Author S. K. Nicholas

x and i: a novel

a journal for damned lovers vol 1-3

Prose

  • 2:45 am

      In a room where none have stepped foot since before the great fall, two lovers cuddle beneath a blanket. They watch TV and talk about this and that. It’s not their first time, and it won’t be their last, either. In years to come there will most likely be many others, but they’re happy despite… Read more

  • No Summer

      The summer isn’t even a summer; it’s just one long grey afternoon that seems to go on for months on end. The quarry calls my name, but without the sunshine, walking it just never feels right. The year has been swallowed by words. Writing, editing, editing, writing. I can’t complain, though, for I’m moving… Read more

  • Riddle Me This

      We are delicate spheres of water and dreams, and our histories are both beautiful and superfluous. In between each blink of my eyes, the days fall like the hairs from my chin, or perhaps bridges that once connected lovers between bubbles of their retrospective dreams. Searching my face in the mirror, I notice my… Read more

  • Bad Machine

      A blind man waits anxiously at the pizza counter in a supermarket. He’s clutching a walking stick in one hand, and in the other, he holds onto a shopping trolley to steady himself. Someone who works there is going around with him, but they’ve walked off, and now he just stands not knowing what… Read more

  • A Chemical Rush

      There’s a list of words pinned on the wall next to the bed, and whenever we fuck, my eyes are inevitably drawn to them. Written in French, they describe every one of my failures right down to my lack of interest concerning the current global climate. Fuelling my rage, I lift her arms above… Read more

  • The Spider Man

      Descending the staircase after my shift finished, right there on the wall was a spider the size of my hand. It was crawling upwards; its big, black legs going this way and that. Closing my eyes, I prayed for it to be an hallucination brought on by the nightmares I’ve been having; that somehow… Read more

  • Just Like Heaven

      Spinning around oblivious to anything that doesn’t touch me, I’m drunk and in love with everyone I’ve ever known, and as the streets come and go one after the other, I’m shouting at the top of my lungs and crying at the sight of a thousand dead dreams as they fall by my side… Read more

  •   Birthdays aren’t a big deal to me; this one was spent mostly editing the journal. It’s pretty much done, maybe a week or two left, and then it’s being sent off to be proofread. It’s not perfect, but I’m proud of it. You can sense the growth of my endeavours within every page, and… Read more

  •   The waitress is Italian, at least I think she is. She smiles shyly. It could be genuine, or perhaps it’s just for show, I’m not sure. She’s brunette, and whenever she walks by my table, I can’t help but eye her up. There’s a certain philosophy to our interactions; a hidden truth with a… Read more

  • The Double

      Orchids. Sunflowers. Labia. Bearded man eyeing up a blonde on his walk to the gas station to pick up breakfast and a bottle of wine. Stood behind me, a brunette sniffs my scent and presses herself against my arm. I stink of shots, grease, sweat, and maybe talcum powder. Instead of taking a shower, I… Read more