From The Tower

Letters to Penelope III

August 6, 19XX Dearest Penelope, Today one of my dearest friends in this place left us. The rumor is that he found what the Old One was looking for and was given passage to wherever he wanted. Though I’m glad he is in a happier place, I’m sad that he is gone. While you surely care more about me than this man, I want you to know how much he meant to me. Franz Wilhelm Kampf II was instrumental in…

In this home, she waits. Here at the place that she rests, she watches. She sees the corners of the the walls, bare, the shadows clinging to the smooth surface without sliding down and hiding in the carpet. Those shadows pulsing in the night, on those walls, in the air, down the hall that no longer exists. The endless dark only slinking away from where it came at the spark of morning. But through…

Could it be that he was merely distressed about what had happened that night with Rachel? He thought it could be. It was only a few hours ago that the incident, a chance occurrence, fell into his lap: the crumbs to his shit-stained croissant. Pretending to be reading, he had glanced furtively from the corners of his eyes. She was at the counter of the coffee shop getting some concoction from the…

Letters to Penelope II

July 31, 19XX Dearest Penelope, How are you? I must apologize for the sudden interruption in my last. To better explain: I met a man several months ago who offered me a job digging for minerals. He’s very aged and cranky and everyone calls him the Old One, so I do as well. This is no ordinary mining job, to be clear. The minerals he needs apparently power a contraption he created that we all call…

Alan considered whether the sky had always been so bright while he jotted some notes on an old red notebook. It was falling apart from so much use, and he had decided to buy a new one someday. He added his own paper to it, giving him more space to write. Why keep the old thing and add paper? He didn’t know and he didn’t think about it. Today was the first truly warm day since winter had forced…

Anthills of the Savannah

Many African nations have struggled to make the transition from an imperial colony to modern self-governing state. Because of Western education introduced into most of Africa, democratic ideals are typically the goal of new governments. Unfortunately in many cases these promising new nations fall to the sway of dictatorship or military rule leaving oppression and conflict to follow. Chinua Achebe…