The Omniscrolls

I was sitting on my usual park bench on a Saturday evening when a pregnant woman in a hoodie rushed towards me from behind and sat by my side. She was covered in sweat and wheezing her lungs out. “Are you okay?” “Is there anyone coming this way?” she asked. “What?” I looked around and saw no one approaching us. “No one,” I said. The woman released a heavy sigh and wiped her face. “Thank god… I don’t have any energy left to run.” I was concerned. “Who’s chasing you?” “My husband. I’m running away from him.” My mind raced back to my childhood: my mom took me away from my abusive father when I was five. We travelled across the country and, thankfully, haven’t seen or heard from him since. I asked the woman when she was due; the date was just a week away, and she was going to have quadruplets, all girls. Relating to her and her children, I asked the woman if she had a place to go. She said she had no idea yet, and that she had no living relatives. I told her she could stay with me for as l

Being the greatest thief on earth came at a heavy cost. I could no longer be in one place for long, I had to look over my shoulder every minute, and no matter how much I wanted to, I could never be with the people who raised me as their own. I wished I could tell them who I truly were, but no one would ever believe the story of my past beyond this mortal life. My friend and colleague, Danny, was the only one I could trust with this information, for he willfully relinquished his former life before I was forced to flee to the mortal realm. However, while he was content with being human, I still desired to reclaim what was stolen from me. I was lying in bed in a small motel when my phone rang. It was Danny; he was excited. “Masha, they’ve found it!” “The Elder Scythe?” “Yes. They’ll be moving it to the museum tonight.” I sprung from the bed and immediately noted down my plan. With the First Crown already secured and the Elder Scythe soon to be in my grasp, I was but a step away from my fi

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I was having breakfast at my favourite cafe when a young woman who could have been five years older smiled at me from across the room before approaching my table. “Hi again,” she said. I was confused. “Do I know you?” “Oh, you may not remember, but you paid for my lunch a couple of years ago two towns over when I had misplaced my purse.” My memory has been hazy for a long time; and even though I discontinued my medication, it never fully recovered. Some fragments of my life were lost forever. “I would like to pay for your breakfast, if you don’t mind. It’s the least I can do.” “No, no, it’s fine. You don’t need to.” “Oh, please, I insist.” I wanted to say no, but she was too sincere for me to refuse—and she reminded me of my older sister, Ally, whom I at least assumed would look like her, had she still been around. I couldn’t remember how Ally passed away; in fact, almost all of my childhood was a blur. I finally caved and told her it was alright. The woman introduced herself as Tina.

Ever since she was little, Anna has had strange behaviour. While most children her age feared the dark, she found comfort in it. Anna never asked her parents to check under her bed, inside the closet, or even the corners of her room. Her parents found her fascination with the dark rather odd. Each night, Anna would eagerly wait for her parents to say goodnight and switch off the lights. Once they had shut the door and walked away, she would peek under the bed and smile. “Hello, Mr. Monster! It’s playtime!” The new monster under her bed dreaded her behaviour. For three weeks he had tried to do his job and scare her, but each night was a failure. It had been the same for the monster before him. Anna was the problem child for all of monsterkind. “She’s bound to drive many of us bankrupt,” he thought. He quit less than a week later. Two days later, he was replaced by another monster, but like him, she also quit before a full month passed. The monster hated how Anna would ask her to play hi

A long drought laid waste to our crops, and the people of our small island soon began to pray every day to the mountain deity to return rain to our lands. After a fortnight, we finally received rain. Our head priest told everyone that the mountain deity had blessed us, and that we should provide her with a sacrifice every month as thanks. He said that virgin girls would be the ideal candidates. Some residents were against the idea, but the majority voted for it. And so, every month, I watched as many of my friends were taken away to be thrown into the fiery depths of the volcano on the outskirts of our town. As time passed, more of our townspeople married off their daughters to prevent them from becoming sacrifices. Half a year later, it was just one other girl and me who were left. Nellie, the other girl, was just sixteen, while I was fourteen. The priest chose her that month. Nellie’s parents fell to their knees and begged the priest not to take her away, but the priest’s guards held

All my life, I have been fascinated by the ocean, and the deep secrets it holds. Every time I drew my gaze upon it, I could see past the lightless depths and deep into the endless void that hosted the most bizarre and beautiful sights no human could ever imagine. Giant sea serpents that used hidden cave systems to move around in secret, elusive selkies that would often notice my gaze and wave in greeting, merpeople that made magical music that went unheard to ears above the water—the mysteries and wonders the ocean bore were limitless, yet I could not speak of it to anyone, for no one except my mother had the same vision as mine. I learned my lesson long ago in first grade when I tried to show Macy, my best friend at the time, a group of selkies that were swimming past our boat. Macy couldn’t see it no matter how many times I pointed them to her. She thought I was making fun of her and started to cry. Our class teacher even intervened and thought that I was bullying her. I didn’t know

Ever since I was a little girl, I heard endless stories of romance that gave life colour, and how finding your soulmate would light up the world around you. My mother and father always encouraged me to seek it, but I never truly felt the need for it. Even in my teens, when most of my friends were dating, I still found no reason to pursue romance. By the time I was in my early twenties, my parents were pushing me to meet people and find my soulmate, but the more they pried, the more frustrated I became. All my life, I had only known a world void of colour: everything I ever saw was black, white, and grey—and my parents’ constant badgering only made those colours even darker. One day, I overheard them talking about me when I was staying over for the weekend. Dad said he was worried that we wouldn’t be united in the afterlife because I’d be stuck in a limbo of darkness if I didn’t find my soulmate. A week later, I convinced one of my friends to pretend to date me; we told my parents that

I was just thirteen years old when my parents died in a car accident. My Grandma took me in right after and spent every cent she had to make sure I got a proper education. Just after I graduated school, however, she suddenly fell ill. I had to push back my plans for college and take care of her. It was the least I could do after everything she did for me. Grandma passed away a little over a year later. I started college the following year and took on two jobs to cover my bills, working as a part-time waitress and a bartender. I grew to like the latter because I often got the opportunity to have conversations with people who had been through experiences similar to mine. One night, it was close to closing time when I noticed one customer still seated at a corner table. He was hunched over and holding his face while sobbing. I approached him and asked what was wrong. He slowly raised his head. “I… It’s just my mouth. I had a tooth extraction earlier and, somehow, I ended up here.” I was w

Maura and I were once best friends, but for over a decade and a half, we grew to become bitter enemies. She was the praised “hero” of the city, whereas I was the condemned “criminal”. We were both vigilantes, but she was always seen as a saviour. I resented how hypocritical her very existence was. One day, the both of us were caught in the crosshairs of a domestic terrorist attack, and somehow, the police linked the attacks to me. I was on the run. Maura, the police, they all chased me through every dark corner and crevice of the city until I was finally cornered. Maura tracked me down and, while the cops were en route, I made my last stand. Maura said she wanted to talk, but the time for words was long past. I shut her down and readied myself to face her. In a city full of crooked cops and false gods, there was no hope for someone like me to find the light. I would make certain that they would never catch me alive. And so it came to pass that I forfeit my life that night. But I did no