, Runs two separate paths– When it drip, drip, drips, Only to pool underfoot– Does it hurt?

Can you feel the lives of all the little raindrops On your mortal skin?

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Llovizna

Zohar Ziff (Translated by Zohar Ziff and Sergio Lozano) Llovizna en la ventana me recuerda las lágrimas deslizándose desde nuestras almas a nuestras extremidades. ¿Cuántas veces conoció, esa gota de lluvia, un corazón roto?

Cuando el agua sobre el vidrio corre por caminos distintos, cuando cae, cae, cae y se acumula bajo los pies ¿Duele? ¿Puedes sentir la vida de cada gota caída, en tu mortal piel?

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Untitled

Jack Andrew Lieberson As the sunrays tuck away, the village remains aglow The light of the moon is reflected by snow.

A smooth blanket of ice, shelters the ground Knit by a blizzard, keeping Tahoe safe and sound.

Oak trees are bare, sandpaper dry, Wood arms stretch up, and reach for the sky.

Waiting for the spring, bears hibernate deep Snugged in by snow, they dream and they sleep.

A small cabin in town is covered in white, Warmed by a fire, glaring dim light.

As I am inside I look out at the sight, Enjoying the charm of this December night.

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The Thief of the Night

Andres Sanclemente

Secretly walking up onto the porch, Cautious with every step.

Guided by the shining torch arranged in front of an old crepe.

It’s fluffy, dark, striped fur, perfectly falling into place.

Like untouched grass on a hilltop, with extreme precision and grace.

This stealthy thief is harmless at first sight.

However it transforms into something else, when day turns into night.

So if you see it walking I suggest you should beware, for it might try to deceive you, when you come across it’s stare.

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Untitled

Jack Andrew Lieberson Beyond compare, but somewhat odd Off Massachusetts exists Cape Cod When I feel down it’s my illusion, I love this place that’s my conclusion.

Yes, it can be hard to reach And you can find a closer beach, But the clam chowder and all its charms, Attracts many people with open arms.

Small towns, filled with stores Lots of shells on sandy shores.

Chatham is where you find seals, And fighting seagulls for their meals.

Listen to the waves that crash, A sound to savor and maybe stash.

If you chase a true escape You should go to the Cape.

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FICTION

Ficciรณn

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Janitor

Carlos Leon I hate my job. But I had to take it. I had no better offer than this one. I was mopping the floor, furious because of the catastrophe of a hallway, of course. The kids were always being messy, leaving trash, and spilling all over the floor. It made me frantic at times. They were so inconsiderate of us. I furiously struck the mop back in the bucket and sat for a rest. It had been a long day. Fortunately, it was almost over. Thank God. But when it all seemed perfect, the bell rang, and the kids, just like an avalanche, swarmed the hallways I had worked so hard to clean.

This is outrageous! Look at the state of the hallway! It is like I had done nothing to it for days! I am tired of this job. In fact, I am going to consider looking for another one. While I ranted away my frustration, kids began showing up out of nowhere. They were holding mops and cleaning towels. Others had buckets of water and cleaning supplies. I was confused at first. But the floor began to be cleaned … by them. The mop I was holding crackled as it hit the floor. I was in shock. They never did this. Was this a dream come true?

This can’t be a reality. Then they looked at me, scowled at me, turned around, and resumed their work. I thought they were doing this for me? Aren’t they?

Or did a teacher make them do it? I approached one of the kids and asked him why they were doing this, and it was not until that moment that I realized their faces were pale beyond normality, almost as if all of them were dead.

He replied with the voice of an old man, hinting of repugnance and of insult: “We are paying our debt from a long time ago.”

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El Conserje

Carlos Leon (Translated by Zohar Ziff and Sergio Lorenzo) Odio mi trabajo. Pero lo tuve que aceptar, pues no conseguí una oferta mejor. Estaba trapeando el piso, furioso por la catástrofe que había ocurrido en el comedor. Los niños siempre eran un desorden, lo cual a veces me sacaba de juicio. Regaban basura por todas partes y no nos tenían en cuenta. Arrojé el trapero dentro del balde y me senté a descansar. Había sido un largo día, pero afortunadamente, ya estaba por terminar, gracias a Dios. Pero cuando todo parecía mejorar, sonó la campana y los niños, como una avalancha, llenaron los pasillos que había limpiado toda la tarde. ¡Esto es el colmo! pensé mirando el estado del corredor. ¡Parece que no hubiera trabajado nada en él durante los últimos días! Estoy cansado de este empleo. De hecho, voy a considerar buscar otro. Mientras me quejaba con frustración, empezaron a aparecer niños de la nada. Unos traían traperos y toallas y otros tenían baldes de agua con utensilios de limpieza.

Al comienzo estaba confundido, pero luego empezaron a limpiar el piso; ellos. El trapero retumbó al dar contra el suelo. Estaba sorprendido. Ellos nunca hacían eso. ¿Era acaso un sueño hecho realidad? No podía ser. Luego me miraron con desprecio, se voltearon y siguieron trabajando. ¿Hacían esto por mí? ¿Los habían obligado los profesores? Me acerqué a uno de los niños y le pregunté por qué lo estaban haciendo. Fue en ese momento cuando me di cuenta de que sus caras tenían una palidez inusual, como si estuvieran muertos. Me respondió con la voz de un hombre viejo, con un tono de insulto: “Estamos pagando una deuda de hace mucho tiempo”.

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Snow White (the Accurate Version)

Ivana Hakim

So okay, I’m going to tell you the real story. First of all, I want to point out that I was completely set up to fail. My “nickname” is The Evil Queen.

Dude, like WTF? You might as well just draw a big red arrow pointing at me, which says “villain.” Oh! And I am also the stereotypical stepmother.

Hey, it’s not my fault. I found a handsome guy at the bar. We talked, we Whatsapped the next day, and he added me on Snapchat. You know, the usual stuff. And then he turned out to be a king. We fell in love, we got married, and we galloped away into the sunset. Then it was all flowers and butterflies until I found out he had a daughter. The snotty little princess with “skin as white as snow,” ugh. Who in the world names their daughter Snow White? And who said being the color of the snow was pretty? It’s like hey, you’re almost transparent, marry me. And she is not how everyone describes her. She is spoiled and mean.

Anyways, the little b*** told it all wrong. One day I was looking at my Instagram news feed and casually sitting in front of my mirror. I knew my mirror was magic. In fact, he was one of my best friends, but I never used him to ask if I was pretty. Then one of the posts said, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” and I read it out loud. Snow White happened to be spying on me. Nosy and transparent, perfect! Okay, so I read a post and my mirror answered. He got confused and thought I was talking to him.

So the little gossip went and spread the word and now I’m the crazy queen who not only talks to her mirror, but also asks if she is pretty, as if! He answered, “You are, your majesty.” I felt flattered, so then of course it became a habit; who doesn’t like to be told they are pretty? The prettiest in fact.

18

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As Snow White grew older, our mutual hatred grew. One day I asked my mirror, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” and he answered, “Snow White, Snow White is the fairest of them all.” I will admit I was pissed. This little pale, useless princess had taken my spot.

Of course I liked to be pretty, the prettiest. On top of that, she was plain weird, talking to animals and sh** and guess who had to clean up all the crap they left around the castle. Not the white delicate princess. Me. She was constantly singing the whole day. Singing to birds, singing to deer. It was exhausting for me. So after the mirror said that barbarity to me, I went ahead and checked her Instagram. She had 10k followers and that was 3k more than me. I was outraged. I told the king, and he told me to calm down, it was his daughter, and my stepdaughter so I should be happy for her. I didn’t want problems with my king so I decided to ignore it. I guess it made sense, I was getting older.

A few days later I accidentally spilled red wine all over my bedspread and if the king saw it he would kill me so I sent my “hunts man” to go buy me a new one. He wasn’t actually a huntsman, he was my husband’s nephew who wasn’t very bright, and he was kind of my personal assistant. I was in my PJs and I really didn’t want to change so I said, “Brutus, I need you to buy me a bedspread. It has to be white, snow white, and it has to have red hearts.” And then I repeated, “Snow White, hearts don’t forget! “Snow White’s heart,” he repeated.

A few hours later he showed up with a deer’s heart! I almost threw up. I didn’t understand anything. Then he said it was Snow White’s heart. I was baffled. I couldn’t believe he had killed Snow White. I decided not to say anything. My king would banish me from the kingdom.

19

That afternoon I asked my mirror, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” I thought he was going to say I was, since now that Snow White was dead there was nobody that could be as pretty as me. To my surprise he answered, “White is the fairest of them all, she lives with seven dwarves in the woods.” That meant Snow White was not dead. I was angry but I was relieved her death wasn’t on my hands. Naturally I was worried Snow White thought I was trying to kill her. I tried calling her a dozen times but no answer. Then I Whatsapped her but it was marked undelivered so I gave up. I didn’t owe her anything.

There is this entire story of how she got lost in the woods and the trees were talking to her or something. First of all, there is something called Google maps, so I don’t buy the whole “damsel in distress” act. And second, trees were talking to her? If you asked me, it seems like perfect little snowflake went partying and had a little more than water, if you know what I mean.

I can get a magic mirror, but magic trees? Give me a break.

Then she ended up living “in a little cottage with seven dwarves” and everybody pitied Snow White. Guys, come on! She was living in a house with seven men, I can promise you she was doing a lot more than cooking and cleaning.

But I was the villain. I was the one whose reputation was going down the drain. So I decided I had to go over there and make peace with her.

When I went through her Facebook page I began to notice she had gained a few pounds. So I had the perfect plan to patch things up. As you must have already heard, I have magic powers so I decided I was going to make an apple that would make her lose weight. It was the perfect way for her to forgive me. It took me days to try and make the potion but nothing was

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Like, Literarily! working, so I added laxatives and pills and created a perfect beautiful red apple. I was ready for forgiveness.

The day before I had scheduled the visit to the cottage, the prince decided to throw a party. All of our friends went and I had a little bit too much to drink. So the next morning when I woke up I was completely hung over.

Snow White came up with this ridiculousness that I made a spell and turned into an old ugly lady. OMG! Haven’t you ever had a bad hair day? When I woke up I was already late so I threw on the first thing I could find, a black cloak and grabbed my apple and went to find her. No makeup or anything.

So I got there and apparently she didn’t recognize me. So I gave her the apple and before I could tell her why I was there she took a bite out of it and fell flat on the floor.

The bi*** had an allergic reaction to one of the components. How was I supposed to know she was allergic? So I waited behind a tree for the dwarves to come back and then I left. And the seven idiots put her in a bed covered with glass instead of taking her to a doctor.

Naturally I ran away because I didn’t want to be the person who tried to kill Snow White twice.

That day I went home and asked, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” He answered, “You are, your majesty,” but I didn’t feel any satisfaction. Guilt was eating me up. So I designed a spell in which Prince Charming had to give her a kiss and then she would come back to life. It all went perfectly, true love’s kiss, happily ever after, etc… except for me, the evil queen who would forever be stuck with that reputation.

21

A Clear View

Felipe Echeverri

Daylight. Sunset. Sunrise. Daylight. Sunset. Sunrise. That is how the world sees me, an enlightening man. That is not how I am. I am just an ordinary person living in an ordinary town, minding my own business as a barista on 65th and 3rd with a depressing life and a very cheap apartment. With the one room, my apartment has it all: a bathroom, a kitchen, a bed and a mirror. We sometimes tend to wonder why everything bad that happens to us always happens to ourselves, but we never realize that the bad things in life reflect what we are: worthless pieces of matter, just occupying space in a crowded world. What you see in me is just a mere reflection: a representation of what my life isn’t. You may see a happy man, fortunate, blessed, satisfied with life.

But what I really am is another soul in this lost earth, in this ironic society.

Routine. A bus ride. A job. A lonely room. An awakening. Every day. There are no highlights in my day, just routine and routine and routine. No Friday night.

No family to visit. Just me and my apartment. The mirror. My other friend.

My reflection. My happy personality that is waiting to change the world. That scoundrel, look at him, with the smile of a little kid that was given a king sized candy. Healthy, successful man. I envy him, reflecting my past; an A+ student with tons of awards, the captain of multiple school teams and a friend of everyone. A man destined for success. But what am I? A barista with a boring life and an infinite amount of shattered dreams. How did this happen? The room is cold. My birthmark on the left side of my face makes me want to scratch it.

In this winter of 2002, I have to turn on the stove to receive heat. I press my hands against my lips, only to realize that they are freezing cold. But then I remember her. Oh, sweet her. She must be beautiful. Suddenly, I feel the 22

Like, Literarily! blood pumping through my veins, my body getting warmer, my mind dazing off into thought.

I’ve never seen her face, but she must be the most beautiful woman in the whole planet. I see her everyday, on the 7AM bus, but everytime I look at her, her hair looks back at me. Her golden hair, her silver ring in her right hand. Why does the world have beauty that only I cannot see? Every day, I miss her face. She wears a mask to her work everyday, which is in the Boston Opera House, just on the way to my work. I guess that’s how the world is; full of hidden beauty that is only seen by the eyes of the foolish. A forbidden fruit. But her hair: if you could’ve seen it! It is gorgeous! I don’t really know anything about her but I know one thing for sure. I am captivated for the day I will see her face.

I am interrupted by my alarm. It’s 5:30 in the morning, and I have to get ready for my normal job, for my routine, for her hair, and her mask. Before I start my day, push my bed against the wall, folding it and making it look as a door. I step into my shower, just to feel the freezing water fall against my face, the drops of water running through my body, and finishing on the ground, in a journey that is normal to them, just like me. I get dressed with the only pair of clothing that I have, which smells like onion and hasn’t been washed in two weeks.

Before I leave, I look at myself through the mirror. The successful representation of my life. My opposite. The envy, oh, the envy. My hand starts to tremble, but my reflection keeps smiling at me. I threaten it, but it doesn’t flinch. That’s weird. Why didn’t he move? Why is he still smiling? He still looks into my eye and smiles at me with a menacing smile.I can’t hold this in anymore. With a blowing strike, I break my mirror. My hand starts bleeding.

23

I head quickly to the kitchen faucet to clean my hand. With the shattered pieces of glass on the floor, I feel safe and walk out the door.

I wait for the bus. The chilling weather is very unsettling, but I wait, I wait to survive. And I wait to see her. Today is a good day for me. It’s my birthday.

Twenty-seven. A young adult. I feel inspired today. The sudden idea crosses my mind. I am going to talk to that women. I am going to see her face. I am going to ask her out. She must be a lonely person. The bus’ brakes indicate me that my destiny lies ahead. I get on the first seat, right next where she sits, and wait. The bus ride seems like an eternity, with the cold morning and my heart pumping at 500 miles an hour.

I am seconds away from her bus stop. The anxiety is killing me. How should I approach her? I know. I’ll make her drop something and help her. No. I know. I should ask her what the mask is for. That is good. I suddenly feel the bus speeding up. I see how we pass the bus stop where she stands every morning, with her mask on. I feel a wave of anger and sadness. Why does this always happens to me? Why does my reflection tell everybody around be that it is fine and that life goes on? Now, as always, I’m alone, in this complete solitude, without a reflection to use, with no time left to turn the tables. In my failure, I adjust my position in the bus and fall asleep. *** “Can I please have a White Russian?”

Working on my birthday is the worst. My boss gave me a 30 dollar coupon for Walgreens to waste on anything (I guess I’m spending it on movies and liquor), and a kitchen knife. All of the people that I have watched have come 24

Like, Literarily! with someone, sometimes pretty, but I know that I shouldn’t establish any relationships with anyone since I’m that kind of person.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Oh I’m sorry” I didn’t realize I had dazed off into thought. I started pouring vodka into the mixer, and applied the coffee liqueur. My hand started aching. The White Russian stranger asked me if I could turn up the volume in the television set behind me. The channel playing is Cinemax. The movie is American Beauty, a wonderful film. A masterpiece. One of my favorite movies. I had watched it with my parents three years ago, during Christmas, on a pirated DVD. It was about to end, but I kept watching.

“Sir, do you mind?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just not having a good day.”

I finished preparing the White Russian by adding some cream into it, and served it to the stranger. He then asked me, “A woman?”

“Yes,” I replied “Women are the dominators of men, without a doubt. Let me tell you something. I once had a woman in my life, and she softened me. My advice for you to get up and go back home, focus on something else. It will make you feel better.”

The movie finished. I changed the channel to the local news. “We are sad 25

to inform you that tonight a singer from the Boston Opera House has been murdered, and the assassin is unknown. She was last seen yesterday during rehearsal and the authorities … ” I turned off the TV. Could this be her? It’s too late to know; I’ll never know. *** I arrived at my home, depressed because of my failed opportunity. I threw the knife on the floor, close to the bathroom and took off my shoes, but put them back on, just because I realized that I had broken my mirror earlier. I gave a short glance at my shattered mirror, and looked down to tie my shoes. But I stopped and slowly raised my head to look at the mirror. I gave it a much longer look. It was fixed. No glass shattered in the ground, just my mirror, which looked brand new. My heart started pumping, but this time, my body got cold. Cold as ice, cold as the depth of the ocean. I started to walk towards it while my body shook with fear and cold, repeatedly and constantly. I was frightened. As I came closer to the mirror I realized there something else that was weird. As I stared into my mirror, I couldn’t see my reflection.

I could only see the reflection of my bathroom and my kitchen, but my reflection was absent. Where could it be? I suddenly heard my toilet flushing.

Someone is in the house. This is impossible, since I am the only one that has keys to the door. Now my heart was out of control, and I felt a chill down my spine. I started to smell death, and I knew how it smelled because I couldn’t recognize the smell with any other thing I had ever smelled. And this wasn’t a pleasant smell. The door opened.

I had never heard my bathroom door creak, but this creak lasted for a century. As the door opened carefully, I saw who was inside my house. It was 26

Like, Literarily! me. I was smiling. I was happy, but my body was completely inverted. My birthmark was in the right side of my face. What was this? Could it be? No. That would be impossible, like a fairy tale. I suddenly realized something.

He was on the other side of the world, where he doesn’t belong. How people see me. A successful man. An enlightening one.

But apparently he wasn’t alone. I saw a women emerge from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a mask, a t-shirt of Megadeth, and some jeans. A dead woman. A forbidden woman. The woman on the bus. Her hands started to head toward her face, and as she took her mask I was blinded. She was the most beautiful women I had ever seen in my entire life. Her face was perfect, her eyes were brown, her hair gold as a champagne, her lips soft, warm, her ears small. She was anything a man would have asked for. Her silver ring was on the left side, and she smiled. Her pearly whites staring at me, shining like diamonds.

But I was too distracted to see what happened next. I felt a strong object pierce through my heart, and I realized that my reflection was the one holding it. The ultimate betrayal. Why would he do this? The blood splashed out of my heart and all over my body, like an oil spill in the depths of the waters, like a supernova in outer space.

I could feel as my body got warmer, and warmer. Not just because of the blood, but also because of her. Her glimpse was unforgettable, like a worn out video recording that you have on the bottom of a dusty box in your attic. The same recording you have seen thousands of times, but this one was different. This recording seemed to be burning. It burned everlastingly, without stopping, until it got completely burned. I couldn’t see anymore, I lost my consciousness, and in the depths of my life, drowned in the fire of the burning memory.

27

Music. I could hear it. Adagio for Strings. I couldn’t see anymore, but I sensed a tear jerk out of my face, subsiding the fire of my drowning death, and finishing its journey in the bottom, just like me. Oh, the sweet music, the dramatic strings vibrating in my head. The perfect song for the perfect occasion. Bashemath, meaning perfumed, confusion of death, in desolation. That was her name. I must have known it from the beginning. Just when I was about to grab the fruit, the serpent killed me.

“Happy Birthday,” he said. With that he passionately kissed Bashemath, and I know this because she let out a sweet giggle. Then I heard how they stomped out of my life through the door. Because that is how life has to be.

We have to live in a world where everyone just sees your mere reflection. I wasn’t mad, nor sad, but happy. My last thought was her. Daylight. Sunset.

Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. I was free of life. Goodnight.

“I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me ... but it’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry... you will someday. “ -American Beauty, 1999

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The Unanswered Question

Josefina Londoño

“Do you, Emily Knight, plead guilty of abusively stalking and killing Sarah Black?” the judged asked.

Although I knew the question was about to come, it took me by surprise.

As every person in the room turned at me, my world fell apart. I could feel everyone staring at me, as if they all knew the answer. But no one did, not even myself.

Was I guilty? Had I really “abusively” stalked or even killed Sarah? My mind went blank. I sat there, completely vulnerable. I could hear my heart pumping each time faster, my hands began to sweat and I felt the coldness of the room. I looked for support, but could only find judgy faces which drove me to doubt myself even more.

“NO”. One single word. One single thing I had to say to gain at least the benefit of the doubt from the judge, but I couldn’t do it. Well, ever since I was a child, I was taught not to lie.

“Em?” my mom asked, her voice snapped me back to reality.

I could hear her voice trembling, her eyes looked watery and she seemed disappointed. I’ve lost her too, I thought. But just right there, right in the moment when I was about to confirm the assumptions, the judged said “Let’s take it back to the beginning” and I felt I could breath again.

The beginning he said, but I couldn’t even understand what was happening.

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“When did you meet Sarah Black?” the judged asked, using his deep and intimidating voice once again. As he talked, I felt the weight of each word drag me down, but I had to answer. “I met her at school” I responded, but I wasn’t speaking the entire truth.

Yes, we went to school together but I actually met Sarah at a party. I had a fight with Kyle that day, and we hadn’t talked after. Normally, he would come over and try to make things right, but not this time, so I knew there was something wrong. I supposed he was still at the party, so I went looking for him.

When I arrived, people laughed at me. I was lost, until my best friend took me to a room in which I saw my worst nightmare: Kyle was cheating on me with her. Ever since that night, Sarah became a part of my life, but I couldn’t tell that. It would only increase the suspicions, so I waited for the next question.

The judge’s voice sounded again, and he asked “What was your relationship with her?

“I didn’t have one” I responded as every image of her perfection flashed through my mind. “She just was someone who I admired” I added, wishing I could have been at least her friend.

Her face popped into my mind. The shivers began to control my body and I froze. As soon as I thought of her, my memories became my reality and suddenly every single moment we shared together began to unwind inside of my head. I couldn’t help but smile, just like I did every time I saw her. Her presence became real, and I spaced out.

Ironic, isn’t it? how can I possibly talk about the perfection of the person who ruined my life. I had it all, Kyle completed my life and made me feel myself. But then I lost it, just because of her. Only, unlike any other teenage 30

Like, Literarily! girl, my cheating experience changed me for good. As I saw him leave that night with her, I understood it was no one’s fault but mine and I hated myself for it. How couldn’t I have seen it before? I had never been enough for him, he deserved way better that what I could give him. In other words, he was such the perfect man that he deserved nothing less than her.

After that night, I was empty, Kyle left a hole inside of me and I spent my days trying to understand what made Sarah everything I would never be.

That one simple though ruled my mind, until it drove me crazy. I needed the answer, so my search began. Was it the way she talked, or the classes she took, or the way she dressed? Well, I guess we are all about to find out.

I remember how my emptiness began to fill again as I got closer to my answer, it became my way out. Sarah’s room became my comfort zone, and her smell my only support. I could feel it, I could feel her. Standing behind her at the cafeteria line capturing her perfume, knowing what she would order and the watching her eat in such a delicate way. Following her to her classes so I could get a hint of her company, and enjoying the melody of her voice in every single one of her spoken words. She, Sarah black, got me back up. It wasn’t about what I hadn’t, it was all about her.

She became my life, and still is.

It was right there, in the middle of her closet, where I felt happiness for the first time. It was that moment, that made my existence worth something. I could have never been better, it was my paradise. The time had arrived, and after following her for months I knew that wasn’t enough for me. Being her shade wasn’t working anymore, I had to be her. And there I was, surrounded by all her clothes, I could picture her wearing all of them and I wanted to picture myself as well. Her scent overpowered my head, I was staring at the 31

mirror and seeing in myself everything I always wanted to be. That was me, experiencing what it was like to be perfect. For one second, all of my flaws were gone and I smiled.

“Did you ever see her outside of school?” the judged asked. My whole body trembled, I opened my eyes and the disturbingly white light hurt my eyes. I fell back to real life, and this time it hurt as it had never hurt before.

I was back in this big and clean room, the smell of Sarah had disappeared and her conforming memories were now angry faces, all staring at me. That wasn’t my reality, but I couldn’t find my way out. I was alone once again, my flaws were back on me and it felt as if the pressure from the surrounding dragged to an unknown hell, a hell in which I would feel the emptiness all over again.

“Do you need me to repeat the question?” he added, using a new and harder tone this time. His voice creeped me out, it made me weak.

“Yes” I answered. I felt the few people in the room whispering. My mom was now crying, and I could see her losing hope as every second passed by.

“When was the last time you saw her?” his tone was normal again, but still had power over me.

“The night that she died” I replied. The words came out of me, surprisingly that was the only question to which I had a real answer. Bad move. The suspicions in the room became each time more real, and as the time passed by even I believed I was guilty. How could I know it was that night?

“When?” he answered immediately, without even trying to hide his curiosity.

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My mind went blank. No. I didn’t remember anything from that night. I felt a pain in the middle of my chest, my hands were sweating and a feeling of regret overcame my entire body. But, what was I regretting? Was my body trying to tell me something?

I went back to my paradise.

I was wearing her clothes, smelling her inside of me and picturing what it was to be happy. I was in her closet when my perfect fantasy took an unexpected loop. I heard some noises, and I could feel myself freezing.

It couldn’t be possible. Sarah had soccer practice, I just knew that for a fact. She wasn’t sick and there wasn’t a reasonable excuse why she would interrupt me. As I heard every footstep sound closer to me, my heart beat raised. I felt my body lay back into the court chair as if I was looking for support while I pictured myself standing in front of the door. That was MY perfect place not anybody elses, how could someone ruin it? The door opened and there she was, confused and disgusted by my presence.

Her face, the only thing I could remember. I saw everything white but her expression screaming how sad she felt for me. I heard a rumor. I could see her lips talking but my head couldn’t understand what she was saying. The only thing I could understand is how I felt.

My hands shrinked out of anger grabbing the court chair, I felt my mom asking me if I was okay as her voice broke the smashing silence ruling the room, and I could feel tears drop from my face. There it was again, the emptiness eating me up alive. I felt my whole body burning and suddenly it all stopped. I couldn’t see or hear a thing. I was literally empty.

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As I heard an unknown but desperate scream torturing my mind, my lips confessed what I couldn’t understand.

“As she died.. “ I said.

“According to the evidence, I declare Emily Knight guilty.” The judge responded, without even doubting for a second.

Surprisingly, I felt relieved. Thanks to him, all the unanswered questions had been solved and I had no choice but to believe his words. At this point, anyone knew better than me.

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The Night Shift

Tomás Valencia

I already had everything packed and ready in my car. As I was heading downstairs, the old steps would make a cracking sound that I always thought to be a warning that the whole house was about to fall down to its foundations. I could hear in the distance the soft sound of the TV in the kitchen with the voice of Oprah Winfrey. My wife Laura was probably eating the whole box of cereal as she saw how someone’s life changed completely on national TV or how some inspiring person was aiming to change the world by recycling. Oh god. What a sorry life she has.

I reached the end of the stairs and the moment that I stepped on that ugly purple carpet that my mother in law had chosen, I stepped on some dog turd. I hate you, you little rat. That stupid little Chihuahua that Laura had picked up from the streets was one of the many reasons why I was leaving alone for this camping trip.

While I was walking through the hallway on my way to the kitchen to say goodbye to my wife I saw a picture of my wedding day hanging crooked on the wall. Realizing the big mistake I had made that day, I turned around, cursed at the picture for some time and decided that I didn’t want to say goodbye to Laura, let alone give her a kiss.

Driving through the busy streets of Nazret, yes, that’s actually a place in Ethiopia. And yes, I actually live in Ethiopia. I could feel the pollution of the streets going right through my nose and straight into my lungs, depriving me of five to ten years of future life. I still had about four hours of car ride 35

until I reached the campsite, but they would not feel that long since I had the completed Taylor Swift album downloaded to my iPod. Oh God, I love her songs: “Cause I´ve got a blank space baby, and I´ll write your name.”

About two hours into my road trip, I heard sort of a helicopter sound coming right from behind me. I got scared and slowed a little bit so that I could get a better idea of what was happening. A few second later this beautiful red Maserati passed right beside me at what I would guess was some 180 kilometers per hour. But if that wasn’t enough, there was this really hot 20-something-year-old blonde chick sitting in the passenger seat holding the guys hand. What a douche. Wait. He wasn’t a douche, he was actually the guy that I had always wanted to be. Does that make me the douche?

Doesn’t matter, let’s continue.

I finally reached the campsite. It was right besides a beautiful lake with a clear blue sky. I didn’t even know they existed in my country, what a surprise. I got of the car and instead of stepping on a dog turd I was standing on a gorgeous green grass that smelled like heaven. I am not even kidding, the birds were chirping, the fish were swimming out in the lake. What a beautiful weekend this was going to be. As I was starting to unpack my stuff from my minivan, I saw another car heading this way. Oh no I thought. A group of people was coming to ruin my perfect getaway. As they started to get closer and closer, I saw what I have to say is my worst nightmare: a family with three small kids. I simply cannot do this, not this weekend.

This being this and that being that, I decided that I would move my camping trip a little more towards the inside of the woods. I’ll probably have a lot more peace once I go farther inside. As I started to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, the habitat started to change, and not necessarily in a good way. The 36

Like, Literarily! sun started to have more trouble getting through the thick layers of trees and plants, rotten leaves started to replace that beautiful green grass from before, and a sort of humid aroma started to penetrate my nose. This was not that nice.

I found a flat space next to a pond full of dried up sticks and logs, this could be a lot worse than it actually is. I got out my tent and started to join the base with the plastic sticks that would make it stand up and protect me from the rain and any predators. After setting all of my stuff out, I encountered something that I would never have imagined; it was a baby deer that was actually lost from the rest of his family. I started following him and taking some pictures to brag about later. As I happily chased him through the woods, I was leaving my campsite behind, forgetting that I had to leave some kind of trail so that I could later find it again. Yes, just like Hansel and Gretel left candy to find their way back home.

After some time running after the deer, I realized that I was really far away from my camp, I turned around to see if it was behind me; the deer jumped a bush and was lost into the deep wilderness. I had just lost the only two things that I had in these godforsaken woods. I have no idea what I am going to do now to get back to safety. Like an act of magic, as soon as I finished saying those words in my mind, the night came in rushing in the woods leaving me only with an Energizer “battery saver” flashlight that I had bought the day before in a gas station.

Every kind of thought that you can imagine came to my mind at that moment.

Oh god. Will I ever see my wife again? I know I’ve hated kids but now I will never have the opportunity to even try to have one. What about my work life, I have always wanted to have a successful career but now I won’t be able to do it if I’m dead. FOCUS! You have to focus, Frahim. I knew that by panicking I would only make it worse but at that moment it seemed like my only viable option.

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I decided that I would try to make a shelter with my 450-dollar Swiss Army pocket knife and spend the night at that spot since if I tried to locate my old campsite during the night I would probably only make it worse by getting farther away from it. After I did what I thought was some kind of roof out of leaves and branches that I managed to cut and rip out of nearby trees, I sat on the floor and cried my eyes out while I ate two chocolate chip granola bars that I had saved in my pocket for when I supposedly was “enjoying� my camping trip. I suddenly woke up in broad daylight without knowing what time it was. Judging by my really scratchy eyes, I realized that I had actually fallen asleep crying. Ahhh! I hate this fu**ing forest and all the shi**y animals that live here. Now I how James Franco felt while trapped between two rocks in 127 hours.

I started to brainstorm all the different things that I could do to either get out of this forest or to find someone to help me. The first thing, and the one with the best chances of working, was to build a fire and hopefully, with the smoke someone would come out here to see what was happening. But wait a minute, I had absolutely no idea on how to build a fire.

Okay now to plan B. Wait! Why does it seem that plan B is always the sucky plan? Plan B consisted of just walking in some direction until I encountered another human being that could save me. That option seemed a little more realizable than the one before. Or I could also just stay put where I was and scream as hard as I could until eventually somebody would hear me. Not so good of an option.

I decided to walk in the opposite direction hoping that I would find my previous campsite or that family with the small kids, which at this time, seemed like angels to me. After I walked for some time I reached a five-foot-high cliff that went on for hundreds of miles. My only option this time was to 38

Like, Literarily! jump, since I had no intentions on walking back to where I started. I filled myself with courage and made the jump that would take me to safety. But that’s exactly the opposite of what happened. Because of my weight, as soon as I jumped, I started rotating and instead of landing in my feet like a cat, I landed with all my weight on my right arm. Thank you very much, God. I was not already screwed enough so you had to injure me to make me realize in how much trouble I was? Great, now I understand why Judas didn’t want to be your friend.

After walking for what seemed like weeks to me, obviously without any food or water, and with my arm completely broken and shattered, I decided that I had earned a break. Sitting down, I realized that every time I took a step my belt would press into my belly and it made me uncomfortable. So I took it off and put it right next to me. As I was staring into the ceiling of plants and trees I noticed a bat that was hanging from one of the branches of the tree nearest to me. Wait a second. That’s it! I have my plan to get out of this misery.

And actually, yes, I did have a plan that would get me out of this horrible forest. It was an option that would actually get me out of everything in life but at that moment it seemed like the best one for me. Let me explain myself, seeing the bat hanging from the tree as he got away of his troubles by sleeping, and having a very useful belt right beside me, I realized that the only way out of here was to take my life. Using my belt I could hang myself from the tree and end this misery. This could actually work, I’ve seen it hundreds of times in movies and TV shows. I started to climb the nearest tree; I am not completely sure how I did this with only one arm, but that seemed like a perfectly good option for what I was about to do. When I reached the branch that I had seen from down below, I started to cry again and to think about my wife and my ugly old house and my very miserable life. I was 39

about to end all of that and start heading towards a better place where all of my dreams would come true. With an improvised knot I managed to tie the belt to the branch and with a great amount of concentration and equilibrium I passed it through my neck. Right before jumping I saw the baby deer that I was chasing before come out of a cave in the cliff followed by what seemed as his mother.

There is no way in hell that I am jumping and taking away my life. I quickly took away the belt from the tree and put it back on my pants. I was going to survive this forest, and when this happened I was going to radically change my life. I climbed down the tree and ended up hurting my arm more, but I started walking at a faster pace than before and with a huge smile on my face. I found a mango tree at the middle of the forest and was able to survive a couple of days on that. After a huge amount of time of just walking, and a great volume of beard on my face, I saw the thing I would never ever have thought would make me as happy as it did. I saw the campsite in which I had started, and right there besides the lake were the three small kids that I had insulted so much before.

I humbly went up to them and started to tell them my story and they obviously could not believe it, so I spent the next few hours eating with them and trying to convince them that my story was actually true. That family helped me contact my wife, and after that day our marriage has gone off the charts when talking about happiness. I currently have four kids, Oh yes how ironic and clichĂŠ it is, and live a very happy and healthy life that I adopted since my little “accident.â€?

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The Dark Days in the Life of Eddie Johnson

Felipe Medina

“Pants, where did I leave my good damn pants”. It had already been a rough morning for Eddie, his alarm had gone off late, and his whole routine had gone to hell. Finally he found his pants under the bed. He rushed to grab them and to put them on as fast as he could. Sprinting down the stairs on his way to breakfast with his shoes untied, his hair all messed up, this was the typical image of Eddie Johnson. But let’s stop here for a minute so we get to know our guy, born and raised in Pasadena, Eddie lives the normal life of an average american, he is an only son, his father is an attorney and his mother does not work, he attends school and like baseball, pretty basic stuff.

But despite having all that someone would ever need, Eddie’s life isn’t the best one a kid could have. Since he was little, social skills have always been a problem, he never really manage for people to like him, boys bullied him from time to time and girls would not look at him. But that’s enough, back to the present issue, when Eddie finally arrived at the breakfast table, his mom gave him a kiss in the forehead and served his favorite breakfast. Besides from the rushes and the fact that he was getting late to school again, it was a pretty morning, the sun was going in through the windows, you could hear the sprinklers on the front yard, all of that mixed with the smells in the kitchen made it almost the perfect place to be. Unfortunately Eddie could not stay in that paradise, he grabbed his bag, tied his shoes and came out to confront another day in school, though he would describe it as another day in hell.

When he got to school the principal was waiting on him on the entrance, after all being late to school more than 10 times a month has consequences.

They started walking toward the office; 41

“So, how are you doing Eddie? how are things at home?”

“They’re good miss, sorry for being late today, my alarm didn’t go off and I woke up really late!”

“Yeah, we’ll get to that once we arrive at the office, although I must tell you that is not a valid excuse, under no circumstance students should arrive late to school; it’s the one thing you have to do.

Just as they were arriving at the office they ran into Mr Danton, Eddie’s physics teacher. He was very surprised to see Eddie get into trouble, since he was the number 1 student in his class.

“Principal Spacey what’s wrong with Eddie” “He’s been late to school for the third time this week!”

“Im sure he has a good reason for being late, he is a straight A student” “I know but that does not change the fact that he doesn’t come to school when he’s supposed to.”

“Please let me talk to him, he’s a good kid, I’m sure I can make him realize how big of an issue this is. And I promise he won’t do it again.”

Mr Danton grabbed Eddie by the arm and told him to come with him. It was a long walk from where they were to Mr Daton’s classroom. But that time served well to talk about the trouble he had got himself in.

“What’s going on Eddie?, we both know each other back enough, I know you are a good kid.”

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“I’m sorry to disappoint you Mr, I’ve just haven’t been myself these last couple of days” “Listen to me young man, we’ve all had those moments in which life treats us hard and you don’t seem to find the light out of it, but you’ve got to suck it in and continue going, a bright future is in front of you and I don’t want you to mess up in a stupid way such as this.”

“Okay Mr I understand what you are telling me, you’re right, I’ve got to take responsibility.”

“I promise it won’t happen again.”

In that moment they walked into Mr Dantons classroom.

“That’s my boy, now just sit with me for the rest of the period and then you may go to break” “Sure, thanks a lot!”

Out of nowhere and without Eddie expecting it, Claire entered the room, her hair shined like the sunlight in a clear morning, and her eyes were as blue as the ocean, the words escaped from his mouth to the point that when she said hello, he couldn’t even answer her with a simple “hi”.

After listening her talk to Mr Danton he finally got some nerve and asked her, “Claire you want to, um, have um, lu lunch with me today?”.

“Sure, I would love to” she answered, “I’ll be in language class right before lunch, pick me up there please”,

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“sure i’ll be there” said Eddie.

After she left Eddie and Mr danton started to grade the tests, it had been a while sitting there doing the same thing so Danton told Eddie to take a break.

Eddie stood up and told him that he was going to go to the bathroom.

Just as he was heading back to the class, it all began, he heard a loud sound that shook him, the teachers in each class peaked out to see what was going on. People began to scream and all the rooms got locked up, a couple of more shots were fired, his feet shook as he began to think what could be done, Danton’s class was too far and once a door is locked no one would open it fearing that it might be the shooter. He sprinted back into the bathroom and hid in the cleaning closet.

The school speakers began to sound an alarm and he could hear the principal speaking “Everyone remain calm, this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill.

Everyone stay in their rooms, lock the doors, the authorities are on their way.”

People seemed to calm down a bit with the announcement until they heard the principal scream, the whole school heard this and then shots were fired again, all went silent in that point, no one was on the speaker, it was clear, the principal had died.

Mayhem began, some students made a run for it and exited the room; others were so terrified that couldn’t even move. You could hear how one by one the ones who tried to run away were shot down. Eddie had always been a calm kid, he didn’t overreact to things and never take impulsive decisions, therefore he was as quiet as a mouse in that closet, thinking what the play was to get out of there alive. Police sirens were heard for the first time through the halls.

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Immediately Eddie jumped up in sweat and said “Claire”, the reason why this sudden thought came to his mind was because Claire’s dad was a police officer. He wasn’t so calm then, different thoughts started to bomb his mind; “Should I save her?”, “Is she still alive?”, “Maybe she made it out on time”. After giving it a lot of thought, Eddie decided that he just couldn’t live without her, she was the only friend that he had, the only girl that ever talked to him and the one that backed him up throughout his miserable life. “I’ve got to tell her that I love her”. So he took a deep breathe and came out of the closet. For the last 30 minutes all that anyone heard were gunshots, when Eddie came out, his blood went cold and he felt like he was going to faint, blood, tears and known faces was all there was to see, bodies lying dead on the floor.

He noticed a fire-emergency kit in the hall that had not been touched, he opened it and inside he found an axe.

People were still screaming in the distance, footsteps of the few left, running through the halls seeking a place to hide. Eddie had an epiphany, all those years of being undermined by the tough kids and bullied both in school and in the streets demanded a moment of bravery, a moment in which he could return the love and kindness that Claire gave him through years. He grabbed his weapon, breathed deeply and started to walk.

On his way he found the body of a man that he had never seen before, he was wearing a black outfit with a rifle in his hand, i guess it didn’t take a genius to figure out that that was the man shooting at the students. The next thing Eddie noticed was that the man had been shot in the neck, probably by the police. There was a huge relief in his mind because he thought everything was over. But then shots were fired once more, something else was 45

going on. The race was still on and Claire could still be in danger. When he was finally at the door of the chemistry room he entered quietly because he didn’t know what was inside, and there she was, the love of his life, the reason he had put his life in danger, crying and hiding behind a lab table.

He went in and hugged her as hard as he could, she then gave him a look of terror, he didn’t understand why, until he noticed that her eyes were not directly focused on him. He turned around and saw the second guy, the one that was missing behind him holding a gun in his hand. He said “its just us three left”, Claire hanged on to him as hard as she could and they both closed their eyes as the man raised his gun pointing it at them. A long BANG was heard,both of them broke down in tears and couldn’t stop shaking, They raised their sight and the shooter was lying down dead on the floor and Clare’s dad behind him with a smoking rifle in his hands.

With tears in his eyes, he told Claire what he felt for her and she answered “thank you for coming back for me”. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek and then ran to hug her father. Eddie then thought on all that had been going on during his day, he then saw that what promised to end as a dark day, got a little bit of light at the end.

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