Just One More: Stories You Can't Put Down

By Elijah Bodden, Aoife O'Connell and Kelsey Pizante

Anthology author list continued: Sivaranjani Velmurugan, Ashley Bohnenberger, Anika Noby Moolan, Heather Qin, Ankita Karuturi, Nico Roman Cordonier-Gehring, Muse Johnson, Brenna Nichols, Quimby Owens, Sophie Corry, Alexandra Adams, Noah Oh, Natalie Choi, Olivia A. Duke, Eva Beauchamp, Soumya Shenoy, Tristan Bögler, Nee

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lune Spark LLC
• Release date: Dec 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781947960343

Book preview

Just One More

Stories You Can’t Put Down

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Lune Spark Books, Apex, NC

Copyright © 2019 by Lune Spark Books

All the characters, names, places, and incidents appearing in this work are the product of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, Lune Spark Books at the address below.

Publisher: Lune Spark LLC

PO Box 1443, Morrisville, NC, 27560, United States

www.lunespark.com

Young Writers’ Resources: www.lunespark.com/youngwriters

Email: [e-mail]

Phone: [phone]

Hardback ISBN 13: 978-1-947960-32-9

Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-947960-33-6

eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-947960-34-3

Cover art by Alexandra Adams

1. Short stories 2. Anthology 3. Creative writing 4. Young writers

First edition

To the young writers who have the courage to tell their stories.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

—Maya Angelou

Introduction

In a short time, Lune Spark Short Story Contest has established itself as a unique platform for helping children hone their writing skills, learn the depth of the publishing process, and find other readers across the world through our yearly anthologies that are published internationally.

As of writing this, we have published stories from more than a hundred talented young writers. This contest has helped them experience what it takes to become a writer and the intricate process of publishing.

Similar to previous years, the stories this year show a tremendous amount of creativity and imagination. I feel proud to introduce yet another excellent anthology of stories by talented young writers! Wonderfully wide-ranging, original, and enjoyable, this outstanding collection features twenty-nine award-winning short stories.

My special gratitude goes to the following people. Running the contest and publishing this book couldn’t have been possible without their help!

The participants of the 2019 Lune Spark Short Story Contest and their parents for their high degree of engagement, enthusiasm, and support.

The judges of the 2019 contest: Alexandra Williamson Hubbell, James Hockley, Jodie Reed, Pankaj Goyal, Rebecca McNutt, SF Benson, and Simon Brading. They helped us last year as well—their continued commitment to this cause is highly commendable!

Lastly, the best gift to a writer is a review. So let your take on their stories reach them in the form of a review anywhere you like—on a book website or on your blog. Rest assured that they will very eagerly be reading every single review, looking for encouragement and constructive criticism. Happy reading!

—Pawan Mishra, Apex, North Carolina

December 2019

Contents

For the Sake of the Dragons

Redemption within the Sea

When the Swallow Sings

Snowflake

The Super-Drop

The Fist of Greed and the Face of Trust

Save Me

Artificial

Unordinary

Street Art Nature Magic

Everything You Imagine Is Real

On the Streets of Washington

Thirty-Five Pages

Blue to Green

Sun

Coal

Whale Song

Five Minutes and Thirty-Nine Seconds

The Beat of Life

Family

A Flat in Piccadilly

The Inanimate Support Group

The Tale of the Three Sisters

Thank God for Paige

Robosapiens

True Friend

The Hitichiti: A Unisol Story

Nobody

The Stone

About Lune Spark Books

Other Anthologies by Lune Spark

For the Sake of the Dragons

Elijah Bodden

Ephyral swooped down to hit the warm updraft as she sliced through the air, blasting apart the occasional storm cloud with a quick burst of her blistering fire. On an ordinary day, she would take her time, relishing the air rushing against her aerodynamic form. But today was no ordinary day; today she was flying for her life.

She had been in the middle of eating when she heard branches cracking, followed by unnatural shouts, not in the rolling tones of karse, language of dragons, but in the harsher, less structured human language.

Humans meant danger. They had wiped out the entire rest of the dragon race, including her own family, for their fireproof hides. No dragon had ever escaped the high-tech weapons that could hit them even in the air.

The only way Ephyral had survived so far was her firebreath, an ability precious few dragons had, and even she would be lucky to escape if she were cornered.

The moment she had heard them, she’d burst into the sky. From that higher vantage point, she had been able to clearly make out the shape of four small figures stamping through the clearing below.

One of the humans had looked up, directly at Ephyral. Ephyral had mentally pleaded that he would keep quiet; however, predictably, he’d shouted something to his companions, and they all had turned their heads skyward. Ephyral had heard their cries as they’d all pointed at her as if she were some new exhibit in a zoo. They had all sighted their weapons at her. She’d considered turning around and firing a burst of fire at the nearest of them. But if she had paused for even a second, they’d have enough time to surround her. With three meaningful strokes of her wings, she had risen above the clouds and from there folded her body in on itself, streamlining her lithe shape like a torpedo.

But that had been hours ago, and she hadn’t stopped to rest once since then. By now, her wings were numb, and she had to give herself a break, lest she risk falling out of the sky. But she couldn’t afford to rest for long. One thing she knew for certain about the humans was that they didn’t give up easily once they’d spotted their target.

After a rest much shorter than she really needed, she forced herself to take to the air once again. She flew until every fiber of her body ached, trying to push all of her hopeless thoughts aside. Even if she did escape the humans this time, what was she going to do? Just keep running away for the rest of her life? After all, even though humans were small and slow, they were smart. They’d invented so many dragon-fighting tools: giant mechanical birds to transport them, artificial scales to protect their bodies, long rods that fired white-hot energy, easily killing their target. The list went on and on.

Finally, she found a secluded patch of bushes and hid in a small hollow spot in a cliff face, entirely covered by the greenery. Try as she might, she was unable to keep watch as sleep quickly took her.

In the middle of the night, Ephyral was awoken by a sound. At first, she was convinced it was just the leaves rustling. But then she heard it again. Her heart leaped because it almost sounded like another dragon, but she was jarred back to reality when she realized that would be impossible. She strained her ears and once again picked up the sound, a sort of melodic whisper—Ephyral, Ephyral.

Ephyral felt almost drawn to the sound, and she followed it to a small clearing.

Who’s there? She readied her legs to take off at a moment’s notice.

It is I. A gentle voice that touched a deep-buried memory filled the clearing.

Slowly a ghostly form that looked to be made of pure smoke solidified in front of her, an unearthly glow emanating from it.

"Who are you?" Ephyral scrambled back a few paces.

Don’t you recognize your mother?

It had been so long that Ephyral had forgotten what her mother looked like, yet this dragon in front of her seemed familiar somehow. But as much as Ephyral wanted it to be true, it wasn’t possible. She’d watched as her parents succumbed to the humans’ overwhelming power, distracting them long enough for her to escape.

How can that be?

Remember the stories I told you as a young hatchling, the ones about the ancestors? Well, your father and I are among them now.

Does that mean you’re here to help me?

I really wish I could, but I cannot stay. I’ve come to tell you that you are not the last dragon left. The others have gathered at their stronghold, but you are virtually cornered by humans. Tears glistened in the corners of her mother’s eyes. You could try to hide and wait it out until they give up, but chances are, they will find you. We’ve created a massively powerful spell that will render all dragons invisible to humans. However, there is a cost… Ephyral’s mother trailed off.

What’s the cost? But Ephyral already knew any cost would be worth it.

Her mom hesitated. It’s a bit complicated. You see, it requires an innocent dragon, one who hasn’t killed any sentient being, including humans. That innocent dragon has to willingly choose to give up their wings for the spell to be completed. Her mom looked her directly in the eyes. The problem is, the only dragon left who hasn’t ever killed is…you.

Oh! Ephyral gasped, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She loved to fly so much, to give up her wings was unthinkable. It’d almost be better to die.

Oh, Ephyral, I’m so sorry. Her mother’s voice was thick with emotion. You don’t have to do this. The choice is yours. But if you decide to make this sacrifice, first you must find a group of hunters. Then, think the phrase, ‘For the sake of the dragons, I surrender my wings.’

Thank you, Mom. I love you.

I love you too, my baby, and I miss you more than you know. I trust that in the end you will make the right decision.

Suddenly, a great many dragonlike forms solidified in the air around Ephyral, blotting out the sky. As do we, they chanted in unison before they all, along with Ephyral’s mother, dissolved into mist.

Ephyral slowly headed back to her cave, reflecting on all that had just happened. Although the thought of giving up her wings made her feel like she had nothing to live for, she knew it was what every one of the ancestors would have done, including her parents.

Ephyral knew what she had to do, no matter how hard it would be. First, she ignited a pile of logs with a quick burst of flame and waited as a tall pillar of smoke snaked into the sky. As she waited for the hunters, she winged quick, tight circles in the air around the smoke, contemplating what it would be like to live without wings.

The hunters arrived just before dawn. They came in a strange spherical contraption with gears sticking out at odd angles. The device didn’t so much fly as float. They found a clearing near the place where the fire was and slowly lowered the contraption down into the trees.

Soon after, the hunters emerged from the forest to find Ephyral calmly sitting beside the now smoldering logs. She seemed to catch them off guard, as they were clearly expecting her to put up a fight. Still, they prepared to fire their weapons.

Under her breath, Ephyral whispered, For the sake of the dragons, I surrender my wings.

At her words, a glow began to fill the clearing, and the strangest feeling came over Ephyral. It started as a slight tingle at the top of her tail, then it slowly spread up and down her body in waves. She felt fully in touch with all of nature, every breath of the wind through the trees, every falling leaf, every insect scuttling through the undergrowth. She somehow knew everything there was to know and at the same time knew nothing at all.

Then she looked down, where the humans had been just moments before. But there was nothing there.

As she turned her head, she noticed that only the slightest bumps marked where her wings had once been. Before she could even consider the thought of never flying again, the sound of footsteps among the trees startled her. Her first thought was that the ancestors’ spell hadn’t worked and more hunters had found her already, but as she looked closer, she realized that these forms were those of dragons.

Who? What? How? Ephyral couldn’t decide what to ask first.

A red dragon with coal-black eyes stepped forward. We were at the dragon stronghold, Morano, when the ancestors came to us in a vision. They told us that an innocent dragon sacrificed its wings to make it safe for us to come out of hiding. Suddenly we were transported here, and that’s how we found you. We can never thank you enough, and we will honor your name forever.

At that moment, Ephyral knew she had made the right decision.

Redemption within the Sea

Aoife O’Connell

The sea was like an angry dog. White froth dripped from its mouth while translucent waves mauled the shore. The water seemed determined to claw my foot and yank me from the dock into the depths of