Hopelessly Hopeful Novels & Stories

After giving her the special medicine, I shook my head regretfully. “I can save her life, but she’ll be paralyzed from now on. Mark’s theory of natural selection doesn’t hold under extreme post-apocalyptic conditions. She’s been exposed to high temperatures for too long. Her internal organs are already ninety percent cooked. Besides, no electrical system can withstand these conditions for long. His refrigerated warehouse is completely useless.” Mr. O'Connor broke down in tears. “My granddaughter, how could you be so foolish, believing that scoundrel Mark? Will risked everything for you, even though you despised him. He developed special medicine for you, and what have you done in return?”

I had even allowed myself to hope. That hope felt foolish.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now? Hope is the most addictive substance on this earth, Ember. More addictive than the herbs, more destructive than anything Rafael ever put in a compound. I have been HOPING for months. I hoped when they said six months. I hoped when the coughing started. I hoped when the blood came and I told myself it was just irritation. I hoped every single morning when I opened my eyes and thought maybe today the tests would come back different, maybe today the trajectory would change, maybe today would be the day someone told me I wasn’t dying.” She’s gasping between the words and the gasping is wet and laboured and the tissue in her hand is soaked

I wasn't sure how many more blows I could take. But one thing was clear. I wasn't getting out of here anytime soon. And I had to stop hoping. Because hope was the cruelest chain of them all. ​

A spark of something forward-moving. Hope.

I shake my head forlornly, “they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. So I would be crazy to think I can keep meeting the sun each morning without inviting more heartache… wouldn’t I?” “That depends. What you call crazy, others might call hope.” The second man replies, making no move to look at or touch me. The three of us simply stare out at the frozen expanse with the same melancholy spirit, watching the river rushing below the ice so far below. “Hope is a privilege for those born in the light.” I reply, not entirely understanding where these words are coming from. “They know that the darkness is only temporary because they d

Sarah's heart sank as she felt the grip of despair tighten around her, her hopes of salvation slipping further away with each passing moment. "We can't give up now," Alex urged, his voice strained with the effort of holding onto their dwindling hope. "We've come too far to let this darkness defeat us." Despite his words of encouragement, doubt gnawed at Sarah's resolve, threatening to extinguish the flicker of hope that remained. With their strength ebbing away and their options dwindling, they faced an impossible choice: to surrender to the void or to fight on against all odds. But as they braced themselves for what seemed like an inevitable defeat, a voice echoed through the darkness, pier

~~~ R-O-M-12:12—12|13|14|15 - hope II-C-O-R-4:10—31|32|33|34|35 - dying J-O-H-N-3:16—17|18|19|20|21 - world 4_2_3_5_5 H O P E _ _ _ _ _ D Y I N G W O R L D 4 2 3 5 5 ~~~ “Hope on the Dying World?” - Xol “Hope in the Dying World?” - Czaquira “Hope of the Dying World.” Timotheus uttered.

These lips… I proceeded to touch my supple, red, sultry lips. “These are the ones that saved me from further embarrassment a while ago.” Indeed, if I weren’t too soon excused myself, I could have been laughed at. But wait… these are also the ones who made me slip the chance of having a new acquaintance out of Harold Kang. He was quite interesting. Well, I had only been interested after he proclaimed to be a North Korean defector. “My thoughts are running wild again.” It’s not unusual for my mind to focus on different topics at once. I have been aware of this tendency hence I cannot accept the fact that I lost today’s rare item!

“But we’re still going to check it out.” The old man sighed, shaking his head. “Good luck to you, then. You’ll need it.” As we walked away from the camp, the sun dipping lower on the horizon, I felt a storm brewing inside me. Hope was a dangerous thing. It could lift you up, make you feel alive again. But it could also destroy you. As we headed toward New Haven, I didn’t know if we were about to find salvation… or our undoing.