Lux: Volume 1
Edited by Rebecca Lewis
Copyright 2015 Rebecca Lewis
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Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Author: Ally I. Evans
Author: Bronwyn Graffham
Author: Elizabeth Hensarling
Author: Rebecca Lewis
Artist: Annika Probst
Author: Jase Namigala
Author: Sara Decker
Monthly Writing Contest Winners
Worlds of Fantasy (December 2014)
Showcase (January 2015)
Romance (February 2015)
Runaways (March 2015)
Preface
The Kimball High Literary Journal exists to create a community in which its members may strengthen their writing skills and share their works. We here aim to fortify our abilities by exploring different modes of literature and receiving feedback on our works from one another.
The road to improving our skills as creators is never smooth or easy. By providing members with a community in which they may find support and discuss ideas, we emerge as stronger writers in the end. In addition, while the Literary Journal is primarily dedicated to writers, we have fantastic artists among us because many topics we address also aid in their pieces. We reflect on the world around us through our works, whether they be fiction or nonfiction, and leave our mark on it because we declare that we had something to say. When we commit our ideas to paper, we interpret them in a form that the world can experience too.
This literary journal, Lux: Volume 1, is a compilation of the works of our members as well as winners from our monthly writing contests throughout the school year of 2014 to 2015. Each work is published here with the permission of its creator, and as such, belongs to its creator. On behalf of the writers and artists of the Literary Journal, I hope you enjoy these works.
Rebecca Lewis
President of the Kimball High School Literary Journal
Foreword
From the moment I stepped onto the Kimball campus as a substitute teacher, I knew there were talented kids here. I saw flyers for a poetry reading and "crashed" the event. I was impressed with the level of creativity and the strength of the students' voices. From that moment forward, I supported their Literary Journal Club. This year, as a full time teacher at John C. Kimball High School, I was honored to be the club advisor. It has been my pleasure and my inspiration. These kids are proud to be writers and artists and actors and musicians. They jump headfirst into their art with passion and intelligence. They study their craft, they inspire and share with each other generously, and they speak their truth with eloquence. I am so proud to have worked with such smart and talented kids. Their unique points of view make me confident about the future as it lays in their capable, creative hands. Shine on, Lux and the Light-bearers! Your beauty and truth is invaluable to this world!
Sincerely,
Teri Gartner
English/Speech and Debate Teacher
Literary Journal Club Advisor 2014-2015
A special thanks to Cerridwyn Graffham for creating the cover of Lux: Volume 1 and to Teri Gartner for serving as our advisor for the 2014 to 2015 school year.
Author: Ally I. Evans
Copyright © 2015 by Ally I. Evans
Welcome to Heaven
It happened so fast, I couldn’t comprehend it. At the same time. It happened so slow, I could see every millisecond. The phone in my hand went dead as the person on the other end fell. I moved as quickly as my body would allow me. His whole right side was mangled and his normally sandy blonde hair was coated in blonde. I ran my hand down the side of his head that wasn’t covered in blood. I felt his last breath.
I don’t know how long I sat there calling his name, expecting him to wake up. I heard the sirens coming and felt my dad lift me away from him.
I woke up in my bed room in the same clothes. I didn’t know how long I had slept.
“James,” I whispered.
I couldn’t think about it. I pushed myself out of bed with my weak arms and changed into sweats and a t-shirt. As I made my way down the hall, I heard voices talking quietly.
“She hasn’t come out yet.”
My mother’s voice. Kind and gentle, but worried at the same time.
“It’s understandable. They really cared for each other.”
James’ mom’s voice. Of course they were here. He di – he was hit just outside our door.
“How long has it been?”
My voice sounded distant. Standing in the doorway of the room was terrible. The looks of sympathy and pain were terrible.
“It was Saturday night when it happened. It’s Monday now,” my dad said.
I stood awkwardly in the doorway. James’ mom shuffled in her purse and pulled out a little white box.
“He was bringing it to you. He’d want you to have it,” she said, holding out the box.
I moved toward her, dragging my body slightly. I grabbed the box and lifted the lid. If my heart wasn’t already broken, it would have then. A golden heart hung at the end of a gold chain. Engraved into the heart was a “J” and “K”. I bit my lip.
“Thank you,” I said, stilling sounding distant.
“It’s what he would have wanted.”
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
“Don’t you dare say that,” his father said. “It was the drunk driver’s fault. He’s the one who wasn’t paying attention.”
“James was coming to see me. It was my fault,” I said.
“It’s your fault because you were born? No, it’s not. Do not blame yourself,” he said.
I didn’t want to talk to them. I didn’t want their looks of sympathy and gentle voices. I walked into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door, only to close it again. The last picture James and I took together was hanging on the door. I took it off and looked at it. James was making a dorky face and I was laughing at him. I slipped it into the box with the necklace.
I remained in the kitchen until I heard his parents leave. His mom came and said goodbye. I was decent. My parents knew to leave me alone. I had to process it. I had to say it. He was – he was …
I stayed in my room as much as possible. I only came out for small meals and to grab the pictures I printed. I was working 24/7 on a scrapbook of him and me. Everything we had done. I also was supposed to be working on a speech to say at his funeral, but every time I pulled up my computer I just stared at the blank page.
I finished the speech the morning of the funeral. I still don’t know how I managed to write it when I couldn’t even say it.
I wore a simple black long sleeve dress and black tights. If coming out of my room that Monday was bad, the funeral was worse. Everyone knew how close we were. He was the only person without cancer that I talked to – other than my parents. The looks people gave me were terrible. I wanted to scream that I was strong enough to deal with it and that I didn’t need their sympathetic looks.
I don’t know how I listened to everyone before me. Listening to his family talk about childhood stories and his school friends talking about the James I knew was torture.
“And now we’d like to hear from someone who was closer with James these past two years than anyone else. Karoline.”
I stood up, shaking slightly. My speech was clenched into my hand and slowly made my way to the front.
“Hi,” I said nervously. “I wrote my speech this morning. I was struggling with it. That’s when I realized that I was trying to write what I wanted to hear, not what James would want to hear.”
I left my speech folded and passed it from hand to hand.
“He wouldn’t want to hear about how he made me believe that I could survive cancer. He wouldn’t want to hear about how he made me feel beautiful despite my lack of hair and lack of fat. He wouldn’t want to hear about how I see him – I see him get hit in my nightmares every night.
“He would want to hear about the prank we pulled on his older brother when he visited from college. He would want to hear about him sneaking up on me while I was singing at the top of my lungs. He would want to hear about the time he went swimming in the lake and I watched from the bank, throwing leaves and pebbles and sticks at him.
“He would want me to say it. He would want me to say what I haven’t been able to say. I watched him – I watched him die. And all I can see is his smiling face turning to blood. But slowly the memories are coming back, the good ones. When we went on a Disney cruise together, when I surprised him at school. And that’s all we have now, is the memories.”
I fingered the necklace.
“The days not lived are the worst of them all,” I finished. “I love you James.”
I don’t know how I made it through the months. I think I lived only in the memories of James. I saw him everywhere I went. I saw him in the apple tree in our back yard; I saw him in the lake down the dirt road; I saw him when I listened to his favorite albums. He was with me where ever I went, but his spirit was fading.
I no longer saw him dying in my dreams. I saw him fit and health. He would talk to me.
“I can’t stay with you much longer,” he said. “I have to move on. You’ll be here soon. This is the last time you’ll see me here. Go to the doctor tomorrow Karoline. Get tested again. You need to, okay?”
“What do you mean? I have breast cancer that’s spread to my arms,” I said.
“Go see the doctor. Say that you just want to check it.”
I did what James said, and that’s how I knew it was him. The doctor told me that the cancer was spreading to m vital organs and there was no way to stop it.
“We don’t know how much longer you’ll have, Karoline,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
My parents couldn’t look at me the same way again. I worked on my will with my parents, though both of them usually had to leave the room at some point. I knew they were both upset about it, and I should have been as well, but all I could think about was how I was one step closer to seeing James again.
I saw him dying again in my dreams and though I thought of him often, I couldn’t feel him anymore.
I woke up one morning feeling considerably weak. My heart hurt. I dragged myself into the kitchen where my mom was flipping pancakes and scrambling eggs at the same time.
“How did you sleep?” she asked.
“Fine,” I said.
She set down a plate in front of me and looked me in the eyes.
“You didn’t,” she said.
“You know,” I said. “Every night.”
“Say it Karoline, say it for me.”
“I see him die every night.”
She looked sad. I knew that she and dad both loved me and didn’t want me to leave. We all knew it was coming though.
“Mom,” I said.
I didn’t have to say it. She could tell by the look in my eyes. She grabbed my hands.
“You’ll see him,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said, imagining what it would be like to see him again.
The day was a blur. I signed my will and wrote a brief note to my parents about what I wanted them to do. I wanted them to move on. I wanted them to remember me for my good points, not my bad.
That night I closed my eyes and I could feel my heart struggling to beat. I prayed for it to just let go.
I woke up. It was different than waking up. It was coming back to life. I saw white at first and that was it. Then it slowly came into shape. White was the prominent color. White ground, light blue sky, and a white building. I reached up and pulled a piece of my orange hair so that I could see it. I had hair again. My arms looked full and healthy and I felt better than I had in years. I knew what had happened.
I jumped up and looked around. People mingled around chatting. I looked around.
“Karoline.”
I turned around. There he was, healthy and beautiful. I ran toward him. As we embraced, he lifted me up off the ground and spun me around.
“Look at you,” James said. “Just like in the pictures in your house.”
“Look at you, just like I remember you.”
“Welcome to heaven, Karoline.”
“Welcome to Heaven.”
Who We Are
The dead of night pounded against Evan’s head as he stumbled around his room. He threw what he could into his duffle bag – clothes, his laptop, his favorite books, his phone. He knew the blood was dry against his temple by this point. Head lights pushed into his room from the window, only making his head pound worse. He stumbled to his window and threw it open. The wind pushed against him, sending chills down his back. A voice called out.
“Ev! Evan!”
Evan looked out, a figure making its way toward him. As it got closer, he could see that it was Daniel and he sighed with relief. He tossed his duffle bag out to Daniel and shouldered his school backpack. He was thankful that his room was on the first floor as he jumped out of the window. Daniel’s soft hands cupped Evan’s face and turned it from side to side.
“What did they do to you baby?” Daniel asked, his eyes clouded with worry.
“Just get me out of here Danny,” Evan chocked out.
Daniel wrapped an arm around Evan’s waist and got him into his pick-up truck. The house lights lit up and Evan’s dad came out, screaming and yelling, but Daniel just drove away with his tires squealing. Evan slid over on the truck’s bench seat so he was next to Daniel. Daniel wrapped an arm around Evans and held him close.
It wasn’t a long drive to Daniel’s house. His arm took its place around Evan’s waist, half carrying him to the house. The light in the house only made Evan’s wounds look worse. Daniel’s room was on the second floor so he carried Evan up the stairs, despite Evan’s protests, and laid him on the bed.
Daniel growled as he looked over Evan’s wounds. “I’ll kill them.”
“Just don’t make me go back there Danny. Please.”
“Of course my darling. You’ll stay here.”
“What about your parents? What will they say?”
“They’ll be happy to have you. I’m going to get some stuff to clean you up.”
Evan grabbed Daniel’s wrist, stopping him from leaving.
“In the morning,” Evan whispered. “Just lay with me, please.”
Daniel nodded and laid down next to Evan. He pulled him into his arms as if protecting him from the rest of the world. Evan nuzzled his head into Daniel’s neck, shaking a little. Daniel calmed him, rubbing circles into his back.
“You shouldn’t have told them about us,” Daniel whispered.
“Don’t say that Danny. I didn’t want to hide anymore. I love you with all my heart and I couldn’t bear keeping it a secret. We shouldn’t have to hide. We don’t have to know.”
“They hurt you! Just because of what you – what we are!”
“And I knew that my beautiful boyfriend was going to carry me off into the sunset.”
Daniel blushed softly and kissed Evan’s head softly.
“I love you Ev.”
“I love you too Danny.”
Unlikely Help
Dusk was falling the small, quiet town in a rural part of Virginia. A young man with his hoo
d pulled up and a suspicious object at his waist walked into the town’s motel. The person at the desk didn’t give him a second look as he got a room for one. No one gave the young man the second look as he made his way to room 13. No one - except one. One watched as the young man pulled open the door and quietly slipped into the motel room, as slipping into darkness. One watched as the young man pulled out a short sword from its sheath on his belt and checked its shine before replacing it. One watched from afar and the young man felt it. His teal eyes trained upward and searched the people outside the window. So many people but none of them looking. One was though. He could sense it. His eyes scanned over the people. So ordinary, boring. His eyes stopped. A woman sat on a bench across street. Her red hair cascaded down to the bottom of her shoulders. Her green eyes focused on other things. Something was different about her though. Was it the way she held herself? Or the way the light reflected behind her, almost as though two giant wings sat on her back, invisible to all.
Of course, the young man thought.
Did she know? Is that why she is here? Was heaven finally after him as well as hell?
He checked his blade one more time before stepping out of his room again. The sun had finally set and the shadows came out. His time of day. He could use to shadows to his advantage if things got ugly. She saw him coming. She knew he would. He was quicker to figure it out than she expected. Perhaps he was smarter than he appeared. She didn’t say anything as he sat beside her, waiting for him to speak first. She sat straighter and her wings, unnoticed by all unless you knew how to look right, adjusted themselves so not to hit the young man beside her.
“How much do you know?” the man asked.
“Enough, Phenex,” the woman said.
The young man tried not to show his discomfort as she spoke his name. If she knew his name, she knew what he was. If she knew what he was –
“I’m not here to kill you,” she said.
“Tell me your name and I’ll be the judge of that.” For the first time, the two locked eyes. Phenex’s dark teal eyes met the woman’s solid green eyes in the dark of the night.
“I am Anabiel, Angel of Stupidity,” she said simply.
“You’re the one who stopped World War III, correct?”
“Of course. And you are the son of Lucifer and Lilith, are you not?”
Phenex was silent. The big question. Of course she would ask. The question was, was he really their child?” “They are no parents to me,” he said.
“I know, Phenex. That’s why I’m here,” Anabiel said. “We need your help.”
“We? You mean heaven?”
“Yes and no. Heaven is trying to remain uninvolved.”
“Then who?” Phenex frowned slightly at the red head.
“You’ll meet them soon enough. Right now that is not the issue. Just listen. Have you heard the rumors?”
“I try to avoid demons, so if they’re spreading rumors about me, I haven’t heard,” Phenex said sarcastically, earning a slight smile from Anabiel.
“Not about you. They are trying to raise your father,” she said.
“Well, that’s a mood dampener. He’ll kill everyone.”
“That’s why we need your help.” Phenex sighed and thought for a minute. He didn’t like helping people normally. That drew too much attention. However, his father rising was not something he was going to let happen.
“How can I help?” he asked softly.
“I need a big favor from you. I need you to go back down to the pit. Two girls will be there. They’re the ones that will need your help.”
“I don’t like that idea.” Anabiel looked at him and showed some remorse.
“I know you don’t want to return. The only way they’re going to be able to stop this is if you can lead them through and out of the pit. You need to get them to trust you. You need to get both of them out safe.”
“And you trust me with that?’ Phenex asked.
“You sound surprised that I do,” Anabiel said.
“People don’t tend to trust me.”
“People see who your parents are and judge you off of that. You are the best person for this. You’re the only person who can do this. So tell me, Phenex: will you help us save the world?”
“I’ll help you stop my father.”
The Longest Chase
My Darling,
It was two years ago that you were taken. I remember it well. I came home, and from the outside everything seemed fine. When I came inside, I first noticed the picture. You hadn’t spoken to your brother in years, yet suddenly there was a picture of you and him on the piano. I tried to explain this to the police when they finally arrived, but they thought I was crazy. I was so proud of you though. I could almost hear you asking me to find you. I knew that you had left the picture as a clue for me to find.
Jessie helped me. She tracked down your brother’s cell phone, but I soon discovered that he was in jail for gang related violence. So why was the picture of you and him out? It took me months to find the connection. There had been no ransom note and your parents suspected you to be dead. I wouldn’t take that though. I was glad I didn’t because when I found out that your first serious boyfriend was friends with your brother, I knew I hit the jackpot. Jessie came to my aid again. She tracked where he’d been over the last few months.
It was the cabin in the woods I checked first. It took me hours to find it but I finally did. Your favorite scarf was tied to a tree. The cabin itself had blood stained on the wooden floor. My heart stopped. I ran back to the tree with your scarf started digging …
It’s been a year since the police started looking for him. I fear he’s gone for good and will never get the justice he deserves. They told me that when they examined your body they discovered you were pregnant. I lost two people to that psycho. My two babies, my wife and my child. My life. I only have theories about why he did it, and perhaps that is better than actually knowing why.
If only I had made the connection between him and your brother sooner. If only I hadn’t stayed late at work that day. If only … if only … so many if onlys.
I love you my darling and I miss you. I feel as though a part of me is missing. It’s been two years and it still feels weird without you beside me. I know you would want me to move on. I will someday, but not right now. I’m not ready to let you go yet. I love you.
Your Love
Always
Fairy Wings and Piercings
Every girl in the school had her eyes on Tanner of the Wiccans. Perhaps it was his black, spikey hair. Perhaps it was his blue eyes. They weren’t the pale baby blue that most people and creatures had, but a pure almost unreal blue. Perhaps it was the Wiccan tattoos that peeked out the collar of his shirt or perhaps that piercings on his ears, lip, and eyebrow. Perhaps it was his broomstick. For me, it was this that first caught my eye. It was a dark navy blue – almost black – and two black wings jutted out from the back of the bike. They weren’t fairy wings, like mine. They were feathery, angelic wings.
I would never admit that I was head over heels for him. I would admit to myself that he was attractive, but I told myself that he was most likely an egotistical jerk. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t fall for a guy like me. I was just an everyday fairy – light brown hair, green eyes, and a shy personality.
I tugged nervously at my sweatshirt as I walked down the hallway that was generally deserted at this time. Perchance this why I was so surprised to see Tanner leaning against the wall. My wings fluttered, matching my heart perfectly. I cursed that he could see the spark of my attention because of my wings and kept my head down as I walked by.
“Callen? That’s your name right?”
I looked up, surprised by his words.
“Y-yeah that’s me,” I stuttered.
Tanner flashed his normal smirk and beckoned me over. I thought for only a second before walking over to him. He held one hand behind his
back and when I reached him, he reached his hand up and placed something behind my ear. I reached my hand up and touched it, realizing that it was a flower. I blushed instantly.
“Fairies like flowers, right?” Tanner said.
I looked at him. He actually seemed nervous! I could almost see a pink tinge on his cheeks, but it was gone in a second as he composed himself again. I smiled reassuringly at me and he smirked. Within a second, he had my back to the wall and his hands on either side of his head. I didn’t shy away from his as I expected myself too. Instead I just stood there, more shocked than anything. Tanner looked a little shocked as well at what he had just done.
“We should hang out some time,” he said, his voice low and husky.
I blushed and nodded, my wings fluttering like crazy. He reached his hand out and gently touched them, smiling.
“They’re beautiful, you know?” he whispered.
I blushed more. He leaned in and gently pecked my lips before backing away.
“See you around Callen.”