《Tales from the Afterworld - short stories collection》Story 010 - WAIT FOR ME (magical realism)
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WAIT FOR ME
In that bleak and chilly autumn morning, hundreds of people were waiting for the train, nervously shifting from foot to foot, their shoes heavy with sticky mud. Here and there, women opened their crippled, tattered umbrellas in a poor attempt to keep the rain away from their sad heads and ugly hats. Children wept pulling their mothers’ sleeves and nagging: when, when? Old men, their beards yellowed by acrid smoke, stood aside from women and children and chewed nervously on their nasty hand made cigarettes…
The sky, as greyish-white as watered-down milk, sprayed the crowd with that sort of drizzling rain that turns excitement into apathy as quickly as it turns road dust into mud.
The train had been already two hours late. The very train that was to bring their boys and men home. The war was over. Everyone knew life must get better from now on, yet no one in this crowd was smiling anymore.
In the middle of the heavy silence, a group of women quietly exchanged a few words. They asked who was waiting for whom and showed each other yellowed photographs where faces of their beloved always remained as young and tender and full of life as spring flowers.
“And who are you waiting for?” one of them asked of a sad old man with a face wrinkled far beyond his age and eyes as red and swollen as if he’d been crying for hours.
“My daughter,” he answered briefly.
The women fell silent at once, just like little kids hushed by an adult. Now they were waiting for her as well, a curiosity, a living miracle: the woman that fought in a war. And wondered: what was she like?
“You know, this man is waiting for his daughter,” a hushed whisper crawled through the crowd, waking it up, drawing people together, their apathy shaken off, their hearts filled with hope again. Perplexed, intrigued, curious, women with ugly hats and tattered umbrellas and men, their cigarettes forgotten, now waited for her as well...
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The silence exploded in a wild roar as a shrill sound of the train whistle reached the station coming from beyond the thick mass of the forest, coloured red and orange by the young autumn. The train was coming! The crowd went crazy, weeping, crying, shouting, moving all together like a wriggling, insane alien creature.
There’s a song: “Wait for me and I’ll come back if your faith is strong enough…” Oh, these people did wait! They waited religiously, feverishly, with clenched teeth, with bitter tears, through endless nights and days. After all that, their loved ones must return. It can’t be otherwise!
There’s a belief, a very old and strong one, that if there is somebody waiting for you at home every minute, every second, with all their heart, miracles happen: bullets can not touch you, landmines go silent under your feet, rescuers come to your aid, wounds heal... Everything becomes possible if only someone loves you enough and stays vigilant all the time, to the end.
So they all did. They waited for their boys and men… and for her. They waited for her too…
The train, a long and greasy metallic snake, had stopped, hissing. There were curious eyes and faces of passengers behind the grilled windows, unrecognizable through the dirty glass. A magnified voice boomed over the station, announcing: “Zelenoozersk! Move out!”
Of course, just wait a little, they will come, they will descend the stairs, their dear soldiers, sons and fathers, husbands and fiancees, brothers and friends… And the girl, the one who fought in the war.
A door opened in the third carriage. A short girl jumped down to the ground. She looked boyish with her messy hair cut very short, streaked with early silver. She had lost her left eye and wore a patch now. Her left hand was in a sling. The crowd watched, bewitched, mesmerised, noticing every detail, up to the patches on her hat’s floppy ears… freckles on her face… the beginnings of a faint smile on her scarred lips...
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The girl’s father ran to her with a happy cry and hugged her. They were so look alike, father and daughter. Same nose, same heartily broad grin…
The train started and left the station. No one else came from it. Just she.
“Where are our boys?” Somebody whispered as if slowly awakening from a dream. “We’ve been waiting for them so hard…”
(March 27, 2003)
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The Magic of Logistics
The harbour Luc has been dropped into is not a normal one. It looks like a medieval town, it's full of strange people and some of them are waving magic around. Luc will need to rely on new friends and his own determination to learn how to harness the magic of the Aether. He has to find his way back home. --- Hi everyone, This is my first story in English. Please tell me if I've used a word incorrectly. It's a slow-paced, slice of life isekai focused on Luc's goal of going home, his learning of the magic and gathering the resources he needs to grow. The chapters after the first one will be about 2-3k words long. I'll try to post at least once a week. Hope you enjoy! Cover art from here: https://www.deviantart.com/joakimolofsson/art/Harbor-354494418
8 67World in Ruins
Enter Alex, pretty normal guy, budding interest in girls, good grades, sadly orphaned. He knew what he would do after graduation. He had hopes and dreams, mostly unfulfilled, like every other teenager there is. He knew what life would give him. Until a decisive morning changed everything. Congratulations Humanity, your greed and destruction of Nature has corrupted your worldcore. While your parents fight at the front, you, the children, are given a grace period, until you turn 20 years old. Then you have to join them and clean the corruption.It can’t be cleaned through simple means, but fear not, we, the most esteemed and paramount council, have given you tools to grow in power. Your world may crumble to ash and dust, but you will rise like a Phoenix or decay in timeless strife.Rise, grow and conquer your foe. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] - 04.22 Updates Monday & Thursday
8 102Id
Seven hundred years ago, three heroes, Icarus the Great, Grand Wizard Rigel and Magic Swordswoman Vega appeared in the Icarus Kingdom and established the Icarus Empire, having merged dozens of countries. Throughout the hundreds of years, the Empire has exerted a strong influence on many surrounding countries, some of which have become its subordinate countries. As the bastard child of a court maid and a nobleman, Id was destined to be nothing but a lowly eunuch of the Scandian palace. But through the hardships faced by his mother and a battleworn mercenary Id’s fate took a strange twist. Under the tutelage of a former Imperial Knight Commander, Id begins to grow, revealing his genius talent and unfathomable potential. But along with power he had never expected to gather, Id finds himself at the center of a conflict much bigger than he could possibly have imagined. Release Schedule: 4 chapters per week: 9am on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday Author: Maruhan Editor: Comet
8 159A Guy, A Latte and Status Screen.
Wa Lui Qi is an ordinary 19 y.o guy that has a weird power. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any weirder, a floating message appears in front of his eyes and bestows him with another extraordinary, if not supernatural powers. And there is no apocalypse, no alien invasion, no demon lord, or evil organization that planned to take over Earth. Then what is the point of having the skill to use a bow or dual wielding swords in Manhattan? How about Fire Magic? Fire Magic is cool but totally useless. Lightning magic? at least he doesn't need to worry about the electric bill anymore.
8 185Ley World-The Game
it is the year 2027 and the world's first VR-MMORPG is coming out. Jayson is lucky to be one of the 10,000 people selected to "Beta-Test" the game 2 months before it officially came out. He wants to explore the world, and if possible, become one of the best. He has two months to go strong before the rest of the world attempts to take a piee of the world for themselves. Follow him as he begins his new life. SPOILERS BELOW ARC 1-The Station After appearing in the "tutorial" part for his race, Jayson has to quickly become stronger and learn how to fend for himself. For now, life seems quite nice and cozy, but he has a lingering suspicion that something is wrong in all this.
8 183Because Of You
Grace Anderson was left packless and without a family when the most ruthless Alpha to walk on earth decided to avenge the death of his dead father, whom he believes was killed by Graces' very own pack, the Crescent Moon Pack. But how can an innocent pack be capable of such an atrocity? Answer is, they weren't capable of that.One misunderstanding led to hundreds dead, but in the midst of that there was one sole survivor; Grace Anderson, the Alphas younger sister. Traumatized, afraid, and alone Grace set out to explore the world and forget all the pain from her past.Now, three years later, she is back for the death anniversary of her pack. Returning every year on the same day is a yearly tradition, so why would this year be any different?Little does Grace know that this year will change her life forever.Not because she will come across a few new and unexpected people, but because she'll be coming across the one person who ruined her life and is the cause of her pain. That one person is the very own ruthless Alpha that wiped out the entire Crescent Moon Pack.The same Alpha who is also her mate.
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