Longship Library Issue #2 (May)

May 2024

Issue 2

Contents

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Poems FIGURE WITH TWO HEARTS Anonymous

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Poem #1 Anonymous

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it came back to me Ayushi Swami

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HOW TO SAY MY NAME Anonymous

Poem #2

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Anonymous

Films Wasyaname

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Anonymous

Artwork 09

Two Rich Choices Pauleen Cenina

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Artwork #1 Anonymous

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Artwork #2 Anonymous

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Photography Cherry Blossoms

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Photo #1

Ella Bialon-Choy

Anonymous

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A light in the void of darkness.

Zachary Yui

Book Reviews 18

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

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Squire

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Short Story Contest The Secret Letter

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The Other Side

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Elie Alhaj

Adam Cheng

FIGURE WITH TWO HEARTS tell me you don't mind it when they sell you. tell me you don't mind the silver gloss all up in your face. the gift store. our funeral. i need to hear it from your own dead lips. there's a list on my wall in bubble letters that says PEOPLE WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU. one presidents two pretty newsboys three the invention of the art museum four the needle five the stainless steel handcuffs that made your wrists purple when they caught you the first time unfinished double-headed dog green spit and a line of saline. for what it's worth they catch me at the mall. i've got paint on my boots and your scent all over the t-shirts in my hands. when they ask me why i did it i say ART SHOULD BE FREE and my voice speaks with twin cracked split mouths.

Anonymous

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time doesn’t heal all wounds it makes you forget how you got them like a fish swimming through a stream every new scene entices me and i forget about the old the old reefs don’t come back but if i happen to stumble upon a coral i’ve seen before the memories return home like a forgotten tide that came back to me

Anonymous

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it came back to me love is a never ending search for a fictitious treasure chest it’s the battleship that sinks before it reaches its destination it’s the last leaf remaining on an evergreen tree it’s edelweiss growing out of Alpine snow and it’s the wanting look of sadness that you gave me when i wanted someone else

Ayushi Swami

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AWARD-WINNING POEM -

HOW TO SAY MY NAME like you have a mouth full of rocks, the way i learned to say louisville or actually, i've had enough of this like it's a war like it's about to rain, or just has like you know what i've cut off to hand this to you, pared down to a palm-sized fruit halfway to rot, or an animal with no breath left like it's a battle after the fact, that dull clinking carpet of bullets, smoke in the teeth like it's an amen like it's an open secret, a too-bold palm, a sidelong smile in line at the sandwich counter like you are seeing the mountains for the second time after too many years like your mouth is a rattlechime in arizona, lazy and hopeful and full of bones like it's a soldier or a dead thing, or a button you'd lost off a shirt and just found, too late, after sewing a new one on like it makes sense like it's raining. like it might not stop.

Anonymous

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an abandoned child craving for love but honey i’m the monster i’ve smothered faces with my empathy a narcissist at heart not caring about a soul in the world except my own and look at the graves i’ve dug up of my own victims i’ll go back and back again to be able to feel something that everyone else calls love but you’re a pure spirit that i simply cannot ruin in the name of this search for love

Anonymous

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wasyaname Film by: Anonymous

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Scan the QR code to watch the full film →

Pauleen Cenina

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Anonymous

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Anonymous

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Sponser

Mention you’re from Mills High School to get a 10% off discount.

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“Cherry Blossoms” Ella Bialon-Choy

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Anonymous

“A light in the void of darkness” Zackary Yui

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Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

By ShingShong Review by: Anonymous The world is ending. You’re forced to fight to survive and your every action is being watched by powerful deities called “Constellations.” In order to live, you’re forced to entertain them, as your life depends on their whims. How would you survive? This is the beginning of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, ORV for short, which is a web novel story about a reader named Kim Dokja.

He’s the sole reader of a 3,149 chapter web novel called “Three Ways to Survive in a Ruin World.” On a subway train ride home, the events of the novel begin to unfold, and using his knowledge of the story, he and his companions complete the “scenarios” of the story to reach the epilogue.

What first drew my attention to ORV was its synopsis. I liked the idea behind the story, and as I read more of it, I began to love the characters. But what makes the story worth reading is actually how well-written it is. ORV is a meta-narrative about stories, the impact that they have on us and how we influence stories as readers. To be honest, the emotional storytelling, compelling characters and deep themes of the story surprised me because ORV didn’t seem all that different from your typical isekai story. ORV takes the common trope of isekai and transforms it into something new and refreshing. The novel is written in a way that it seems like a casual read without much substance, but once you get to the end, you’re compelled to read it again, and once you reread it, it feels like it’s a completely different story. Lines of the story that you gloss over in your first read become more impactful in your second, and this effect still carries on even if you’ve read it for your third, even your fourth, read. Even just reading it a single time is enough for ORV to leave a lasting impression on you.

As much as I think that ORV is a story for everyone, it really isn’t.

There’s some sensitive topics and explicit content, some of which include mentions of sexual assault, violence, and abuse. It’s also worth acknowledging that ORV is a bit of a long read and that it doesn’t have any official English translations out right now. However, ORV has a Webtoon adaptation that’s free to read, and the English version of the novel is currently in the works and is soon to be published, so look out for any physical copies in your local bookstores.

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Squire

By Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh Review by: Justin Shih Squire is a teen/young adult graphic novel that focuses on background identity and fighting for what is true and right.

The story centers around Aiza, a teenage girl heading into squire camp to achieve her goal of becoming a knight, all while concealing her identity as an Ornu. I checked this book out last summer after a long hiatus of not reading anything, and I would say that heading into this book was a great first choice. When I first started reading, I had extremely low hopes, and expected it to have a trope-y plot where the main character is ashamed of their identity and changes themselves to fit it. But as I continued reading I was surprised to find out that that was not the case, it was really interesting to be reading something different that I didn’t expect.

The action involved in the story was incredible too, I’m personally not a big fan of action and fighting based stories but the book pulls it off in a way where it works to enhance the story. The amazing artwork makes them really engaging and I’m very glad that they did not try to overdo the battles, especially at the climax. I won’t spoil it but I just want to say that I really liked the direction they took with the final battle. Onto the characters, I think that the main ones are all likable and great, and it's good that they all have their flaws and traits too. Especially the main character who’s one character trait sort of builds up all to one moment in the story. The one major rival thank goodness actually has an understandable reason to be acting the way they do, and the overall cast has a good diverse representation of people. Of course, I have to go back to talk about the art of this graphic novel because it's absolutely stunning. Beautiful nostalgic colors to a world that you’ve never been to before, so atmospheric and the warm and cool colors make it such a breathtaking and immersive journey. The art style in general is just great, it's a sketch-like imperfect style that really makes you feel like you can draw out a book of your own; it's very inspiring. Lastly, it's only fair that I mention some flaws too so here are some notable ones. There’s one part that’s pretty predictable once you notice it, and it's not hidden either. One character feels like they have a whole personality switch just so a conflict can happen, and it gets resolved in like two pages anyways so it should’ve been scripted better, and finally, the ending is kind of weird. All in all, Squire is an amazing book. Go pick it up to read for yourself if it piques your interest, you can probably finish it in one sitting as it's a graphic novel, and find yourself admiring the art that you wish was your wallpaper. (Seriously, the color palettes they used though)

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The Secret Letter By: Elie Alhaj

One day I went to my grandmother's house, I knew there were secrets in the basement. As I walked towards the basement door, my heart started racing. I was positively sure that today I would uncover the secrets. Inside the basement there was a table and on that table was a box.

Inside the box was a letter. It was old and a bit unclear, but still readable. The letter was about my grandmother's diary. She always wrote about me and how she's thankful for me. Everything I do was written down by her. My heart started to rest and my eyes weary. I was very thankful for her, but I don't know why she wanted to keep this a secret. Maybe to surprise me for my upcoming birthday?

As I was distracted by the letter, I could hear footsteps coming towards the basement. I quickly hid the letter in the box and ran out of the basement to my room. As I was running upstairs, I tripped and fell hard to the ground. I knew I couldn’t stay still and worry about the pain, so I decided to get back up on my feet and ran to my room. I ran to my room and quickly closed the door behind me.

Next, I picked a book from my shelf, hopped to bed, and pretended to read. Then, my grandmother opened the door and asked if I did anything while she was getting the groceries. I said “no” and was thinking about the letter all night and all day. While I was going to bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the secret letter I found and also ashamed a bit of lying to my grandmother about sneaking to the basement. I think she's ok with it.

I'm sorry if I ruined my early birthday surprise.

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The Other Side By: Adam Cheng

2024 Spring Short Story Contest Winner On a Saturday night, rain was pouring down, beating against the window panes of a small cottage in Crystal Pines. It was a small town off the coast of Alariya and surrounded by many acres of forestry.

Sitting at a desk was a boy named Chase. He was a 16-year-old teenager trying to finish his homework. He was surrounded by several textbooks and crumpled papers filled with his attempts at solving this week’s algebra problems. With his head banging against his desk from frustration, he was struggling to get through all of his homework.

“There’s just so much to do …” Chase muttered “English, History, Math … how am I supposed to finish all this homework by Monday?”

Chase glanced over to his phone to check the time, it was 2:46 in the morning and he was exhausted. He decided to play his latest music playlist to help him relax. Putting in his headphones, the first song started to play. It was Stella’s new song, ‘A Night of Dreams’ which started to calm his mind.

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•─────⋅☾The Other Side☽⋅─────• “Maybe I can take a short nap to regain my energy and tackle the rest of my assignments in the morning.”

Chase then leaned back in his chair and slowly dozed off.

As he fell asleep, his mind drifted off and he was dreaming about a majestic forest. There were towering trees that stretched towards the skies. It was almost as if he had shrunk, making his surroundings a thousand times larger than himself. The leaves shimmered like gems as the glow of the setting sun bounced off of them.

“This is incredible!” Chase exclaimed in awe, his heart racing with excitement.

As he continued to look around, he spotted many things.

Some vines hung around and between the trees, forming patterns that constantly moved. Each vine had a multitude of blossoming flowers, which illuminated the forest. Pollen slowly glided down from the flowers, creating a glowing tapestry on the forest floor.

As he took his first step, Chase felt the soft moss and dirt beneath his feet. Flowers covered the forest, each a different color. Some were purple and resembled Chrysanthemums, while others looked like Violas and Azaleas.

Just then a light breeze wafted through the forest, bringing a scent of something sweet. The leaves rustled and blew around in the wind.

“This all feels so real! It's like something you would see in a fairy tale.” Chase thought as he marveled at being in such a magical place.

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•─────⋅☾Adam Cheng☽⋅─────• As Chase wandered through the forest, he arrived at the edge of an open expanse. Looking beyond, he then saw a wondrous sunset. The clouds were swirling, and the warm orange and yellow hues of the sky were dancing around like a living watercolor painting.

Chase closed his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp fresh air. As he opened his eyes again and walked a little further towards the edge of a cliff he saw the ocean and many landforms that dotted the sea in the distance. He leaned over the edge to get a better look at the ocean, but just then a huge gust of wind came from behind him and pushed him off the cliff!

Falling and tumbling through the air, Chase felt abject fear and terror. His heart raced and pounded as he plummeted toward the ground. He closed his eyes and prayed that this was not his last day. Can someone die from a dream?

“Please wake up! I don’t want to hit the ground!”

But instead of crashing into the land below, Chase began to feel his body begin to lift. He slowly opened his eyes, and to his surprise, he was flying!

“A-am I flying!?” he stammered to himself as he found himself gliding through the air.

Spreading his arms and imagining himself as a bird soaring through the sky, he managed to ascend higher and higher, and eventually above the clouds. He felt weightless and free. For in that moment, Chase’s worries

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•─────⋅☾The Other Side☽⋅─────• about homework had melted away as his new sense of freedom and pure joy took over. He laughed in delight as he soared around and did loops in the sky.

“Nothing can compare to this” Chase thought as he admired the landforms below.

But at that moment, the dream started to fade, dragging him back to reality. ─── ･ ｡☆: *.☽ .* :☆. ─── Opening his eyes he was staring up at the ceiling, which was covered with a plaster white paint with bumps scattered all over. It was 8 in the morning and his phone was still on, now playing the song ‘Chasing Dreams’, which was another song by Stella. Pausing the song and looking out the window, Chase took out his headphones as rays of sunshine flowed through the windows, and onto his desk and papers, reminding him that he still had homework to finish.

Chase groaned, not wanting to complete his homework.

He decided he preferred to stare out his window for a couple more minutes, with his head resting on his hands.

As he glanced out the window, he was expecting to see the same usual sight of pine trees, but instead he saw something unexpected.

A hummingbird hovered in front of the window, its tiny wings beating rapidly as it gazed intently at Chase. At first, he didn't think too much of it—hummingbirds were common visitors to their neighborhood.

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•─────⋅☾Adam Cheng☽⋅─────• However, he did notice that this hummingbird was covered with many dazzling colors, shimmering with amethyst, topaz, and coral. But as he continued to look at the hummingbird his eyes widened in amazement as he had spotted a small figure that resembled a girl, perched on the back of the hummingbird. She was no larger than the palm of someone's hand.

“I must be imagining things … right?” Chase thought while rubbing his eyes. But to his surprise, the girl was still there when he looked again. “What in the world?”

Trying to get a closer look, Chase leaned forward towards the window. However, before he could get close enough to really see the hummingbird, it flitted away into the forest, leaving behind a trail of shimmering dust.

Chase was paralyzed in disbelief, “Was that real?”

He looked again and he still saw the trail of shimmering dust. Chase got up from his chair, grabbed his phone, and went down into the living room slipping on his shoes.

Taking his keys by the front door, he left the house in a dash, following the shimmering dust trail left behind, which took him into the forest.

As Chase ran into the forest, he followed the shimmering dust trail which took him to a small cabin, tucked snugly among the trees. The cabin was dilapidated and old. The walls were cracked and when he stepped on the porch, a loud creak came from the weak floorboards.

Chase walked up the steps and knocked on the front

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•─────⋅☾The Other Side☽⋅─────• door. There was no answer. Once again Chase knocked on the door, hoping for a different response, but still nothing happened. He then went to the window on the side of the cabin. The drapes were down but not fully closed and the window panes were dirty but had some less dirty spots. Peering through the window in one of the cleaner spots, he saw an empty room bathed in a dim light with dust particles floating around. There was no furniture inside but there was a lone mirror that stood alone in the corner of the room, strangely not reflecting any light that shone on it.

Going back to the front door, Chase took a deep breath and turned the door handle. The door creaked open and inside was the mirror he had seen through the window.

The shimmering dust trail that he had seen earlier, ended at the surface of the mirror. As Chase stepped closer, he felt nervous butterflies in his stomach. As he looked into the mirror, it looked normal, but the light that came through the shades didn’t bounce off the mirror. It was more like it was absorbing it. Extending his trembling hand to touch the mirror, he expected it to be solid like every other mirror. But his hand seamlessly passed through the glass! In a panic, he jerked his hand back as quickly as possible, leaving capillary waves on the mirror’s surface.

“What is this thing?” he whispered to himself, confusion emanating on his face.

Chase then felt something pulling him towards the mirror. He was unable to stop his forward motion and he started feeling lightheaded. Next thing he knew he was right at the mirror’s edge and then he fell through it

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•─────⋅☾Adam Cheng☽⋅─────• and promptly passed out. ─── ･ ｡☆: *.☽ .* :☆. ─── With a jolt, Chase woke up and he sat up quickly. He blinked away his drowsiness, and had an overwhelming sensation or feeling that there was something different about where he was. As he looked around the serene environment he noticed that everything seemed larger, grander, and more vivid than before. The ordinary forest that he lived next to all his life had somehow become extraordinary.

Chase muttered to himself, “These trees … they’re enormous,” his voice in awe as he looked up at the towering giants. The trees seemed to touch the sky, and their leaves were glimmering like precious gems, casting multicolored patterns of lights and shadows on the forest floor.

Looking beyond the trees and into the sky itself, the clouds were swirling and constantly creating different shapes. Hues of orange and yellow light also filled the sky and brought a sense of warmth. With a start, he realized he was also looking up at the flowers in the field!

They were many times larger than himself, their petals swaying gently in an unseen breeze.

But then he remembered his dream—the same magical forest, the same sense of wonder—and a shiver of excitement raced down his spine. “Could it be possible?

Had he somehow stumbled into the very world of his dreams?” Chase thought in excitement.

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To read more of The Other Side by Adam Cheng, visit our website at https://longshiplibrary.wixsite.com/ mysite or scan the QR code.

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Want your work to be published?

Interested in having your work be published in the next issue? Keep an eye out for our announcements on canvas. We’ll inform you on when we’ll be taking new submissions, as well as any new contests or prompts.

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Longship Library is a student led magazine club at Mills High School. As a team, we work to promote student creativity by giving them an opportunity to publish their work physically and online Visit our website at: https://longship library.wixsite.com /mysite