Love isn’t always loud.

Sometimes, it slips in quietly-

Through a smile,

A shared silence,

A text that says “let me know when you’re home.”

And Heartbreak?

It rarely comes crashing in.

Most times, it fades slowly,

Like forgetting the sound of someone’s laugh

You swore you’d remember forever.

Each chapter marks a phase.

Of falling in love,

Of misunderstanding.

Of falling apart.

Of trying to move on.

And, eventually,

Of learning how to love yourself again.

This is a beautiful and bitter part of my life,

Open on paper.

I Hope it helps yours beat a little easier

.

-The Phoenix

As their paths cross unexpectedly, the unresolved tension from their past---those unsaid words and buried emotions---comes rushing back. The events of the year 2024-2025 resurface, forcing them to confront the mistakes and misunderstandings that tore them apart. Old wounds, long left untouched, slowly begin to heal, but trust and openness don't come easily.

In a story of redemption, forgiveness, and second chances, Dhafnie and Jyrus must navigate the tangled mess of their history to rediscover what once brought them together. As they work through the pain they caused each other, will they find the strength to rebuild what they lost? Or will their past be too much to overcome?

Cru (pronounced crew), is seen as cold and distant by his dorm mates Jacob Carter, Echo Rivers, and Kaelan Rhodes.            Cru made the mistake of loving the wrong person and hasn’t forgotten. How could he? They were manipulative and smart. Smart enough to know how to convince me that I could be loved. His name was Grayson Hoult. I wish I could’ve walked past him when I met him in daycare. We were eight when we met, his dad was in prison for abuse and he learned how to act. And damn could he act. His mother signed him up for a local theater group to get him out of the house. One day when he was changing into his costume, someone noticed the fist sized bruise on his rib cage and called CPS. His dad was caught attacking his mother and was sent to jail. Grayson was then put in my daycare and I was told to make him feel welcome. We were friends for five years before I figured out that I loved him. We would stay at each other’s houses staying up past midnight telling stories. Then I told him how I felt, I saw who he really was that night. I got my mom to sign me up for a swim camp that lasted all summer to escape daycare. To escape him.

That was three years ago and I’m sixteen now, and I’ve learned that everyone I let in leaves me. Every friend I make moves or grows distant. I’ve learned that it’s safer to leave first, or better yet, not let anyone get close to me. Every year since that night I’ve gone to the Nike swim camp at OSU which lasts the entire summer. When I was there I could forget the memories of him, could forget that I still loved him, could be someone else. This year my roommates are Jacob Carter, Echo Rivers, and Kaelan Rhodes. My assessment of Jacob is; soccer star, plays forward, makes the most shots out of anyone on his team. Lives in Vancouver, Washington. Is openly bisexual which means he likes girls and boys, no you don’t have to choose between the two. Here for the soccer camp. Sixteen. My assessment of Echo is; quiet, easily forgotten. Non-binary. Loves reading. Track star known for their sprints. Lives in a small town outside of the Idaho border in Oregon. Disowned by their father and avoids their brother who lives with their mother, lives with their aunt. Here for the track camp. Sixteen. My assessment of Kaelan is; his heart’s been broken for a long time. Pan. Hides behind laughter and smiles that are faked well. Center defender in soccer, mostly hangs out with Jacob. Here for the soccer camp. Lives in Portland, Oregon. Sixteen. My assessment of myself; cold, detached, distant. Won’t let anyone in. Won’t let anyone see or know who I am. Lives in the same town as Echo, but, I’ve never really talked or hung out with him since freshman year. Here for the swim camp. Best stroke is butterfly. Sixteen. Then there’s the empty bed that we’ve been informed will have an occupant in two days.

Note:

Mention of physical abuse and showing of physical abuse!

Also Echo only just moved in with their aunt at the end of freshman year.

I don’t believe that Nike does a track camp at all and they don’t do the camps for the entire summer there is a soccer camp but I don’t know how long it goes since I’ve only been to the swim one. I go to the overnight program which can go from July 6-10, July 13-17 for ages 10-18, maybe 9. The majority of this story is made up with me drawing from a few past experiences at the camp and with people I used to know. A great song to listen to on repeat for this book/story would be “people you know” by Selena Gomez.

Streets of Mumbai follows Dev Roy, a twenty-one-year-old nanotechnology student at IEC Bombay. Brilliant, methodical, and emotionally guarded, Dev lives by precision and control. He avoids distractions, relationships, and anything that threatens the perfection he’s spent years building. But his orderly world begins to unravel.

Dev’s life is disrupted when he’s forced to collaborate on a sustainability project with his childhood friend, Aditya, and his academic rival, Sanjanna, a sharp-tongued CS student who challenges his every move. Their tense alliance sets the stage for unexpected growth—and confrontation. As Dev tries to navigate their clashing personalities, he is blindsided by a familiar voice at a Delhi university fest: Garima, a confident spoken-word poet and the very girl who once stirred something in him back in school.

What begins as awkward curiosity evolves into an emotional reckoning. Dev finds himself caught between the life he’s planned and the life he’s denied—the one shaped by uncertainty, desire, and unspoken regret. Garima reawakens parts of him he thought he had outgrown, while Ishita, a sharp MBA student with an eye for strategy, enters the picture with her own interest in him—personally and intellectually.

Set against the energy and pressure of modern Mumbai, Streets of Mumbai is a coming-of-age novel about control and vulnerability, intellect and emotion. As Dev faces academic deadlines, emotional confusion, and painful choices, he begins to ask the questions he’s always avoided: Who is he, really? And what does it mean to live a life that isn’t part of a plan?

I think this one's for you

Here's the collection of the soundtracks from my book series "Stronger Together" that you can find on my profile. All the lyrics are written by me, while music is created by Suno AI.

Since I found such a good AI app as Suno, I've been obsessed with a wish to start writing my own songs again. I wrote something several years ago, but those works were super terrible, and I wish they never exisited. But now I've come back to this, and I'm now trying to do my best to give you the best experience. I'm not sure if I follow the rules of writing songs, but I'm doing my best to make them better. Writing songs in English is a real challenge to me. So, I ask you not to judge me too hard, and I will be really happy if you check this work out, like it, add it to your reading list, and leave a sweet comment.

Stronger Together: The Soundrack (Full Playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB7RGU7Q1p-upnONRD4VUjj1eiXhKyLQm

This is a poem composed from linked haikus that I wrote immediately after reading several poems from young people who deal with their intolerable pain by cutting and other forms of self-harm. These broke my heart, which is where the title comes from, and I immediately penned this poem in response as it is my way of dealing with the great pain that life sometimes subjects us to, trying to give some comfort and hope to unknown colleagues in distress, knowing full well that words alone could do little or nothing to assuage their pain. But hope springs eternal.

Oceana More had been a vampire for almost three hundred and fifty years along with her parents, Cameron More and Pierce More, who had been turned on the same day. The turning process was torture. To turn, your body and soul had to be brought to the brink of death. The vampire who was turning the human had to stab them and let them bleed until there was almost nothing left, then they have to bite on a vein and inject a small dose of their poison, then they would lick the stab wound closed to stop the bleeding. After this procedure you would be stuck in a kind of limbo neither human, fledgling, or vampire. Stuck between death and the undead. If your body and mind are strong enough you will become a fledgling. Which is what I was. Now I’m a vampire. You know how vampires supposedly don’t have a heart that beats? Well that myth is wrong. Why do you think you have to drive a stake through our hearts? Our heart beats, just really slowly because we don’t have much blood left to pump. Remember when I told you that the blood had to be drained until there was almost nothing left? That’s the reason why our heart beats so slowly. I have a long term girlfriend of three years who’s still human because I’m scared of losing her. Her name is Melody Carlyle. Melody is everything I could ever ask for. She’s sweet, smart, funny, and hot. She has onyx black hair, dark gray eyes, rosebud lips, porcelain skin, and a smile that could kill if used right. She was perfect in every aspect of the word. Me on the other hand, I had blood red hair, tan skin, light gray eyes, and a smirk that was guarded. Then my parents were murdered in their bed, their throats slit. I was distraught relying on Melody to keep me from collapsing.

Lythia Eranil was thrown out of her clan of dark elves. They were the Whispered Stars. She was thrown out for being weak, for feeling, for not becoming a ruthless mercenary. I was a disappointment to the clan. When  I refused to kill the human kneeling before me. My sister shot her in the head with her arrow and scoffed at me, “How could you be one of us? You can’t even kill a pathetic human.” A chorus of agreements rose at the words and the council was called to vote. It was unanimous. I was too weak and was thrown out. What they didn’t know was I had the stars magic in my veins. The stars magic is the purest form of dark magic known. It’s like having pure shadows running through your veins. I was able to keep it hidden from them, so they wouldn’t be able to use me as a weapon to dominate the other dark elven clans. The Whispered Stars were feared throughout the five kingdoms. The Elven Kingdom was composed of the water elves, earth elves, wind elves, fire elves, and the rarest ones the dark elves. The Water Kingdom is composed of mermaids, sirens, and sea monsters. The Wolf Kingdom is composed of hundreds of clans of werewolves, with no one clan being in charge. The Human Kingdom is composed entirely of humans and is the smallest kingdom by far. Finally the Coven Kingdom, which is the vampire kingdom, which is ruled by the Lorent clan. Anyway back to me, I’ve been alive for two hundred and fifty years. I was thrown out of the Whispered Stars when I was only fifty years old. I’ve practiced my magic in secret everyday since then, and have become a killer to keep my secret. I’ve killed over two hundred people just to keep my stars magic secret. I’ve traveled through the five kingdoms hundreds of times, every kingdom except the elven kingdom, I can’t bring myself to go back. Suddenly I was driven out of the Human Kingdom by the Whispered Stars and into the Coven Kingdom, when I learn there may be a sixth kingdom no one remembers. A kingdom for the forgotten monsters like Wraiths, Banshees, Ghosts, and Demons.

The sound of footsteps echoed along the street on a cold winter morning. Her steps traced every path blanketed in snow. While passersby hurried by, shivering, this girl walked slowly, as if savoring the coldness of the snow.

My nose and eyes were slightly red, and the cold wind felt sharp, as if it could scratch my skin. Strangely, though, it didn’t feel like something worth worrying about. I realized there were far more painful things in life, so I dismissed this simple discomfort.

The girl kept walking, clutching her backpack tightly, filled with a strong sense of determination and will.

Finally, she arrived in front of the classroom.

Click

The door opened.

For a moment, that person looked directly at the girl, then returned to reading his book.

I knew who he was. He always arrived earlier than me and the others. His name is Alez, and like me, he is a quiet person. His demeanor is even colder, his gaze often sharp and seemingly harsh.

During class, the girl paid close attention to the lecture. While most students were beginning to look tired, two students remained focused on the professor’s explanation.

Those two were Inmi Elf and Alezar—high achievers who pretended not to know each other, despite having worked on group assignments together before.

Inmi Elf, now in her second semester at one of the top universities, had earned a full scholarship because of her academic excellence. She wasn’t involved in many campus activities, spending most of her time in the library or working part-time. Inmi avoided social groups that invited her to have fun, even though it could’ve helped her relieve stress. She paid close attention to how she managed her time, money, and energy, making her less noticeable among the other students.

Inmi wasn’t fond of small talk with those around her. Her quiet demeanor and sole focus on studying made some people drift away from her, assuming she disliked interacting with others due to how often she seemed to ignore them. Even so, Inmi was relatively close to one person on campus—her name was Damica.

Five hours passed, and class was finally over.

“Let’s go get dessert. I’ve been craving cheesecake from where you work,” said Damica cheerfully, carrying her sling bag.

Inmi slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the class with Damica, not responding to her friend’s words.

Upon arriving at a café not far from campus, in the cold afternoon air, Inmi took off her jacket, tied her hair neatly, and put on an apron.

“Oh, Inmi, you're here—thank goodness. I was exhausted handling things alone since Aunt Mona suddenly had something come up,” said a woman wearing a pink apron with the word Lurécakeprinted on it.

“You can head to the cashier and take the payments.”

Inmi went to the kitchen to take over her co-worker’s duties.

The ingredients are running low. I need to restock for next month, though it should last for the next week. I’ll let Aunt Mona know.

“Inmi, this is so good!” Damica grinned, resting her head on the table surrounded by three cheesecakes and two cookie milk drinks.

“Happy birthday,” said Inmi.

Damica pouted.

“How could you say happy birthday with such a straight face?”

“Just eat,” Inmi replied as she returned to work in the kitchen.

“Hmph! I can’t even be mad because this cake is seriously delicious.” Damica shouted, “Thank you, Inmi!!” then smiled as she continued devouring the cheesecake.

~

Back home.

Today wasn’t too exhausting. It felt nice to finally lie down on the bed.

Inmi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The scent of her pajamas was soft and comforting, and the aroma from the candle in her room was incredibly soothing.

In the quiet of the night, while the city lights still glimmered outside, Inmi recalled that person’s conversation.

Flashback.

After Damica finished all her cheesecake and took the gift from Inmi, she cheerfully went home.

Back at the café, Inmi was swamped with customers. Suddenly, four people came in and requested a private room for a confidential meeting.

Lurécake Café was actually created by someone for a specific purpose. On the surface, it looked like any ordinary café—intentionally designed to be unassuming so it wouldn't get too crowded. But when Aunt Mona hired Inmi, she encouraged her to create a new menu, which eventually became a hit among visitors, who also enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. Ever since, the café remained consistently busy. Aunt Mona informed the café’s owner about this development, and he didn’t mind, so long as it didn’t interfere with his affairs.

“Room One A,” said a man dressed casually in all black, his face covered once again.

This was the third time I’d seen this man. Every time he came to this café, he always reserved a private room. It seemed Aunt Mona knew him well.

“Please, I’ll show you the way,” Inmi said, escorting them as usual to another room.

Judging from his voice and manner, I think the one speaking earlier was Jay, and the other two were Win and Deff.

Inmi knew their names from the customer list, though she had never seen their faces because they always wore scarves or masks.

Once they entered the room, Inmi returned to the main area—but one of them suddenly grabbed her hand.

“You’re a student at Alfred Star University, aren’t you?” Deff asked, holding Inmi’s arm so she was forced to turn back.

Inmi paused, expressionless, her eyes tired. She shook off his hand and walked away.

“Hey! A worker like you should show some respect!” Deff shouted angrily.

Respect? Doesn’t he realize how rude it is to just grab someone like that? Ugh... Now he’s got my attention.

Inmi muttered to herself as she walked away.

Meanwhile, the other two chuckled at the incident.

“Don’t bother that girl again,” Jay said with a firm tone.

“C’mon, I was just asking. She always cuts through the soccer field on her way to the library.”

“So? Just admit you’re interested in her,” Win teased.

“Ha! As if I’d ever be interested in an annoying girl like her!” Deff’s face flushed red, a mix of embarrassment and irritation.

Jay, listening quietly, shook his head and walked into the room without another word.

“Oh right, senior, where’s the exam file now?” Deff asked Jay excitedly.

“It’s safe. I’ve stored it,” Jay replied.

“You’re lucky, Deff, to be part of this. Work hard and take advantage of this opportunity,” Win said, patting Deff’s shoulder.

“I look forward to your family’s company contributing to the hospital’s development,” Jay said, calmly looking at Deff.

“Whoa, senior, the way you talk is so formal it gives me chills. Can we be a bit more casual?—Whoa...”

Deff suddenly realized his own tone was starting to match that of Jay and Win.

Jay smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Deff, you’ll need to get used to us,” Win chuckled.

“Here, prepare this in four days and do well on the exam,” Jay handed him a paper from his folder.

“I’ll do my best. Thank you, senior!!” Deff stood up, bowed, and sat back down with a bright smile.

“What about you, Win?” Jay asked seriously.

“My father still hasn’t agreed with my suggestion. For him, this is a tough decision,” Win answered.

“Alright, I’ll try another approach so your father has a better shot at becoming the next minister,” Jay said thoughtfully.

“Jay, do you really have to go this far?” Win asked, concerned.

“I have to. Right now, our identities as students allow us to move unnoticed. It’s the best way to execute the plan,” Jay answered seriously.

“Wasn’t that the reason you both joined me? Because we share the same goal?” he looked at both Deff and Win.

They fell silent.

“Yeah... I have to do it too,” Deff smirked.

“Well, we’ve come this far. Maybe my worries don’t matter anymore,” Win lowered his head and smiled.

~

Inmi lay on her bed, still stunned by what she had heard from Jay, Win, and Deff’s conversation.

Inmi had secretly installed a bugging device in the private room and successfully deleted the CCTV footage. Her curiosity was too strong, and though her actions were brave, they weren’t always right. Inmi was the type to do anything for money—but she was also smart enough to avoid risking herself. She had to, to support her five-year-old sister, whom she had entrusted to an orphanage since she couldn’t care for her during the day.

She began to wonder if there was something important she could do. After hearing that conversation, an idea started forming.

Were they targeting someone? Or power?

Becoming a middle person... a spy… that would be extremely valuable to them, wouldn’t it?

But who are they, really?

Jay, Deff, and Win...

Oh right—one of them asked if I was from Alfred Star. Wait—does that mean we go to the same university? But I’m not familiar with those names...

Tomorrow, I’ll start finding out who they really are.

How far would you go for the person who feels like home?

Samantha Pearson never expected to fall for someone like Nate Dawson-smart, gorgeous, and way out of her league. Too bad he's taken.

As the new girl in town and a freshman in law school, Sam is just trying to survive the chaos of legal studies. But then there's Nate, her brilliant, charming, "totally off-limits" study-buddy. He's dating Ashley Reynolds, the queen bee of their law school, and Sam knows better than to catch feelings.

But sometimes, the heart doesn't listen. What starts as an innocent friendship soon turns into deep conversations, stolen glances, and moments that felt like "more".

As they chase their dreams of becoming lawyers, real life comes crashing in... can they fight for each other when everything, including their own choices, seems to pull them apart?

Or is some love just not meant to stand the test of time?

Mia Agrinya and Merida Lykos made a promise to each other to stand by each others side no matter what. But as a new enemy begins to threaten the stability of the pack, the pair have to decide whether staying together would be worth the lives of those around them.

As Merida struggles to grasp her newfound powers, she fears that her magic might lead to more problems than she can handle, and along with the responsibility of protecting the pack while her fathers away, all Merida needs is the strength and comfort of her mate.

When a mysterious stranger bursts into the pack, Mia begins to find it difficult to hold on to her promise with Merida, especially with the tantalizing secret that her life is on the line.

Faced with the darkness that grows more powerful by the day, Mia and Merida will need to decide whether the paths they choose will keep them together or tear them apart.

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