❝ [♛] quotation marks ❞

[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

from a girl who loves
colons and semicolons
slashes and dashes
love and war
&: oftentimes
a splattering of squash.

✎

as soft as the wind
that blows,
the swift river that
hitherto flows;
from the pen of t/s
seeps the ink
that eventually results
in haiku.

caution; work in progress

just a thing to do over the
summer holidays; I'll cont-
ribute at least one article
if [I'm] free. feel free to
comment and *not* admir-
e but do follow this tiny li-
ttle space -
ａｎｄ • ａｎｄ • ａｎｄ
the tiny pencil icon as my
inspiration for the countless
days when words would
simply not ｆｌｏｗ.

ｄｉｒｅｃｔｏｒｙ

• prologue
• ch 1
• ch 2

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[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

ｐｒｏｌｏｇｕｅ

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we cross our bridges as we
come to them and burn them behind
us, with nothing to show for our
progress except a memory of the
smell of smoke, and the presumption
that once our eyes watered.
➳ tom stoppard,
‹‹ rosencratz & guildenstern are dead ››

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xxx☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

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nostalgia strikes
in time of silver rain
when the earth
puts forth new life again;
green grasses grow
and flowers lift their heads,
and all over the plain
the wonder spreads
the spectacle, the miracle
the joy, the joy of life!

in time of silver rain
the dainty butterflies
lift silken wings
to catch a rainbow cry;
and trees put forth
new leaves that sing,
in joy beneath the sky
as down the roadway
passing boys and girls,
they go singing, too.

in time of silver rain
when spring
and life start anew.

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xxx☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ （ａ）

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a person often meets his destiny on
the road he took to avoid it.
➳ jean de la fontaine,
‹‹ fables ››

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☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

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destiny and fate are two very
different concepts. yet they
are interwoven, for both are
dependent on hope.
harbouring hope for a better
future, we forget to remember
history. the fact is most
commonly overlooked that our
past shapes our present, of
which we are still a witness
of.

this is the story of one such
girl with big, dreamy eyes. of
wit and misfortune, curiosity
and despair, of sorrow and
hope, and truth and love.
above all, of happiness, and
the belief, to be quoting phyllis
diller, that a smile is a curve
which sets everything straight.

for respected are those who
consider themselves the
epitome of self-esteem. these
are the names noted down
in vast pages of history. these
are the tales entangled with
harmony and ridiculousness.
perhaps such fables are called
fairy tales.

are happy endings almost
always possible in real life?
but I know not, and wish not to
leave the reader upon a
cliffhanger, nor am qualified ➶

↶ enough to decide for myself,
whether a tangible prince
charming exists in this cruel
world.

robert frost was right in
stating that love is an irresistible
desire to be irresistibly desired.
our charming young woman is
neither as womanly as a
princess, nor containing the
graces to be called ladylike.
neither a damsel in distress,
while nowhere near as lovely
as a fair maiden from a
wealthy family.

the question remains,
however, and if you want to
obtain some goal, you would
have to sacrifice something,
and in this case, you can
only do so by immersing
yourself in the mind of this
wonderful girl with wonderful
interests.

before you continue, though,
dear reader; and before you
are under the impression that
said lady is obsessed with
quotes, famous or otherwise
[those of her own making],
I would like to finish with this
beautiful piece by friedrich
nietzsche; 'that which does
not kill us, makes us stronger.'

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☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

my note: I would love to get feedback - and am forever improving. I think these two concepts are different; and as the story continues you will find out how.
is really obsessed with quotes

[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ （ｂ）

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what the caterpillar calls the end,
the rest of the world calls a
butterfly.
➳ lao tzu

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☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

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here she was. in the city of her dreams; where she had aspired to be ever since she could see photos of it, which in her case was when she turned four. of course, four was her lucky number, not that she believed in it, but it always proved her wrong. though she vowed not to try too hard to gain full marks in her exams, her success happened overnight - when she was in the fourth standard. she could picturize that day like it was yesterday; her parents holding each of her hands, and her mother squeezing one lightly when she heard the news that her daughter had bagged the first position among her classmates. yes, her very own daughter had topped the class of 120 students.

of course, it didn't seem like much in those days - her father even seemed skeptical - but this success was to continue up till the present day. 1st rank-holder in the state board exams: this girl; 1st in the list of medical graduates, all over the country: this girl. when her parents had urged her to stay at home and pursue her career - take it to great heights, she defied them for the first time and chose to settle in the country of her dreams.

so again, her thoughts drifted back to the current moment, the fact that she was shivering in the freezing climate and the haphazard winds which would dare not cease to blow. now and then a flash of lightning, was that the sign of a storm? she looked around for her friend and his brand-new car; they were nowhere to be seen. what if he had betrayed her? what if he had forgotten about his childhood friend [who still remained a bit childish]?

what if...

perhaps she should walk home, alone, without a jacket, and pulling the three bags she had insisted to bring. hadn't she heard thoreau's advice to live simply, with fewer possessions and a greater respect for nature? or common sense, to travel light? why, she didn't care that her baggage consumed the whole compartment of the aircraft. kill these thoughts, she said to herself. focus on getting to her apartment, she was murmuring now.

but what was she to do if she didn't know the route to her apartment, let alone the very location of it?

now vivid scenes of bear grylls' tv show, man vs wild, flashed in her mind. alone in a foreign country, what sort of dangers await...

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☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

my note: this turned out exactly like I wanted, so hurrah! but I do apologize for the constant use of pronouns, I don't think I'll be revealing the name of this girl anytime soon...

[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

ａｂｙｓ（ｍａｌ）

xxx☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

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you see, I was a pegasus;
I once flew,
flew faster than the speed of light,
until a shooting star
happened to cross my way.

I chased, imitated, flew with it;
the result: I burnt my wings.
I fell,
fell faster than a meteor,
down into the impending doom.

now I stand alone,
a lonely critter;
on the edge
of a mighty abyss.
as I remember
that abysmal moment,
doom strikes.

I look down;
down to the hole of eternity,
where I see
the darker side of me.
"imitation was your fault,"
the devil utters,

soft whispers in my ear.

that I knew, I was concerned...
I regretted my decision
to fly higher than everything,
to fly higher than a comet.

but:
repentance doesn't
help in your flight.

for now I stand
on the very same edge
of the very same abyss.
and it still looked frightening
to me.

I calmed down, I waited;
for I wanted to attain
the highest frame of mind,
I wanted to attain
my nirvana.

when I would stand
on that abyss no more;
when I would be
the silver pegasus,
the one
with the wings of dawn,

when 'I' would be 'me.'

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xxx☁ xxx☁ xxx☁

my note: umm, this isn't part of the story or anything, just a quick recollection of my thoughts~
I'll use this space to translate them into words,
perhaps poems...

[Ranger of the North]

Markkk
I want more

You're a good writer

[ｅｔｃｅｔｅｒａ]

@ranger, thanks! <33
wooo first opinion~

unfortunately, I haven't got the time to write any new ones - perhaps I'll post one today (*_*)9