Fantasy
The Salt in her Voice. Runner-Up in What the Myth Gets Wrong Challenge. Top Story - February 2026.
The myth says mermaids sing to lure sailors to their death. But why? The ocean is huge. Only 5 percent has been discovered by man. Why would a creature of the sea with that much space to roam ever care about the fate of men on ships? The answer, as it turns out, is not a simple one at all. The truth about the myth is older than the tides. Long ago before the first ship ever cut across the surface, the sea made a pact with the sky. The sky would take the souls of the drowned. Anyone who died in storms or any quiet accidents of the deep would have their soul lifted upward to the Heavens while the bodies would remain below, feeding the oceans endless hunger. The greedy sea however wanted more souls than the sky would claim. So it created mermaids. It gave them beautiful voices woven from currents and moonlight. It commanded them to sing. "Bring forth the ones who float where they should sink." it instructed them. So they did. They never killed out of malice but out of obligation. They sung to summon, not to seduce. A mermaid's voice could loosen the tether between the body and soul, making any man step willingly into the water. The sea would take the body and the sky would take the soul. Balance maintained.
By Sara Wilson2 months ago in Fiction
Harbingers of the Apocalypse
"For the love of Go....! What is this madness. What is happening. Am I dreaming". I am trapped in a nightmare. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding towards me. I try to run...but I am paralysed with fear, rooted numb with horror - for terrifying are they to behold. My mind is fast forwarding backwards, like a movie reel spinning in reverse. I stare stupidly at the symbolic figures from the Book of Revelation, representing significant events that will occur at the end of days.
By Novel Allen2 months ago in Fiction
You Must Join Me
They were all seated together in the drawing room. She had kept out of sight by staying behind the largest couch in the room. All of them had spoken about a monster that was lurking on the edge of town. Some form of beast that could take the form of anyone it had killed. This thing had hunted anything that dared to enter the forest for one reason or another.
By Raphael Fontenelle2 months ago in Fiction
There's A Vampire in Town
Vampires. They’re a super popular legend that everyone knows about. Being repelled by garlic, sunlight, and crosses. Depending on the lore they could also be killed by silver. Cannot be seen in mirrors. Nor can they come into someone else’s home without being invited first.
By Raphael Fontenelle2 months ago in Fiction
The Last Message After the Internet Died
The internet died on a Tuesday. No countdown. No warning. No dramatic announcement from governments or tech giants. One moment the world was scrolling, posting, arguing, laughing—and the next, everything froze. Phones showed No Signal. Laptops blinked helplessly. Satellites went quiet like stars swallowed by darkness.
By shahid khan2 months ago in Fiction
Yellow Lights, Lucky Breaks & Borders
Crossing the Alameda border, I reached up and knocked twice on the car ceiling with my curled index and middle fingers. “Why do you do that?” Cynthia twirled a section of her long, coppery tresses; it was a fidget that I had long grown to love. She was perfect—literally everything that I had asked for. A redhead who looked like she had it all together and was a little crazy in the best way: great with fixing cars, loved dogs, and had a huge heart. She was amazing, and once again I looked at her and felt like the luckiest man alive.
By Alicia Anspaugh2 months ago in Fiction
The Skyforge Chronicles
In the village of Larkspire, where the rooftops were stitched with copper and the cobblestone streets hummed with ancient magic, young Elian lived a life far quieter than he wished. Most boys his age chased sparrows or kicked stones into the river, but Elian chased the sky. He’d climb the tallest hills, stretching his arms toward the clouds, imagining he could pluck a star and bring it down like a fallen leaf.
By Imran Pisani2 months ago in Fiction
A Sky Remembered
The sky was breaking. Not gently. Not beautifully. It tore itself open like a wound that refused to stay closed, blue clashing violently with flame as clouds spiraled into a burning ring above Cindervale. The air shook with every pulse of heat, and people fled the streets, screaming, praying, clinging to doorways as stone cracked beneath their feet.
By Imran Pisani2 months ago in Fiction
The Fire That Refused to Burn
Kael did not wake to light. He woke to silence so complete it rang in his ears. For a long moment, he couldn’t feel his body. No pain, no warmth, no fire. Just emptiness, like the space left behind after something essential had been torn out. Panic rose in his chest, sharp and sudden.
By Imran Pisani2 months ago in Fiction
