A carriage waits outside the Tower. Two young adults, a boy and girl whose names always escape me, stand at its backend. Two dozen pairs of eyes drink in their uncertainty and fear as the two of them adjust the bags on their backs. Most of us older kids have taken this spot at theContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 4”
Tag Archives: novella
Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 3
Seven months and I’m free. One month and I might get to go to the city. No fights, no backtalk, no curfew violations. Kym has kept clean, too. Max, on the other hand, did not last long; as he predicted, a poor choice of words in the presence of the wrong person removed him fromContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 3”
Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 2
Three months down, nine to go. I can do this. No fights, no petty thievery, no curfew violations. Easy enough so far. Then again, my fellow wards have shaped up and stopped harassing the younger kids. Maybe they truly did learn their lessons. Or they’re just making sure I don’t see anything. That would beContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 2”
Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 1
One year to go. One more year of history lessons. One more year of bland dinners and leftover lunches. One more year of the Baroness and her barbarism. If I behave, be the good boy who follows her commands to the letter, it could be a year free of isolation rooms and visits with CyContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 1”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 12 EPILOGUE/FINALE
The jailer eyes me with clear suspicion. Kym had suggested a haircut and a shave to avoid recognition, but I worry it may not have been enough. The chubby man sitting at the desk looks from me to the papers sitting before him. His eyes move over the words, darting back up to me forContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 12 EPILOGUE/FINALE”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 11
The sun lowers and eventually hides beneath the horizon. The picturesque eponymous surroundings come to life as we draw near the end of our journey. With every mile, Nana’s body becomes that much warmer. It does not become uncomfortable, but I do wonder why. I think to ask, but with how limited her speech hasContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 11”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 10
We ride most of the morning and into the afternoon. The leaves around us rustle in the wind, back to their natural greens. Few fellow travelers pass us by, but those who do offer a polite greeting and a friendly smile. A warm welcome compared to our latest run-in with strangers to say the least.Continue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 10”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 9
A rooster crows somewhere outside. The sudden sound rouses me from my slumber. The house is quiet, and the room is dark. The candles on the walls still hold little wax pillars that drip down to the base. Blown out, despite the lack of an open window, or a window at all. In the cornerContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 9”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 8
Through the dark void shines a light. A pinpoint at first, far into the eternity. With every step it grows, the pinpoint becoming a dot on a page, a fly, a child’s fist. Once its illuminance is big enough, a woman stands in the center of it. A cat’s eye, white and bright and hopeful.Continue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 8”
Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 7
In the waning dusk, the Everglow Wood shows the world why it has been named such. As the sun lowers itself for sleep, the leaves come alive. The greenery illuminates a periwinkle, the host of trees lighting the path that winds through them. Up above, between the gaps of the glorious canopy, the sky turnsContinue reading “Rokkoh and the Old Woman, Chapter 7”
Tyler Gohde 