The Angaran Chronicles: The Ritual Epilogue by Adrassil, literature
Literature
The Angaran Chronicles: The Ritual Epilogue
Alathis sat up, screaming like he never screamed before. He screamed words, syllables, but he didn't know what they were. It only took a few seconds for his mind to click. 'It's a dream,' he gasped while wiping the sweat from his forehead. 'Just a dream.' 'It wasn't a dream, Alathis,' said a smooth, soft voice that caused Alathis' attention to snap to its source. Six figures stood in a semi-circle a few metres away. They wore cloaks as grey as the cave walls surrounding him, their faces hidden behind hoods. Alathis wasn't in his bed; he lay on a stone bed. He was stripped to the waist, soaked in sweat. 'What?' said Alathis. 'W-what's going on?' 'Search your memory, Alathis,' said one as he pulled back his hood, revealing himself to be Telric. 'And you will remember.' 'No one has screamed after awaking from the Ritual before,' said a female voice as the speaker showed herself to be Kolmath. 'A-a strange occurrence.' 'A strange occurrence, indeed,' said a third, but not taking
My ex is using my daughter to manipulate me by xanthnimby, literature
Literature
My ex is using my daughter to manipulate me
My ex has my daughter. She’s been there for a while. Beyond what our custody agreement allows. My ex has been using her to manipulate me. To control what I’m doing, where I go, and even who I talk to. I’m heart broken. I miss her so much. Her laugh, her smile. I last saw her when she was 14 months old. At night I find myself staring at my empty living room, imagining her toddling across the floor with her chocolate covered face and toothy grin. Sometimes I catch myself listening at her bedroom, waiting for a cry to signal to me that she’s awake. Only to have my heart drop when I remember her barren crib. I can’t even bring myself to clean up her room. There are toys and books strewn everywhere, clothes pulled from the few dresser drawers she could reach. Even when I’m grocery shopping I find myself going down the baby aisles, subconsciously grabbing for snacks and diapers she won’t need. The other day I found one of her tiny hair ties in my pocket and cried for hours. The police
The Angaran Chronicles: The Ritual Chapter 9 by Adrassil, literature
Literature
The Angaran Chronicles: The Ritual Chapter 9
Alathis fell and fell and fell. He kept his eyes closed as warmth seemed to blaze inside him. He struggled for what seemed like hours to identify what it was. Then it hit him. Catharsis. It was catharsis. It was killing the thing masquerading as Silette seemed to rid him of the pain, the guilt. It was the right thing to do, to leave poor Silette in such agony would've been...been, evil? The Hunters taught that there was no such thing, not truly. It was up to an individual's interpretation, that very little in this world was black and white. Leaving Silette would've been amongst the acts that were inside that "very little." He'd done the right thing. Inside his subconsciousness, he'd always known this, but the guilt, the...the trauma had made him deny it. Now that denial was washed away. 'I did the right thing,' he whispered. 'I did the right thing!' he yelled and opened his eyes. Alathis got a split second to make out his surroundings, but it was more than enough to know