Vera N

“A Palette Restored” by Vera N

The world had lost its color.It had begun as a slow fade, a dulling of vibrancy unnoticed at first—until it was impossible to ignore. The sky over Aiden’s small apartment turned pallid, the ivy that once clung to the brick walls of his neighborhood shriveled into brittle, colorless husks, and the mural on the corner—once a swirl of reds, blues, and greens—became nothing more than a grayscale shadow of what it had been. The color bled from his world, leaving only shades of black, white, and endless gray.No one could pinpoint when exactly it h...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Brushstrokes of Magic” by Vera N

In the heart of a quaint village called Vellmir, nestled between the rolling green hills of the Bavarin countryside, there lived a reclusive artist named Elias Voss. His hands wove magic into his paintings—though not the kind found in myths or legends. His creations held an inexplicable allure, a pulse of something unseen that made people feel emotions they couldn’t quite name. Some claimed his art whispered to them, that the figures in his portraits blinked when no one was looking. Others swore that landscapes in his paintings carried the s...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Whispers in the Sunlight” by Vera N

The field stretched before her like a golden sea, waves of sunflowers bending under the summer breeze. Each blossom turned its face toward the sun, their petals radiating warmth like tiny fragments of captured sunlight. The golden hues stretched to the horizon, blending with the soft haze of the late afternoon, where the sky kissed the earth in a seamless gradient of gold and blue. The delicate hum of insects filled the air, a symphony of life woven into the tapestry of the land. Occasionally, a butterfly would flit lazily above the blossoms...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Exit Wound” by Vera N

The city burned. Thick plumes of smoke curled into the night sky, mixing with the neon glow of shattered streetlights. Sirens wailed in the distance, barely audible over the gunfire rattling through the streets. The scent of gasoline and scorched metal filled the air, and somewhere nearby, a car alarm blared its dying scream. Amid the chaos, Levi Santos ran. His breath came in ragged gasps, his ribs aching from the last hit he’d taken. Blood slicked his temple, seeping into the collar of his jacket. His gun was empty—he’d thrown it awa...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Whispers Beneath The Floor” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #291

Daniel gripped the steering wheel tighter as the rain intensified, turning the highway into a mirror of black water. The wipers slapped rhythmically, struggling to clear the windshield fast enough. It was the kind of night that made the world feel smaller, reduced to the dim glow of headlights and the muffled hum of the engine. He hadn't been back to Ashwood in nearly twenty years. Not since he left. Not since that night. The town sat nestled in the valley like a secret, surrounded by dense forests that swallowed the roads whole. The hig...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Fractured Recall” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #291

Dr. Ethan Caldwell prided himself on his ability to understand the human mind. With over two decades as a psychiatrist, he believed he'd encountered every conceivable manifestation of mental distress. That belief was challenged the day Daniel Grayson walked into his office. Daniel's appearance was unsettling: gaunt frame, sunken eyes, and an enigmatic smile that hinted at secrets best left undiscovered. His attire—a worn, outdated suit—seemed a relic from another era. "I've been waiting for this appointment for a long time," Daniel began, hi...

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Books, Coffee, and You” by Vera N

Amelia had always loved the quiet hum of The Ivy & Ink, the tiny bookshop café nestled between two towering buildings in the heart of the city. It was a place of well-worn pages and the rich scent of coffee, a refuge from the hurried world outside. Every morning before work, she would slip into her favorite corner by the window, order a vanilla latte, and immerse herself in a book, savoring the solitude before the day’s demands took hold.One crisp autumn morning, as golden leaves twirled outside the fogged-up window, she found her routin...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Ghost Hound” by Vera N

Jack Mercer never stopped for strays. Life had taught him not to. A former private investigator turned small-town mechanic, he had seen the worst humanity had to offer—betrayal, cruelty, blood spilled over things that never mattered. He had buried his past deep, trading high-speed chases and shootouts for oil changes and carburetor repairs. Simple. Predictable. Safe.But that night, as he sped down the deserted backroads of Blackwood County, something made him slam on the brakes.A dog—ragged, skeletal, and soaked to the bone—stood dead center...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“From Scorned to Sovereign” by Vera N

The sound of distant waves crashing against the shore whispered through the open window of the high-end resort’s grand ballroom. Chandeliers cast a golden glow over the polished marble floors, and the murmur of conversation filled the space, punctuated by the occasional clink of champagne flutes. Evelyn Sinclair, once the devoted fiancée of Adrian Blackwood before betrayal shattered her world, pressed her palms against the cold porcelain sink in the lavish restroom, her reflection staring back from an ornate mirror. Smudged mascara. A torn s...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Dark Transmission” by Vera N

The radio crackled, a thin whisper against the oppressive silence of space. Captain Elias Vance sat motionless in his seat, eyes locked on the blinking red light of the distress beacon. It pulsed like a heartbeat—steady, insistent—somewhere in the void ahead."Unidentified vessel, this is Captain Vance of the Orion's Wake. Do you read me?"No response.The beacon had been transmitting for nearly an hour, yet no ship appeared on the scanner. Just an empty patch of black, speckled with distant, indifferent stars. It made no sense."Captain, I don'...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Two Sisters, One Secret” by Vera N

Lena had always believed her father, Robert, was an only child. It was a truth as certain as the sun rising in the east, a fact passed down in casual conversations and family anecdotes. “It was just me and your grandfather,” Robert would say with a wistful smile. “We had each other, and that was enough.”Lena had never questioned it. Why would she? The walls of her childhood home were lined with photographs of her father and grandfather, their smiles frozen in time. No mysterious figures lingered in the background. No whispered secrets floate...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Moonlit Whispers” by Vera N

A gentle breeze brushed against Elena’s skin as she stood at the edge of the forest, the whisper of the wind curling around her like unseen fingers. It carried the scent of damp earth and pine, but beneath it, something else lingered—a trace of something ancient, something otherworldly. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the air stir the strands of her hair. This was the place. She could feel it.Legends spoke of the Veil, a hidden seam between the world of the living and the realm of spirits, a place where the two touched and in...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“A Whispered Waltz” by Vera N

The sky was a boundless ocean of blue, stretching far beyond what the eye could capture. Golden sunlight spilled through the cracks between branches, dappling the ground in shifting patterns that swayed like waves. Wisps of white clouds drifted lazily overhead, shaped by the soft hands of the wind. A warm breeze wove through the trees, rustling the leaves in a chorus of soft whispers. Birds soared high above, their calls carried effortlessly on the wind. The air smelled crisp, tinged with the freshness of morning dew and the distant sweetnes...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Ink and Rainwater” by Vera N

Sophia stood in the rain, motionless as the world rushed past her. Water seeped through the fabric of her coat, chilling her skin, but she barely felt it. Her pulse was louder than the patter of raindrops against the pavement, louder than the distant horns of impatient drivers, louder than the city itself.Her fingers clutched the strap of her bag, white-knuckled. Inside, the letter sat folded and pristine, though its words had already burned themselves into her mind. A single page, yet impossibly heavy, pressing down on her chest like a ston...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Leviathan's Roar” by Vera N

The storm had no mercy. It wasn’t just the rain or the wind or the way the sea seemed to rise like a living thing, as though it was conspiring against them. It was the suffocating sense of something ancient, something vast, that pressed in on all sides—like the storm was more than just nature’s fury. It was as if the very sky, the ocean, and the howling wind had conspired to entrap them in a world of their own, one that existed outside the rules of time and space.The Azure Horizon pitched and rolled violently as Captain Elias Thorn fought to...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story