Adam Wan

“The Sleepy Neighborhood (Prose Poem)” by Adam Wan

A match struck in the dark; a moment glow: A band played on the sidewalk, in winter dusk, in the fading light. Post-rock; experimental forays into the world of music, of art-rock, rock made classical, beautiful. The drums spoke the rhythms of the world, the fading world, the low-hanging, dark clouds over everybody; the cold breaths, sighs of mist; the snow all around; the crystals in the trees; the freezing cold of the sidewalk beneath one’s feet, felt even through one’s boots. The volume not-so loud, only enough to serve as a kind of accomp...

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“Look Up” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #102

Yuki came around a bend and descended the steps. A gust of the evening wind blew over her— the summer tepid, here still, the season only reaching its peak. The fireworks festival is coming; maybe that’s its peak. Arriving at the thought, she shook it away as she reached the final step, readying herself: there he was, waiting. “Ah,” she halted in her steps, not knowing what to say; she simply stood there. The sun was setting… Just then, he turned around, seeming to notice her. “Why’d you call me?” Their eyes met, and a breeze played a...

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“Songwriter” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #101

Akari picked up her guitar, sat down on the balcony, and gazed out at the city. Distant honking, dogs barking somewhere in the world below, lights flashing everywhere as the world inched toward twilight. The warm breeze brushed her cheek, and in the wind she could smell a burning hint of smoke and exhaust fumes. Akari closed her eyes, and imagined the world in flames. When she opened them again, her eyes caught the tinge of red lining the horizon. Off to the west the sun is setting behind the rise and fall of the buildings and the hills; off...

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“Knew Her” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #97

I’ve known Haruka for a long time. Well, if six years counted as a ‘long time,’ that is. We first met each other in senior high, where we were in the same class for all three years. Back then, we didn’t really know each other that well so the first three of those six years might as well be zero. A week, at most. We were nothing more than classmates, then. Familiar faces, acquaintances of the lowest order; we might as well have not known each other. And if her name had been Yui instead of Haruka, and her face sharper, and she wore glasses—it...

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“Stop The Fall” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #96

Arisu sat on the bench and plugged in her earphones. A gentle breeze sent a chill up her legs. “Achoo…” Her battery’s at twenty-five percent. It would last her about an hour, at most. The night wore on and the sky darkened, and somewhere behind them the clock struck twelve, going dong, dong, dong… A large river flowed in front of her, the walkway guarded by a metal barrier. From here, she could see the moonlight shimmering over the water, as though crystal-gems laid beneath its surface. The deep, low drone of the river ran heavy. Like the pa...

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“Phone In” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #95

“So… you’re coming home, right?” His sister was on the phone. He imagined her by the phone in the hallway, back at home, fingering the cord in the dark, the receiver pressed against her face, pressed to her cheek. He imagined her putting a hand over the little holes of the mouthpiece, imagined her breathing. In and out. “Goro?” “I’m listening.” A beat. As he stood looking out at the dark sky, Goro imagined his sister turning and looking over her shoulder for a moment. Goro imagined the tension in the air, permeating the halls. The low breath...

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“Spiraling Walls” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #94

How did it end up like this? Over and over again, Aki asked herself that same question; over and over again, until everything inside her was torn apart, turned to shreds, carried spiraling upward into the air. It was a hurricane inside her. One that tore away at her sanity, whittling away her core, shaking her from deep within. For a long time, Aki sat curled up on her bed, her back against the headboard, her face hidden, her arms hugging her knees. From the outside, she looked still, motionless; but inside she was shaking. She felt like h...

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“Superstar” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #94

I first met Matsuoka in senior high. We were in the same classes for all three years, though we didn’t particularly know each other. We had gone to the same schools, shared the same room for all three years, listened to the same history teachers, breathed the same air—but that was it. There was nothing else in common between us—well, besides gender. It was true. Back in school, we rarely ever talked to each other. And when we did, it was only when necessary. Besides that, we were both walking down separate paths, occupying different wo...

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“Little Taste” by Adam Wan

Kazuto’s friends had invited him to their party. The party was at Hiro’s place, in the quiet and suburban areas of the city. It was in a newer residential area too, which meant that he didn’t have any neighbors around; besides the one or two that were few and far between. Without anything else to do, without work or any assignments or anything else he wanted to worry or simply deal about—Kazuto, with a sigh of slight reluctance, put on his clothes that evening and went out. The place was dark, with lights only turned on here and there, one...

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“Found You In The Dark” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #92

When he stepped into the elevator, and the doors shut, the lights went out. The elevator stopped moving, a low hum rung out hollow. A creaking somewhere. Heavy, hard sounds. Metallic. A sort of mustiness that comes the moment the air conditioner stops. A stillness that was almost suffocating. Unnerving. A chill ran up his spine. The power’s gone out? Haruto looked about, but he couldn’t see anything. He reached out, but he grasped only air. The soles of his shoes made dry sounds over the floor. A rasping, a light tap, steel. He hadn’t notice...

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“The Library Tonight” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #91

It was 11 p.m. and the doors were closed. The lights everywhere were off, letting the shadows take over the night. A cold air hung over the place, still like the silence. The months neared winter— and with each day, the nights grew colder, the air almost seeming to hold the hints of the winter frost in its breath. Now, the library almost seemed like a place forgotten by time, and in the darkness it felt, in all its silence and stillness, like a place shivering in the cold, hiding in the darkness, hoping that someone wouldn’t find it… The s...

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“Narrative” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #87

“Who are you?” Kominato asked, eyes narrowed, his face stern, a bitter tone laid over his words. The young woman before him simply sat back, smiling amused, her expression telling of something mischievous in her intent, a spark of something in her eyes. She smirked, the smirk then turning to a grin. The hell’s with her? For the first time, she broke their eye contact, at once averting her gaze to the trees or the edge of the park, where the city arose beyond the fringe of green. The constant eye contact disconcerted him, making him deeply un...

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“Spring Petals” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #86

    Psshhh… Kiriko boarded the bus. A winter breeze brushed past her when she stepped on— she shivered: cold. She took a seat near the middle, sitting herself by the window, seeing her reflection on the cold glass; its image pale, faded. For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness in her eyes, in her lashes, reflected on the pane. She sighed, closing them—seeing the glass mist up, like a mirror—then opened them up again. Her reflection: it reminded her of her younger self.   She was in her sophomore year bac...

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“Best Friend” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #85

She tossed and turned, then checked her phone. There was no one beside her, and it was four a.m. In the darkness, her phone’s screen glowed like rectangular image in her palm, displaying her home screen wallpaper. Raindrops dotted the windowpane in the picture, glittering in the prevailing sun after the rain. The scene almost seemed too cheerful, now. Because it was cold. Her body felt chilled, frozen; her mind bleak, the very opposite of the sun-glittering scene depicted on her screen. That image was only hopeful, something of an illusi...

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“Where Were You?” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #84

It was raining. The midnight streets bore a soft, quiet glow, and various cars, motorbikes, and cabs drove along over them, the neon lights all around reflected in the puddles—multicolored: red, blue, yellow, pink, purple. A soft, soothing sound sighed every time a vehicle drove by. A quiet mist seemed to hang in the still air. Or was it the lights? Or autumn glow? A young woman stood by a lamppost, watching the night roll on before her eyes. She was wearing a large coat, the rain washing down its leather, a coat that looked a little too ...

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