Holiday

The Lantern Beyond the Dust
The old village slept beneath a veil of dust and silence. Houses made of clay stood shoulder to shoulder, breathing out the weight of years. The scent of earth and forgotten dreams floated in the still air. Every evening, as the sun sank behind the hills and shadows stretched across the narrow road, a single lantern came alive — hanging by the door of a small, crumbling house.
By Riaz Hamkar6 months ago in Fiction
The Shadow in the Pagoda
The year was 1436, in the young reign of the Ming Emperor Zhengtong, with the Forbidden City still shiny with new gold and the empire as long as the mind could see. But long beyond palace walls, deeper in the misted mountains about Hangzhou, there existed a pagoda that had no mark on the imperial records — the Pagoda of the Shadow Bell.
By Nusuki6 months ago in Fiction
The Last Human
The coffee maker still worked. That was something. Lorna stood in the kitchen of a house that wasn't hers—hadn't been anyone's for three years now—and watched the dark liquid drip into a chipped mug. Outside, vines crawled up the sides of skyscrapers. A deer grazed in what used to be Times Square. The planet was healing, they would have said, back when there was a "they."
By Parsley Rose 6 months ago in Fiction
The Double Echo of the Douglas
The Pivot: 03:07 A.M. The city slept beneath a heavy blanket of November. Alexandru leaned over his desk, surrounded by sketches, old books, and the faint hum of his computer. He was a young man of 28, with tired eyes but a feverish spark of genius. The object of his passion, his five-year obsession, was The Architect’s Hourglass—an urban legend among those passionate about space and time theory, which claimed to hold the key not only to perfect perspective but also to the understanding of all choices, made or unmade.Alexandru’s project, a predictive modeling algorithm for urban density, was ready. In six minutes, he was due to submit the application to a prestigious global competition that could change his life, offering him unlimited funding for research.The phone, resting on the edge of the desk, vibrated. A call from an unknown number, at 03:07.Alexandru looked up. Six minutes. If he answered, he would break his absolute state of flow, risking the loss of concentration on the final details. If he ignored it, he would miss a potential essential contact.
By alin butuc6 months ago in Fiction
The Cosmic Background Whisper. AI-Generated.
Dr. Elias Koren had spent his life listening to the stars. Not with his ears, exactly, but with the instruments that let him hear space—the faint hum of cosmic radiation, the static that stretched across the universe like whispers between galaxies.
By Nusuki6 months ago in Fiction
The Secret Life of Plants. AI-Generated.
Mina had always loved forests. As a child, she would wander for hours near her grandmother’s village in northern England, listening to the rustle of leaves and the chirping of birds, feeling as though the trees themselves were whispering secrets. But she never imagined that one day she would discover just how true that feeling was.
By Nusuki6 months ago in Fiction
The Experience of Viewing the Remarks Produced by AI . Content Warning.
Here’s what it truly feels like to earn appreciation from a machine and why your real, fallible humanity still counts most online.
By Aliyu Ibrahim 6 months ago in Fiction
The Last Prayer of Rahim
There’s a small village at the edge of nowhere — the kind of place where time moves slowly, and people remember everything. That’s where Rahim lived.
By Vocal Member 6 months ago in Fiction
Between Sleep and Silence
Between Sleep and Silence Blurb: After a car crash, Zara wakes up in a world that looks exactly like her own — except for one terrifying detail: everyone she loves swears she died three days ago.
By Wings of Time 6 months ago in Fiction
The Halloween Table 4
Starting to think better to get more place settings on the table. Didn't think anyone would come but maybe one. The doorbell bonged once again, and I went to check. Yes, it is Francine and Monty. One I was expecting, but not with a guest but the more the merrier scarier. Come on into this unexpected party of five, I believe. We gathered in the dining room, and we set the table for four more. The buffet offered several favorites that all enjoyed and with that we sat and ate and shared a Halloween meal of friends and ghouls galore.
By Mark Graham6 months ago in Fiction
The Halloween Table 3
The doorbell began bonging again. I went to the door and checked. It was my friend Wolfy. You are a tad early there Wolfy but remember no changing tonight. I do have your favorite meal preparing for you can stay normal. The bonging began once more. I went to the door and looked out and there she was Vivian. Welcome, Miss Viv. How did the dentist visit and those two teeth you were worried about? Your favorite drink in in the cooler over there in the corner. Wolfy stop that and let her past. What did I do just smelling.
By Mark Graham6 months ago in Fiction
The Halloween Table 2
The table is set suddenly the doorbell bongs. Who could that be at this hour? It is not quite All Hallos Eve, and I am not really expected anybody as of yet. The doorbell bongs again. I guess I better answer it. Slowly walking to the door and look out the peephole. Seeing nothing thinking maybe an early trickster for the neighbors know that I like this season of frights. Opening the door and preparing myself I walk out onto the porch and look around. Seeing nothing out the ordinary I walk back into the house, a bit wary now.
By Mark Graham6 months ago in Fiction