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The Gamble of Life

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My father was a dealer at a casino, but it was not long before he himself became a gambler. It was just a hobby for him at first, but later, it spiralled into a full-blown addiction. He was on a winning streak for weeks, often bringing Mom and me lots of presents and treating us to many luxurious meals at places I had never even heard of before. However, those happy memories were short-lived once he started losing. This caused tension between Mom and Dad as Dad refused to fight off his addiction and seek professional help. Mom, exhausted by his stubbornness, divorced Dad just a year later, and I rarely got to see him afterwards. I was just ten at the time, so I didn’t understand much, but entering my teens, the reality of what happened weighed on me more and more as the years passed by. Remembering how I enjoyed Dad’s gambling stories, I feared going down a similar path. Ten years have passed since the divorce, and Dad and I meet once a month to catch up. He has relapsed a few times si...
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Shadows of Justice

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Coming from a religious home, I spent most of my life seeing the world as black and white, good and evil, but as I reached my teens and started to follow the news, I was swallowed by the vast ocean of grey that surrounded me. People who preached the word of god, leaders who were meant to inspire us, artists who were supposed to give us hope—so many of them were the worst people imaginable. So many of them had ties with people who made such atrocities their line of work. It was not long before I began to question my faith, wondering what kind of higher power would turn their back on their creation’s suffering. My parents called my questioning blasphemous and refused to have a discussion on the topic. Even some of my friends were offended when I spoke to them about the subject. One of them said as a joke that maybe I should summon the Devil to see what they would say, but I took it seriously and decided to go ahead with it the following day. That same night, however, I was suddenly awake...
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In Spirit

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My sister, Rana, always struggled with strange experiences. She would often drift off mid-conversation and begin to wander off as if our discussions never even happened; on other occasions, we’d find her sleepwalking past locked doors. While these were not frequent at first, they became a common occurrence as she grew older. Grandma insisted that it was possession and said she needed to call her witch friend, Mina, but she was alone in her belief. My parents made an appointment for Rana with a specialist, but the treatment only seemed to work for a couple of days before she returned to her routine. Mom and Dad spent weeks checking with different doctors, but it was to no avail. Rana’s sleepwalking only escalated as time passed. One night, Mom put the door keys in a new safe she bought, but the next morning, she woke up to find the safe broken into and the front door fully open. Rana was thankfully not missing, and without harm; however, that same morning, we heard alarming news that ma...
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The Forgotten Ones

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I once saw the god Anu in a TV series when I was six and was devastated when he was killed off. He was my favourite character, and I wished so badly for his return in the series that I even prayed for it. Two weeks passed with me wishing for Anu’s return, and he indeed did appear in the series once again, but something was off… ​ It seemed that I was the only one who could see Anu in the series. My parents paid no attention to it; they probably assumed it was simply my imagination. However, things became weirder as the months progressed, as I started seeing Anu in various other TV series, and even in cartoons. I brought this up with my parents, yet they shrugged it off the same as before, saying I was just too attached to the character. I almost believed them, but deep down, I knew there was more to it than that. ​ As I grew older, however, my interests shifted, and I slowly forgot about the character I once adored. By the time I was in university, he was but a distant memory. However,...
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The Pony Friend

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The day after my parents and I returned home from our trip to the countryside, I pleaded with them to get me a pony. The pony rides were truly an enthralling experience—one that I wished I could live through every day. My parents were hesitant at first, but they finally said they’d give me a pony. However, weeks turned into months, and I eventually wrote to Santa, requesting one for Christmas. The next morning, I woke up to my parents yelling outside. I rushed to the porch to see what the commotion was and found myself stupefied upon seeing a fire-breathing pony galloping around the garden. The second the pony saw me, however, it stopped running and slowly approached me. My parents stood in front of me, blocking its path, but I snuck past them to greet my new friend. The pony had a string chain around its neck, and to it was attached an envelope that was addressed to me. I undid the strings and opened the envelope; my eyes widened as I read the letter in it. Dear Alina, Thank you so mu...
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Monster Friend

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My twin sister, Annie, always complained about monsters being under her bed and asked my parents to chase them away. She would often scream, making me lose sleep every day since we shared the same bedroom. One day, I decided to sleep under her bed to get her to stop complaining. Annie pleaded with me not to do it, but I said I’d prove to her that there was nothing to worry about. Grabbing my pillow and blanket, I crawled into that narrow space and stared up into the darkness. It wasn’t long before I was beginning to fall asleep, but I was suddenly jolted by movement next to me. I turned to my left and found myself stupefied at the sight before me: it was a humanoid girl no bigger than me, but her skin was pale blue, and she had a third eye on her forehead. I was about to scream when the girl covered my mouth and shook her head. “Please don’t make me hide; I mean you no harm.” There was a tremble in both her voice and her hands. My instincts told me I could trust her, so I nodded and mo...
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Eternal Paths

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Life always seemed to show me two choices since I was a child, appearing before me as blue and red streaks of light that diverged from where I stood. They were nothing but a haze at first and only became clear when I became ten years old. I asked Mom what it meant, and she said it was a gift that was unique to our family—one that very few inherited. Mom herself did not possess the gift, but she said that Grandma did. If only she were still around… Grandma passed away when Mom was a teen. Making decisions was simple: stepping on the blue streak allowed me to see into the future and learn all the steps I needed to take to succeed in everything I do. I always went with blue as it seemed the safest choice. I dared not take the red path, but I always wondered whether it was truly the wrong path. Perhaps it was just a bolder choice? My curiosity lingered, and it grew as the years passed by. In time, I studied hard and aced all my exams. Soon, I was in one of the best universities in the coun...
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