the letter by chris golden melting by ava meester

eyes by ava meester

‘“This party is a bust, it’s over man,” Tanner complained to his friend Sam, taking another sip of a Natural Light. Tanner peeked through the aperture that peered into the living room and saw his ex-girlfriend Rachel messing around with another guy. Tanner reached for his back pocket and pulled out an envelope with a name on the front and stared for an extended moment. “I can’t get her back, why am I even trying?” He opened the drawer to reveal the garbage bin and gently let go as if he didn’t want to hurt it. “Tanner, it’s over bro, she’s with that the letterthe letter by chris golden

creature of a dude over there. Now let’s go downstairs and go crazy. I hear Carti playing,” Rick said begging him to come with so that they could have fun. Rick patted Tanner gently on the back and they walked downstairs.

----- “Jerry, get up quick, I think I’m going to puke!” Rachel threw Jerry from the couch and bolted to the bathroom. The lights were off but the door was locked, so Rachel made a quick search for a garbage can. Jerry sported a nervous look on his

I answered a call, to help a friend He spoke quietly, asked me pleadingly To help him see clearly He begged with pain in his voice His words came haltingly. He paused often He c o n f i d e d in me, “I can’t do it anymore. I didn’t know who else to call Everyday feels like a monotone blur I miss when we were younger Only worries on our minds were DOA What new bases we made in Clash of Clans The hours we spent reading Brandon Mull Nostalgia overwhelms me from days past In Kinloch park, on the riverside, Summer days spent on bike rides and Black Ops 2 Inching towards more complex times 4 am. by rohan kaushal face and avoided her as he made his way downstairs. “Uh, Rach, you- you’re gonna be alright. Jus’ le-tit all out. And uh I’ll bee wa-iting in the bazement,” Jerry slurred, aloof. As he walked downstairs, he began spreading what just happened to everyone; “Rachel’s puking everyone hahahaha she can’t handle ‘er alc.” Rachel frantically scrambled around, searching for somewhere to extinguish her stomach. Finally, she found the cabinet holding the garage can and pulled it out. As she lowered her head, she quickly read her name on an envelope and grabbed it before it crossed paths with gastric acid. She held it in her hand and let it all out. After a couple of minutes of uneasiness, she lifted her head and saw a couple walking out of the bathroom. Giggling to themselves, they headed downstairs. Rachel stood up and wobbled towards the bathroom. She shut the door, dropped the envelope on the ground, turned the sink on with cold water and drowned her face in the stream, fruitlessly attempting to sober up. She dried her face off and sat on the f l o o r next to the envelope. She reached and picked it up, staring at the letters with drunken eyes, questioning if the letter actually said Rachel. She slid her f i n g e r nail under the lip and broke the seal. She found a letter inside folded into thirds and began to read: 21//Youth

I answered back, “I don’t know. I don’t know how to make the despair go away Back then it was me who c o n f i d e d in you Didn’t I always ask for you to lend your ear? I remember what you did, You gave me a shoulder to lean on Not many ever did All that helped was your love So I offer you the same Share with me your burden. Let me lighten your load All I ask that you tell me everything Every instance of turmoil in your head Talk to me brother Don’t bottle up this darkness inside Little by little, we shall overcome The hours f l e w by Many a sleepless night I had Days were logged into FaceTime I answered a call, to help a friend. Dear Rachel, It’s been a rough week, a REALLY rough week. After our breakup, I haven’t been the same. My mind is all over the place without you. I’m lost, like a voyager stranded in the ocean. I’ve never felt as warm as you made me feel when I met you. You were the sunshine that woke me up and brightened my day. I am reminded day after day of your absence as the sun sets and hides away from the darkening night. That f i g h t a week ago was nothing more than a dumb argument. It was wrong for me to yell and get so worked up over nothing, and I’m terribly sorry for that. I never meant those words and I wish I could take everything back and start over. Things happen and f i g h t s break out, but this shouldn’t have been the end of us. This isn’t the end of the road; this isn’t as far as it goes. I need you, Rachel, like the spark to my f l a m e as I shiver in the frigid night. Please forgive me. I love you, Tanner

Tears trickled onto the letter and memories of Tanner f l o o d e d her mind. Her eyes shut as she pictured them together, missing every moment they spent. Her heart began to ache and she besobbed, “I need you right now.” As her words left her mouth, the door opened, and there was Tanner with a glass of water in his hand and some paper towels.

empty by siyu lu

4 a.m. by rohan kaushal

I answered a call, to help a friend He spoke quietly, asked me pleadingly To help him see clearly He begged with pain in his voice

His words came haltingly. He paused often He c o n f i d e d in me, “I can’t do it anymore. I didn’t know who else to call Every day feels like a monotone blur

I miss when we were younger Only worries on our minds were DOA What new bases we made in Clash of Clans The hours we spent reading Brandon Mull

Nostalgia overwhelms me from days past In Kinloch park, on the riverside, Summer days spent on bike rides and Black Ops 2 Inching towards more complex times.”

I answered back, “I don’t know.” I don’t know how to make the despair go away Back then it was me who c o n f i d e d in you Didn’t I always ask for you to lend your ear?

I remember what you did, You gave me a shoulder to lean on Not many ever did All that helped was your love So I offer you the same Share with me your burden. Let me lighten your load All I ask is that you tell me everything

Every instance of turmoil in your head Talk to me, brother Don’t bottle up this darkness inside Little by little, we shall overcome

The hours f l e w by Many a sleepless night I had Days were logged into FaceTime I answered a call, to help a friend.

The Rose Rising

by ben kittleson

The sunlight piercing through the leaves, While moonlight grieves, The rising rose and its red Petals dance above the rocky soil To a song that nature sings, fed By the light’ s royal,

Generous hands. Birds, living in solitude above lands Many miles away, Singing pleas for the sun to rise Above the horizon line of the bay From which the water who feeds the rose lies.

They bring hope for life and green Colors more beautiful than a queen In her opulent dress. Never again will the rose See the light From the sun who has fallen, and frozen The world, making death seem all the more bright.

world by abi gisen

Growth.

"t h e years teach much which t h e days never know"

together by drew braaten

"t h e years teach much which t h e days never know" -Ralph Waldo Emerson