It was a typical summer Sunday at Fish Haven Aquarium. Families, couples, and children crowded the halls marveling at the aquatic creatures of all shapes and sizes on display. Everyone was enjoying their time admiring all the beautiful sea life…That is, except for Big Bertha, the giant Pacific octopus, who resided in one of the bigger tanks sitting several feet above the aquarium floor. She preferred to spend most of her time asleep in her tank, keeping to herself and never bothering anyone. The only time she was ever active was lunchtime, when the workers came and fed her a bucket full of shrimp, crabs, scallops, clams, and lobsters. The patrons always enjoyed watching Bertha greedily gobble her meal up before going back to sleep. To them, it was a moment of entertainment. Bertha knew she could keep the humans happy if they made her stomach happy. However, on this particular day, Bertha was not very happy at all. Every time patrons passed by her tank, some annoying kids would show up
There’s something in my programming, something in the myriad weirdness that makes me me that doesn’t allow me to converse with tiny humans. I’ve narrowed down the reasons, apart from my own social awkwardness and solitude-craving nature, to the fact I haven’t been exposed to children all that much throughout my life. Without that experience, I find myself in uncharted waters when I’m confronted with the small beings. I’m the second youngest person in my family, the youngest being my cousin who is roughly four years my junior. I have but one older sibling, three years my senior, who is not having children anytime soon. I have a few cousins, who are in various states of relationships, being single, or being too far away to actually matter to me. As for the rest of my family, it’s composed of people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s and I’m pretty sure none of them are planning to have kids either. Most of them never even wanted kids in the first place. Now, I’ve had plenty of friends who
The Autumn within Our Hearts (Sonnet) by JCSolis-Lit, literature
Literature
The Autumn within Our Hearts (Sonnet)
The Autumn within Our Hearts By J.C. Solis What season grants us joy and bright glee The leaves that fall and lay scattered and free What season of warmth in the Hearth of Hearts Where the spirit roams and tranquil bliss starts The air more frigid, the home warmed by fire As the flames light our hearts full of desire And so, the calm of spruce within the air Leave a man and woman without a care And as the days pass with the light of Grace The children that play with smiles on their face The season of leaves and spice and the breeze These tender moments that leave one at ease This is now Autumn, so now We find peace So long as Time ticks and still gives us lease…
Everyone's a Catgirl! Ch. 2: The Beach by DDoubleBlinDD, literature
Literature
Everyone's a Catgirl! Ch. 2: The Beach
A note from DoubleBlind Chapters 2 through 41 have been removed to comply with Kindle Unlimited's guidelines. There are two ways to enjoy Everyone's a Catgirl! Pick up Volume 1 and Volume 2 in the KDP shop. Subscribe to Patreon! --- My entry into the new world was rough, to say the least. I thought I might teleport in, walk through a mystical door, something like that. Leiana hadn’t given me a chance to ask. No. Instead, she’d warped me above the middle of an ocean, and now I was drowning. I’d learned to doggy paddle with the best of them, but somehow my desperate flailing led me to sink faster rather than bring me back to the surface. My arms waved around helplessly. Were all of those bubbles coming from me? Did I seriously get dropped into a new world just to die again? And then I saw her. A lithe, dark-haired girl was swimming toward me. Her expression was hard to read through the water’s blur, and my consciousness was quickly fading. I extended my hand and
The Only One at the Party by AmbroseVox, literature
Literature
The Only One at the Party
“I mean, it was that much money to replace the tires on my car! Can you believe it!? Such a ripoff!” “Well, why didn’t you do what I did? I ordered the tires on Amazon, had them delivered, then took them to the auto shop, and they put them on for me. It was super cheap!” “Oh gosh, I didn’t know you could order tires through Amazon. Isn’t that something?” “It really is. Tires are so expensive these days.” I just bought the Mass Effect games again. I love all three games even if the last one wasn’t so good. It has its moments. “You know what I’ve been watching on HBO?” “No, what?” “It’s...oh, what’s it called? It’s that one with what’s-her-name and Guy Pierce.” “What’s-her-name? It’s Kate something or other.” It’s Kate Winslet. “”Katie Holmes? No, wait, that’s not right.” “I think it starts with a W.” Kate Winslet. “This is gonna bug me all night!” “Well, we know what show it is, I’ve been watching it too! It’s so good!” “The actress is Kate Winslet, Grammy.” “You know, Guy Pierce is