Monsters in the Dark, Part 1
“‘Alice, are you ready to go?’ Ian turned back from scrabbling through trash.”
Author Archives: Christina Poulin
Through the Cracks
“Once I broke the trust they had /
I regret breaking a pickle jar”
Where I Am From
“I am from the heat of my village /
And the blizzard of a New York winter /
I can feel my sweat freeze”
Fracture
“The first time was when I was eight. I’d been bouncing on the balls of my feet, waiting for my best friend outside in the scorching hot playground, but when she arrived, she told me she wanted a break from me and was going to go play with someone else today.”
Settling
“Mr. Murphy was a settling man who lived free of companions, but the fact of the matter is this – he was not lonesome. Lonesomeness in his case was silent and unclassified, but he did play around with his own concepts. He sat on the porch of our shack, drowsy and what seemed to be drunk.”
Wright: The Oil Chain
“Trapped in a hellhole. That is how I felt when I got shipped to a little farm 70 miles away from civilization. While rolling away from my parents’ driveway, my dad yelled, ‘Have fun at my parents’ house!'”
Penguins
“Penguins are better than people. They are the most loyal animals, staying with their friends forever. When penguins find a partner, they never leave; they are together for life.”
Proposal
“They’d been together for six years now. Six years. It still didn’t feel like that long.”
No Second Chances for Your Love
“Chaerin walked down the steps of her house, plugging her earbuds into her phone, and pressed play on her music playlist. She was going to the supermarket to buy food. She walked down the dairy aisle, checking the sell-by dates on each container.”
The Swan
“These were no ordinary pair of scissors. They were my mother’s sewing scissors. They were gold and delicately molded by some craftsman long ago into the shape of an elegant swan in flight.”
To Be Blocked
“Diving off a racing block into a swimming pool. The anxiety – would I mess up? Would my goggles fall down?”
Bat Mitzvah
“I remember arriving, and thinking everything looked picture perfect. /
I remember it was dark, but at the same time very bright. /
I remember demanding that my friends were called by their nicknames.”
Aubrey
“‘You guys, I don’t think this is a good idea.’ I hate the dark. And the woods.”
Feeling Colors
“Dear Blue, /
I hope you’re doing well. /
But recently I heard you are doing quite bad.”
Too
“The world had progressed to develop many great things in technology — the self-writing pen, light-weight bulletproof clothing now available in regular day fashion, food production from oxygen, and now this: your very own ‘fear in a box’ — an internet sensation so big, its producer, Mike Hentalburg, had overcome even Jeffrey Bezos. It was advertised only by influencers with the biggest follower counts. I heard they didn’t even get paid — it was all for the chance with the box.”
Dear Little Ladybug
“Dear little lady bug,
By the time you read this, I will be gone. I didn’t mean to leave you. I love you, but I won’t be coming back.”
Mission Ten
“In a world of 7.8 billion people, 5 nonillion germs exist. And many are yet to be discovered. And one was eradicated due to the brave actions of I. Cannabreeve and Jack Hesber. Or so they thought.”
Half Bloods and the Time Traveling Pen
“‘Catch him!’ I shouted at the top of my lungs. My fellow ninjas and I jumped from house to house to catch a villain that is my best friend!”
Hatred
“There was this cube. This specific cube that almost ended the universe. Well, if it could destroy the whole mighty universe, it was no ordinary cube.”
Jackson Opus
“Jack sat hunched miserably against the morning wind, which threatened to blow his cap off. He pulled his cap lower, hiding his dark orange eyes. ‘Who can compete in a basketball competition at seven in the morning?’ he grumbled unhappily.”