Everything.is Illuminated Novels & Stories

What is happening? “Hey, Elocin, are you okay?” I said when I see her scared. I looked around and I saw that all the windows are closed. And she ain’t even watching TV like her usual activity. All the lights are almost turned off. The only bulb that gives light in this whole space is the light from the kitchen. But it still ain’t enough. It is so dim. Although it’s undestandable because it’s 4:00 a.m., it’s just very unusual of her. Why? What’s happening for real? “Thank God you got home safe,” she said and hugged me again. I hugged her back, but I’m still confused. Why is she acting like this. Her hug to me is tight. I let go of the hugged first because of curiosity.

With that, the light explodes outward, consuming everything in its path until nothing remains but absolute darkness. ~

Each light, in the location flashes every seven seconds as if the city is winking at us via the electrical cables. Upstairs Isla is asleep wrapped in three blankets and Alexander’s worn Marine jacket the melted-token bracelet grasped tightly in her hand. Her breathing remains calm yet with each exhale the line, beneath her collarbone glows briefly resembling a lighthouse signaling ships to avoid danger. Or calling them in. I have gone without sleep for four days. None of us has. We alternate keeping vigil over her feeling her ensuring she remains warm tangible still ours.

The girls had chosen this spot for its energy—a natural convergence point where the earth’s magic pooled like water. Freda lit the black candles with a whispered word, their flames burning unnaturally blue. Pru scattered a circle of salt mixed with crushed obsidian, the grains glittering like crushed stars. Rita laid out the parchment—yellowed with age, borrowed from Gogo’s private stash—and the silver dagger, its blade etched with runes. "Ready?" Freda asked. Rita nodded. Pru grinned.

I felt rushed of coldness running through me, it made me reach for Walter as he wrapped me in his arm, rubbing my shoulder and giving me the warmth that I needed. "I need to ask my elders, this is way beyond my knowledge." She got up and reached above her kitchen cabinets, and retrieved some candles, then she closes all the shades and curtains making the room dimmer for her needs. Walter and I sat in silence in front of her as she does her thing, minutes went by as she communicates with her elders then the candles unexpectedly are blown out by a gust of wind, darkness surrounds us immediately. Walter grabbed my hand immediately, assuring me that I was safe, that he was next to me.

I felt ropes of hot come coat the walls of my vagina then everything went dark. Sun rays warmed my face and I groaned. I turned multiple times and I realized I wasn't in my bed because I would be on the floor after the second turn. I stretched and a large strong hand wrapped around my waist. The hand pulled me and my back hit his hard chest. I was confused for a minute then everything that happened the night before came rushing to my head and I groaned.

A future no longer bound by darkness, but written entirely in light.

Marlene knew the hardships Jamila faced daily. “I hate this feeling. I hate it so much,” she muttered, eyes swelling with unshed tears. She stripped off her clothes and changed into training wear, then walked toward her training room. “Liz played me Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,” she said as she walked to the middle of the stadium. She clicked her hands, and the robot turned on the music; red lights revealed the stage.

With a sweet lover like her by his side, Darren would quickly erase the memory of me. However, what Betty did not see coming was that the same chance would be the spark that blew up her relationship with Darren. In her excitement, she left her phone on Darren's table. As soon as she was gone, her phone started to buzz like crazy. Darren, annoyed, went to mute it but stopped dead when he saw the screen. "What is this?" He was staring at the messages Betty had broadcast, and the photos she had sent just to me. Darren's face twisted in anger.

Chapter Thirty: I Don’t Know How To Be Soft Without You POV: Elias Voss The office was dark. Not dimly lit. Not shadowed. *Dark.* Elias had killed every light source—the recessed overhead panels, the brass desk lamp, even the subtle LED strips lining the bookshelves. Only the indifferent glow of the city remained, bleeding through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Skyscrapers stood like sentinels, their windows glittering like scattered diamonds against the bruised twilight. The horizon still smoldered, a fading stripe of tangerine and rust where the sun had surrendered.