A rush of caramel scent waives through the back alley,

Addictive on my tongue,

I follow to where on the corner a candy store laid.

There the store was covered in the orange mess,

Like a big bomb came crashing,

And the bloody mess was the remains.

But as I came closer,

I got caught off guard,

And choked on the burnt after taste in the air. 

There was a fire,

That bore the mayhem,

Which was me. 

As I continued my journey in the dull town,

Choir of men and women,

Would present screams of dying children.

But I had no claws,

I even had no sharp fangs,

And thumbs,

So I couldn't possibly have done harm. 

Still they gave me hallowed stares,

And locked their doors,

Before I could introduce myself.

Since I thought the town people wouldn't understand me,

I took my stride to visit the Queen of the land.

But she raised her arms of spears,

Guns,

And smoke bombs upon my entry.

The only thing that brought pain,

Was when I stepped on broken glass,

And saw crystallized blood purge the floor.

This is when I started to run.

All I could do was run,

Leaving a trail of blood on my out of the village,

All the way,

To a different town,

And hid in a baker's oven.

He was the only one who sprinkled kindness on me,

Gave me eyes that people would love,

Four candy buttons to look my best,

And a sweet creamy smile,

So no one would think I'm scary.

Once I came out, 

Warming the room with my sweet disposition,

As the baker comes up to me,

He put a hand on my shoulder,

Naming me, 

The Gingerbread Man.

Fog is Beautiful

In the city of San Francisco,                            

Everyone is diagnosed with the rare disease of eternal blindness. 

This is true. For I was a victim too.

It can settle onto a person’s souls for days,

Till the moment we decide to move away.

This grey, silver lined sky,

That hovers over my head like a colorless blanket,

Is something that I learned,

Recently,

To recognize for the first time in my life.

I even tried to go up and touch it,

Grasping the light smoke, 

Feeling like slushy permafrost that’s not too cold,

To burn the nerves of my skin,

And dissipate through the intended space of my fingers.

“It’s the wind’s fault anyways,

That this fog can’t be seen as beautiful.”

I keep telling this city.

But no one listens to me,

As it always gets swallowed,

By the sky,

And the clear shoreline,

Until it gets released,

And becomes a mere echo,

Like a fog horn blaring,

Across the bay.

The Story of Happiness

I just hate my life. The whole day felt like a rock rolling on my head. It didn't take a second to breathe as it pounded on me the whole day. It stung me, punched me, bruised me. I would inhale the air as I drowned in the red iron that painted on my tongue. By the time I got home, the paint dried cold to the bone. When I entered my room, I chugged down on a salty river. Once the river dried, I had lips of a person who didn't drink in days.

From the corner, a lamp light demonstrated a quiet light bulb, leading me to realize how the room was dead. When getting up to search for a light switch, I felt something grab the bottom of my ripped jeans. The lights went straight on a young boy. His two front teeth were loose off their hinges, ready to run out at any moment. He presented his two blue souls that were glowing vibrantly. "So how was your day, sis?" He asked me with a high voice.

Horrible. I walked on past him as I went to the kitchen to get a empty glass.

"That bad, huh?" He commented as he sat on the floor. I came back a few moments later with a glass filled of grape juice. The sweet taste of fruit made my taste buds melt, reminding me how close I was to drink its adult version. Placing the glass on the table, I looked out the window like a drunkard at the bar. I felt the sickening want to drink my sorrows away. It grew silent for a few moments, letting my eyes close in a fake bliss.

"Tell me a story, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" He cried when he got tired of the silence.

He had to say this four or five times before I looked at him. I didn't give him a mean teenager look, wishing to kick him out. I let my teen ergs slide as I got up, preparing myself to work my magic. I felt the spotlight on me, letting my eyes shining with a hue of a melted sun. 

"This is the story of the King, the Queen, and Madness. Once upon a time, the kingdom had a young messenger named Happiness. Everyday, Happiness roaming all over the land, chanting and glorifying how the King and the Queen were getting married. His words made tricks upon everyone as they thought this was what the kingdom needed. What the kingdom desired. Upon that evening, when the sun was going to take its restful sleep, everyone gathered at the castle to witness the marriage. However, that was when they saw the King and Queen's new child, Madness. Madness didn't have a crazy look. Madness, in fact, looked normal to everyone."

"That's what Madness wanted everyone to think, right?" The boy interjected.

"Exactly, Theo." I quickly rubbed his head that was covered in a baseball cap before continuing my story. 

"Anyways, no one knew that Madness was going to cause destruction for the whole town. As Madness grew up, Madness took the liberty to destroy their lives. He started by smashing every single vase in the house. Madness even put their thousands of painting together, lips to lips, that was so forced that would end up with holes that replaced their faces. And while the destruction occurred in the castle, the couple was busy cutting off heads. In fact, it was their own heads. They would swipe at their throats every night before going to bed. It was their own version of brushing their teeth."

The boy made a giggle at the joke before he roared with laughter. He even pretended to put blood on his finger toothbrush and made horrible gurgling sounds. I couldn't help to smile as I scooped my brother into my arms. I kissed him on the nose and turned him upside down, knowing that he would get mad. We were left to play wrestle the rest of the night. It got so late we actual listened to some crows singing in the distance. I looked out my window, feeling my brother breathing until he was knocked out. In silence, I told myself the end of the story.

"And that was how the King and Queen broke the kingdom apart. They eventually forgot to take care of their duties: they neglected to provide shelter for their people, food to feed the hungry kids became scarce, and no protection was provided from the dragons that would scurry at night to hunt them. The couple felt they had no time to fix those situations as Madness took all of their attention. Madness made them blind from the real world, even taking the liberty to keep their windows covered in shades of midnight. This resulted to make everyone leave the kingdom. They all left with bags barely full. To this day, the King and the Queen never noticed. They even neglected to give themselves nourishment, making themselves end up dead in the arms of Madness. However, somehow, out of all what happened, Happiness still goes running around the empty village. Happiness never stopped, even when death came upon him and Madness. Happiness just couldn't leave the village. Not until the King and the Queen were able to genuinely smile."

A snore broke through the story, giving me the cue that the story was getting too long. It made me almost laugh too loudly. I placed him in my bed for the night, allowing him to sleep in gentle blankets for the night. From the small closet, I grabbed the sleeping bag, snuggling myself to sleep. I heard a small cry of joy grab my ears before drifting off to sleep. 

Thank you Happiness.