Coalescence Literary Magazine April 2022 Volume 4

COALESCENCE OLA HIGH SCHOOL VOLUME IV

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

CAMERON BRAATEN & KATHERINE NIX This publication has been the result of the hard work of a team of dedicated people, and we are more than proud of them, but it cannot be understated the importance of Ola’s voice in this magazine. We have had so many amazing submissions, and we are glad that so many creative voices could be included.

We know that the past few years have been hard for most, and this publication is evidence that, like a phoenix from the ashes, when we are broken down we rise back up with the ability to create something beautiful.

A special thanks to Mrs. Vincent's creative writing class and Mrs. Vincent herself, thank you for the support and hard work you all have put in over the past school year to help us create this. We sincerely hope you enjoy the works of the students who are featured in this literary magazine!

01 Idling Away 04 The Edifice at the End of the Road 09 Chocolate Pound Cake 13 Ego

COALESCENCE

VOLUME

IV 22 Solus at the World's End 28 Running With Fear 30 My Limitations 34 There's Something in the Woods

IDLING AWAY OMAR FLETCHER Moon-lite light is the greatest enemy men like me have faced and although it caused a compunction in my life with distress, I have unwillingly fallen victim to its absurdity. Not a moment of civil unrest and indecisive

Anxiously, I stepped onto the wooden flooring accompanied with a high-pitched crack rustling throughout the house.

“Danmit,” I said. For It did not matter if I wanted to be as quiet as possible anymore, but now all that is left is confrontation from my mother. Whether it was leaving the chores unscathed, or leaving the garage door open before heading out I felt the need to know why I was called. The tight athletic shoes were left at the front door as I walked from the living room to the intersection of my kitchen. I was too deep in my thoughts for I was left at the contingency of my mom punishing me.

decisions like decontaminating my sanctuary can lead me to normality; And so I Brought upon myself an uneasy feeling since – one that I cannot fathom to extinguish from myself.

It started off a normal day like no other. The marshes were a nice touch to my environment, blaring heat and running footby-foot complementary to the inscribed mud detaching from itself was overwhelming, to say the least. The scenery behind me was Archaic: The Renditious Rose field was as splendor as a Vincent Van Gogh painting; such a serene sight felt interdependent with the daunting navy-blue sky; as I jogged.

Like hanging drapes from a royal king’s bed, crowded with nothing but pigmented leaves coerced through branches of the canopy it would eventually hide me in plain sight for relief. Hands on my knees, dripping sweat, and panting from the absence of breath; I struggle to be fixed. As I stared at the ground, I received a call from my mother to head back home immediately. Too tired to refute and not a care in the world to keep going on my path, I trudged back to my car and drove from the Fertile Landscape – ripe of surroundings.

Coalescence 1

She hurried into the kitchen room alongside me and greeted me with a fixed concern on her face, quickly to a sigh of relief. She said, “Good afternoon, how was your Jog?” I was hornswoggled, I didn’t know what else to say. “It was good. My run-time was cut down to five minutes. Taking a leisurely stroll down to the local fields was much needed.” I was a bit disappointed in myself for lying because nothing in particular happened, but I wanted to have a climax in the conversation to make it valid enough. As we were talking she peered into the kitchen and fixed the drapes – blocking the sunlight from getting in, probably annoying her. I hesitantly told her, “is there anything you need from me? I was a bit worried about what I might have done or if you were in trouble. I hope all is well.” entirely, the expression became sorrowful to her and in a quick-mannered voice she managed to tell me the following, “I have some terrible news for you: Your grandma is in the hospital. I don't know what for yet. The doctors haven’t diagnosed her with whatever might be the problem, but we were just on the phone – several minutes before you came home – and she seems to be doing well.”-

Instantly, My heart raced. It felt like my

A couple of years have passed since the scare for

breaths became slightly shorter. I was all

my health and others started. I no longer live with

over the place, mentally, but not physically;

my mom, and my grandma has been doing Ok

only accompanied with slight shakes and

since. Seeing news articles of rising cases have

shivers. I did not know how else to feel.

been incredulously apparent to me, no more

I visited the hospital a few times. Going in

further than a glance of annoyance. I no longer

and out of it became my routine, but most

strive to go for runs anymore, and have learned to

importantly, keeping myself from becoming

not be so lenient on my health since. Though the

the witnessed horror I had seen there would

time passed since has made me closer to family, I

be a part of my mindset. My Grandma was

look back on this moment to highlight a transition

really doing well against Covid-19 and my

in my life.

anxiety would be eased for the most part, but on the other hand I became disgusted with my surroundings. There was never a time when my paranoia would get the best of me. In fact it would become a problem to perform daily-activities like skimming the market for freshly-cut greens and continuing my long-obsession for staying healthy.

The prices in each aisle felt as if a pattern didn’t want to suggest an enumeration to the store’s fluctuation: price gouging is a disgusting thing but I wanted to keep up with my health somehow. I have been accustomed to the itching sensation over my nose and mouth, quite enjoying the protection from others in the store. But my over-lapse in judgment towards others would be filled with hostility.The sensations of coughing, sneezing, and touching within my parameter felt sickening, only raising my anxiety through the roof. The wavering clouds above gave a dramatic effect to my reluctance as I left the store with nothing in hand, and in turn, I headed back home, sullied.

Coalescence 2

KEEPER OF THE NEST RIAN GALLAGHER Photograph

ICARUS

JAMISON CASSEUS The idea that time heals wounds cannot apply to someone as broken as I Because years later, you still manage to dredge up emotions in me that I cannot contain.

You have already forgotten the warmth of our Sun, while I am left, a smoldering pile of regrets and memories.

Where are you? I need your love to rekindle the pile of ashes this world has made of my heart.

I wish to see the world in color yet you teasingly hold the palette just out of my reach.

I hate you, I loathe you, and I despise every fabric that makes up your existence, nothing would make me happier then hold you again.

I love you, and I miss you so strongly my heart knows not how to feel, my thoughts lay jumbled every night I attempt to sleep.

The warmth I craved now drives me insane, I wonder if my wings were made of wax?

The warmth of my hands ghosting your soft skin as we recalled the day.

The warmth of the laughs and tears we shed together underneath the trees.

The warmth of the love that burned so passionately between us.

What happened to our promises of tomorrow?

To the whispers detailing our fates that were so undeniably intertwined?

REMAINING EMBERS OF MY LOVE FOR YOU RIAN GALLAGHER

Coalescence 3

Photograph

THE EDIFICE AT THE END OF THE ROAD CAMERON BRAATEN I moved in haste from the smoldering heap of scrap metal from which I was entombed.

In sleepless delirium, I tediously hoisted myself out of the window. The chauffeur must have swerved to avoid something.

But whatever it was, it was gone. There was nothing except flat, rolling hills for miles; I would have been able to see something that would have warranted this response from the driver. I stumbled slowly down the road, only lit by the waning crescent moon.

I continued my trot for minutes or centuries until I spotted a church in the distance.

I trudged up the stone stairs to the front door and without knocking, the door slowly creaked open as four long fingers wrapped around its edges. A tall lady, pale and gorgeous, stood wearing a black, white dress. She was tall with long black hair. Her mouth gaped for a few moments before I heard words come from her “Oh dear, what has happened to you!”

“I was driving and I ran out of gas,” I said bluntly “Oh my, that's dreadful! Let’s get you inside and rested.”

My legs coerced me inside, but I couldn't help but feel that I was not in control. I immediately emerged in the foyer. It was loudly decorated with sky-blue walls.

Suddenly, without inclination the tall lady scurried out of the room, and I was left alone.

Coalescence 4

When the tall lady returned, someone else who had run out of gas had ended up at the church and was now situated in the sitting room. He plopped himself down in a polka-dot recliner. The tall lady ran out again, and I began to notice how the room looked oddly familiar, like an old elementary school friend you meet at college. That's when I realized the other man was talking, but I didn't catch the first part of his sentence. “ . . .And end up in the same church” “Do you know that woman?” I asked “No, but she reminds me a lot of my wife,” he immediately produced a photo of his wife.

The picture was faded and creased in the middle in order to fit in his wallet. The woman in the picture was short with cut blonde hair.

“Yeah,” I said meekly.

The tall lady returned with another person, this time a woman who said her car had broken down on her way back from picking her son and daughter up from the daycare. But she had no kids with her. She was the same woman from the photo, short with cut blonde hair.

I ignored that for now due to extreme thirst, but before I could ask the tall lady for something to drink she was gone once again. This new blonde woman was odd, she couldn’t give a straight answer on what had happened to her. She couldn’t reproduce the incident in which she had ended up here.

Then I began to think about how I had ended up here, I was relieved that I had not fallen into the same dementia that the blonde woman had. I got a flat tire just a mile down the road.

Just then I heard a screaming child. The blonde woman suddenly dropped her.

jovial disposition for something far more sinister. She leaped from her chair and I followed after her, but the man still sat in his rocking chair reading a newspaper he had somehow found, he reminded me of my dad in his cavalierness. I tripped on a plastic dinosaur on my way out the door.

This gave the blonde woman time to get ahead of me in the dark winding hallways, and I couldn't find her. After trying many wrong rooms and hallways I found myself back in the large open room of the main church, where I saw the blonde woman standing next to the tall lady holding a baby: her baby.

The baby was swaddled in a crocheted, sky blue blanket. The blonde woman was smiling again.

“Where’s your daughter?” I questioned.

The room went quiet, and the blonde woman looked disgusted, while the tall lady looked . . . hurt? I felt terrible, I don’t normally feel that way about strangers, but there was something about her, I didn’t want her to be mad at me.

“I don't have a daughter,” she finally stated harshly. I couldn’t argue with her, I don't know why I thought she did “Oh, I’m sorry, I just thought you said daughter,” I said trying to repair the situation The tall lady at once brought us all back to the room, down the short hallway offshooting from the atrium.

The man was still sitting in the same armchair he had been in when I left; his focus still buried in the newspaper. I tried to read the headline of the story he cared so much about. The words read: “Man left in coma after car crash.”

Coalescence 5

But as I stared at the headline the words began to shift. I became entranced as the words slowly warped and twisted until they read: “Man finally pay for what he did.”

Suddenly the tall lady grabbed my shoulder and yanked my attention away.

She had a jovial demeanor, but it was hiding panic. She frantically stole the newspaper from the man, but he didn’t seem to care. I went and seated myself on an armchair with corduroy fabric, and the man casually struck up another conversation “You remind me a lot of my son” “Yeah?”

“He was always one to. . .” he trailed off “One to what?”

“I-I forgot what I was going to say” “You remind me a lot of my dad actually, though I don't remember much, he died-both my parents actually-- when I was seven” “Oh. . . I'm sorry to hear that” “Its okay, really, my grandparents took good care of me.”

“That’s good at least.”

“Did you ever remember what you were going to say?”

“My memories have failed me, but I know he was a good kid; when he was in second grade I was driving him home from school one day when all of the sudden he shouted ‘dad watch out!’ and sure enough there was a cow in the middle of the road. I swerved just in time, just about saved my life!”

I stared at him blankly. His words stood in my brain conjuring memories-- painful memories. What he described was painfully familiar to me, but each time I tried to remember I felt like I was laying on a bed of nails. My eyes darted around the room until I landed upon the blonde woman and her baby. The blonde woman stared at me with dead eyes. An extreme vertigo came over me; I wanted to vomit. Suddenly, the baby started crying at the same time.

The blonde woman didn’t react. She sat looking off blankly. A deluge of memories came washing over me-- my parents death, the newspaper headline, the blonde woman’s daughter. Do I have a sister? I don’t remember having a sister. I racked my brain for anything I had been blocking out this whole time.

Then I remembered. My mom was pregnant. In my inane ramblings in my mind, I lost all senses. I blacked out.

When I came to, the room had darkened. The calming glow of the lamp was replaced with a harsh fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling. The room no longer looked familiar with childish decorations. It was coporate looking, with one sickly house plant and beige walls.

I looked around the room for the man and blonde woman, but in their places were porcelain dolls. The baby was nowhere to be found. Just then, the tall lady calmly entered the room. She was smiling as always.

“Hello, Jackson,” she said tenderly “How do you. . .” I started, but I couldn’t find the words in my delirium “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

“Who are you?” I mustered.

“I don’t know, but you can call me Ms. Joyce.”

“That's my. . .” I started. “That’s my last name” “I know, I know.”

I felt a chill all throughout my body, as the final wave of my past came out. I recalled what the man had said. I was in second grade and we were driving back from school. But there was no cow. I was playing with a toy dinosaur when I dropped it under the seat. I started kicking and screaming about it. The last part of this memory took a lot of strength to power through. I unbuckled my seatbelt and crawled into the front seat, and in the pandemonium, we drifted into oncoming traffic at 55 miles per hour.

Coalescence 6

“I. . .” I couldn’t say anything, my mind was too full.

“It wasn’t your fault, I forgive you.”

“It was! It was my--” “Shh. . .” she cut me off. “You can leave, just let go, let go, just let go. . .” Her words lulled me into unconsciousness and I was free.

PEANUP EMINEMS CAITLYN ROBERTS 10" x 12" Pencil Drawing

"This piece is a drawing of me and one of my best friends I did before he moved. When he told me he was moving to Texas I decided I wanted to turn one of his favorite pictures of us together into art. I loved how it looked and was so excited to give it to him. I was so happy when he told me how much he loved it".

. The song starts for a second all you can hear

ENCORE

CALEB NICHOLSON

is the crowd cheering and then the instrumental starts playing. By 5 seconds Jay-z comes in and begins to rap, he’s talking about his career and by extension his retirement. [I speed up, with no one on the road it's just me, the car and Jay-Z. I feel my emotions coming to me, at this moment I was not empty I was mad. That's when I began to sing along, as

I'm not sure how to express the emotions I am feeling in this specific moment or if it is really even an emotion at all. I think it’s a feeling most people who have had depression can identify with almost a feeling of emptiness even though there is definitely something there. It's 10:30 Pm my shift is over and it's time to drive home. Leaving the heated supermarket and entering into the

loud as I could I screamed “HOVA”. Despite the agitation I felt in my throat I continued to sing thinking about how I got to the state I'm in.] Once again I thought I was only living for the people around me and that I did not care about myself. That's when it hit me I looked to the empty seat to my right and realized, I don't need someone in the passenger seat to sing along to Jay-Z.

aggressive cold weather has no effect on me.

[In fact, at this moment I almost prefer to suffer and submit myself to the wrath of nature than to be packed up alone in the heated car. I'm mad that somehow a car, a mere machine has more sense of its purpose than I do as it cranks and the heat turns on.] I must be here for something right. It's not random that I've managed to live for 17 years, there has to be a sense of self somewhere inside of me. I have to go home where else would I go anyway, the clock keeps ticking but it feels as though I can change the pace that it moves. The bluetooth of my car connects to my phone indicating I should play some music, the drive will be easier if it's not silent anyway. I chose a song to play when I reached the stop sign to leave the Walmart parking lot and a song I had not listened to for a while showed up. Encore from Jay-Z’s The Black Album, a song that is supposed to get fans in a crowd fired up and cheering for him, something I did not think I was capable of at this moment.

Coalescence 7

EMILY'S DREAM

EMILY HASSEBROKE 11" x 14" Acrylic

"This was a piece to express where I want to go. I'm unsure of where that is exactly but I know I want to be surrounded by nature's beauty."

She lets me use my imagination

DARKNESS IS SHE EMMA ALLMAN

At the late of night I close my eyes and dive into my own delusions I close my eyes and pretend to be a different person A patient person A humble person A honest person

Darkness has to be a woman

She allows me to feed my untrue thoughts

There's no way she’s anything else

of who I am

She’s clever

Pretend that I am perfect

She’s confident

Pretend I have no flaws

She’s courageous

Pretend I have nothing to fix

Darkness has to be a woman

When I open my eyes I’m met with her’s

She knows me best

She lets me use my imagination

Better than my mother and father Better than my mirror

She scares me sometimes

Better than my own mind

When I open my eyes I see them

In the night I can tell her all my stories

Monsters moving across my mattress

All my problems

Figures falling onto my floor

All my thoughts

Creatures crawling on my ceiling

All my fears

Darkness lets my mind run wild

I can show her everything

Cutting loose all the restraints

And she swallows it

Opening the floodgates of my mind

Never letting it touch another’s ear

I can’t see what’s actually there

She knows me best

So my mind takes off like a rocket Showing me what it could be

In her presence I can be myself

She scares me sometimes

I can dance without caring where my limbs go

Darkness is She

I can cry without the stare of judgmental

She’s the feeling after you find your lost

eyes

items

I can smile with my teeth

She’s the feeling of your favorite food

I can sing with my cracked voice

touching your tongue

In her presence I can be the true me

She’s the comfort of a mother

The impatient me

She’s the strength of a father

The greedy me

Darkness is She

The dishonest me In her presence I can be myself

Coalescence 8

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE MADISON DAVIS Christmas was just around the corner, the Christmas tree had been decorated in red, gold, and white, along with the rest of the house. We have always held Christmas dinner the Saturday before Christmas. This time, it was at our house and I ended up being in charge of desserts, as always. I have never had the best luck making something for the whole family in a set time, so I wanted to make something super easy. My original plan was to make brownies and Christmas cookies.

“I have something new I want you to make this year for Christmas,” My aunt told me. “It may be a little bit of a challenge for you.” She always ends up changing something last minute, and usually, it doesn't go well.

“I already figured out what I wanted to make.” I said hoping she’d let me stick with what I had planned.

Coalescence 9

“It's Francis's recipe for a pound cake. She taught me how to make it when I was younger, but it's a very tedious cake to make.” Francis was her stepmother, and all I’ve heard about her was that she was a great cook. She kept on talking about how good this cake is, and how everyone always loved hers, so I decided to try to bake it.

My aunt got my grandmother to send her the recipe, and she wrote it down on a small slip of paper.

Once she handed me the recipe, I got all the ingredients together, along with the measuring utensils and bowls I needed.

She was very specific about the way I mixed everything together. I had to use the electric mixer thing that has a big silver bowl attached to it. I grabbed the mixer out of the cabinet The first thing I had to do was mix together the butter, crisco, and sugar. As she was standing over my shoulder the whole time, making sure I was doing everything to her liking, She snapped her fingers at me.

“Turn off the mixer, Madison.” I turned it off, confused.

“Did I do something wrong?” She stares at me like I'm crazy and throws her hands out gesturing to the mixer.

“You had the speed up way too high, that puts too much air in the mix. Slower.” She demanded. I never thought something that small could make that big of a difference, but I listened, and turned the mixer down.

The first step was done, I was left with a pale, yellow, and grainy mixture. She told me that the next step was crucial. I had to crack one egg in the bowl at a time until it was completely mixed, before adding the next egg. I was careful about the speed this time and did each egg.

“After you’re done with one egg, stop the mixer, bring the bowl down, and hand mix very lightly to get the bottom of the bowl. The mixer doesn't reach all the way to the bottom.”

I used the rubber spatula, and brought the bottom of the mixture to the top so it can get mixed in. After doing all of the eggs, I had to let that mixture sit undisturbed while I did the dry ingredients.

I got the large mixing bowl out of the cabinet, along with a slightly smaller one. The big one was to mix the crisco, butter, and sugar, and the smaller one was to sift the dry ingredients.

While I was sifting the dry ingredients, I learned to measure them out and whisk them together before sifting them, to get them fully combined.

Coalescence 10

My aunt left the kitchen to finish getting the house in order before people came over, so I tried to finish the cake alone. After I sifted through the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, I measured out the milk and vanilla and mixed them together.

She told me to add the milk and dry ingredients slowly, alternating each. I added a little of each at a time and after everything was finally mixed together, I let that sit for five minutes while I coat the pound cake pan with crisp. I carefully filled the pan and cleaned up the sides and stuck it in the oven. I had to let the cake cook for an hour and a half.

“Make sure you set the timer. It can’t be a minute over, or a minute under.” So I set the timer and waited. While I waited, I cleaned and washed everything that was out. Finally after what felt like hours, the timer went off. So I took out the cake and set it on the cooling rack so we could take it out later.

“If you did it perfectly, there would be a ring around the bottom of the cake where the sugar settled and caramelized where you cut it.” So we tipped the cake pan over and it came right out without breaking. We both had high hopes for the cake, but we couldn't cut it until people were ready to eat it.

People finally started arriving and the loud chatter of our very dysfunctional family began to settle. Once everybody ate, I helped set out the desserts. My aunt told everybody that I used Francis’s recipe and they were excited to try it.

I honestly didn't expect it to turn out perfect, but as we cut a slice out, the ring was at the bottom like it was supposed to be.

“You baked it perfectly, and on your first try!” My aunt exclaimed. I had her help, without it, I would have ruined the cake.

"Baking is comfort without words." ~Madison Davis

Everyone liked the cake, and I was asked to start making this cake every year for Thanksgiving or Christmas; so I did.

I’ve made this cake every year since 2017, and perfected it almost every single time.

DEMON DESTROYERS MALIK SMITH Coalescence 11

ELEVENTH DYAS JACKSON HUFF Fires dance around frigid winds Fragile warmth flees from chasing cold The Harvest awakens As old becomes new and new becomes old The still air shivers With laughter and song Drinks past too and fro As festivity and joy lumine the night long The jubilant shine orange and bright Like the leaves fallen past Unlike the forgotten waifs and unwelcomed Who dread the cycles last

CANTALOUPE RYAN SOÁRES Completely complete in the light Amazing orange glow in the dark Not too sour like pineapple Tough as a watermelon Associated with honey melon Looks alien on the shelf Outside of their container Upon opening, they shine Plight to the eyes Especially exciting to the fruit flies In the spring you should plant them Stationary in the ground After the long 3 months go No time to waste Across the country, they are sold Many places around the world Arizona, Calforinia Zhengzhou, Shanghai Indiana, Africa Ninety day post productions Growing now more than ever From the country of French Reads the word Cantaloupe, Under such conditions In the world of time The name changes

Coalescence 12

EGO DYLAN BARFIELD For the short time I’ve been alive, I never really understood the concept of ego. I always thought it was just a word used as an insult with no further meaning- “You’re egotistical,” or “That guy has a huge ego.” My perspective of life was one that came from privilege.

I grew up with a pretty easy lifeMy parents fight sometimes, but they’re married. I live in a nice house, come home to food every night, and have a warm bed to sleep in. Growing up, I never really thought much about my privilege, and I never once thought about my ego.

The fragility of my life is something I never considered either. The idea of someone getting hit by a car is something that, to most people, feels like something you always hear about but never experience firsthand.

Coalescence 13

I lived my whole life without care or thought, but my older brother having a near-death experience brought me back down to Earth and humanized me, and that’s the day I instantly grew aware of my ego- Something I have lived with my whole life, but never paid attention to until the day it was stripped away from me.

After I got the phone call from my mom about Bryce, I felt truly alone with my own thoughts- My parents were at the hospital, and my little brother was blissfully unaware, playing Warzone in his room. No longer was I worried about Christmas being in two days, or washing my clothes for my shift that day, or what I was gonna do for dinner that night. I was sitting alone on my bed, contemplating every aspect of my life. Every friendship I have ever had, every relationship I have been in, the money I have to my name, every possession I own, and every hour I’ve spent working in school and at my job.

Previously, these things were so concrete in my mind- I would wake up every morning knowing that without a doubt, everything would be there for me, just as I had left it. But I quickly learned that a near-death experience doesn’t have to happen directly to you in order for it to have a lasting effect on you.

My ego as a teenager never let me look at life in a fair manner: I grew up thinking life is something I would always have, but I never realized that even your ability to live can be taken away like it’s nothing.

Death is permanent. It’s not a temporary condition, and it can’t be cured by medication or an over the counter prescription.

Maybe teenagers are too young to be thinking about death- Most would argue that it’s not something anyone but older people should ever think about.

But from my experience with it, it’s something actually worth valuing.

Life and death are at war with each other- My brother easily could have died, but he didn’tand the struggle to live when facing the threat of death puts living into a new perspective. Life is beautiful: It’s filled with strife, struggle, pain, but also happiness, love, and beauty. I learned that in order to appreciate the good, I have to appreciate the bad and the ugly too, and I don’t think I ever would have looked at my life that way if I didn’t know how to drop my ego.

“When the ego dies, the soul awakens.” ~ Mahatma Gandha

MELTING SUN

RIAN GALLAGHER 7" x 10" Oil Pastel

Coalescence 14

METAMORPHOSIS: THE

BIRTH OF SELF JACKSON HUFF

We are never born as ourselves.

We enter the world bearing the weight of a name chosen for us, a gender potentially not our own, and a bevy of expectations and dreams our parents have been forming throughout the previous nine months. From youth we experience the world through the lens of our parents. What they believe is what we believe, we hate what they hate, we mirror them in any way we can for they are the world as we know it.

However the ignorance of youth does not always last. We all must experience the traumatic metamorphosis of forming our own beliefs and growing beyond the shadow of our parents. Some must undergo this change earlier than others, some lucky few take this blissful ignorance to their graves. The formative years of life are devastating for the self; the beliefs we are taught from birth bend and snap as we begin to experience the world for ourselves.

Coalescence 15

We are introduced to an infinite expanse of new-ness: new perspectives on religion, on politics, on matters of identity such as gender and sexuality.

From this torrent of things once unknown, a new you is born.

Regardless of whether you adopt any of these novel discoveries, the knowledge of them is enough to alter who you once were.

Unfortunately such an epiphany could never be born without conflict. Conflict with whom or what is entirely dependent on the new you. It may be a conflict with those who raised you as you begin to defy and repudiate their beliefs.

Or it may be a conflict with self as you struggle to accept new truths you discover about yourself.

These conflicts are merely part of the process, an aspect to the whole of metamorphosis.

Regardless of the pain the process may bring, the transition from who we are born as and who we shall become is one we all must experience. One that we will continue to experience, life would not be worth living if not for the micro-cycle of rebirths and renewals we constantly experience.

SEASONS

NAVIN HERZLER The rain starts to pour, the world gets a yellow shade Animals become warm and more offspring are made Bees start to pollinate and occasionally sting All of these things come with spring Days become longer, the world keeps getting hotter The beaches become busier for their sand and saltwater Gets are out of school, and their choices get dumber All of these things come with summer Trees start to change colors, the world starts to cool Although here in the south it's still hot enough for a pool As the days start to grow shorter, we start to play football All of these things come with fall Outside lifes begins to freeze and die While we all start fires to stay warm and inside Wooden houses freeze, crack and splinter All of these things come with winter

Coalescence 16

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE SCOTT HYDE

Photograph

"I believe in process. I believe in four seasons. I believe that winter's tough, but spring's coming. I believe that there's a growing season. And I think that you realize that in life, you grow. You get better."

-Steve Southerland

HYPERVENTILATING MONAY SMITH (LYRICS)

Look what you're doin to me (Look what you- do to me-) Hands sweaty, I can barely breathe (oooooh) Palpitating dangerously (Oh, baby- can’t you see-) Numb- dizzy- baby---*hold* you got me Hy-per-ventilating Hyperventilating lating Hy-per-ventilating oooooh, oooooh Hy-per-ventilating Hyperventilating lating Hy-per-ventilating ooooh, ooh You fill up mind- all of the time You’d be happy to know bout that When I’m around you, I’m always tongue-tied You’d be happy if you knew why I say that one day, I will get over it We both know that’s a lie My heart will always be in the midst of it A battle I need to fight Battle I need to fight *hold* Look what you're doin to me (Look what you- do to me-) Hands sweaty, I can barely breathe (oooooh) Coalescence 17

Palpitating dangerously (Oh, baby- can’t you see-) Numb- dizzy- baby---*hold* you got me Hy-per-ventilating Hyperventilating lating Hy-per-ventilating oooooh, oooooh Hy-per-ventilating Hyperventilating lating Hy-per-ventilating ooooh, ooh I want to win this fight But the heart wants what it wants This endless battle might Kill *hold* me *hold* slowly *hold* A pounding, racing heart might Be all that I know But I won’t give up now I’m *hold* so *hold* close *hold* Look what you're doin to me (Look what you- do to me-) Hands sweaty, I can barely breathe (oooooh) Palpitating dangerously (Oh, baby- can’t you see-) Numb- dizzy- baby---*hold* you got me Look what you're doin to me (Look what you- do to me-) Hands sweaty, I can barely breathe (oooooh) Palpitating dangerously (Oh, baby- can’t you see-) Numb- dizzy- baby---*hold* you got me

SPARKS JAMISON CASSEUS Sweaty palms interlaced with mine, careless breaths exchanged heavily, the rising and falling of his chest syncs with mine, our hearts pulse with the same passion.

His exposed neck littered with bruises, a smile from me, the one who laid them there. Shadows arch as Eros’s ballet fills the room and us two become one.

Through the eyes, our souls make contact, baring all of their vulnerability to each other. My soft hand cups his even softer cheek, sweet nothings are murmured between us and our hands that drifted apart in the flurry of smoldering emotions, come together once more.

A moment passes, then two, then three, then four, then finally, we rest, both at exhaustion’s door. Whispers, more desperate than before, fill the room, making them impossible to ignore.

One last smoldering gaze is shared before warmth and love take its place. Those three words are not enough to convey what I feel for you.

Coalescence 18

COURT OF SUITS JACKSON HUFF A man so sure of who he is Hides away from the wicked hooks of fear Behind illusions of smoke and grandeur The King of Spades A woman ashamed of her own blood Fury smothered by meek politeness Withstands the world with hellfire and downturned eyes The Queen of Clubs A child afraid of who she may become Find solace within the dark Whispers reassurance to herself The Jack A boffin so desperate for peace Flees from herself to escape destruction Soul bleeding for those she could not save The Queen of Hearts A daughter forged from ice and porcelain Ripped away from her kindred half Bruised and bloodied by perfection The Queen of Diamonds

WYNONA

KATHERINE NIX Made her jack back then in Arizona.

She put three little rounds right in young DutchGoin’ by that sweet ol’ name Wynona He deserved more, always makin’ her blush.

“Training horses, heck riding horses, isn’t easy.

Failing is part of the process. It’s how you brush yourself off and get back in the saddle that counts the most. There’s beauty in the breakdown. Everything is about balance.”

-Carly Kade.

Her sweet song lasted out that eternal light Takin’ her way back to early July.

All the while never one to be politeBig heap of bodies piled up high She is but a wild Texas cowpoke Always hidin’ out among the willows.

Waitin’ for the law to run past the oak Heeled up for as long as she can still loath.

Another one right in the bone orchard A day of work for a lady tortured.

Coalescence 19

EYES OF A TIRED SOUL RIAN GALLAGHER 7" x 10" Pencil Drawing

"I’ve been doodling eyes on pieces of paper since I was little. I used to think I was really good at it up until I joined an art class junior year. My art teacher saw me doodling one and told me it could be even better. He explained how to draw the shape and eyelashes and how to shade it in. He was one of the most patient teachers I had met and after several tries, this was my final product."

TRAPPED LAYA GARDNER can you just shut up for once in your life? i don't wanna hear it leave me the hell alone.

Read at 8:20 PM

8:18 PM

why aren't you responding i know you saw it answer me. answer me. answer me. hello? this isn't fair i hate you you're such a bitch Delivered

8:29 PM

why don't you care about me you're all i have left please talk to me please?

Delivered

9:01 PM

i know i told you that i hated you but i didn't mean it i swear Delivered

9:04 PM

9:07 PM

if you come back i will never talk to you like that again i know that i said that last time but i swear i mean it this time i swear Delivered Coalescence 20

why am i on delivered why are you ignoring me Delivered

9:36 PM

if you dont answer me ill kill myself it will be all your fault Read at 9:45 PM

you know that i love you 9:05 PM you know that i only say those things when i'm angry please come back Delivered talk to me please i promise I’ll be better i promise Delivered

do you remember how we used to be 9:34 PM let's go back to that let's go back to what we were before you knew me like you do now before you hated everything that came out of my mouth please im begging we can stay up late watching scary movies i know you hate them but they're my favorite it'll be fun i promise Delivered

do you hear me 9:46 PM i bet you would feel bad huh knowing that my death is all your fault you pushed me to the edge this isn't a game 9:48 PM i'll do it i don't have a care in the world you're such a bully 9:49 PM Read

9:45 PM

9:47 PM

9:50 PM Stop.

Stop please don't do this Don't do this i'm sorry i was asleep Please dont do anything stupid there are so many people that love you So many people that care about you I care about you please I care I'm sorry please i'll never leave you I promise.

9:09 PM

VIDEO SUBMISSION MASTERFUL

JASON LEEPER

I first had the idea of making this short film towards the end of my junior year, and I certainly learned a lot through the seventh month process it took to make it come true. I spent a lot of time stressing about making my script absolutely flawless, but I came to realize I was ultimately missing the point of what filmmaking meant to me. No matter the budget, the size of your crew, or whether or not your idea turns out the way you wanted, to have an enthusiastic team of people that want to be a part of something you create is a phenomenal feeling and the thing I came to Hover over the titles of the pieces to open them appreciate the most.

MUSIC SUBMISSION This is something you would hear in a Jazz bar . It mostly uses the standard blues chord progression, but with some added spice. Hope you enjoy.

OSCAR BROTHERS RYAN SOÁRES

Coalescence 21

SOLUS AT THE WORLDS END KIMORA HARDY I am the last person alive on planet Earth.

At least, I’m pretty sure that I am. I’m not really sure what exactly led me to this point.

It has been so long since I’ve last seen people that I’m no longer sure when all this started. As the days go on, the before times seem to get fuzzier and slip a bit further out of my grasp. The only thing left to remind me that it wasn’t always like this is my lovely phone. Electricity and all that jazz still works, but I’m always scared that it’ll all shut off eventually. I’m just waiting until the day the reserves run out and then I’m not sure what happens. I guess it wouldn’t be too big of a deal, but it’s really the only bit of normalcy that I have left. Straining to keep that bit of normalcy is why I typically avoid scrolling through any social media platforms these days. They’re always eerily inactive-- more uncomfortable to look at than an empty highway. In the beginning, I used to check them all the time. Hoping, waiting for just one user to post an update and assure me that it’s not just me. I’d posted myself all down any platform I could find, hoping for someone to stumble across it and reach out. Unfortunately, I’ve had no such luck. Part of me is scared that there are people out there and the internet is just too big for me to ever come across them. I try not to think about that possibility too much.

Coalescence 22

Frankly, I’m not sure that I even believe it’s possible at this point. It’s not like there are piles of bodies and carnage all down the streets to tell some sort of story. Instead, everything is as if everyone were here one moment and then they just weren’t. I sometimes like to joke that I’m actually the luckiest person alive because I was the only one who avoided being vaporized. Well, sometimes it’s vaporization, other times it’s alien abduction. I’ve had plenty of time to work on my end-of-times comedy routine.

Strangely, no one else seems to find it that funny. Ha-ha. Get it? It’s funny because there’s no one else that can laugh. I’m a real genius, I know.

"STICK AROUND, I’LL BE HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" Speaking of which, I wonder how long that’ll be. If I come down with even a semi-fatal illness, I’m done for. Sorry, I absolutely refuse to pick up a medical textbook and pretend like I know how to solve any type of illness. Before all this happened, Google was my primary source of medical information. What makes you think I’d transform into some sort of doctor super-genius just because everyone’s gone? I’d probably be as effective as a doctor during the Black Plague.

You know the ones. Except I wouldn’t have a cool mask and I’d manage to kill off the only remaining doctor instead of some poor random woman. Think about it, I’d probably do loads more harm trying to fix some issue that turned out to be minor. Like, now I’m dead from radiation because WebMD told me that I have cancer instead of what it really is; a cyst. You see the problem? I just try to avoid doing anything dangerous or physically laborious (something I’ve always been good at) and hope that I don’t come down with some terminal illness. I mean, imagine if the last remaining person died because their common cold turned into pneumonia. Wouldn’t that be anticlimactic?

That’s why I’ve elected to live in a hole. Well, not really a hole, but more of an underground bunker. Actually, it’s not really a bunker… but more so a cave. I’m not really sure how it’s safer than living on the surface, but that’s what the people in the movies do when the world falls to pieces. I always tell myself that maybe if there’s a natural disaster I’ll be protected from everything outside. Solid plan, but this area hasn’t seen a natural disaster in… well, ever. I guess I could totally fall and smack my head on a rock or contract rabies from a wild bat, but at least I have company. It’s not really warm and I don’t have easy access to food in here.

I go out to the surface every day-- I’m not really sure why I live in a cave. Logic doesn’t really matter anymore I guess. I mean everyone just blinked out of existence so who even cares anymore? I guess I’m the only person who can actually care. Maybe-

Actually, I need to come clean. I’m lying.

Not about being the last person on Earth, but about almost everything else.

Everything shut down weeks after everyone disappeared. No electricity, heat, refrigeration. Nothing. I was horrified, but I stayed in my house. That is until I ran out of food and forced myself to leave, but I wish I’d just given up and starved. I’m constantly wondering if this is all a dream. Sometimes I think that I had a psychotic break and everyone is watching me deteriorate in some sterile nursing home. Other times I convince myself that I’m in a coma and my family is sitting there on the other side. The problem is, I think these are the preferable situations.

Coalescence 23

I’ve been seeing things. I don’t know how else to describe them, really. Things that have absolutely no explanation. Maybe there was a nuclear war while I was sleeping and all the animals mutated.

Problem is, I’m not sure that these are animals. They seem too intelligent to just be some sort of wild beast. I see them out of the corner of my eye and try to act as if I haven’t. I don’t know why they haven’t attacked me or if they will. I whipped around once just to try and catch a good look of one- I regret that decision. I’m not sure if my sanity has finally slipped away and my lonely mind has made me sinister companions. Maybe I’m the only person left and I’ve actually developed a mental illness.

I’m not sure- I didn’t go to school to be a psychologist either. What am I supposed to do? Pick up the big book of diagnoses and pick the one that says ‘sees shadowy creatures’? Even if I did, it’s not like I have a cure.

I’m saying all this to say that I’m done. I don’t care what happens to me anymore. I don’t get a happy ending and no one is coming to save me. Maybe I’ll starve, maybe I’ll get mauled by some alien creature, or maybe I’ll just get an infection. I don’t care.

Why would I? No one is coming.

“Where no hope is left, is left no fear.” ~ John Milton

TO PIERCE GOLD WITH SILVER MONAY SMITH

Thou shan’t knap a heart of gold with a spear of silver!

Aye, so it may seem thou foolish to think such!

This gold heart, seemingly absolute, coil underneath!

Wherefore must it lie?

Wherefore must it hide within thy ridges of guilt?

Will thee come forward verily?

Display thy hands to show rancor as thy shrift?

Thou are anything but man! For thy secret will become beshrew!

Thou disgust me! Not even ladies of the night will have thee!

For thy ignorance grows whence sense should live!

Want silver is not becoming, but want gold and to chide it is blasphemy!

Thou shall see! ‘Tis not oft I speak in such disgraces, look what thee has made me do!

Women of noble youth shan’t speaketh in such horror!

But, to pierce gold with silver...wilt it stint no man?

To have a heart of gold...doth one really have a heart at all?

Thou shan’t fray! I forbid it!

Coalescence 24

Thou shan’t go up against a golden heart.

For thine is silver, quaint, doted!

I shan’t lose thee, thy ignorant man!

Can’t thou see?! Hath thou no eyes?!

Thou see with thine heart!

So see! Feel! Dote!

Thou must dote me! Don’t thee?

Don’t thou see the loss of which I will bear?!

I can’t lose thee! I can’t! I won’t! I shan’t!

Thou must stay! Leave the knave to his bidding!

Whilst thee and I live one within each other’s arms!

Don’t fray! Thou shall stay and see another beautiful morrow!

Alas! Please! I beg of thee!

My anger of which has passed is only placed with love!

Thou are honest and brave!

Please doth not emboss that wretched man!

Keep thine silver, and he his gold!

Wherefore not ignore that vile creature?!

We shall retire, aye! Let us retire!

My love, don’t go, for thou cannot pierce gold with silver!

SANTA, I NEED YOU(LYRICS) MONAY SMITH Oh oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please Oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please I haven't been very happy This coming year It's a lot to take in All of this holiday cheer What if you don't feel how everyone else feels All happy inside What if you don't wanna celebrate 'cause you're not Feelin' the style

I need time, just a little bit of time to Pull myself together You're almost here, what do I do when I'm feeling under the weather? Oh, oh I'm done I'm done *Chorus* Oooh oh oooh Unless you have A solution (mmm) Oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please Oh oh oh oh oh Santa I need you, please Oh, won't you come down my chimney first cause Santa, I need you, please Is there anything you can do cause, oh Santa, I need you, please Don't want the presents just want the happiness (mmm) 'Cause I am missin' out on all of the merriness

Oh oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please Oh oh oh oh oh Santa…

Oh oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please Oh oh oh oh oh Santa, I need you, please

I need time, just a little bit of time to Pull myself together You're almost here, what do I do when I'm feeling under the weather? Oh, oh

Oh oh oh ooooh Santa, I need you, please Oh oh oh Santa

I'm done I'm done *Chorus* Oooh oh oooh Unless you have A solution (mmm) Coalescence 25

Santa, I need you, please Ooooh Santa, I need you, please Ooooh Santa, I need you, please

IN THE MOMENT I AM BEAUTY TANIYA SMITH

I am Beauty Grace fills my veins Through generations of pain Power seeps from my core An understanding I’ve never known before The broken and battered healed from my bloodline Forgiveness and love unlimited from Black beauty Unknown was the godliness they possed Empires stolen and armies taken Hope was their downfall, survival came first Worlds begged to be nurtured Loving is an obligation Breathing life into bottomless holes I am hope Lost ones flock to me begging for their fix A journey to find yourself The way of life; lines my heart I am Black I am Beauty I am Hope I am Creation I am Love

Coalescence 26

RIAN GALLAGHER

There is nothing like driving home alongside the exciting night. Wind pours through the four half-opened windows, letting the warm spring air surround us, so in return we crank up the stereos' volume so that the night can enjoy pulsing music.

Tall trees stand on the sides of the windy road, leaving only a little room for the starry sky to shine through. Though the road is freshly paved, the ride is bumpy as the gears are shifted. An unsurpassed feeling of lightness fills my stomach as the tires roll down hill.

While the rest of the world sleeps, my soul is soaked with euphoria and more awake than ever. I realize I don’t know where my phone is, but I can’t be bothered. The constant change of darkened scenery has my full attention. At this time, there isn’t a feeling in the world that could obstruct my state of bliss.

"This is the feeling I have been searching for my entire life, for as long as I could remember. Because suddenly, the world went quiet and I felt safe, in my own head."

- Rue

BREATHE IT IN

RIAN GALLAGHER Crisp air runs its fingers through my hair, It passes me with a quiet whistle.

Dozens of towering trees take away bits of my view.

I sit staring at the glittering water, It carries an earthy odor straight to my nostrils.

How can an earth so beautiful be so cruel?

I take a deep breath as I allow memories of you to echo through my head.

Not too long ago we were sitting here together, Breathing in the same beauty.

Breath that you no longer have.

I wince in pain as a deep sharpness pierces my heart.

I sit with my head buried in my arms as I slowly rock myself back and forth.

I imagine that you are here next to me.

Then the world goes silent and the light disappears.

I miss you.

LONELY WALLS

CAITLYN ROBERTS 8" x 10" Watercolor

"I made this over Christmas break when I got bored of watching Netflix. I sketched out a design that I liked and started painting it. My favorite part of this piece is the shimmer paints I used to make the dress. I also really like the texture in the hair and the blending of dark and light skin tones."

Coalescence 27

RUNNING WITH FEAR

CAMORA CASTILLO I was there when the apocalypse happened. It started with my boyfriend’s sister. It had been a week after she came back from the hospital; a guinea pig to scientists' experimental “cure” for cancer.

We were walking home from school with some of our friends when she stopped abruptly, skin slowly turning a ghostly pale.

My boyfriend looked at her with concern.

“Is everything okay?”

She gave a sharp growl and gave him the scariest glare I had ever seen. Little did I know that that glare would haunt me every sleeping hour.

We all took a step back as I warned my boyfriend to get away, but he didn’t listen.

Instead he walked in front of her and placed both his hands on the girl’s shoulders. He said something that none of us heard, then proceeded to hug her. Time seemed to slow at that point, as if someone from up above was watching us and decided to put us in slow motion. My boyfriend screamed trying to shove her off but it was too late. She had already taken hold of him and we were already running away.

Coalescence 28

It would be a week later before it was confirmed that this was not a sickness but the beginning of the end. The vaccine for cancer affected a person when bitten by another allowing the victim to act in an aggressive state. Studies were taken and when it was confirmed that the subject stopped having a heart beat people started to panic. End time fanatics started protesting even when the government decided to shut society down, but it was no use soon everyone was resorting to every person for themselves…

The heat waves could be seen from a mile away giving the feeling that I was in the middle of the desert and not Georgia. I was sweating everywhere and my brother, Markus wasn’t making it any better. For one he kept stumbling then whining about how hot it was as if I wasn’t suffering just as much. Not only that but every time I spotted food he would scare it off.

Food. Just the thought of it now made my stomach grumble. I hadn’t had a proper meal in months and to make matters worse the possibility of not having at least a squirrel for dinner was a slim chance to zero right now.

These thoughts swirled in my head just as a rabbit hopped onto the sizzling street.

Automatically I started drooling thinking of the delectable meat that would be melting in my mouth. I could eat it raw and it would be like having chocolate cake again for the first time. Scrambling, I grabbed my bow and arrow, leveling it with the rabbit's chest.

Deep breath in. I thought, following my instructions. Deep breath-

“Oh cool! Are you seeing this Gisele? A bunny!”

Markus ran up to the creature and pulled its tail.

My eyes twitched as I threw the weapon down, storming towards him. “What is wrong with you?!” I screamed, the bunny long forgotten now. “We need food! I don’t suppose you think you can gather enough food for me, you, mom, Mr. Arturo and Ms. Ikari-Indra!”

Markus drew back with a whimper, “S-Sorry.”

“You should be sorry! We haven’t eaten a decent meal in days because you want to get all excited over the little things! If you’re not careful, I may just resort to eating you!” Instantly I gasped covering my mouth and looking down at the boy who was now in tears, sitting on the street. Great, I thought kneeling down to him.

As calmly as I could muster I said, “Markus, get up. I didn't mean it.”

The boy sniffled softly and glared at me, “Yes you did! You think I’m a noovent.”

“Nuisance,” I corrected, rolling my eyes, “and I don’t, you just need to learn how to be more-” In my peripheral vision there was movement up ahead. At first I mistaken it for a person but as I focused my attention I realized that only one thing could move with such force and precision. “Markus,” I stated tightly, my throat drying out as I pulled him up, “we’ve gotta go.”

“Go where?” He questioned crossing his arms, “Besides why would I go with you? You don’t want me around.”

“Markus, now's not the time to be difficult, we need to leave.” Already I could make out the creatures who were seeking human flesh.

Grabbing my brother, we rushed away from the imminent danger, but it was too late: they caught us. Images swirled in my mind.

Flashbacks of when my own boyfriend turned into one of those hideous demons. I couldn't let that happen to either one of us. Besides, who would take our place? Surely not Ms IkariIndra who was expecting a baby in three months or Mr. Arturo who was old and fragile.

That left mom, but who was I kidding? Mom couldn’t hunt for anyone even if it was just her by herself.

Markus whined when he glanced back and spotted the zombies gaining speed. As we ran they only got closer allowing us to see their sickly pale skin and dark eyes. Fear raced through me as the groans and growls of the monsters caught my ears. If I didn’t do something fast then they would catch up to us, or worse, follow us all the way to our house bringing danger to everyone. Slipping off my drawstring bookbag I stopped in my tracks and took out a box of matches.

Markus looked at me frantically, “Giselle! You said we need to leave! They’re coming for us!”

“I know.” I said grimly, grabbing my bow and arrows. I glanced back at him with a false smile, “You remember the way to the house right?”

“You’re leaving me!?”

“Just answer the question Markus!”

“Yes.” He whispered, staring at his feet. Already I could hear the tremble in his voice.

Coalescence 29

“

MY LIMITATIONS KINSLEY ABELL My limitations have changed over time.

I used to not even know much less understand the word “boundaries.”

Yet as I’ve grown older and become a bit more wise.

I understand it better, I also understand the things I want or at the very least desire.

You know what I want?

It may sound cliché and selfish.

But I don’t care anymore.

I want a love that’ll last.

A love that I don’t have to question.

I know I’m young, But that should not limit my wants.

People spend their lives telling children that the “sky's the limit” when it comes to simple things.

Yet, when it comes to love it’s always, “It won’t make it past a few months,” or “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, it won’t last long.”

Why do we do this?

Why do we tell kids and even adults they can do anything they put their mind to.

Yet when it comes to love Suddenly nobody can do anything.

I’m tired of these accusations that I can’t have the love I want.

I want a love that I can feel safe in.

My words are poetry and I want them to hear them.

I want their kisses to melt onto me like honey.

I want their hands to dance lightly upon this fragile skin.

I want their heart to mean what their words say.

I want someone who’ll melt in my touch.

I want my words to make them want to stay.

Coalescence 30

Cause God. I am so tired of trying to convince people to stay.

I believe it is possible to love someone so hard, You want to be a part of them because you never feel close enough.

I want our hearts to have the same beat.

If your iron was mine I’d let it course.

If your eyes were to shed a single drop of salt, I’d be there to wipe them.

Perhaps if we were to be buried together our bodies would become one.

Let people wonder if we were ever even apart.

I know this sounds obsessive and insane.

But aren’t we all victims who fall accustomed to insanity when it comes to love?

I know love is just a shout into an endless and dark abyss.

I know I may never leave my mark upon this fragile and terrifying earth.

All my writings and songs may end up being for naught.

I may be loved deeply, But not widely.

And I am okay with that.

I’d rather leave a scar on one person.

Then leave a crater for everyone else to deal with.

NOVEMBER

NATALIE HEAD November, The time of thanks, The time of family, The time of joy.

November, Trees shedding their leaves, Turkeys being sacrificed, Time slows.

November, Seventeen years now, No family this year, No drama, No thanks

3D RICK

EMILY HASSEBROEK

14" x 11" Acrylic

"I honestly just made this piece because I loved the 3D effect and I thought it looked really cool with Rick and Morty."

November

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.” ~ W.T. Purkiser

SIT BACK AND RELAX RIAN GALLAGHER Photograph

Coalescence 31

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS

JOSEPH NARANJO FADE IN: INT. SUBURBAN HOME - MORNING A man sits alone at a dining room table. The house is filled with quiet chatter. There are at least twenty people in the living room. Everyone in the house is dressed in dreary; black attire.

The man continues to sit at the table, hunched over.

He’s holding his fist in his hand, his face emotionless.

The whole crowd looks over to the man in anticipation. After a few moments, a woman comes over to him and kneels beside him.

WOMAN How are you?

MARK looks up, his eyes beaming emptiness.

MARK Me? I’m doing just fine.

WOMAN Good, that’s good. I liked what you said earlier.

MARK Oh that. Thanks, I hadn’t really thought about what I was gonna say. Just a kinda spur of the moment type of thing.

WOMAN I see. It was inspiring nonetheless. Well, call me if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk.

MARK Will do.

She starts to walk off before turning back around.

WOMAN Where’s Dylan?

WOMAN Hey Mark, I know you’re going through a lot right now. But everybody’s waiting for you to say something. Just… whenever you’re ready.

MARK gets this confused look on his face.

As the woman walks off, MARK starts to come to. His eyes drop a bit, taking a deep breath.

WOMAN Your son.

He stands up, downs the cup of scotch he has on the table, and walks to the center of the living room.

MARK Oh right. He’s around here somewhere.

MARK Good morning everybody, as you know my father was very important to me-

WOMAN (worried) Alright. Like I said. Call me when you need to okay.

CUT TO:

She walks off.

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY MARK now stands alone, leaning against his kitchen island with the whole bottle of scotch in his hand.

The woman from earlier slowly approaches him, MARK remains still.

Coalescence 32

MARK Who?

A montage commences, showing his day to day life over the course of the next couple of days.

INT. BEDROOM - DAWN MARK wakes up in a sudden flash of movement, sweating heavily.

After calming down a bit he turns to his nightstand and grabs some of the pills resting on it.

He takes some of the pills, drinking them with a beer. He just sits there, looking out a nearby window.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT The cycle continues as MARK, once again, wakes up panting heavily. After a few moments he looks outside to see that it’s dark outside.

He starts yelling, hitting himself in the face over and over again while sitting in his bed. He can’t seem to stop, as if there was more to this.

Panting, he takes two pills and downs them with some more booze.

INT. SHOWER - A FEW MOMENTS LATER

INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT MARK sits there with a bottle of tequila beside him.

His eyes fixated on the clock, as the seconds go by.

Water pours onto his face, a moment of peace. His face is calm and accepting of the refreshing water.

INT. BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS

INT. BEDROOM - DAY Like before, MARK wakes up in a flurry. Soaked in fear, he sits there panting before taking the pills again.

EXT. BACK PORCH - MORNING Cigarette in hand, MARK looks over into the forest behind his house. The birds chirping through the trees.

Coming out of the shower, his shoulders are a bit wider. His stance is more grounded. He hunkers over to the mirror, patting his face with a towel.

After he puts the towel down, he looks into the mirror.

All he sees is sadness and despair. Emptiness.

He lowers his head, staring at his slightly swollen fists.

His mouth open, with the smoke frothing out of his mouth.

Something is off. He knows it, but ignores it.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

On the couch, slumped over, is MARK. Beer in hand as NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC plays on a big flat screen TV.

MARK pours some cereal into a bowl, topping it off with some milk. As he goes to sit down he looks into his backyard, into the forest.

He slowly puts the bottle to his mouth as if it was baby formula, watching the program as a Lion chases down a Gazelle.

There’s something wrong.

The events begin to repeat over and over again, with MARK waking up in a sweat, drinking alcohol throughout the day, moving about dead inside.

Nothing changes, except each time he becomes more entranced by the woods and time.

As if they were calling to him.

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There’s something in the woods.

Before, all he would see when he peered into the trees was just that. Trees.

But he now sees a slender, shadowy figure. Standing there. Staring back at MARK. MARK stands there with his mouth open, staring back.

There it is.

The dark figure.

MARK stands there watching it, this time the being continues to look forward.

RING RING RING.

EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

His phone starts ringing again. This time without looking he answers, not taking his focus away from the being.

He now stands strong in his backyard, looking dead at the strange being.

MARK Hello?

A strong ringing blasted in his ears. He starts screaming, but no noise comes out.

WOMAN Hey Mark, how are you?

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

It’s the woman from before.

In an instant he ends up in his bedroom. He sits, staring at the clock.

MARK I’m doing just swell.

As if he just broke out of a trance, his eyes become clear and he falls to the floor shuddering.

WOMAN That’s good. Just wanted to let you know that I’m gonna drop by. I have some leftovers that I wanted to give you.

He starts walking into his backyard, slowly.

His breathing becomes erratic, sounding more and more painful.

He starts crawling towards his nightstand, reaching for the beer.

Before he can grab the bottle, his phone beside it starts to ring with it reading: DYLAN (SON) He grabs the phone as his breathing starts becoming more and more normal, finally accepting the call.

MARK Dylan?

DYLAN Hey dad, I’m on my way home. Just wanted to check up on you.

MARK Where are you?

MARK No need.

WOMAN Please, it’s your favorite. Lasagna. Let me do this for you. I haven’t seen you since the wake in May. MARK And what month is it now?

WOMAN It’s August. Did you not know that?

MARK I haven’t kept up with the time I guess.

WOMAN I’ll be there in five okay.

MARK Don’t come.

He hangs up and runs down the stairs, going straight towards the backyard.

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EXT. BACKYARD - DAY

INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Going towards the edge of the yard, he looks around in a panic.

MARK warily walks down the stairs to find his father beside a record player.

But it’s gone.

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

FATHER Bum bum bum bum. In the Mood by Glen Miller.

Love this song. A classic.

All the clocks in the house have been taken down and faced down.

MARK What are you doing here?

Darkness fills the dreary rooms.

FATHER What's wrong Mark? Swing not your thing? Let’s try something new.

The only light comes from the lit cigarette in his mouth. His eyes are becoming redder and are now wide open.

He grabs a record and switches it out.

He is still, nothing catching his attention, as if he was just waiting for someone. Or something.

` FATHER How ‘bout a little Sinatra?

VOICE (ghastly) MAAAARRRRRKKKKKK.

My Way by Frank Sinatra starts playing over the record player.

MARK’S head slowly turns, his eyes like daggers.

FATHER I know you love this song.

BEAT

He starts ballroom dancing slowly around him.

The cigarette goes out.

INT. BEDROOM - MORNING

FATHER And now. The end is near. And so I face. The final curtain.

He wakes up screaming once again, as if he is in some sort of purgatory. Or hell.

He continues to dance around him, singing along with the song.

He gets up, drinks some type of alcohol with a few of his pills, and heads to the shower.

MARK turns around to find the entire room filled with people in suits and dresses. Dancing to the song.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY MARK sits in the corner of his bedroom, curled up in a ball with a beer in his hand. His other hand grips onto the side of his face.

MARK stands alone, being pressed up more and more against the wall, unable to breathe.

He falls to the ground as the music plays, turning to the window to find the figure watching him again.

Rocking back and forth, just muttering to himself.

MARK Why why why? He’s dead. What is happening to me?

As the insanity consumes him, music starts playing from downstairs. Old timey swing music, something he is very nostalgic about.

Pressing his hand against the window, as if he was pleading for help.

He gets sucked up into the large group of people, being tossed around with no help in sight.

He starts screaming, but the music is far too loud for anyone to hear his pleads.

He gets up and immediately heads downstairs.

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The music starts to quiet down and the people start disappearing, only his father left. .

FATHER The record shows, I took the blows. And did it.

WOMAN You aren’t looking so good. Are you sure you’re doing good?

Slowly walking towards MARK

His face starts getting more and more frustrated.

FATHER My way.

MAN Yes.

MARK (tears in his eyes) I’ve always hated that song.

WOMAN Are you sure?

MARK gets up and smashes the cup on the floor.

FATHER I know.

Opening his arms for an embrace.

MARK goes in to hug his father but a ring bell chimes in and his father disappears.

MAN (shouting) YES. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Why do you keep on asking me that? Why wouldn’t I be fine? Cause my dad died? Oh boohoo Mark’s daddy is dead. I wonder how he is feeling? You want to know how I feel? I am DEAD inside. My dad is gone. He’s gone.

He falls to his knees in despair.

BEAT DING DONG. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

WOMAN Hey.

MARK He never loved me. Never gave me so much as a hug. He was abusive. He hurt me. He hated me with no reasoning or purpose. I was his greatest disappointment and yet I miss him. And I don’t know why. And I’ll never know. Because he is gone.

And what’s worse. Is that you were gone long before him.

MARK What are you doing here?

WOMAN What?

WOMAN I told you, I have some leftovers for you.

MARK You left long before he did. You are just as responsible.

INT. FRONT DOOR - CONTINUOUS MARK opens the door to find the same woman from before at his doorstep.

She lifts up a disposable plastic tub with Lasagna, to MARK’s confusion.

MARK I told you days ago not to come.

WOMAN What do you mean days ago? I called you like ten minutes ago and you hung up on me.

MARK starts looking a bit more crazy and confused.

MARK That happened ten minutes ago?

WOMAN Yeah? .

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WOMAN Mark.

MARK Get out.

WOMAN Wait.

MARK GET OUT! The woman walks out the house quickly, MARK left behind destroying his kitchen.

Smashing glasses on the floor and drinking away his sanity.

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT The dark figure stands at the edge of the woods, watching.

Its breathing is heavy.

KID Dad? You here?

He looks around and starts heading up th He looks around and starts heading up the stairs until a video starts playing on the TV in the living room.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT MARK stands at the window, staring back at the being.

He walks away to the bathroom, taking off his shirt.

The scars on his back are long and rigged. Some of them seem to be fresh.

INT. BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER He now stands at the mirror, dressed in the same suit from the wake. Blood coming from his hands and bruises on his face.

The cracks on the mirror reflecting back a monster.

Cigarette in hand, he picks up a turned over picture frame.

It’s a picture of his father and the woman. Slowly putting out his cig by dragging it across their faces.

He walks towards it, watching what appears to be MARK at the wake about to give a speech.

MARK (on TV) Good morning everybody, as you know my father was very important to me. As fathers usually are to their sons. We had a special connection though. We didn’t speak very often but that didn’t matter because it was the silence that connected us. I knew in my heart that he cared about me, even if he never said it. I know deep down that he loved me. He was the one that took care of me. Which is more than I can say for my so-called mom. Who left me when I was only twelve. What kind of mother does that? But I’ll tell you my dad was there for me. Through thick and thin he was at least there. So may your soul rest in peace. And may I see you soon.

The kid looks outside to see MARK approaching the edge of the backyard.

EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

He starts walking out of his bedroom, kicking over his empty pill bottles.

INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS MARK stands looking out the window, the figure still standing there.

With a smile, he walks out to face it.

EXT. FRONT - DOOR - CONTINUOUS A young teenager stands at his front door, unlocking it with a key and going in.

MARK Hey! I know you’re there. Watching. So why don’t you come out and face me! Stand before me and kill me like I know you want to!

The shadow creeps up to him revealing itself to be his father.

FATHER Hello son.

MARK You. You. Ruined me. I hate you.

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS The kid walks into the house looking around, carrying two duffel bags. . .

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MARK goes up to him and starts hitting him repeatedly, unable to make him budge.

MARK I hate you! Why? Why would you leave me?

His father looks him in the eyes and stretches his arms out.

MARK looks at him, tears in his eyes, and hugs his father.

Inner peace washes over his face.

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS The kid repeatedly starts banging at the window.

He sees MARK hugging the figure that is not his father.

KID DAD! DAD! DAD! EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS Ignoring the screams of his son, MARK continues to hug what he believes to be his father.

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS His son watches as the figure drags MARK into the woods, into the darkness.

At long last MARK got what he wanted, eternity with his father.

INT. KITCHEN - NEXT MORNING A couple sits eating breakfast at a dining table. The man reading the newspaper, the woman enjoying her meal.

WIFE Don’t forget that we’re taking the kids to the waterpark this Saturday.

Silence resumes until sirens can be heard coming closer and closer.

WIFE I still can’t believe they haven’t found him.

HUSBAND I can. The man kept to himself for the most part.

We’ve been his neighbors for years and I think I’ve only seen him once through the window.

WIFE Poor thing. I mean I couldn’t imagine losing your father only a week ago. Did he have any other family?

HUSBAND Just his dad.

WIFE Friends?

HUSBAND Honey, does the man look like he had any friends? I heard that he had a wake for his father last Sunday and didn’t invite anyone.

WIFE I pray he’s okay.

EXT. OPEN ROAD - DAY A young child and a couple are driving through the countryside. The child singing along to My Way by Frank Sinatra.

The couple appears to be MARK’s father and the reappearing woman. The child seems to be MARK’s son.

As they ride down the open roads, flashes of MARK laying dead start showing. Growing closer and closer.

His face petrified with a smile.

FADE OUT:

HUSBAND I forgot that school ended for them. Looks like we are gonna have a busy next couple of months.

.

Coalescence 38

.

INDEX Allman, Emma "Darkness is She" Asbell, Kinsley "My Limitations" Barfield, Dylan "Ego" Braaten, Cameron "The Edifice at the End of the Road" Caseus, Jaimasson "Icarus" Caseus, Jaimasson "Sparks" Castillo, Camora "Running With Fear" Cormier, Diego "Misleading Beauty" Davis, Madison "Chocolate Pound Cake" Fletcher, Omar "Idling Away" Gardner, Laya "Trapped" Gallagher, Rian "Eyes of a Tired Sun" Gallagher, Rian "Melting Sun" Gallagher, Rian "Keeper of the Nest" Gallagher, Rian "Remaining Embers of My Love for You" Gallagher, Rian "Sit Back and Relax" Gallagher, Rian "In The Moment" Gallagher, Rian "Breath It In" Hardy, Kimora "Solus at the Worlds End" Hassebroek, Emily "Emily's Dream" Hassebroek, Emily "3D Rick" Head, Natalie "November" Herzler, Navin "Seasons" Huff, Jackson "The Court of Suits" Huff, Jackson "The Elevent Dyas" Huff, Jackson "Metamorphosis: the Birth of Self" Hyde, Scott "The Beauty of Nature" Leeper, Jason "Masterful" Naranjo, Joseph "There's Something in the Woods" Nicholson, Caleb "Encore" Nix, Katherine "Wynona" Roberts, Caitlyn "Peanup Eminems" Roberts, Caitlyn "Lonely Walls" Smith, Malik "The Demon Destroyer" Smith, Monay "Hyperventaliating" Smith, Monay "Santa, I Need You" Smith, Monay "To Pierce Gold with Silver" Smith, Taniya "I Am Beauty" Soáres, Ryan "Cantaloupe" Soáres, Ryan "Oscar Brothers" Coalescence 39

COLOPHON The Coalescence is a student-led publication produced by the Ola High School Creative Writing Class in McDonough, Georgia. It was published April 19, 2022. This literary magazine was created using Canva.com, an Australian graphic design platform founded by Melanie Perkins. Fonts used were as follows: Sifonn was used for the titles of the pieces and literature magazine, Montserrat Light was used for the body of the submitted pieces.

Coalescence 40

EDITORS Editor-In-Chief- Katherine Nix Editor-In-Chief- Cameron Braaten Business Manager- Caleb Nicholson Managing Editor- Dylan Barfield Layout Editor- Madison Davis Art Editor- Natalie Head Copy Editor- Kimora Hardy Section Editor- Emma Allman

STAFF MEMBERS Ryan Soáres Navin Herzler Rian Gallagher Jackson Huff Laya Gardner Omar Fletcher Monay Smith

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