Xeno Hemlock

September rain washed the mud and filth off my old body. Abandoned in a deserted valley for days, my decaying corpse would scare myself if I stumbled upon it. Worms had made it their playground. Crows had nibbled on different parts. The hollow circle in my chest was beginning to fill with water.

The time had come.

The rotting flesh began repairing itself quickly bringing life to greyish skin, the hollow circle disappearing for good. My heart pumped blood again. Hair grew back in a different color. My former brown eyes turned green. My body levitated itself upright.

A porcelain-white figure suddenly appeared in front of me. “The Beacon I knew wasn’t this desperate,” it said in a low voice.

“Vindaya,” I uttered. “I did this for Mercy.”

“Still doesn’t justify this.”

“Things change.”

Vindaya’s dark blue eyes glowed. “You know what I must do, friend. I must kill you.”

Today is Thursday, perfect day to do a throwback. The short story above was from I am Ethan, an old series I wrote at the now defunct Glipho website. All parts of I am Ethan have been removed on the Internet ever since.

Us writers write a lot, some go published, some unpublished, and even some we wish we can unpublish. There are also some things we wrote that we pull back from the grave to give them a second chance at life.

Ethan Beacon is one of those. He’ll see you soon.

Header photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels.