CREATIVE WRITINGCONTEST:Winning Selections

T H E W R I T I N G C E N T R E

POETRYAlé Ignacio Davila

FICTIONSophia Gomez

HONOURABLE MENTIONSElizabeth LecomteArjun Sharma

P O E T R Y

Unconscious thoughtscan sometimes bring tothe fore ideas one might

easily dismiss asunrealistic.

Bone-Eating SnotflowerW R I T T E N B Y A L É I G N A C I O D A V I L A

Down on the sunless abyssal plains, mushroom-white forms swim and scuttle. Here, nothing is sacred save the whale-fall; that corpse of Leviathan, cast-down, devoured By things too small to know who brings them supper today. Their world is tons, tons of black salt water, one hundred tiny mouths scraping away.

beast on beastW R I T T E N B Y A L É I G N A C I O D A V I L A

you drive me out to your spot in thewoods, where troubled earth forms six heaps. come bury your secrets in my mouth. lock my heart and I’ll swallow the key. I love you, I love you, I love what you do— just make sure the next boy ain’t me.

F I C T I O N

Copper EyesW R I T T E N B Y S O P H I A G O M E Z

Once upon a time in a faraway land lived a young man named Egan. His hair was ebony black thatcascaded down until his shoulders and complemented his dark brown eyes beautifully. Father’sstrict rules forbade him from leaving the manor, so he didn’t have any friends... not unless youcounted Mrs. Harriet, his maid. Egan had a faint memory of a friend when he used to go to the village’s school but, once Fatherdecided to homeschool him after his mother left, he never saw them again. He still remembered thedark skin and copper eyes every so often. Sometimes, Egan wished he had someone he could beclose with. He never really had a connection with anyone else other than his mother. Even thoughhe didn’t remember much of her, there was one memory he often thought about. It was the onewhere his mother brushed his hair at night and gently whispered stories into his ear. He remembered the night before she left, how she warned him: “Always remember dearest one,you must never trust a faerie. They are sinister and vile, wicked tricksters. Don’t agree to anycontracts or make any promises. Once you give them your name, they have complete control overyour life." This is why when Egan suddenly found himself in the woods after running away from themanor while Mrs. Harriet wasn’t looking, and was face to face with one of the creatures, he heardblood rush into his ears. He stood still with his eyes on the ground wishing he were invisible. “What is a tiny little thing like you doing in these parts of the woods?” the faerie rasped. Theirvoice was rougher than he expected, but he could still feel the power behind it; like it hadn’t beenused in centuries. Egan could feel the creature’s piercing stare as they raked his body up and down.Hairs bristled on the back of his neck. He wanted to answer so that the faerie wouldn’t feeldisrespected but his voice could not pass his lips. He cleared his throat several times and in the most steady voice he could muster, he stammered“I-I got lost w-while waking, I-I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you in any w-way Ancient One.'' Silence."Did it go away?" he thought.

More seconds passed and Egan dared to look up. What he was met with knocked the breath outof his lungs. The being standing some meters away was nothing like his mother had ever described.What stunned him the most wasn’t their shimmering butterfly-like wings nor their thin butmuscular dark limbs. No, it wasn’t the bluish splotches that crawled from their long slender fingersup through their body, their shocking white coils that barely bundled at the nape nor the silversheep-like horns that sprouted from the front of their head. No, what stunned Egan the most wasthe unusual colour of their eyes: They were the most peculiar shade of copper, nearly red. Theywere the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes upon. “Can you give me your name, little one?” Egan gripped the sleeves of his blouse and sank histeeth on his tongue in an attempt to hold back the scream that threatened to rip free. A breath. Another one. “I- I, unfortunately, cannot give you my n-name. Can you give me yours?” he tightly answered. “Amusing,” the right side of their plush lips tugged upwards. “I see you are a clever one. But it’salso quite the arrogant game you’re trying to play, little one.” All of a sudden, the creature began to stride towards him. Egan’s legs felt like lead as he steppedbackwards until his back was met with the bark of a tree. As the faerie loomed so close to him, Eganrealized they were nearly the same height. He could see that under the slits of the creature’s eyesrested a button nose and that the base of each horn was coated with moss. When he made eyecontact for the first time, he felt his soul leap out of his chest. He held back a whimper. The faeriewas so close now. If he reached out, he could probably feel the colourful leaves that made up theirrobes. Egan could feel their breath fan over his ear as they whispered, “You’ve amused me so I’ll let yougo for now. But pray you never cross these paths again, for I will not be as lenient next time, petal.”

The weeks that followed were a living nightmare. It began on one of the rare occasions he couldleave the manor as he walked with his maid down the market. He felt someone’s stare behind hisback. When he turned around no one was there; And yet, he could still feel he was being watched.Egan pictured the fiery eyes and shivered. His fears were confirmed when days later he opened thewindows of his chambers and saw a clump of dried leaves on the windowsill - the same type as thefaerie’s garments. He barred the panes. They were teasing him, he was sure. He found piles of leaves- sometimes dead butterflies - outside his door, around their manor, anywhere he looked. Itfrustrated him; the way the faerie seemed to think this was all a game. After shutting himself in hisroom for a week or two he grew restless, he despised being indoors. He then decided to sneak outas he usually did when he felt suffocated.

He left the mansion without anyone seeing him and started walking towards the path that leadto the village. Egan let his mind wander while he walked, not truly paying attention to where his feetwere taking him. All of a sudden he heard a scream from behind him. “Get out of the way!” It all happened in slow motion. One second he was face to face with a horse, and the next he wasbeing tugged by someone towards the side. The force of the momentum threw him and the personthat prevented the accident off balance. He felt a hand wrap behind his head and another one fellagainst the ground softening the impact. “Look where you’re going young man!” he heard a manscream from the advancing carriage that had nearly trampled him. “Are you okay, little one?” He opened his eyes to find copper ones already staring back at himwith concern. Egan gasped. “I’m alright, thank you,” he whispered. He was suddenly conscious oftheir position, feeling tingly as he felt the faerie’s fingers through his hair. He felt heat rush up to hisface. “I’m terribly sorry!” he squeaked while standing up. In his rush to move, his legs gave out andhe would have hit the ground if it wasn’t for the arm that caught him at the waist. Egan felt drowsy. “Are you okay as well?” he shyly asked. At his reaction, the creature smirked. “It takes a bit morethan that to hurt a centuries-old being like me. Don’t you worry your pretty little head petal.” Theywinked at him. Egan could feel his blush creep down his neck. “Why are you out of your home this late? Aren’t you usually accompanied by someone?” At this,Egan looked around and realized that it was indeed quite late. It would be dark soon. “I was justoutside for a stroll, the manor suffocates me. And yes, I’d usually be chaperoned by our maid but Ilike to feel free from time to time.” The creature looked at him curiously. “Free?” they asked. Egan hesitated. He didn’t know the faerie but, deep down, his gut told him he could trust them.“Father doesn’t let me go outside of our estate. He says that I must concentrate on my studiesinstead of fooling around with girls or other childish distractions. However, I have never beeninterested in girls nor had other particular interests. But, if that is what Father thinks is best for me,then I believe him.” “Oh no! Father!” he realized. Father was probably already home! “I’m sorry! I must leave! Thankyou for saving me!” he turned around and sprinted towards the manor.

When he arrived, Father was waiting for him outside the kitchen backdoor. The servants were alllined up, looking at the ground. Mrs. Harriet had a red mark on her cheek. She glanced at Father; helooked furious. “Where were you?” he asked. Egan gulped, “I was by the long grass climbing a treean-” “Don’t you dare lie to me, young man!” Egan flinched at his voice. “Your breeches are caked with mud so I will ask one more time! Where have you been?” Father’svoice boomed through the room. “I-I was w-walking on the path towards the village,” he whimperedand locked his eyes on the ground.

“You know very well you cannot leave this place without my permission! What kind of behaviouris this? I have raised you to follow orders like a soldier! You are a man now, stop behaving like achild by doing as you please! There are rules you must follow! At this rate, I’ll never get youmarried,” his father irritably said. Egan could feel the displeasure in his tone. “I’m sorry Father. Itwon’t happen again.” “Oh, don’t you worry,” his father chuckled, “It surely will not be happening EVER again. Fromnow on, you are to stay in your chambers at all times where a guard will be posted outside yourdoor.” Egan looked up, shocked. “No.” Tears pooled at his eyes. “Now go away, you are dismissed.” It was ridiculous really; even the guard followed him to the bathroom! What was he going to do?Dig a hole in the ground and escape? He slept late most mornings so that the days could pass byfaster. He completely lost his appetite, barely drank any water. Egan almost missed the oddencounters with the faerie. Sometimes he even missed the odd gifts. “Am I going insane?” hethought. Egan expected the creature to forget him and was however pleasantly confused when aroundthe fourth week of torment, leaves became flowers. They began as tiny little white buds on hiswindow that later ranged from sunflowers to all types of fruit. He never ate the fruit - for he knewnot to eat faerie food - but felt warm when he found the gifts. At least someone seemed to care forhim.

Time went by and his body began to feel weaker. Egan’s already slim body became even thinner.One late winter morning, he felt someone shake him from his sleep. His room was dark and cold. Hedidn’t want to move. “Leave me alone…” he grumbled. “Little one…” Egan’s eyes snapped open. There they were, kneeling beside his bed with a look he couldn’t decipher. The light from thewindow made them look ethereal. He felt electricity run through his veins. His eyes suddenly welledup with tears. “Angel, what’s wrong?” the faerie asked worriedly. Gut-wrenching sobs tore through his chest. “I no longer wish to be here. Please! I beg you! Takeme away!” his chin trembled. They grabbed his chin to make Egan look at them in the eyes. “Is this truly what you wish for?” he wiped at his swollen eyes and nodded. “Very well,” the faeriesoftly caressed his cheek and then leaned to whisper in his ear, “Can you give your name, littleone?” Egan laughed wetly and curled into the faerie’s chest. “Egan,” he whispered into their shoulder and smiled.” “Can you give me yours then?” Smirking, the creature raised an eyebrow but leaned in again andwhispered their name into his ear. They both laughed. The faerie carefully picked Egan up in their arms and they both flew out the window and neverlooked back.

H O N O U R A B L E M E N T I O N S

Simple Life W R I T T E N B Y E L I Z A B E T H L E C O M T E

A l i t t l e l o n e l y

C o l o u r e d r e d l i k e a c h e r r y A d r e a r y p a r k b e n c h

A l i t t l e f r a g i l e H i d d e n b y a n e w s p a p e r

A q u i e t o l d m a n

A g e n t l e f r i e n d s h i p M a i n t a i n e d a l i t t l e e v e r y d a y

A b e n c h a n d a m a n

H O N O U R A B L E M E N T I O N S

Dada JiW R I T T E N B Y A R J U N S H A R M A

Y o u r l e g s a r e t i e d s o y o u d o n ' t f a l l f r o m y o u r b e d .Y e t y o u t r a v e l i n y o u r m e m o r i e s .

A r e y o u a s l e e p , a r e y o u a w a k e ,C a n y o u s t i l l t e l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e ?

Y o u s w e a r , y o u r l i m b s t h r a s h , y o u f i g h t ,Y o u s m i l e w h e n y o u s e e a f a c e y o u l i k es o n , d a u g h t e r , g r a n d k i d , w h o e v e rd o e s n ' t m a t t e r w h oy o u d o n ' t r e m e m b e r .

D e a t h a l w a y s l e a v e s a m e s s ,o f t e n i t s t a r t s e a r l y .Y o u r b r e a t h s l o w e d a n d s t o p p e d ,y o u r p r e s e n t , a n d y o u , b e c a m e t h e p a s tj u s t l i k e a l l o f u s w i l l .

I t h a p p e n e d a d a y a f t e r y o u r s o n ' s b i r t h d a y ,I l e a r n e d o n m y w a y t o w o r k .M y s i s t e r t o l d m e w h e n y o u m o v e d o n ,I t o l d h e r t h r o u g h t e a r s , I w a s w r i t i n g t h i s a b o u t y o u w h e n y o u d i d .

D e a t h a l w a y s l e a v e s a m e s s , a n e n d e d l i f e t i m e t o p r o c e s s .I ' m n o t t h e r e , c o u l d n ' t b e ,I d i d n o t p u t t h e g a n g a j a li n y o u r m o u t h , o r t h e t u l s i l e a f

I d i d n o t h e a r M a r e a d t h e e i g h t e e n t h a d h y a y o f G e e t as o y o u r s o u l w o u l d b e a t p e a c e .

I d i d n o t s e e y o u g e t w a s h e d , d r e s s e d i n w h i t e ,I d i d n o t h e a r t h e w a l l o w i n g a n d c r y i n g o f m y g r a n d m o t h e r ,H e r s a y i n g , " T a k e m e w i t h h i m t o o . "I d i d n o t s e e y o u r f u n e r a l p y r e , y o u r a r t h iI d i d n o t s e e T a y a j i c a r r y t h e p o t o f w a t e r a r o u n d y o ua n d s m a s h i t n e x t t o y o u r h e a d .I d i d n o t s e e h i m w i t h t h e m a s h a a l ,l i g h t i n g y o u r f u n e r a l p y r e .

I m i s s e d t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s o f y o u r l i f e .W h e n y o u s t o p p e d w a l k i n g , w h e n y o u s t o p p e d r e c o g n i s i n gW h e n y o u w e r e h o s p i t a l i s e d , a n d t h e w h o l e f a m i l y f e l l a p a r t .W h e n y o u d i e d , w h e n D a d c a l l e d p e o p l e t o l e t t h e m k n o w . I c o u l d n ' t s i t w i t h m y c l o s e s t c o u s i nA n d t a l k a b o u t y o u .I ' m s t i l l w a i t i n g t o f i n d t i m e a l o n e t o g r i e v e ,U n t i l t h e n , I c r y a l i t t l e a n d h o p e n o o n e ' s l o o k i n g , a n d I w r i t e a b o u t y o ua s I r e m e m b e r .

Y o u ' d w a l k t h e i n f a n t m e a r o u n dw h e n I ’ d w a k e u p c r y i n g a t 5 a m , M a s a i d .I r e m e m b e r y o u r p a r k e r p e n a n d c a r d b o a r d ,y o u r i m p e c c a b l e l e g a l a r g u m e n t s a n d y o u r w r i t i n gy o u r c l i e n t s ' t e l e p h o n e c a l l s , t h e l o n g h o l d s ,a n d y o u s c o l d i n g t h e m w h e n y o u s p o k e .I r e m e m b e r y o u r c h e t a k s c o o t e r , y o u r b l a c k c o a t .Y o u n e v e r n e e d e d o r a s k e d f o r m u c h ,y o u w e r e h a p p y t o g i v e a n d w o r k .

Y o u w e r e t h i n , t a l l , p o w e r f u l , a r e v e r e d g i a n t .I w a s s p a r e d s e e i n g y o u a t y o u r w e a k e s t . Y o u s h o u l d h a v e m o v e d o n s o o n e r ,B u t G o d a n d l i f e c a n b e u n k i n d .

I t ' s t h e e n d , b u t l e t m e g o b a c k i n t i m e , t o o n e o f t h o s e m a n y t i m e s . Y o u r f i v e l i t t l e g r a n d k i d s c o m i n g u p t o y o u ,b o t h e r i n g y o u , a n d e v e n t u a l l y ,y o u p u t t i n g d o w n y o u r p e n a n d c l i p b o a r d , t a k i n g a b r e a k f r o m y o u r w r i t i n g , a n d u s , s i t t i n g a r o u n d y o u o n t h e f l o o r ,w i d e - e y e d , r a p t i n a t t e n t i o na s y o u t o l d u s y o u r l i f e s t o r i e s .

B a d e P a p a , t h i s i s h o w I ' l l r e m e m b e r y o u .