The Novella Life of Illuscia Nester Himawari

Once upon a time, underneath the deep, blue ocean, there lived a sea king who had 7 mermaid daughters, each one more beautiful than other. He had no sons, but loved all his princesses dearly and gave them everything they could ever wish for. On the 16th birthday of each princess, it was a family tradition that they each get to spend a whole day on the surface to learn about the world above, and they would always have an interesting tale to tell when they return. The youngest of the mermaids, who grew up listening to those tales, longed for the day she would turn 16 so she, too, can see the world above for herself. Finally, on her 16th birthday, the little mermaid got her long-awaited chance to visit the surface. After having a lavish birthday party the night before, she bid goodbye to her family and eagerly swam away towards the world above. The surface was everything her sisters told her and more, and it just so happened that the prince of the land she was visiting on was returned fro...

Deep in the forests of old, there lived a woodcutter and his wife. They had two children named Hansel and Gretel, and they loved them dearly. Even though they were not very well-off, they were a happy family, and want for nothing. Sadly, the wife died when the children were 10, but the woodcutter could not take care of two children alone, so he remarried again. His new wife was, unfortunately, very demanding, only caring for herself and had no interest in raising the children. And because the woodcutter was too soft-hearted and too good a Christian to divorce her, she got away with everything. One day, while Hansel accompanied Gretel to get water, they accidentally eavesdropped on the woodcutter and his wife planning to get rid of them. The wife complained that they did not have enough food to feed one person, let alone four, and the extra mouths had to go. The woodcutter was not too thrilled about the idea, but the wife would not let up, and gave him no quarter until he was forced to ...

Long, long ago, in a faraway land, there lived a King and Queen who ruled their kingdom with kindness and just, and were beloved by their subjects. They have everything their hearts' desire, but the one thing they desired the most was a child of their own. One winter afternoon, as the Queen was tending to her rose garden, she accidentally pricked her finger on a thorn of one of the roses. As 3 drops of blood trickled onto the snow, the Queen made a silent wish. "I wish to have a child as white as snow, with hair as black as night, and lips as red as blood. How beautiful that child would be." No sooner she made that wish, than a year later, the Queen was pregnant and soon gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. Sadly, the Queen died soon after giving birth, and the King was beside himself with grief. His only consolation was that his little princess grew to look just like the Queen wished, and thus she was named 'Snow White'. As much as the King was content to rule his...

Once upon a time, in a quaint little village, lived a young girl with her parents. She had a grandmother who lived deep in the woods, and she was very much loved by the old lady. Her grandmother gave her a beautiful red hood and cape on her 1st birthday, and she had been wearing it ever since, and because of that, everyone called her 'Lil Red'. One day, Lil Red's grandmother got the flu and couldn't take care of herself. So Lil Red's mother gave her some money and a basketful of fresh-bought groceries, packed Lil Red's suitcase and told her to go stay with her grandmother and take care of her until she gets better. Lil Red agreed and bid goodbye to her family before making her way into the woods. Unbeknownst to her, within the dense woods, there lived a huge man-sized wolf. He had been watching Lil Red for quite some time now since she was little, and today was no different. He almost could not believe his eyes at how much Lil Red has grown since he last saw her...

The last storm was already on the horizon when I woke that Sunday morning. It hung in the south, a solid black wall of dust, churning and seemingly motionless. I’d every intention of sleeping late into the morning, as had been my Sunday custom since Adele and the girls had left, but the distant rumbling and crackle of lightning drug me from the bed just after sunrise. I shuffled drowsily around the farm in the early morning, lashing the doors of the barn, rounding up the two stubborn hogs, and shuttering the windows; but soon I found myself rooted in place, captivated by the writhing shape in the sky. It stretched impossibly wide across the open sky, rolling across the border from Nebraska. The air had a dry, electric chill, and already the sickly yellow wheat swayed in anticipation. I was in a trance, eyes locked on the distance when I saw a small light dust plume to the west, picked out in stark contrast with black beyond. The horse and rider at the base of the little dust devil appr...

In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places. Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manl...

Can you relate? You sit in your towel after a shower because you’re too lazy to get dressed. You and your best friend can say one word, and crack up. You hate when one string of your hoodie is longer than the other. You hate it when people think you like someone when you clearly don’t. You hate it when your favorite song comes on, as you pull into the driveway. You feel like if you turn on the lights, you will be safe from anything. You push those little buttons on the lids of fast-food drinks. You laugh until people get hurt, then stop when you realize it’s serious. You hate it when parents get serious about something funny you tell them. You hate when you tell a guy to shut up and they copy you in a higher voice. You pretend to sleep when your parents come in. You text the person next to you things that you can’t say out loud. You hate when people in front of you walk really slow and you can’t get past them. You’re always tired no matter how much sleep you get. You stop the microwave...

There was a time when I believed running might help; if I could pack up my few belongings and burn the rest under cover of darkness and flee, I could start over somewhere new. But in this bleak frostbitten place, I admit to myself, truly, that I cannot outrun him, that I can never escape him. And should I slip into the warm embrace of doubt after an unnaturally long stretch of peaceful, empty days, he will be only too happy to remind me of this. There’s almost nothing left he can take from me. The days before him are fading like an aged photograph now, a hazy yellow dream of stability and happiness with a long future of happy possibilities stretched ahead. Today, I am huddled in the eaves of a collapsing barn in the Yukon Territory, desperately trying to start a fire with sodden and rotting hay. The more I burn now, the less I have to use as a blanket. It is a delicate balance that I have not quite mastered. I hitchhiked across the border two months ago, and have been making my way nor...

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off! MORAL : Life is going to shovel dirt on you, a...

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no lon...

Shivering from the cold, Dane slowly opens his eyes. It was dark, almost completely devoid of light but for the glow of his cell phone somewhere beside him. Shaking his head in an attempt to push away the fog of sleep, Dane stretches his arm out to retrieve his phone. How long had he slept? Did he oversleep again? Straining against what must be his blanket wrapped around him, he is unable to reach the phone on the bedside table. Maybe if he kicked off the covers and sat up first… It was at that moment, that Dane realized he  was  sitting up. In fact, not only was he in a sitting position, but he also could not seem to move more than his right arm. In a panic, he struggles against whatever is restraining him until his flailing arm hits something directly in front of him. In the near dark, slowly feeling around the obstruction, Dane realizes that what he found is a steering wheel. The fog of his unconsciousness quickly clears when Dane puts the pieces together to understand tha...