You're A Shooting Star by S Swart

You're just like a shooting star
And I can make a wish on you.
Even though you're really far,
I can see my wish coming true.
You started from the bottom up,
I was right behind you and watched.
Then I started falling down and hit the ground
While you drank victory out of a golden cup.
Now I watch you shine and I close my eyes,
Whisper my big wish; send it up to the skies.
You're so beautiful when you light up the night
When I watch you shine is when my heart shines bright.
Shooting stars go forever up and never stop
When I'm sith you in the night sky I'll never again drop.

The Real Fairytalesl: Snow White by A Hess

Chapter 1

"For the last time -I WILL NOT CLEANT HE HOUSE!" I yell at the dwarves.
"But the book-" Happy holds up a book called Snow White.
"-is just a book which is freakishly similar to my life!" I grab it from Happy and throw it across the room. "Now," I say, "I am a princess and I refuse to do housework. That is your job." I point at the dwarves.
"But in the story it says that once you are chased by your step-motheryou'll come here and clea-" Dopey begins.
"I WILL NOT CLEAN! And I don't have a step-mother; the person trying to kill me is my REAL mother. She thinks I'm stealing her beauty. So she wants to kill me so she can get her beauty back! Ha! That crazy old hag!" I laugh.
"You're..." Bashful says, "...nothing like the story Miss Snow Whi-"
"MY NAME ISN'T SHOW WHITE! I mean, what kind of idiot would name their child that?! My name is Amari!" I finish.
"Maybe we should have stayed in the mine." Grumpy mumbles.
"Mines?" I ask. Suddenly interested.
"Yes," Sleepy yawns, "the gem mines."
Now this is interesting! I think to myself.
"Why don't you get some gems to show me?" I say, putting on my nicest voice. The dwarves look at each other, then shake their heads.
"Okay," I say, "let's make a deal." I smile and grab an apple from the dusty counter. "If you boys can find a diamond as big as this apple, I will clean the house for you."

They huddle together trying to decide if it's a good deal. A moment later they turn around nod.

"Come on!" Happy instructs, "Let's go!" The dwarves grab their tools and head out of the door. I stand by the door until I see them go over the hill. Just as they go over I slam the door shut and laugh.
"HA! They'll never be able to find a jewel as big as this! The apple is bigger than both my fists put together! And if they do - I'm rich!" I stop my celebrations when I hear a knock at the door. I go and open it and standing in front of me is an old beggar woman with a basket of apples.

"Don't want any." I say as I slam the door in her face. She knocks again. Getting angry I go up to the fireplace and grab a fire prod then walk back to the door. "WHAT?!" I yell as I swing open the door.
"Do you want to buy an apple?" The old hag asks.
"We're in the middle of a forest, where there are HUNDREDS of apple trees. Think lady, use your brain if you have one!" I scream, rolling my eyes.
"Ah, but one of quality like these?" she asks.
"Wait," I say, really looking at the situation. "Why is there an arbitrary old lady trying to sell me apples in the middle of an apple forest...?"
"Um... well, er..." she mumbles.
"Now," I point the fire prod at her, "leave!"
"How dare you!" The old lady proclaims. "Do you know wh-"
"Just give me an apple!" I say, not caring what she wants to tell me. I take a good look athte blood red apple that she gives me and I open my mouth as if to eat it. I watch her open her own mouth in anticipation of my bite and in that instant I shove it in between her wrinkly lips and slam the door behind me. I turn and go upstairs to take a nap.

* * * * * *

The dwarves are hard at work looking for that one big jewel so Amari will clean their house.
"No," Happy says, picking up antoher gem, "not quite." He throws it behind him.
"Oi!" Grumpy yells. All the dwarves look at him. "What will hapen if she doesn't clean?"
"Theeeee -theeeee -theeeeen -then we force her to!" Bashful replies.
"But she's not the type of person who will listen." Happy says.
"Then we drug her." Grumpy exclaims. "And once she's out of it we dump her on the midnight wagon that comes every week. Thank goodness it comes tonight!" And just like that, the dwarves had a back-up plan.

* * * * * *

"Ah," I say as the dwarves open the door. "you DID come back!"
"We sure did!" Happy says.
"And look!" Dopey says holding up a diamond the size of an apple.
"Well," I say, grabbing it and my apple. "Let's see if it's big enough."
I hold up the jewel directly in front of the apple. Only a small outline of the apple is left.
"Sorry, it's just not big enough." I smile.
"But it is!" the dwarves yell.
"No, I still see some of my apple, ergo, it isn't big enough."
The dwarves all stare at me in disbelief.
"Now," I say, sitting back in a chair. "Go make dinner, I'm hungry."
With that they all slog off to the kitchen.

"Alright," Grumpy says, "get me the sleeping powder."
"Grumpy," Happy says, "this might not be the best-"
"-Shut up." Grumpy snaps. "Unless you want her to stay and boss us around."
And so the dwarves got to work. They chopped veggies, boiled water, got spices and made a stew. The dwarves got all the bowls lined up to receive the stew.

As Grumpy dishes out the stew he keeps thinking over his plan and smiling. When Dopey comes up with his bowl Grumpy says, "Dopey, can I trust you wih Amari's bowl?"
Dopey nods with such enthusiasm that his had slips over his eyes.
"Oh dear." Grumpy mumbles while rubbing his eye with the back of a hand. "Okay, all you need to do is put in the powder. I'm going to sit at the table. Be quick."
Dopey looks for the powder and sees it on the top shelf. He goes to fetch a stepping ladder and climbing up it he reaches for the powder but only with his fingertips just touching the bottle.
He reaches further and stretches far but knocks it over, the lid flies off and powder spills into the bowl on the counter below. Dopey rushes down the little ladder and grabs a spoon to stir the powder into the stew. All the while hoping that he wasn't making too much of a mess.

* * * * * *

"HURRY UP! I'm HUNGRY!" I yell at Dopey as he walks at a painfully slow pace, trying not to spill my dinner. He puts it down in front of me and runs to his seat. I pick up my spoon and start to eat.
"Hey, this isn't half bad." I say. Just as I am about to take another spoonful I feel a very large yawn stuck in my throat, moments before I black out.

* * * * * *

And before her second bite she passes out landing face first in the stew sending droplets flying.
"DAMN IT!" Grumpy says. "How much did you put in there?" He turns to Dopey.
At that moment there is a knocking at the door.
"Coming!" Happy calls out as he rushes to reach the door. In the doorway is a very handsome man.
"Hello little men, I am a weary prince traveling back to my home, my I please use your bathro-" he looks up towards the table and sees Amari, face down in her food.
"Could it be?" He walks forward, lifting up her stew-drenched face from the bowl. "Amari! My true love!" He sweeps her up into his arms. "Come my love!" He says to an unconscious girl with bits of vegetables on her face. "We shall go to my kingdom to be wed!" And with that he walked out of the cottage.

After a moment of stunned silence the dwarves all look at Happy.
"Well, that was random. bon appetit!' Happy says and the dwarves continue living in the little cottage, glad to be rid of Princess Amari.

The Nightmare by A Hess

A thousand doors
In a pitch black forest
Not a sound
As I lay my soul to rest

Between the leaves
No stars do shine
Only a moon
In the dark sky decline

A figure in the night
Comes to my hollow bones
A hooded man
Come to take me home

A presence like ice
With hands of claws
A clatter I hear
Of boney jaws

He tries to touch
With a skeleton hand
I shuffle back
And try to stand

This thing
In a sihouette of black
It's him
My nightmare - Jack.

Silent Runner by J Chambers

There's a boy I noticed at the beginning of the day running 8km barefoot on sharp stones and later, eating alone at break.

In the beginning, I thought he was, well, peculiar. Coming from the world I've grown up in I'm also sad to admit that the thoughts that ran through my mind when it came to this boy were ones that would have, in the past, have gotten me a severe telling off and threats of 'getting my mouth washed out with soap and water'. As he was different to me, I was, hesitant, about conversing with him or being seen anywhere near him.

At the end of a long school day complete with loads of stressful assignments and a fun break with the grils discussing our weekend plans and make-up ideas for Saturday night's dance (I'm going with Oliver!) I put my feet up and got straight onto mxit.

Within a few short texts I managed to uncover many stories about this boy and his bare feet; people didn't seem to be very positive about him. Nor were they bothered that we had never seen him before as he was not in or around my circle of friends and so I pretended not to be bothered either, for fear of people finding out that I was in fact bothered. Angry at myself for having been so shallow as to not venture out of my circle at all this year.

I was also intrigued by the way I had seen him running that 8km barefoot, being completely himself no matter what all these people had to say about him, the way he has never tried to change himself to fit in. I'm reminded of the fact that the only I time I ever feel completely happy with myself is when I look good on the outside, when someone tells me I look good, because then you are good... right?

Throughout the week I observed from my world and the realisation struck that although we are roughly the same age, problems that seem to me like the biggest issue in the world, don't even cross his mind. This made me wonder exactly how big of a deal my issues really are.

The more I sit and thinka bout all this now, the more I begin to understand that although I will never be the type of independent person who's completely unfazed and not worried by the social demands around me, I may have learned a valuable life lesson: I will never find contentment and pure happiness in running 8km barefoot; I must find what makes me happy and run with it, no matter what everyone else is doing. You should too.

Sleep by A Hess

I lay alseep unmoving
In a shallow pool of blood
My body is useless
After a violent flood

My lungs are lined with water
My mouth is hard and dry
I know I have been left here
Left alone to die

My eyes are now half moons
Closing against my will
My body feels so cold
I am left on the floor -still.

I am tired now
My soul is tattered and weak
It is now my time
To have eternal sleep.

Anger by A Hess

White hot anger
pouring through my veins
wanting to hit something
causing agony and pain

no calm breath
could sooth my raging soul
my heart has gone
now turning cold

no rational though
my mind no longer functions
only primal thoughts
thoughts of destruction

my eyes shoot daggers
my gut is wrenching
I only see my target
Alone in my mind, fenced in.

One Day by S Storey

I stand on
my two feet.
Shoulders back.
Head held high,
the sun melting
my determination
into a defiant grin.

Today is my day
and I will walk
into the sun
so that the
shadows fall
behind me,
unable to
swallow my
success.

I will climb
every mountain,
cross every river.
No valley
will prove
too difficult
for me.
No ocean
will stop
my mission
for accomplishment.

It's the cost that counts by J Chambers

The idea of a gift at Christmas has become a how of much you love or care for somoene through the cost of an item.
Instead of the traditional idea of the giving of a small token to thank someone for being in or contributing to one's life. It is no longer the thought that counts, it's the price tag that comes with it.

A father once saved up a bit of his hard earned money each month to pay for a dress for his daughter at Christmas. The dress cost a thousand rand but he had found a shop in town that sold the exact same dress for half the price which, even though it was a lot cheaper, was still out of this man's budget for Christmas presents. When it came to Christmas time he paid for the dress, really happy that he had in fact managed to save up enough to buy something that meant a lot to his daughter. The idea of making his daughter happy, made him happy.

When his daughter opened the present on Christmas day, she was delighted and immediately ran to put the dress on.

Ten minutes later she arrived back with the dress in her hand and tears streaming down her face.

"Why don't you love me?" she cried.

"Honey, I don't understand, you wanted this dress..." he replied feeling awfully sad to see her upset.

"No. I wanted the real one! This one's cheap. I obviously don't mean very much to you!" She stormed out of the room.



I hope this story got the message out to you. A smaller price tag on a gift doesn't mean that someone loves you less, just as a higher price doesn't mean that someone loves you more.
One must realise that a price doesn't show the extent of a person's love for you, it's the fact that they wanted a gift for you whether it was made, bought or passed down, it's the fact that they thought of you that counts.

I See The Sky by S Swart

I see the sky, I see what tomorrow holds.
I see it fade and go thick like my blood.
I see the smoke, the way the heat moulds,
I see inside and wash away the painful mud.
I see that my heart is broken,
I see that I'll still have palpable feelings,
I see that it's better to be outspoken
But I know it' just the way of human beings.
I see the way that I'm going
I know that I must not break down,
Sometimes you go best without knowing
When you are going to get back your crown.
I know the way I'm going to be,
I know for sure, it's what I see.

Dark Side of the Moon - by S Swart

I see thee still
In dreams from a deep and heavenly bodied sky.
The moon, a lawful and universal eye,
Yielding the gulfing sea's storm
Bringing soothing silence to those who mourn.
As phases go past, it's the fullness that best glows,
Dissolvin my shadows when the night reaps what it sows.
The calmnes in the instant, my soul set to rest,
With its brightness in my life, i wish it to be blessed.
When luminous light dies and darkness pours in
Smokey shadows eclipse and grey clouds pin,
Night fades to day that comes too soon.
I ask myself why I stare at the dark side of the moon.

Dancing Night by A Hess

In the water
Alone at night
I dance to music
Below soft moonlight

Skimming the surface
Stars reflect against time
Tipping the balance
On a finely painted line

A foggy figure
From the water does rise
Appearing from nothing
Right before my eyes

A warm wind blows
As it smiles at me
Its partner appears
Now just as three

They embrace together
Now moving to the music
All of us dancing
To a night barely lit.