Mila Van Niekerk

“chicken wire ” by Mila Van Niekerk

The Keld is an okay place if you can ignore the smell. And the lack of space. And the strongly enforced rules punished by very public punishments. Other than those… and the walls… it’s practically paradise on earth.At least that’s what everyone else thinks.Walter knew better.But he’s gone now.And it’s up to us to get ourselves out of here before it’s too late.***The night is quiet, the full moon casting everything in silver lighting that makes me feel vulnerable. Zeke’s cloak brushing against his wings in front of me makes a swishy sound, an...

3 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“now the Shadow (WTSCO #2) ” by Mila Van Niekerk

Shadow /ˈʃadəʊ/ noun1.1 A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface. "trees cast long shadows”.1.2 A creature that exists in and of darkness, feeds on darkness, thrives in darkness. ‘’The Shadows were never supposed to reach us’’. ***I’m dreaming about fish and samurai, and then familiar hands are violently shaking me awake. My first thought is hot dayum that blue fish was sexy, my second is on my frantic mother’s wide eyes and iron ...

1 like 1 comment 1

Read story

“My New Year Resolutions 2023 : A (mostly coherent) letter to future me from current me” by Mila Van Niekerk

1. Go do volunteering at the library. It’s falling apart, it’s closed half the time, it’s a mess. If just someone gives it a bit of love, it could be rescued. Remember when you were a little kid and Mom would take you and your sisters to it after work? You’d check out thirteen books in total, Mom and your sisters telling you to get a move on because you just couldn’t decide what to take. There was just so much to read, so much to discover, so much to learn.The librarians were always so friendly. The library had a certain smell to it, that ra...

4 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“when the Shadows come out (updated version)” by Mila Van Niekerk

Accepting Mica’s dare was a big, big mistake. I realize that now that I’m standing here on top of the flight of crumbling stairs, gawping at the height she wants me to jump. The wind is whipping at my curly red hair, blowing it everywhere and making it hard for me to see. I’m scared the wind will whisk me away along with all the autumn leaves, and I know that instead of floating daintily to the ground, I’d become an ugly human jam on the cement way down below. The old railing of the abandoned Children’s Hospital’s main staircase has lo...

3 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“the willow tree from the sea” by Mila Van Niekerk

‘’This one. I’m buying you this one.’’ You point, and I shake my head in disbelief.‘’Micah, that’s a tree. A literal twenty-year-old oak tree. We’re not buying-.’’‘’But, Becca- ‘’‘’No, Micah, I don’t have space for a whole flogging tree-‘’‘’You can make space. ‘’‘’-my parents won’t allow it- ‘’‘’I’ll talk to them.’’ ‘’The house is suffocating us as it is. If we got this tree, there’d be no space to breathe.’’ ‘’No, no, that is exactly why I’m buying you this tree,’’ you took me gently by the shoulders and looked down into my eyes, the w...

1 like 1 comment 1

Read story

“Captain wants to see you” by Mila Van Niekerk

Trigger warning: mentions of severe violence, death and trauma**‘’Listen, Sally, for the last time, I don’t want to talk about it. ‘’‘’Please? Pretty, pretty, please with a cherry on top?’’‘’No, leave me alone!’’‘’Oh, come on! Just one story. One little story about the Keld and I’ll leave you alone, I promise!’’‘’Uggghhhhhhhh.’’It was late afternoon, and both the ship, Never not once, and its passengers were barely moving through the vast blue sea. The sun was high in the sky and to the voyagers it felt as though they were sailing through th...

4 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“When the Shadows come out ” by Mila Van Niekerk

Submitted to Contest #100

Accepting Mica’s dare was a big, big mistake.I realize that now that I’m standing here on top of the flight of crumbling stairs, gawping at the height she wants me to jump. The wind is whipping at my crazy curly red hair, blowing it everywhere and making it hard for me to see. I’m scared the wind will whisk me away along with all the autumn leaves, and I know that instead of floating daintily to the ground, I’d become an ugly human jam on the cement way down below.The old railing of the abandoned Children’s Hospital’s main staircase has long...

14 likes 10 comments 10

Read story

“Wish they were here” by Mila Van Niekerk

White.Walls.White walls.The walls used to be white.They’re not white anymore.No, they’re not. Instead, they’re covered from top to bottom in drawings, doodles and randomly written notes I had scribbled in the middle of the night. Some incredibly detailed, and had taken me days to finish, some were simpler, and others were just aimless little lines I had doodled in my free time, which I happened to have plenty of.Having hours free time isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, really, especially when you’re cooped up in a small room with nothing to do...

7 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“The Shadow in the Library” by Mila Van Niekerk

Submitted to Contest #91

‘’Here you go,’’ Adelaide handed me the keys to George Public Library, a massive two storey, castle-like structure in the middle of our town, surrounded by a rickety white metal fence, some shrubs and a couple of loud restaurants. I know, the busiest part of a small city is a really odd location for a library (a spooky, old fashioned one at that) The thick walls drown out most of the traffic surprisingly well. The looming, creaking structure seemed to suck up the last rays of afternoon sunshine, leaving nothing but a gloomy, empty, misty fee...

19 likes 7 comments 7

Read story

“Thunderstorming Picnic” by Mila Van Niekerk

Submitted to Contest #90

Thunderstorms are actually pretty cool, as long as they stay a safe distance of one hundred kilometres away from me, Darren Barlow thought as thunder rumbled in the distance. He was sitting in one of the small, cramped carriages of the five-p.m. train. Squashed to his right was an old lady knitting a sweater and to his left a redhead girl in an incredibly elaborate black prom dress and a sour expression, who looked like the type of person to flip over the coffee table after losing a game of monopoly.If there had been a table in the carriage ...

13 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“People Talk ” by Mila Van Niekerk

Submitted to Contest #50

Authors note: This is just the first story , I'm hoping to work in a sequel with next week's prompts :) Here goes:And so, she lay there, with the hot water bottle upon her stomach and an icepack strapped to her forehead, contemplating the meaning of life and asking herself all kinds of philosophic questions she didn’t know the answers too.Do the teachers notice when the chalk squeaks on the blackboard, or don’t they and is that why they just keep on writing like their students aren’t being cringed to death behind them?Why can’t any real-life...

92 likes 79 comments 79

Read story