Author S. K. Nicholas

x and i: a novel

a journal for damned lovers vol 1-3

Anxiety

  • Where You Need to Be

    George felt the call of another place. It came from a door no one but he had ever stepped through. Once he found it, he was almost certain he’d never come this way again. It was immeasurably sad, and yet when he thought of her journey and the part he’d played, he couldn’t help but… Read more

  • Before Departure

    George shook his head and gasped for air. His whiskers were itching in suspense, and as they closed in on the door, he knew they’d be there in a jiffy. Upon his back, X was struggling to stay upright. She had her claws clamped firmly into his fur, and although he loved her dearly, he… Read more

  • Danced as if Intoxicated

    The night was as bright as day, and as Rusty ushered me forwards, it wasn’t long before the animals shrieked and howled as the door we were searching for came into view. They had seen it before, and yet it still provoked such a feverish reaction that one could be mistaken for thinking they were… Read more

  • Such Moments Had No End

    Leaping through the snow, George caught up with the wandering trees, and upon their branches sat every animal you could imagine, and just like the leaves that shook and trembled with each perennial footstep, they sang in their own particular way, giving words to the wordless music that tickled their animal hearts. The door they… Read more

  • He told her of the many doors, and as he did, one by one they shone through the trees. Startled by their appearance, X flapped her wings and squawked. The animals responded by calling out her name, although they remained very much unseen, partly out of choice, and partly because of how heavy the snow… Read more

  • No Line in the Sand

    The snow whipped everything in its path, and in turn, George snapped his tail as if making a stand against the kiss between what was real and what was not. Most of the trees had now passed, although the watchful eyes of the animals were still very much on Prudence as she flapped her wings… Read more

  • The Same Embrace

    Pecking at the ground, X fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. Not that she was afraid to cry in George’s presence, but because she didn’t know what it would be like to do so in her new body. She was worried it might hurt somehow. Sensing her unease, George nuzzled his nose against… Read more

  • “Every time we meet, I find you in the strangest of predicaments,” said George, his nose sniffing X’s feathers as if they were coated in the most alluring of perfumes. Looking over her shoulder, he spotted little Herbie sprawled out on his belly twitching his nose in his sleep. Smiling to himself, the cat eyed… Read more

  • The Sweetest Tune

    With one eye on Herbie and the other on the imaginary donuts that were dangling before her in the cruellest most taunting of ways, X shivered and ruffled her feathers. She was the hungriest she’d been in her entire life, so hungry that she was even thinking of pecking at some of the fallen berries… Read more

  • Tired from having flown for so long—and it being her very first time—X sailed through the air looking for a safe place to land. She also intended to give Herbie a rest. The poor thing had been dangling beneath her kicking his legs the whole way, and although she knew he was scared, he hadn’t… Read more