Tag: Creative writing

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Beware

A short story written by Estera Kovač

October 16th

We have reached the end of Zone Y. We’ve found almost nothing. At the next meeting, we have to make our search radius wider. It has been four days since we heard something from Team Beta. I hope their transportation sequence went right.

October 27th

Regina and Jon have returned from their mission today. Jon is wounded and it will be a miracle if he makes it through the night. Somehow it managed to find them even though Regina made enough mud for the beast not to see them for years. Is it evolving?

October 28th

I had that weird feeling in my gut today like someone is watching us. When Rory entered my tent I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I really thought it had found a way to the base and was here to kill us. But then I saw Rory’s blue eyes. Unlike Rory, the creature has eyes as black as the darkest night.

October 29th

Jon passed away during the night. Regina is broken and David is drunk. Jon was the youngest Saltzman. They already lost their parents in the war. It’s not fair that it took their brother, too. We burned Jon’s body as the law indicates.

October 30th

Jon’s death implanted a seed of fear in us. Even Ares is afraid to bark and howl. We have enough food and supplies for the six of us for two months, but soon someone will have to go and search for more.

October 31st

David got sober and returned to his cooking duties. It was wonderful to finally eat something delicious like his curry. Considering the last two days, everything was normal today. Rory and I went on our regular camp check, Markus discovered a shorter passage to the safe house by the lake, Regina made some cover mud and Thalia trained Ares.

December 1st

The first snow fell today. Ares was very happy. As a husky, why wouldn’t he be? He jumped around all day long and the tension in the camp slowly disappeared. But, in the sunset, Regina started mumbling and she began to show the side effects of the switch. Only the Sikovitz twins, Markus and Thalia, saw someone being switched. Markus took David outside the tent so that he couldn’t see what was coming next and Thalia stabbed Regina through her heart. We burnt her immediately.

December 2nd

David hasn’t left his bed the whole day. Markus is with him. They are such a loving couple. Rory and Ares are keeping me company. Actually, Ares is keeping me company, Rory is just jealous of him.

December 5th

Morning brought us terrifying news. During the night, Ares either ran away or someone took him. That feeling of being watched returned. I’ve had my finger on the trigger all the time. During lunch, we decided that it was time to move to the safe house and request a transportation sequence. It’s only a matter of days before the creature will come.

December 6th

In three days we’ll start moving to the safe house. Tomorrow we’ll decide which route to take. Markus suggested a straight line from the camp to the house. I’m not sure about it. We will have to go through both Zone Y and R, with the creature lurking in the forest.

December 8th

We packed our gear early in the morning. Ares still hasn’t come back. We can’t even hear him howl or bark. There is a little piece of hope in me that he’ll find us so I’ve packed his toys, too. Rory, the closest one of us to a scientist, gathered all of the ingredients for cover mud and made some. He also packed a few things from Regina’s chemistry pack.

December 9th

We decided not to go through the zones but rather under them. (Back in time when there had been other 49 teams, three tunnels had been dug.) With the first sunbeams, we were near the entrance to Tunnel No 3, dug by Team Ro which means it is surrounded and filled with booby traps. I had no time to warn David when he stepped into one of them. The poor guy was sawn in half. Luckily, Markus had already entered the tunnel so he didn’t see what happened. When I told him, he just fainted. Thalia kept him inside while Rory and I burned David’s body, and after that, we all proceeded to the safe house.

December 10th

It’s my birthday today. A nice way to spend it: in complete darkness 4 meters underground. We stumbled upon one more trap. Thalia activated the acid one. Markus couldn’t take it. His twin sister melted right in front of him. He shot himself. At least Rory is still alive and here with me. Though I wish Ares was here, too. I got him for my seventh birthday.

December 11th

We finally reached the safe house. Because of the equipment, it took us two days to cross 30 km. We settled down and checked out the perimeter. Rory was nervous all the time. He finally lay down, put his head in my lap, and is sleeping now.

December 18th

My name is Rory and I found this notebook among Natasha’s stuff. I presume this was her journal. It has been a week since she died. It came out of nowhere and we had no time to defend ourselves. The creature ripped her heart out and vanished. I stood there looking at her corpse soaked in blood. I’m all alone in the house. Food ran out yesterday and I’ve just drunk the last bottle of water. After the war, almost every piece of technology was destroyed so I don’t think anyone is going to read this or find out about us.

But if you find this journal, it means I’m dead. Run away as fast as you can and don’t look back. Beware of it. You won’t see it coming.

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UNPLUGGED

A short story written by Jovana Vuković

A. and S. decided to unplug for 24 hours. Initially, it was unimaginable to disconnect; but after some time, S. succeeded in persuading A. and they decided to undertake this. In order for the experiment to work, their phones were left at home and the travel to the cottage up the hill began. Even though the idea was hers, S. could not free herself of a nervous feeling. Her mind agonized her with questions “what if” – what if something bad happened? What if someone got hurt? The organized, meticulous overthinker inside her would regularly prevent her from enjoying. A. on the other hand was utterly opposite – a laidback, easy-going ever-spontaneous lad. At that point, their relationship lasted for four years straight. In spite of the diametrically opposed personalities, A. and S. got along splendidly. After the very first meeting, a special bond was immediately created between them. As they grew together, they learned to balance each other well – he took on some of her composure and efficiency, and she took on some of his casualness and spontaneity. As per usual, A. successfully managed to calm S.’s overthinking mind. At least, for a brief period of time.

“Do you remember the night we met?” he asked while putting his arm around her shoulders, profoundly looking into her eyes. “How could I ever forget your persistence in getting my attention? Your dance moves were hilarious,” she chuckled. “Ha-ha. How about you Miss. I’m- On-My-Phone-Don’t-Interrupt-Me?” “You knew perfectly I was dating back then. Yet, you continued being charming.” “Hey, what could I do? I fell for you at your first eye-roll,” he admitted. “Oh my. I’m still embarrassed…Don’t mention it. But, you know I can’t avoid my downrightness,” she confessed. “You should not be apologizing for that. I love how genuine you are.” “Thanks. Should I compliment you now?” she taunted him. “Ha-ha. That would be nice.” “Hmm, okay. I like your spontaneity. I like how you’re always in for everything. But most importantly, I like how you’re getting fat, so other girls won’t find you attractive,” she continued teasing him. “Next time, please remind me that you can’t compliment others. Regarding the fact that I’m hefty now if you didn’t know me, would you care to go for a cup of coffee with me?” continued A. seriously and persistently. “Look, I’m sorry, but I have a boyfriend,” exclaimed S. confidently. “Oh, babe. Cute, but wrong answer.” “Hey, I won’t cheat on you, not even with you. You set me to fail, but I passed,” she proudly answered. “No, but seriously now. Would you find me attractive now?” demanded A. “You know I could not care less about looks. Not that you’re unattractive, I find you very handsome. But what I like more, is your mind and heart. However, if I had met the Four-Years-Ago-You now, I think I would not fall for you.” “Elaborate…” said A. rather impatiently. “You’ve changed. And so did I. And I like that about us. You’ve grown on so many levels. No, let me stand corrected – we’ve changed each other and we’ve grown,” she stated candidly. “That’s nicely said. Nevertheless, I would date the Four-Years-Ago-You and the Seventy-Four-Year-You,” remarked A. “Do you think you could manage me forever?” she stumped. “That’s what I signed for!” exclaimed A. with enthusiasm. “Well, you have not signed anything yet, so…” noticed S. “Are you insinuating marriage?” “Are you proposing to me?” “Do you want me to?” they bombarded one another with questions. A slightly awkward moment occurred and made both of them reluctant to continue the conversation. She glanced at him and smiled: “Did I ever tell you a story about my grandparents? I always thought of them as a happily married couple, with a very simple, uncomplicated love life. A while ago, grandma confessed to me she had spent her whole life saddened because she always felt that grandpa wasn’t truly hers, but rather someone else’s. Apparently, grandpa had had a relationship before my grandma. She broke his heart and married someone else. Isn’t that devastating?” “It is. It is overwhelming for both of them. So, what do you want to say? What are your concerns?” inquired A. rather worried. S. looked at him and started reluctantly: “How can I put this delicately… We met very young. We’ve been together for four years. We’ve grown together, but what if we haven’t grown enough? What if we start
growing in different directions? What if we’re growing apart right now?” “How could we
tell? How could we know? I understand your concerns, but I’m willing to risk. What about you? Do you want something else? Do you want somebody else?” he asked slightly agitated. “How can you say that? Of course, that is not the case. I’m just scared. How have we come to this?” she asked rather frightened. “And what is ‘this’ at all? I sense the hesitation in you. If I’d ask you to marry me right now, what would you respond?” demanded A. “I don’t know,” she whispered. A. was defeated by these words. He opened the cabin door very calmly, very gently. The lack of his presence filled the room with silence and darkness. S. was left alone and devastated. The instance she said these words, she regretted. “Why would you say something like that?” she asked herself helplessly. She was certain she loved him. The next few hours brought nothing but sadness, sorrow, and worry. A sudden knock on the door. Her heart skipped a beat. There he was. The first few seconds seemed like hours. He stared right into her tearful eyes. He finally smiled.

“Drrrr! Drrrrr! Ring! Ring!” A. started mimicking a phone while bringing his palm to his ear.
S. looked at him bewildered. “What are you waiting for? Pick up,” he said to her enthusiastically. “Hello?” she muttered confused. “I just called to say that I love you. I’ve loved you ever since I met you. I know you’re scared, and so am I. I know you have doubts, and so do I. But, the thing I undoubtedly know is that I love you. And for now, it will suffice. We don’t have to get married now. Or ever. We can figure it out as we go,” A. bared his soul. “Why did you have to say that now? The second you left, I knew I didn’t want to spend another minute without you. I DO want to marry you. I love you.” They both started smiling. He embraced her tenderly, then asked rather tauntingly: “What have I got myself into? How will I manage you for good?” “I heard that men supposedly lose their ability to hear higher-pitched sounds and women eventually lose hearing on the low end. I guess that might help us to neutralize one another,” stated S. “What a great notion, you dork. We really unplugged ourselves today, didn’t we?”

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MY FAVORITE WORK OF ART

“All grown-ups were once children… but only a few of them remember it.”

When I was a child, my parents and I had many routines. One of them was reading books
before going to bed. My father loved reading to me so when I was five years old, he bought
me my first book. The little prince.

I remember we read it only once and I didn’t like it because there were no pictures there. My father was disappointed and the book stood untouched on our bookshelf for twelve years.

I was seventeen when I read it and I fell in love with the characters, the story and the beautiful quotes. Someone said that Little prince is a book that you can read every year and each year you will understand it differently. Now I read it very often and each time I feel like it was written especially for me and my current situations, problems or dilemmas.

I can’t explain it, but that children’s book teaches the readers so much about adult life. Maybe we are all just lost pilots who are waiting for their little prince with the sun in his curls to remind us that there is something pure and innocent in a child that still lives inside us. It’s not only about that spoiled rose, but it’s also about love, friendships, and inner beauty.

This Christmas I took the book from our bookshelf and wrapped it in wrapping paper. It was a Christmas gift for my ten-year-old goddaughter. Last time I visited her I saw the book in her room, on the bookshelf. Unlike my dad, I wasn’t disappointed. I know that Little prince is
waiting for his turn, and when the princess decides to read it I hope she will never forget him.

“I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand.
And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.”

Written by: Dorotea Blažinčić

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THE FRAMEWORK

Written by: Dorotea Blažinčić

I always thought that only a great teacher or parents could raise a decent adult. But as I was growing up, I realized that I wasn’t raised only by adults. This is their story. The story about amazing little human beings who changed my perspective.

It all started a year before my high school graduation in the theatre where I had my drama classes. At the beginning of the new season, my drama teacher informed us about some changes that were going to happen. She decided that it would be a good idea to invite all the kids from the younger group to come and do a season with us, the oldest group there. Honestly, I was shocked. I mean, I was 17 back then and I thought that I was finally ready to do a serious play. What did I get? A group full of kids who were constantly noisy and couldn’t focus on the script. However, I decided to give it a try… but only for a month and see how it will go. I still vividly remember my first time with them because I had to sit between two boys and keep an eye on them because they were always messing around. I didn’t enjoy it. Nevertheless, the month passed by quickly and I still wasn’t sure whether I should continue going to drama classes, so I decided to stay for one more month.

Then, December came. In our theatre, December is always the busiest month – that month we play for two weeks, two plays a day, which can be exhausting because we don’t play them in our theatre. That means we also need to travel. That December changed me. We spent a lot of time together and I didn’t even realize, but I started looking forward to each day that I got to spend with the kids in my group.

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment these little ones came into my heart. Perhaps it was that rainy evening when I was waiting for my turn to go on stage. I spread out a thousand papers in front of me in order to prepare for the exam when Roko entered the dressing room carrying biscuits and tea from the vending machine.

Maybe, I fell in love with them the day we first stood together on that stage. They weren’t so little, but I felt so grown up at the time, and they seemed so small to me. Only under the spotlight were they big, nearly grown-up. Responsible for each of their actions at least as long as the magic of the show lasts. We were everything. We were smurfs, we were mice and cats, we were ghosts and aliens, we were big and small…and we were family.

Somehow, between rehearsal and scripts, jokes and fights, travels and rides I realized that I must stay with them, no, I would love to stay with them. And… I did. We ended a great season together.

Time passed quickly and we started another season together. However, that season was different for me and I had to give up going to drama classes. I had family problems, but I also had to study for the final exams. When I said I was quitting, nobody believed me until I stopped showing up. That decision was very hard for me, but I knew I made the right choice.

Then, one day in March, I received a phone call from my drama teacher who asked me if I could come to the theatre. I immediately agreed because I thought she needed my help and I missed my kids from the group. So, I came. As I was entering the theater, I had a strange feeling because it was unusually quiet and nobody was running around like they usually do. I got extremely nervous because I thought I was late, which I hate, so I rushed to the stage. Suddenly, music started playing and I heard someone singing a song. All of a sudden, I saw them. All twenty of them stood on stage with a birthday cake. Then it hit me. They are singing to me. They remembered my 18 th birthday.

After we ate the cake, I asked them if we could do our play one more time. We bowed together last time… or so I thought. They convinced me to do another play with them. The play’s premiere was supposed to be held in the middle of my matura exams, but I didn’t care. After every exam I took I went to the theatre because I knew that my kids were waiting for me.

The premiere went great, and a few months after I enrolled at the college and moved away. I left them, my boys, my girls, my troublemakers, my drama queens, my drama kings… my family.

I didn’t come to the theater until their new premiere. I sat in the first row, which I never do, and I watched them. When I saw them standing on that stage, my eyes filled with tears. Those are my people, my kids, my family. I was indescribably proud.

After the play, I went into the dressing room. They all rushed to meet me, we hugged, and I started crying because I realized how fast they have changed. Faintly, I heard Roko asking Matko which shaving foam was the best, while Lana and Ena chuckled gently in the corner about some new boy who had come into the class next to theirs. Life happened, with or without me.

Five years ago, when someone asked me what I wanted to become, I would have said – an actress. That was before them. Now, I know what I want to be, who I am meant to be. I want to be someone who holds their hand when they are scared. Someone whom they can trust, someone who can play with them, someone who will learn something from them and with them. Even someone who will always sit in the front row with eyes full of tears.

Because of you, I know my place in this world, and for that, I am extremely grateful. I will always have your back… because you had mine.

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A Beautiful Journey

WRITTEN BY: JOVANA VUKOVIĆ

Four years ago, G. and I were having a bitter-sweet coffee at a local café. It was unimaginable this would be the last time we would see each other. Losing a loved one is perceived as a tragic happening, but it does not necessarily have to be so devastating and painful. At first, one might feel distraught and saddened, might ponder the question why it occurred, but ultimately, not all people are meant to stay until the end of the journey – our life.

At that point, our friendship had lasted for 15 years straight. Our sisters were close friends and had us introduced. From the first day, G. and I got along splendidly – a special bond was immediately created between us. As a child, I was very sensitive, shy, introverted and was thrilled to have a friend like her – extroverted, outspoken, and dare I say, a little rude. During our childhood, she was the one in charge, while I would solely play along. What could a pure, naive child possibly know?

As we grew older, we learned to balance each other well. Our friendship became full of sincerity and regard. Over time, we became equal characters in our friendship. Living in different towns, and attending different schools was not an obstacle in seeing pretty often. We shared fears, secrets, problems, crushes, and dreams. All of our leisure time was spent together, idling, and having fun. The idyllic friendship ended when I found a boyfriend.

We were madly in love and wanted to spend plenty of time together, which eventually contributed to G. and I spending less time together. At first, she acted oddly – ignoring my calls with the ridiculous excuse of being pretty occupied. Three weeks of not seeing each other made everything crystal clear – something transpired. I called and proposed our regular appointment. I hoped the issues would be addressed, but she acted like everything was fine. Such cognition made me both happy and concerned. That night might have been one of our best ever – we laughed like we knew it was the last one together. A few days later, I received a very detailed text – G. said that she was unhappy and dissatisfied with our friendship and it should be ended. This stunned me and made me think about what had gone wrong. After some time of contemplating, I resolved to write to her no more.

When I reflect on our friendship, she made an enormous impact on my life – she helped me increase my sense of belonging, helped me cope with problems, improved my self-confidence and self-worth, but most importantly, she taught me how to be a truly good friend. We have both grown up and changed, but unfortunately not in the same direction. We had to accept that we grew apart, that one path became two different ones, and that our journey came to an end. I believe that we should all be thankful for the people who were, are, and will be a part of our lives. They are present to enrich our lives, teach us valuable lessons, and change us and our perspective!