Calmly You Lie

You smile as your heart breaks
For the things you
Can't do
Can't say
Can't show
How are you?

Do you still breathe easy?
Calmly, you lie
I'm fine
I'm okay
I'm good
And then you smile.

Young Cruelty

Oh, what cruelty is this?
Our children born of love
Grow up to hate and
Instead of shaking hands,
They are shaking their heads
As they whisper on each other's ears:
Who's the loser?
Who's the weakest link?
Who's the boy
Or the girl
They would take out
During cafeteria break?
A few winks.
A terrible echo of malicious laughs.
A click.
BOOM.
Another young life gone.

#RM

Don't Call Back Anymore

I heard you last night
You called our house.
You called my mom.
You talked to my dad.
But you didn't ask for me.
Why?

Are you afraid
I won't want to
Talk to you?
After what you've done?
Maybe yes.
Maybe, no.
The crazy thing is
I still miss you.

Jane of the Shadows: Chapter 4--The Rider

It was almost day-break when my Mayor came back to the inn. Fortunately, by that time, I had already finished cleaning myself with the help of one of the innkeeper’s daughters who was either too naïve or too simple-minded to understand what had happened to me.

All she asked when she saw the bloody mess that was my dead child was, “Is it that time of the month, mam? I’d be! You be one of those gals who bleed a lot, eh?”

I just nodded at her which almost made me faint with the pain. I was just thankful that the girl didn’t mind talking to herself while she pocketed my coin—a bribe I gave her for her time and help. I called her when it was almost three o’clock but she still cheerfully entered my room. Thank goodness that she’s a late sleeper. I know this because I heard earlier when she was talking to someone in the common room that her father often left her in night duty for late visitors since she had trouble sleeping. And possibly for guests like me who encounters emergency late in the night.

“I’ll bring you clean linens if you want, mam. We seen this kind of emergencies before so I told my ‘Ma we should be ready. Yes, mam. Ready we are. I’ll also brung you some of the drink my ‘Ma makes for me monthlies. Would you like that?”

Jane of the Shadows: Chapter 3--The Learning

I don’t know how long I slept afterwards. The room was soaked in the smell of blood, hot as an oven, when I next opened my eyes. My body felt heavy, like it’s been ripped apart—and maybe it has been. My eyes kept closing as I didn’t have enough strength to keep them open. My mouth opened and closed—unable to articulate the pain that still lingered in my body.

Squeaks and growls. I was vaguely aware that they were coming from me.

My Mayor was still outside, just as I wanted.

Oh, God. I needed to move. But it…was so…hard.

Suddenly, the image of Grey flashed beneath my eyelids and I remembered his request—Kill my stepfather. It was obvious that he hated the man.

I understood hate. Hate helped  me live through the hell which was my life.

Jane of the Shadows: Chapter 2--The Road

I have learned that I do not like driving. In fact, I’ve fervently wished that I am the witch they call me I am so I could probably fly to the port rather than drive through the treacherous road southward.

My body hurts. Doubly on the areas where my Mayor’s hands held me a little too tight. Frightened of my leaving, he used me a little too hard before he allowed himself to drive me out of that miserable little town where I was born. He’s insisting he would drive me to the port. I do not like it. I want him gone.

But I didn’t try to dissuade him especially since I’ve discovered that my body does not agree with this long journeying. I ache. How I ache. Mostly on my bottom and my lower back. So I’ve decided to use him as much as he could be of use. Indeed, I question in hindsight my initial plan of having him drive me only to Wiltshire. I was too naïve and nice.

I told myself I would start using people, but there I was freeing a willing slave. It’s a good thing he hates to see me go. Poor, poor man. His appetite had brought him so low that now he would rather lick my feet than see me go.

When I imagine leaving him by the port, I find that the image… satisfies me. More than his warm touches and possessive kisses, the idea of leaving him broken buoys my spirit.

Oh, how I like this new me.

But enough about my lovely Mayor.

I am writing this, reader, to tell you of that miserable rider we happened upon two nights ago at a rugged posting inn.

He looked like a mean man. I do not remember much of his visage, but I remember that he frightened people as he passed by.  This made me curious about him. As I sat there at the farthest corner of the common room, eating my stale soup and dark bread, I stared at him.

I must have been staring at him for a long time, for slowly, as if he was looking for someone, he turned and scanned the room until his eyes fell on mine. I did not look away. No. I do not do that anymore. Remember, I have learned the power of my stare.

Jane of the Shadows: Chapter 1--The Beginning

Wattpad link: CLICK HERE

My inability to speak. My ability to scare people just by being. These things made me a creation of the Shadows. One can even argue that I am part of the shadows.

No. I do not exaggerate. I merely say these things because I am tired of knowing but not accepting.  I am good at that, too. Denying things. That I may call myself “normal” though God knows I am anything but. Besides, I do not want to be normal.

Normal… is so boring, isn’t it?

I’d rather stand on where I usually stand. Staring at people and making some uncomfortable. Swerving off unwanted attentions with my dark, almost black, eyes—Witch’s eyes my father used to say. He hated my eyes, my father. The same way she hated me. Well, I learned to live with it.

I learned to hate them back.

Where Are My Poems?

Where are my poems, I say?
Words I picked up from here and there.
They keep on skipping,
Dancing around and beyond.
Skipping, skipping, skipping
Making me run after them
As if creating is not hard enough.
Come back, you!
I say, come back!

The Virtue of Silence

I always tell my younger sisters and brother that there's a virtue in silence. Especially when there's an argument at home. I tell them there's no use agitating an already agitated situation by spouting angry words that would probably exacerbate an already bad situation. This is something I practice most of the time.

Sometimes, too much.

It's why I make people nervous.

There's a saying in our house that one could determine how angry I am by my silence. If I'm still talking, then they could still make fun of me and coax me into a good mood. If I'm not speaking, then it's the proverbial hell to pay. It's mostly true, actually. I'm physically unable to speak when I'm mad. And I'd probably have this dark, dark aura surrounding me--or an almost visual smoke coming out of my head. I guess I'm the person which proves the expression "stewing in silence." I do that a lot.

It's not that I get angry a lot. Usually, I have this protective mind barrier which allows me to not care about whatever people say or do which has caused many people to call me a "robot" or sometimes "tin man" or simply "heartless." I just don't react. I mean, I don't have to, right?

But it's a different thing altogether when I'm with people close to me. It's probably because my barriers are usually down with them and a simple thing could make me an "angry bird" like my sister calls me. Note, I don't really get close to people a lot or very fast. Unless there's a buffer (like my siblings or my close friends), it usually takes me a year to five before I actually open up to a person. And that is if I like you.

If I don't... then I'll be very nice to you.