they say the angels rested their wings in the hot springs of a secluded land, soft petals of snow falling into the feverishly warm pools around them as they alleviated their souls. the angels would bask in the moonlight, heaving heavy sighs as they looked to the stars. it was not all peace and quiet, behind the pools laid three falls, a colder rush in comparison to the geysers of heat. they said the angels would sit in the pools, the waters turning a silvered aquamarine, the lands touched by a subtle deity.

no one knew where the wellsprings were located, but the curious would scour the lands of far and near in search of the steamed haven, but they had no luck. these earthlings craved for something they didn't know if it was real or just a fable they had heard as a child, yet the adventurers couldn't help but wonder what was out there for them. they weren't sure what had driven them, some say it was to rest their own aching hearts, and there were those who wanted to see a divinity in their own eyes. the mortals had a desire so strong, some would even harm their peers just to have a better chance to make it to the springs.

the angels themselves were humble to those who appeared at the falls and springs, they were welcoming, and they enjoyed the company of the humble mortals, but there was no denying that the angels were ethereal, inhuman. some argue that they were once humans too, but no one knows where they came from. not even the spirits themselves. they were carefree, they were at liberty in this magical pocket realm. they laughed and they danced under the light of the moon, who smiled upon them as if the silver souls were the satellite's children. it was almost as if they didn't exist, that they would vanish in thin air if you blinked.

and some ask how i know. i stumbled across their lands with a bottle of moonshine in one hand, your's in the other. we came by chance, caught by a storm, seeking shelter. the angels looked upon us with utmost warmth in their eyes, the grey sheen a flurry of colours together. the angels smiled upon seeing us, and they cradled you in their arms as you fell asleep, fatigued from our travels. there are no words to describe the ease i felt when i slid into the waters, the aquamarine turning green as i sighed in content. the waterfalls in the background were melodic, and the tranquility of the angel's home carved a hole in my heart, longing to return.

elysium is waiting .

she was sitting on the shoreside, the sandy beach. her dark hair flew through the breeze, adrift throughout the coast. leaves, sand, and the little drops of sea salt which followed in its wake.

she never turned to look at me with her chocolate—amber eyes. her resting state was too serene to bother, so neither of us acknowledged the other as i sat down next to her, staring at the ocean’s waves against the sunset.

her white linen dress was minimalistic, like the seafoam on the dark sand. it fluttered ever so slightly in the zephyr. the wind around her was almost never-ending, swirls of zen.

the ocean blue tips of her straight hair never quite reached her face, always falling behind her back. a wave crashed, falling right before our feet, yet the water didn’t touch my skin.

she had small features, small eyes, little nose, yet a heart so big, it could fill all of the ocean’s waters and still have more to go.

if she was a seashore, i think i would be the sea. everybody loved the beach, the sandy shores were refreshing and ethereal, just like her. and the sea— the sea always came back to the beach, no matter how many times the beach ignored the sea.

and the sun fell, leaving the shoreside girl and i alone with the stars. she turned to me, soft pink lips upturned in the friendly way that they always did. her little smiles chipped away at my heart, the little pieces, like shells, ending up on the seashore.

and the absence of the sun to illuminate her presence soon came the moonlight, soft rays of the sun’s reflection. and she basked in it, the blueish light from the light cerulean coloured moon.

the girl laughed suddenly, tears of mirth falling from her eyes onto the sand. it had startled me from my peaceful state, and i asked her what was wrong.

she turned to me, a soft smile on her face, her brows furrowed to keep her from crying even more. “once in a blue moon do i ever see a face as beautiful as yours.” and like a pin drop, tears started flowing from my eyes too.

the shoreside girl never noticed me when we were together. not through the carnival rides together, nor the cliff hiking or the beach strolls. but yet, she pulled in towards me, eyes locking in with mine. our noses brushed against one another, and her upturned lips were suddenly so close to my own.

and we kissed under the safety of the dark blanket of the sky, her lips interlaced with mine, her soft hands intertwined with mine in a sense of loose security.

she tasted like sea salt caramel, sweet yet salty. my shoreside girl.

a sip of moonshine will take you to paradise.

or that’s what she told me.

it tasted like honey down my throat.

i’m trying to forget you, you see.

in my drunken state

i see

phosphenes

the stars in my eyes

burning like headlights in deers eyes

the numbing sounds hurt my ears but i persist

outside is less quiet

the reflection in the pool

might as well be one of a lake

so deep, so shining

i can barely smell the sulfur

as i peer into it

i no longer saw my face, an illusion from the drink

it was not mine

but only yours

and i stared into it

knees hitting the concrete,

cold roughness

i started to shed red droplets

into the blue water

your appearance

so majestic

pure

elegant

if i must say so myself

i tried to kiss you

with my drunken lips

but the only thing i felt

was the cold water

snapping me to reality.

i am lovesick.

love me back.

when i was young, i was jealous easily.

that's a lie. after many years, i'm still jealous.

but when i fell from the earth

i was deemed punishment

and so it started

they kept on taking

taking what i prided most

my talents, my pastimes,

they pined for more

taking away my life, until

i was no longer jealous that they could

take away everything.

they took it all, the joy, the pain

even my name, my memories

at first arrival

there were fires and shadows

and all the interesting things

now there are none

it's just a dark abyss.

@countingstars and i wrote (+one made by a friend of ours) a couple of (bad) haikus together while i procrastinated on homework and she failed in tutoring. we hope you enjoy this mess <33

bonus: can you figure out who wrote which ones?

summer days in love

daisy in her hair

entwined with the other blooms

my heart is pounding

you are sugar and salt (and your kisses are honey spiked with whiskey)

himalayan salt

rose quartz dusting her chafed skin

sweet peppermint cheeks

pink one

himalayan salt

colour of your coral cheeks

like the roses i hold

blood blooms

she pricked her finger

on my innocent white rose

now it’s stained with red

title

My friends might be gay

But we have no doubt I'm straight

Cause cute cello boys

i

don’t know who i am, to be truly honest. if it makes you

happy

i’ll write down

as much

as i

know.

i am a student. a freelancer. a friend. a child.

i am a music lover. a violinist. a runner

a shoulder to cry on, a star crossed lover.

an axe thrower. an average person.

i am who i am.

i am a mess. i am a tragedy just waiting

to happen.

i am the embodiment

of the hushed sins from entangled lovers.

i am living proof of imperfection .

i may not be ideal

but that is me.

and she dropped it in the fires

of fury and pain

the petals once red and true

are now black at the edges as they

f a

l

l

off

into the flames

which lick the colours

and burn it

to ashes

love is dead.