Caged Heart

Hey guys, we have a new short story! This one is by a guest writer and titled Caged Heart. We hope you enjoy it! Read it and share it with your friends!

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Caged Heart

     Breathe.

     My chest rises and falls in a constant rhythm.  I dare not open my eyes, dare not look at the room around me.  The muffled sounds are enough to disquiet my mind, I don't need the images to go along with it.

     Thump.  Thump.  Thump.

     I lie as still as I can, my arms stretched straight on either side of me.  I've lost all feeling in my body, and now it's as if I'm just floating in nothingness.  If I were to concentrate hard enough, I could feel the surface below me.

     Exist.

     Soft, comfortable.  A bed beneath me with a pillow under my head.  Blankets cradle me, holding me as if to say that nothing will hurt me.  The sounds around me do not reassure me of that fact.

     Thump.  Thump.  Thump.

     I slowly lift my eyelids to see the hazy red dark around me.  The muffled sound of a beating heart echos through this room.  The walls move in and out with the movement.  Please, make it stop, make the noise stop.

     I want silence.

     I glance around the room slowly and notice an opening, as if the red of this room is but a curtain to be pulled back.  I slide out of the bed and walk toward the opening, peering out of it and into a dark hallway.  The hall is narrow, but I run through it all the same; anything to get away from that room.

     Tight.

     On either side of me are large ovular shapes which contract and relax, pressing around me more and more.  My range of movement seems to become smaller and smaller.  Oh, help me, please.  I can't breathe.

     Help me...

     I squeeze past the things and slam into hard horizontal bars.  They seem to curl around me as I reach my fingers through them.  I want out, I want out.  But there's nothing on the other side of these bars.  Nothing but blackness.  Emptiness.

     Please, I want out.

     The cage is getting smaller, curling more tightly around me.  No, no, no, what is this?  Why is this happening to me?  The sound of the heartbeat is growing louder in my ears.  Stop, stop this, please.  The pulsating lungs press against my back, making me squeeze between them.  Oh please, help me, I can't breathe.

     Let me out.

     I'm pressed back into the heart room, fall back into the bed, become ensnared in the blankets which won't let me go.  The cage continues to shrink until it's only around the bed now.  There's no escape, and the heart continues to beat.

     Thump.  Thump.  Thump.

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Vera Aisling is a young author who specializes in fantasy, surreal psychological horror, and supernatural, as well as emotional pieces.  She enjoys anime and video games as well as writing heart wrenching back stories for her beloved characters. Check out her blog at: https://dragonoftenebrae.wordpress.com/

The House for Lost Things - Part Twelve

Hey guys! This is part twelve of the House for Lost Things. We hope you enjoy it and would love to have your feedback. Please read it and pass it on!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Also, as this story draws to a close we are looking to you, the audience for more ideas for the next story. Please comment or email cherise.tess@gmail.com or nevermoreemergingflame@gmail.com with your ideas and feedback. Thanks!

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Edward Brickell.

The name has been at the forefront of my mind for a long time. The Outside world has treated me well enough. Upon returning home, I have lived in our house with my brother. It is just the two of us now, these seven years later, but we live happily and comfortably.

Even in freedom, I’ve thought of Master often. Of how lonely he must be. I’ve wondered if someone else has been lost and taken my place in the Mansion, or if he is still alone. And then there are days like today, when I’ve thought of finding him.

I know where he is, though. I merely dread going to the place. Because inside, I know that there is no way for him to escape the Mansion. His eternity is somehow bound to the Mirror and the Mansion. Master...he belongs there.

I pull a white shawl close around me as I walk down the roadside toward the fields where I’ve often thought of going. I cross the road, rocks crunching under my feet as I approach the wooden fence separating this place from the rest of the town.

The gate is securely latched, but comes unfastened easily when I open the gate. I shut it behind me, lifting my skirt out of the way of the wood as it snatches for them. Then, I latch it behind me with a sigh.

Gathering my courage, I walk along through the fields, taking my time to pick some flowers from the spring’s fresh spray of color as I go. There are trees, large beautiful ones with green leaves that form coverings of shade over my as I walk.

And birds. Beautiful, lovely, majestic birds that Master loves, flying through the air and sitting among the tree branches. But no eagles. I have yet to see an eagle.

I stride through the tall grass with a meager handful of fresh flowers. When I reach the top of the hill, I stop. There is a tree among a small cluster some yards away. The breeze is ruffling its leaves and there are squirrels scampering among its branches. Master sits beneath it.

I smile sadly and approach.

Kneeling down before him, I place the flowers in the grass. I tuck my feet beneath my skirt and let my shawl slide down my shoulders some.

“Hello, Master,” I murmur softly.

I reach out a hand and run it over the cold, hard curve of the stone that marks the place where he was lost. His name is carved in it. The years of his birth and his death. And the message: “Beloved brother, friend, and soldier.”

A small sigh builds in my chest as I look down at him.

So this is why no one searched for him...they knew where he was.

I press my palm against the stone, rubbing my thumb along the letters of his name.

“I found you, Edward,” I whisper.

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Well, guys. That's the end of this delightful story. If you have any thoughts or comments or ideas for future stories, please email us at nevermoreemergingflame@gmail.com. Thank you everyone for remaining faithful readers!