Liyab

Antebellum

Antebellum

IT IS  the calm before the storm. The cold howl of December has arrived and it bellows the last few days of the semester. For every student, it hails icy anxiety and pressurizes them to complete every task there is until the finish line. To some, it constricts the hearts…
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Photons Scramble

Photons Scramble

CHILDREN WERE interesting to watch, he concluded as he occupied a bench by the entrance of the amusement park, waiting. There was something about the way they hugged their parents’ arms and pointed at whatever caught their interest that tugged his lips upwards. So willful, a single-mindedness which by itself…
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The Despot

The Despot

ONCE, THERE was a man who lived and ruled this land for twenty-one years with bloody, ironclad fists. This country was subjected to that man’s hands, and blood was spilled everywhere he wanted to spill it. It was a time of dreadful, murderous onslaught of a despot, the infamous despot…
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The Distance Formula

The Distance Formula

SQUARE ROOT the sum of the x coordinate of point B subtracted by the x coordinate of point A raised to the second power and the y coordinate of point B subtracted by the y coordinate of point A raised to the second power—this is the distance formula. As its…
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Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies

ANNUALLY, PEOPLE go to cemeteries where their deceased lie. People take a walk towards where their loved ones rest and pass by a million others sleeping in peace underneath their feet. They proceed to sit on lush, verdant foliage alongside their relatives that live on until this day and place…
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Refraction

Refraction

THE WEIGHT of the sea seemed to settle at the pit of my stomach, and for the first time in a long while, I felt substantial. As I stood by the coastline watching the water steadily ebb and flow, the wind gently brushed against my face as if consoling me…
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Ultramarine

Ultramarine

PEOPLE HAVE spent their early mornings beneath ultramarine skies, waiting for the train to arrive. Everyone waits in line, on dilapidated platforms to hop aboard the train to places scattered underneath this blue royalty. People are catapulted into the day without knowing what is bluer, our lives and transgressions or…
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One to Two Steps at a Time

One to Two Steps at a Time

AFTER A long day of festivities and celebration, she sat at the edge of her king-sized bed in solitude. To think that from someone who sold pirated DVDs, she had become an award-winning film director. Life sure could be funny. In her hand was a trophy decorated with authentic gold—nothing…
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The Memory of a Flame

The Memory of a Flame

HE WAS a steady flare full of ambitions and goals. When he was a student of mine, he used to talk about going places and leaving a legacy behind and every time he stepped out of the classroom, he walked as if he was already taking on the world. However,…
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Flare

Flare

EACH AND every person that we meet in our lives ignites different kinds of sentiments within us. Some people are so dazzlingly bright that their flames envelop you in cordial warmth, changing your life forever. They are those who look like they belong in a colorful, baroque painting whose radiance…
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