My Cardboard Balcony

Hugh Jackman by Belinda Roddie Wolverine, Wolverine claws down under blankets, stripping at the romance pages hidden under fluff. You, you, you want him in all his Australian glory, from the crazed hair to the musical timbre rattling your chest making you insane like a mutant in the membrane

Under the lights of the auditorium, I watched the two of them dance. They nuzzled their faces into each other's shoulders, red gown and red jacket. Peaceful. "What do you think of it?" scowled the dean beside me. "I think it's beautiful." I could hear her blink. "Excuse me?" "Just look at them!" I pointed at the swiveling couple. "A symbol of God's pure love." "Are you insane?" "No," I replied. "Are you?"

Calendar by Belinda Roddie It feels like Friday when it's meant to be Monday, tempted to be Tuesday, waiting to be Wednesday, thinking of Thursday when I can love you Someday

The local news was playing in the background as I made waffles for my guest. She sat humming to herself, all smiles, her feet kicking against the table because she was too small to touch the floor. I couldn’t help chuckling as she sang a song of her own composition, tending to the waffle iron as I snuck glances at her. “Are you excited for Mom to come home?” I asked. “Oh, yes! But I like you, too, Daddy,” she reminded me. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

"She'll be here soon." "Thank...thank God." "Will you be okay until then?" I take the dish rag she's offering me and proceed to wipe the sweat off my face. Of course, now my skin gets all dry from the soap. "Yeah. I'll be fine." Her face doesn't change. "That was pretty bad, Frankie. You looked like you were going to pass out." "I know." I let the dish rag hang limply from my clammy fist.

Hi, everybody. As of November 24th, I have: - Written approximately 42,600 words. - Still not thought of a title. But that was expected. - Realized that I only have six days to get to the word count. I get the feeling that once I reach 50,000 word mark, the novel will not be finished. That's okay. It'll just be interesting not to be on that deadline anymore. I can only hope that I can use my spirit alone to complete this work and add it to my repertoire. Wish me luck, guys. Let's see if I can make it. Cheers, Belinda

There were seven floors within the library. The highest floor was sealed off. So was the bottom floor. Everything else was accessible to the general public. The general public, however, didn't dare to go in. It wasn't that the place was haunted or that religious zealots condemned it. There was just something about the library that was intimidating. The knowledge that was presumably stored within every spot from its gray matter to its bowels was something that could not be compared to typical intelligence.