Bite-Size Tales

Bite-Size Tales is a collection of short stories.

Jilāya

Jilāya was the monster and she knew it. She knew that she was the creature that parents told their children about a night. She knew how they would tell children about how she hide under the beds and in the closets and because of these tales children were scarred so that she could hide in the minds of the ones who were taught to fear her. She scared everyone and everything and this includes herself. Jilāya did not look the part of a monster, if anything she would have been seen as an angel in her sisters new town; They would have been struck with awe when seeing the twisting horns protruding from her skull and hearing her tales that were seen through her empty white eyes.
Jilāya had only been a monster for a few weeks in the eyes of her old town because they had never knew of her secret

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until the day that she almost could not control a prediction, But in her eyes she was a monster from the start, it was only an important fact when the people of her town deemed it with their violent outbursts and harsh behaviour towards Jilāya and her sister.
It had happened when Jilāya was making her way through the farmers market looking for the last few things on her grocery list when a strange new itching erupted where the Tanzanite jewels caged the three fingers on her right hand; she had ignored the feeling until it began to throb because of the new heat that was emitted from the ring. Jilāya, after having looked down at her hand to take the burning ring off tripped over an empty crate crashing into pedestrians and cutting her ankle on the freshly broken wood. Ignoring the pain Jilāya had run straight home.
After barging into her shared house and almost knocking down her sister Jilāya made it to her bedroom in the basement and started to pull out her large variety of gemstones and

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spilled them across her bedroom floor. She picked up a handful of the jewels and felt to see with one would grow hot when it came into contact with her skin. Jilāya would then write down their names and meaning hyper hazardly on her forearm; Bloodstone for healing, Dalmatian Jasper for playfulness, Labradorite for protection, Onyx for protection, Obsidian for looking into the past,present and future. Jilāya sighed, she was almost exposed just to predict someone having a good day. After placing everything back into her old leather drawstring bag and setting that on top of her fire places shelf Jilāya flopped down on her bed and tried to sleep off her newly found migraine.
The next day Jilāyas ankle was better; the puncture holes were closed but slightly scarred, but there was an infection that festered from under the skin that Jilāya did not know about. She thought that it had closed and was still healing so she ignored it, not caring much because the local hospital did not seem to care

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as well.
¨Jilāya! Are you going back to the market today?¨”Her sister called out from the kitchen in the back of the room.
¨Yeah why?¨
¨I need you to get me some Pomelo from Mr.An-Toan for me please?¨
¨Yup!¨ Is her response before she trots out the house and down the cobblestone streets.
Bark. Bark. Bark.
Jilāya tried to ignore a sting that followed the trail of blue sapphire gems that were spun up and around her arm across the back of her next and down the other arm that, as she passed the canines of the neighborhood. As she grew closer to the house it only seemed to grow worse and the barking louder.
BaRk. bArK. BArK.
The pain spread from her jaw to her ears and chest and changed from a sting to a white-hot burn that seemed to make her crawl out of her throat. Her knees buckled and the joints in her hands itched and tightened until she could not unclench them as they drew blood from her palms. Her ribs felt as if they were shifting and her spine curved as if a point chisel was cutting all the nerves. Jilāya screamed in pain on the cobblestone sidewalk that she lay on, she screamed and screamed until the owner of the dogs cam..

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Genres:

Action

Fantasy

Mystery

Sci-fi

Thriller

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