Back in the saddle

Meaning that this story isn’t sad.

L. E. White

A Night to Forget

Kaitlin sat cross legged on the bed. She had her head down so that her chin was on her chest. Long blonde hair hung down to brush against her bare thighs. Every few seconds, and tear would fall from her nose to land on her crossed ankles.

“You know he isn’t worth crying over,” Charity said. She was sitting on Kaitlin’s pillows, leaning back against the wall. “He is a prick and he treated you like shit. You are better off without him.”

“Then why does it hurt so much?”

“Because you really liked him.”

“How could he just dump me like this? After all we’ve been through and all I’ve done for him.”

“Again, that would be because he’s a prick.”

“Aren’t you supposed to say something to make me feel better?”

“Yeah,” Charity said. “And I did that a while ago. Now we have moved on to the waiting on you to get over it enough to go out and get all the way over him part.”

Kaitlin lifted her chin enough to lock red rimmed eyes on her cousin. “I don’t think that is going to help.”

“You won’t know until you try,” Charity said. “Besides, you can’t say you have ever felt worse after going out.”

***

Kaitlin blinked, snarling at the bright light which made her feel like tiny knives were being shoved into her eyes. She shifted, feeling knots in her back. It felt like she was lying on the floor, but she couldn’t remember.

Her head was thumping, and she remembered Charity saying something about never feeling worse after going out.

“Yeah right,” she mumbled, fighting to sit up without falling back over.

She turned her face away from the light and took a long time to open her eyes. Her skin was sticky and she could taste vomit in her mouth.

Her stomach clenched, and Kaitlin fought to keep from vomiting. She won the fight, but she didn’t know how long she would be able to keep doing it.

She focused on the floor, and wondered what the sticky red syrup was. She whispered, “Oh God,” when she realized that she was naked. She was covered in red, and wondered what sick pervert she had hooked up with the night before. Having drunken sex with a stranger was bad, but having drunken sex while covered in strawberry syrup had to be worse.

She looked around more, and started to hyperventilate when she saw the foot that was lying on the floor beside her.

She realized that it wasn’t her foot and that she wasn’t covered in strawberry syrup at about the same time. Then, she started screaming.

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xkcd: Typical Morning Routine

xkcd: Typical Morning Routine.

 

This is me.

ugghhh

Ugghhh is really the only word I can come up with. Sometimes, the story just comes out sad.

|: – (

L. E. White

Tears

It felt like my cheeks were going to burn. The heat of the tears as they slid over my skin burnt, even if they wouldn’t leave a mark. I never knew if it was because they were warmer than the air or if it was from the salt in them. I would never know, because I didn’t care enough to look it up. They burned when they came out and I hated them.

Of course, they were my own fault. I know that to sit and stare at old pictures brings up memories. I had been hoping that I would have happy memories, but as usual, my mind went somewhere dark and painful. I wish I had more control of it, but I just couldn’t muster up enough energy to fight the flow. After a while, you just can’t keep fighting.

Some people say you choose to be happy or not. I say the only people who can do that are the ones who have managed to avoid the deepest pain. There comes a point where you are so far down in the hole that the light won’t really stand out from the darkness anymore. I also think that the only people who go that deep are the ones holding their own shovels.

The picture was a happy one. It showed me my children, who are all gone and their children have children of their own. It showed me a time before they started doing things I didn’t agree with. It showed me a time from so long ago that I still grounded them.

That picture had her in it.

She was smiling, the same way she had before she had gotten sick. Her eyes were bright, sparkling with love and mischief and a little bit of chaos that bordered on evil.

I loved her.

Once, on a hot summer day long before the pain had come, I had told friends that I would do anything for her. It had been true and years later, that was exactly what I had done.

Anything.

Everything.

In the end, it had all been nothing. I made deals, committed sins and performed dark acts, all for her. I was so desperate to get our happiness back that I let them lie to me. I had to try. I would create my own happiness. I decided that I would choose rather than letting things be decided for me.

I tried.

I failed.

The tears burn, but they won’t leave a mark. They won’t leave any scars on the outside. The scars that crying leaves behind are all on the inside. They rip open with every new tear.

D.O.M.R.A.D Final

Here is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for the delay.

L. E. White

Department of Magical Research and Development

Final

The commons was empty except for the staff, who joined the students for dinner before leaving them on their own. Sam, Dave and Walter ended up playing video games while Charity sat outside.

The moon climbed into the sky, and Charity turned around at the sound of footsteps. Sam smiled at her. “Mind if I join you?”

“Depends.” Charity turned back around and leaned her head back to stare up at the moon. “Are you going to hit on me like Dave and Walter did?”

“No,” Sam said. “I think my girlfriend would kick my ass for that.”

Charity chuckled.

“Did both of them actually come out here and try to hook up with you?”

“Yeah. Walter must be used to girls doing what he wants because he just walked up and asked if I would blow him. Dave offered to get me high.”

Sam sat down beside her and shook his head. “Real romance huh.”

Again, she chuckled. “Why are you out here?”

“I just wondered what you plan to do tomorrow. The others are all set to do this and I think I am going to say yes, but you seemed to be questioning it more.”

“I am.”

***

Breakfast was quiet, with Dave and Walter stealing glances at Charity. She and Sam were talking quietly, and she would giggle every now and then.

The staff joined them after they had finished, and Haley took the seat at the head of the table. “Alright,” she said. “It is now time for you to prepare to head home. You need to understand, if you choose to pass now, you will not be offered another chance. Are any of you ready to make your decisions?”

Charity, Sam and Walter nodded, but Dave sat up straighter and crossed his arms. “Why can’t we have any time to consider this?”

“You do have. I told you we must have an answer before fall session starts,” Haley said. “However, we like to ask before you are bound.”

“Bound?” Walter asked.

“Yes,” Haley said. “We place a binding on you when you agree that will tell us if you tell anyone the truth. It is on you for the entire time you are a student. We remove it after you graduate and are accepted into the organization. We have to place a different binding on you if you are undecided. Same idea, but the spell is different.”

“What does it do to us,” Charity asked.

“Nothing,” Haley said. “It tells us if you tell the secret. That is all.”

“Fuck this,” Dave said. “I am not agreeing to this shit.”

Haley nodded and looked at each of the others in turn.

“I am in,” Walter said. “I want to study here.”

“I want to join,” Sam said. “I don’t need to wait.”

Charity sat for a few minutes, staring at her plate. She looked at Sam out of the corner of her eyes before sighing. “I want to.”

Haley smiled but kept looking at Charity. “You want to what?”

“I want to study here. I don’t need any more time.”

Dave shook his head. “You are all fucking nuts.”

“Catch,” Tom said as he tossed a small blue ball to Dave.

The ball was headed right for Dave’s face. Tom hadn’t thrown it hard or fast, and Dave snatched it out of the air. “What the fu…”

Dave turned blue as the ball seemed to melt into his palm. His eyes widened and he stopped breathing. When he started screaming, everyone in the room covered their ears.

It was over in a few seconds. Dave screamed until his eyes turned purple, then he fell over. The ball reformed in his hand and rolled across the floor away from the table.

“What the hell,” Walter said.

“He made his decision,” Haley said. “And that is how we removed his memories. He will wake up at home and his parents will tell him he got sick on his trip and they sent him back.”

“Don’t worry,” Sam said as he stood up. “He won’t remember the pain and you won’t feel any from the binding spell. Welcome, new students to the Benjamin Franklin University of Magic.”

Delays

Hi,

This week’s post must be cancelled. I will finish the story next week.

L. E. White

Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip, April 05, 2015 on GoComics.com

Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip, April 05, 2015 on GoComics.com.

 

Yeah.

D.O.M.R.A.D.#8

I am feeling a little down so just the story this week. Happy April Fool’s Day.

L. E. White

Department of Magical Research and Development

# 8

“Alright everyone, how was your day?”

The four kids looked at each other and nodded, smiling at their hosts before turning back to Haley.

“Well, if these four have struck you speechless, then it must have been a good tour.”

The guides excused themselves while the kids took seats around a small conference table. Haley stood at the head of the table with her hands behind her back.

“I realize that this is a lot to take in, but there are a few final things that we need to discuss. These are very important, so you need to pay close attention.”

Haley looked at each of them, and as her gaze moved along, the group looked at each other. When Haley was satisfied that she had their attention, she nodded and took her seat.

“Now, this is a lot. You have just been offered a chance at a free education in a field that none of you knew existed. You have been told that you can decline and continue on like normal, but that you can’t tell anyone what is really happening. Are we all in agreement?”

Four heads nodded in unison.

“Good, now we need to discuss a little bit more. As you may have guessed, we do this every year. Every year, we have people who leave the program or turn it down. Did it occur to you that this is an awfully big secret to keep?”

“Yeah,” Dave and Charity said. They both said it the same way. Drawing out the word in hesitation.

“The reason that works is simple. If you decide not to join us, we will use magic to erase your memory of today.”

“Bullshit,” Walter said.

Haley looked at him and shook her head. “Nope. We can do it.”

“What do you use, some kind of flashy thing like they did in the MIB movie?”

Haley smiled, but it was a sad smile. “No, we have a demon that will eat the memories out of your mind.”

Walter and Dave both looked shocked. Charity didn’t seem to think much of the threat, but Sam went white.

“No,” Sam said.

Haley looked at him, and this time her face looked sympathetic. “Afraid so.”

The other three looked at him, but nobody said anything else.

“So if you decide that you will or will not join today, we will proceed from there,” Haley said. “But remember this, because it is really important. Having memories removed is painful. The longer you have them, the more it hurts when the demon removes them. If you don’t want to do this and you say so now, it won’t be that bad. If you go home to think about it and then decide not to come here, it will be worse.”

“So instead of an option, now you are telling us that we join or get tortured?”

Haley shook her head at Charity. “No, it isn’t torture. The reason we tell you now is to try to get you to make a decision tonight. You are all staying here, think about it and tell me in the morning.”

“I don’t have too,” Sam said. “I want this.”

“Why,” Dave asked.

“Because I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life anyway. This is as good as any other option.”

Charity shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to know right now,” Haley said. “You have until the start of the fall semester. We just feel its important to tell you the truth up front.”

Walter nodded at Sam and turned to Haley. “I don’t need time either. I’m in.”

Dave nodded. “Me too, this seems really cool.”

Haley smiled and stood up. “Either way, you will have to fill out forms in the morning. For tonight, you each get to have a dorm room and hang out in the lounge.”

The four of them followed Haley out of the room. Charity was the last, walking with her arms wrapped tight around her and her eyes on the floor.