The Seductive Vampire

Through those aged stone walls she moves

her tongue licks the remains of her previous victim from her lips

she flicks her hair back and graciously parades the castle halls

... the butler is the accomplice luring those young men to the estate

promises of glorious parties and sexual women

she waits like a hissing viper in the shadow

as the clock strikes midnight and her feast is awaiting her arrival

her hands guide him to a room darkened

candles lustfully light her dark spirit

until he is unarmed

undressed

and she ravages his neck

consuming his arterial flow

he is lifeless

she is possessive

and so the clean up began a naughty treat

now she wonders, who else will she get to meet...

Best Places to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Welcome to this post on the best places to survive the zombie apocalypse. You can never have too many options available and since we are always waiting for the day to come, why not start prepping and planning for it today? I always wondered how it much feel to own a boat and sail the sea for a long time. Perhaps a boat is one of the safest places? Truly though, we cannot assume safety anywhere and in any form. All views are my own and might not reflect your own selection.

A Boat – This had to be the first one. A boat is in fact the safest place to be because you are surrounded by water, which means zombies cannot climb or swim to you like humans. The downside is that you need to stock up on supplies and be able to stop ashore when needed. I’m not talking about big boats like a cruise liner, although you might want to choose that. A small boat with sufficient capacity should be enough. Think about it for a second, everyone is dead, why not borrow a boat for the apocalypse?

Prison – Taken from the Walking Dead. The difference is that you won’t likely have to deal with massive chunks of infrastructure missing, which means a solid and fortified base. You can choose a particular wing, or opt for a smaller prison. It will have everything you need like an infirmary, canteen, bedrooms, clothes washing facilities and food storage. A smart choice if you are in a group, but I’d imagine lonely if you weren’t in a group.

Skyscraper – A massive two-hundred foot structure with thousands of rooms. You have the choice of an apartment skyscraper or offices. Whichever you choose, beware of using the elevator, if they work as there isn’t anyone to fix it should it break. Might as well take the penthouse. Just stock up before moving in and be sure you have some sort of portable power so you can binge watch The Walking Dead on loop. Oh yeah, if you are an adrenaline junkie, you could abseil.

With those limited yet effective options, what would you choose? Do you imagine somewhere safer, more comfortable? The prison is undoubtedly the most uncomfortable and I would say a penthouse likely the most comfortable. Unless you were in the navy, in which case a boat would suit you. On a side note, you could fish on the boat but such a limited diet is not healthy plus the risk that infection is in the fish or water. Please share your dirty secrets below and like, comment, follow and reblog. Peace.

Space

Finally in space. “Ship loaded, engines are hot.” You said once upon a time that the view from the earth was an illusion, and that the stars above merely reflections.

“I was preparing you for today, my son.” The day the moon bound ship would launch from the Bahamas. Bound for the stars, abound with glory and secret alien treats.

“Do you see the throttles so gold and the starboard points so clear?” In a blip to be shot into the stratosphere, all care washes away.

“Future now, future past, we are living, at last.”

Spotlight author! S.S Frankowska

I’ve managed to have a chat with yet another incredible writer. This time Sandra S. Frankowska is telling me about her writing journey and about her incredibly inspiring fantasy series! I hope you enjoy what she had to say, I know I loved every minute and thank you for taking the time to read!


S.S. Frankowska

Sandra S. Frankowska is the author of the epic fantasy series Heroes Of the Shadow. When she is not writing, Sandra is either working at the ed-tech start-up, reading, painting or rock climbing.

Some of Frankowska’s favourite reads include The Lord Of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Journey to the Center of the Earth by J. Verne, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Dark Tower by S. King, Jurassic Park by M. Crichton, The Drift by C. Aufenthie and The Hunger Games by S. Collins.


Where do you live?

Recently moved out from London to a small village in Kent, UK called South Darenth.

Why are you a writer?

My passion for writing comes from my passion for reading. For as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed discovering other worlds and losing myself in them. Writing was about the same, just on the brand new levels. I plotted my series in my head long before I wrote the very first word on paper. I drew places and creatures that existed nowhere but in my mind to get them out of my head. Drawing soon wasn’t enough. I painted, sculptured, and tried other forms of expressing it, but with time, nothing worked. My characters began to appear to tell their stories, and I found myself plotting it all on paper before I even realised that this was what I was doing.

Eventually, writing became a coping mechanism for me. It was a way to take a step away from the crazy world we live in and immerse myself in the new place, which only I could explore. It became a way for me to process things I found difficult to process otherwise. To express things that matters to me, that I often felt no one else cared about.

As the first chapters formed, I realised I have a story to tell. A story that I couldn’t find anywhere else, and that I enjoyed. A story that I was looking for in other books, but it wasn’t there. How could it be there? It was inside me this whole time.

What do you enjoy about writing?

There are many things I love about writing.

First one is plotting. I spend a lot of time daydreaming, with my mind travelling across different worlds and timelines to see how the story will develop. I treasure these moments a lot. Being able to see all of that in my head makes me to realise how gifted and lucky I am. Detaching myself from excel tables, grocery planning and paying bills to figure out how the world with dinosaurs and dragons living in one place could look like makes me feel complete. I may be physically still here, but with my mind, I can be just anywhere. Isn’t human brain amazing?

Second thing I love about writing is how it makes me feel the emotions that not only are not mine but also belong to a fictional character. Yet, they are real to me. I write a scene and I catch myself smiling. I write a scene and suddenly realise that my heart is speeding up. My characters are somewhere high up and I feel dizzy. None of this happened, and yet I felt it all.

Finally, writing is self-discovery. My plot and my characters force me to ask myself questions I wouldn’t ask myself otherwise. To understand the complexity of thousands of different experiences that impact the smallest decisions we take. To see how resilient and brave I am. Writing and publishing isn’t an easy process. Many of us experience self-doubts on regular basis, struggles to be seen, and receive little to no support on the way. Realising how much strength you have to continue, nevertheless, should be a huge thing. It was for me. I never knew I had it until I started to write.

Tell us about your most recent works

My debut epic fantasy novel came out last year. “Heroes Of the Shadow. Blue Scar Indeabinito” is a first book in the 24-books-long planned series. It’s a story of a soldier, Thomas McCartney, who was taken to another world called the Indeabinito. It’s a world filled with mythical creatures and other humanoid races, some of which remind him of things he knew (like mermaids and centaurs), some are completely new to him.

While the Indeabinito world has a lot to offer, Thomas actually spends most of his time trying to find a way back to his home. His father is a soldier, and so is he. Taken to another world, he’s worried that people will consider his disappearance a one thing that he would never do: a desertion.

If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?

Based on books that I love, my first choice to try something new, would be a dystopian fiction.

Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?

I rarely take people for role models (too easy to get disappointed). There are, however, authors whose art inspired me to write. The two key series that made me to write were The Chronicles of Narnia and Jurassic Park + Jurassic World. The first one, for the simple reason: I loved the idea of the portals that existed in our world and could take you to somewhere else. Exploring Narnia made me to fall in love with fantasy and limitless possibilities it offers. That was my “what” to write.


Jurassic Park and Jurassic World made me to realise the impact of a good story. While I enjoyed the movies, these books carried so much more in them. Particularly Jurassic Park has this one scene that explains how systems used in the park were designed with logical error, and how simple and easy to miss that error was. Everything that happened later was just a huge consequence of one wrong assumption. The way M. Crichton plotted important messages into the world that didn’t exist but felt as if it could be real, was my “why” to write.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I’m currently working on getting my second book in the series ready to publish later this year, while also outlining book #3.

Where can people buy your books?

My books at the moment are only available on Amazon.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

First of all, you are only aspiring until you start to write. As soon as you started, you are a writer, and never let anyone take it away from you. Other than that, treat anything you hear regarding the writing process as an advice, not as a rule. Writing is an art. There is no such a thing like one size fits all. We all do it in different ways. That’s why our stories are unique. Try different things, experiment, but never force yourself into something that doesn’t work for you.

Writing is not easy, but you should enjoy it. Otherwise, what’s the point?

http://getbook.at/HOS – FIND HEROES OF THE SHADOW HERE


It was incredible to speak to such a talented author. I thank you for your continued support and for reading, so if you liked, like, comment and follow and reblog!

Spotlight #2 Chris Profeta

Writing spotlight number 2 is indie author/writer Chris. A fantasy writer predominantly on Wattpad where you can read his fantasy epic for free. I had the pleasure of talking to Christopher about his work and he wanted to sum up his writing life which is great. So without further introduction, please enjoy his story on creating his work The Search for the Eoz Potion. He had a rather philosophical and religious outlook on his work, which was different.


Everything is Temporary

I’m not a good writer.  I struggle to fill in the minor details of a story and to have them amount to any kind of larger purpose.  I’m also really bad with typos, but that’s not relevant to this blog pist…I mean, “post.”  (I also have a cheesy sense of humor.)

About five years ago, I had an idea for a fantasy story.  I had never written one before and didn’t really even enjoy reading them much, but my kids and I had just finished the Harry Potter series and were struggling to find something new to read together.  Like any good father/writer, I decided I would write one for them.  This is where my problem with being a bad writer becomes important.  Better, I suppose, to be a bad writer than a bad father.

Frustrated, I decided to turn to the children for help.  I explained the basic idea – a girl searching in a secret world for a magic potion to cure her sick friend – then gave each child a character to help develop.  They came up with the personality, backstory, physical description, and all the other details. We mapped out a basic plot diagram and then I worked on fitting all the pieces together into one coherent story.  Once I was able to convince them to hold off on the giant half chicken/half penguin monster until the sequel (stay on the lookout for that one, folks…), we ended up with what I thought was a pretty solid story about sacrifice and friendship that we called “The Search for the Eoz Potion.”  I have been posting it free on Wattpad here.

So that took care of the specific details of the story, but what about the second part of writing I’m bad at, giving the story a larger meaning?  This is something I always overthought as a writer, but this time around it kind of took care of itself.  

About the same time that I was writing the book, I had the opportunity to learn from a man who is both a Jewish Rabbi and a Lutheran Pastor.  Over the course of a week long lecture series, he taught about the original Hebrew text of some of the more famous passages from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible including the book of Ecclesiasties.  He taught us that the famous proclamation from Solomon that “everything is meaningless” is better translated as everything is “vapor” or “breath.”  The Hebrew word “chevel” that is often translated as “meaningless” is better understood, he argued, as referring to something that is temporary.  

So where is the connection, you may ask.  Well, I have always shied away from stories about fantasy worlds because of how complex they can be to write (again, see opening line about my writing ability), but also because as a reader myself I often found them to be far fetched and removed from reality.  I preferred stories that spoke to what I saw around me, but when I would try to write them, they were too boring to even force my closest friends and family to read.

Chevel solved these problems.  It gave me a better appreciation of how books that create fantasy worlds that exist parallel to our own reality can help us to better understand the world.  What we experience everyday is meaningless, it is temporary, it is a vapor that exists only briefly.  There is, in fact, something more.  Obviously when we put it in its biblical context it means something much more complex than a simple blog post could uncover, but I’ve learned that fantasy writing is far more consequential than I ever truly appreciated.

In “The Search for the Eoz Potion,” for example, the main characters’ time in the “fantasy world” gives them a deeper sense of purpose in the “real world.”  There is a moment when one of the characters has a flashback to her life back home.  She remembers the pressures her parents put on her to be the best at school, in her extracurricular activities, and in sports.  She recognizes that her inability to ever live up to their expectations is crippling her, and she then comes to the following realization:

“School, student council, softball, none of it mattered in the Garden.  She liked that.  She had one goal, one thing to focus on – finding the Eoz Potion.”

Chevel.

Castles (5)

Welcome to episode 5 of the Medieval England History series. You can access all the episodes by going to this link here. I hope you are enjoying this nostalgic adventure into the heart of what England was during the time of the black death. If you do like what you read then be sure to follow because new episodes are posted regularly. Today this episode is about medieval castles!


Castles in medieval England served a very important purpose, they were designed and built primarily as the homes and fortresses of a monarch or noble. Early castles would have been built from earth and wood, but as the times moved on, by the 12th century most castles were built from stone.

The roof of the castles were built or covered with slates, clay tiles or wooden shingles. The castle had to be well guarded and defended both by men and in terms of the position and structure, because a poorly built castle meant almost certain doom for the occupants. That is why they built castles on steep hills or at the top of rock cliffs, sometimes beside the sea. The positions meant that the castle automatically had an advantage from attack, as potential invaders had to get up the hills or cliffs before getting into the castle. It was still possible though, and the use of other weapons like catapults certainly helped this.

If the castle was not built to house a monarch or noble then it could have secondary uses or purposes. Notable is the use of castles as barracks to house soldiers (spearmen, militia, swordsmen, archers, crossbow men, knights, billmen etc). They could serve as prisons, armories, treasure houses, and the center for local government… yes, they still had a government in medieval ages, albeit under the rule of the monarch. Other less violent uses included using castles as brew houses, laundry, workshops, dovecotes, and stables. It was not uncommon to have a few of these things mixed together in a castle grounds, along with a barracks for example.

The castle would be surrounded by a huge wall which would be many meters high and dense. They were not just walls, they were 3 layers thick consisting of; a rough stone inner shell, a thick solid filling of flint and rubble, and an outer layer of stone called ashlars. The wall would have a flat walkway which would allow guards to keep watch and to notify the other guards should an intruder be noticed. The archers if there were any would be able to use a embrasure, which would allow them to shoot whilst protected by the wall. And, don’t forget the medieval ages was brutal, so the openings in the wall allowed boiling water or stones or even waste at times to be thrown down onto any attacking enemy. Most castles had a moat too, which was an added level of protection, a stream of deep water that surrounded the castles. Castles built near lakes or rivers could use that water by digging or channeling water to the moat. A drawbridge would allow access across the moat and would be raised if an enemy approached.

Stokesay is the most well preserved castle sites in England. Worth a journey to spend a day looking around.

Inside a castle was a little different to outside. They did not have what we have today, but did have quite a lot of things that we might be surprised at. They didn’t have central heating of course, they had alternative more costs effective means of keeping warm (that is a joke, it didn’t cost anything to light a fire back then). Only the Lord and Lady of the castle had used a main fireplace, along with thick, heavy blankets, mattresses made of feathers, fur covers etc. So the Lord and the Lady (nobles) or the Monarch (I suspect a lot more than just blankets, including women for kings). The workers, or anyone not a noble had to sleep in the towers which were cold and damp, and you can imagine the winter. In summer though, the castle would still remain cold for the workers.

A castle hall was the biggest, grandest room in the entire fortress. The middle ages saw it common place to sleep in the hall. It was the place to dine and to drink and socialise. Lords of the castle would host social gatherings and people gathered in the hall for a massive feast and listened to music (yes, the played musical instruments, played by minstrels, or wandering singers). Occasionally the Lords might also host a jousting event in a field outside. There were laundry too, and bedding and clothes were washed, and everything was maintained. Everyone in the castle had a job, even if it was to provide entertainment and this resulted in castles being loud and busy.

Attackers could use moveable towers to climb over the walls, could tunnel under the walls, and of course use catapults, which were employed later on. Attackers could stop the supply of food and water and other resources and even kill assisting soldiers coming to the castle.

Waste disposal in castles was not as good as the personal hygiene. Castles did not have plumbing which means the waste would remain in one place until it was cleaned by chamber maids (they still did it, and for a pittance), although a poor sanitary waste system was a lot better than a lower class citizen. People in medieval ages had regard to personal hygiene and washed their hands, took baths and brushed their teeth! They brushed their teeth using something called a miswak, brushing or scrubbing the teeth until they ‘felt’ clean. Others could use a cloth or their fingers. Personal hygiene was advocated for as early as the Vikings, who encouraged use of combs and act of washing. People would get their hair cut by a barber, who also performed minor surgeries to the teeth and pulled out rotten teeth, talk about a worthwhile visit.


Thank you for reading episode 5 castles in the Medieval England History series. If you enjoyed this then stay tuned by liking, commenting, reblogging, following and more! The next in the series will be a little more about the life in castles, particularly focusing on the roles within it, starting with the cooks! Cooks are a very important roles in the castle of medieval times.

Knights (2)

Welcome to the second post in the medieval series. Keep checking into the blog on a daily basis for more posts and entries to the series. The series will cover various medieval topics like mythology, knights, castles, dragons, wizards and so much more!


Knight are synonymous with dragons and castles. Once upon a time knights were the most feared and best protected warriors of the medieval ages. They were fashionable and well mannered. Naturally the knights started to diminish over the centuries as the elite fought to protect their exclusive status’.

If you wanted to become a knight you needed to be born from aristocracy. You had to undertake training from childhood, the age of 7 years old. You also needed to posses a knowledge of the rules of chivalry. Courting the most fine of ladies was not too uncommon. From 7, the child would become a ‘page’ at which point he learned how to handle horses, hunt and use mock weapons while serving a knight proper.

At age 14 they move on to become a ‘squire.’ The child would take on increasing responsibility, a type of grooming, to prepare them for knighthood. At this stage they learned how to use real weapons and began an education system, focusing on learning chivalry. Squires still assisted knights, they would hold extra lances or the shields, clean all the armour and look after several horses of the knight. By the time they reach 18, if they had done well they would be put through ‘dubbing’, a type of ceremony to make the youngster a knight. The soon-to-be knight would have to keep a church vigil overnight.

When knighted, the squire would be dressed by two knights with a white tunic and white belt to symbolise purity, black or brown stockings to represent the earth and a scarlet cloak for the blood he is now ready to spill for his baron, sovereign and church. His sword was given to him blessed by a priest with the condition that he always protect the poor and weak. The sword was unique in that it had two cutting edges, one to represent justice and the other loyalty and chivalry. The knighting knight might kiss the new knight on the cheek and then tap on the shoulder or neck with the sword or hand. After he would be given his horse and shield and banner.

a knight

Knights could partake in jousting and tournaments when not on active duty. This allowed them to maintain their horse riding skills. Jousting is where a single ride with a lance charged at the opponent who also had a lance. The goal was to knock the other opponent of their horses. The ‘melee’ was the mock cavalry battle where knights would have to capture one another for a ransom. Knights had the chance to impress those aristocratic ladies again by displaying those chivalrous skills and tournaments became ‘prestigious’ with professional tournament players. Knights could also read poetry or recite it if they wish but must have been at all times following their chivalric code.

A knight would receive a special type of burial too. Some knights joined military orders so to ensure a spot in the cemetery or church. Such examples are joining the Knight Templar. Knights would be remembered frequently though ‘effigies’. An effigy would allow a knight to be portrayed in full armour and bearing a shield, through a wooden carving onto their burial place. Temple Church in London, the base of Inner Temple, is where knights of the Knight Templar were buried, since it was their church.

Famous is the knights of the round table. The followers of King Arthur, a story told countless times through the centuries. The story of Arthur, briefly goes like this. Merlin had place a sword into a stone and stated that the first to draw the sword would become king. Arthur did pull the sword from the stone and Merlin crowned him king of Britain. A rebellion ensued, in which Arthur got rid of 11 rulers. Upon marrying Guinevere, her father gave him the round table. Those who sat at the table were all equals, and the mystical knights came from various lands. Arthur later died in a battle between himself and his nephew, Mordred.

The legends of knights are still told to this day. The story of Arthur and the sword in the stone, the sword is called Excalibur, is still revered.


Thank you for reading the second post in the medieval series. This is the second in a series about medieval England. If you liked this, please like and comment below or share, which is always welcomed. The next episode will be on wizards!

The Batman: Movie Review!

IMDB – 8.5

Rotten Tomatoes – 85%

Total run time – 2 hours 56 minutes!

Release date – UK 4th March

Director: Matt Reeves


I watched The Batman last night. Got into the cinema and sat down by 7pm. Film started 20 minutes later after a couple adverts, not many. The film ran from that time to about 10:10pm! So, from the beginning of this review, you should know the new Warner Bros. DC movie The Batman is long and it is dark and there is actually more to this than first meets thee eye.

I will highlight firstly that this seems and appears to be a direct continuation of the franchise in that Batman is established and he is not going through any type of renewal. This is a key word in the movie, renewal. He refers to himself at the start of the movie as vengeance. He is also called vengeance throughout by others.

The movie uses a gothic castle as his home! Finally. This is brilliant. The overall aesthetic of the movie is dark and gothic it is brilliant. The architecture being used it old as opposed to new or modern. Even the subway system looks outdated.

It starts with Batman revealing how he operates, how criminals are afraid when they know he may be out in the night, how he fights but cannot tackle every problem. Understandable. Robert Pattinson is also a good look for Batman. He wears black eye makeup a lot of the time, even with the suit on. He is tall and slim. Muscle isn’t really there in one of the scenes where he exposes his torso. I don’t know if anyone else has an issue with this but the suit in the film does give the impression his quite strong and muscularly, although with the suit you can still see that slimness. But he knows how to fight, he uses those skills effectively, being able to take on 5 or 6 fearlessly.

We go to a murder, specifically in this big mansion. It leads us onto the topic of the movie. Why was he killed, who did it and why? We soon learn at the crime scene that there is more to this. It appears there is a card addressed to the batman in which is a riddle. That’s right. The Riddler is back at his sick games. Batman, coupled with commissioner Gordon, is trying to track him down all the while dealing with an elusive and mysterious woman who dresses in black at night, and has lots of cats – catwoman? We never get that information but clearly, she is. Who recalls Halle Berry in that awful 2004 movie? What about Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992 Batman Returns? Zoe Kravitz is now catwoman. And, we get to see the workings of some dark club in which a lot of police, corrupt DA’s have been hanging out.

The club forefront man, is none less than the Penguin. (This movie should have done more with him). But the Penguin, although known, is on the backburner. Played by an unrecognisable Colin Farrell. The club is a mafia run joint. It’s basically a long journey from this point of trying to figure out who the Riddler is couple with trying to expose the corrupt cops. All the while Alfred is hospitalised after an attack and more.

But in terms of character we can see that stories of the past and particularly Bruce Waynes parents death has crept back into the fold, supposedly being some sort of trigger for renewal. I should also mention that at the beginning of the movie, a group of thugs has the face paint of joker. Although it doesn’t have any attention drawn to it, when looking at the Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, it is significant. Even more so when comparing with the death of Bruce Waynes parents. You see movie makers, Warner Brothers and writers should all be familiar with previous films stories. In Joker it is suggested that Thomas Wayne is the Jokers father, and the Jokers uprising is responsible for the death of Bruce Waynes parents. In this film, the Batman, it is suggested that the mafia boss or the Riddler is responsible. At the end of the movie, we see the Joker in Arkham Asylum, so we know throughout the movie that his far reaching affects are still taking place because of the Joker impersonators. This supposed disregard to what the Joker did in the previous movies makes me wonder why they ignored it.

It is all about detective and chase work. The Batmobile makes and appearance as a loud and obnoxious vehicle with huge engine and flaming turbine on the back. It’s small but not quite fast enough. It comes in good use when Batman suspects the Penguin of being an elusive rat with wings that the Riddler is hunting. It is downplayed but the movie operates at a level of genuine sophistication and Batman genuineness. It is true to the character. He is not perfect, he is still not supported 100% by Gotham police department aside from commissioner Gordon. He is still the Dark Knight, just in a more reclusive way. Bruce Wayne is in the negative spotlight throughout as the city want blood for the billionaires corrupt dealings.

This battle is lost and Batman cannot figure out the Riddler’s last clue until it is too late. The city is in jeopardy. It is a laboured love but the movie shows and demonstrates that key element which makes us all love Batman to begin with. He gives the city hope and is a light of positivity. Although the Riddler wasn’t quite as eccentric as Jim Carrey in 1995s Batman Forever, he is still a bad guy and its fun to watch the pursuit.

The run time does seem excessive. It could have been cut down considerably, which I suspect is what already happened. Maybe they could have given us 2 hours 30 minutes? Seems reasonable to say at least 20 minutes of combined footage is not needed, a city shot here or there, or the sound of engines revving.

Congratulations to Robert Pattinson for doing a decent job of making Batman dark, strong and genuinely a force to be reckoned with. Acting is superb. The dark theme, overall gothic tones and a huge amount of visual close up fighting, with little special effects. It is so difficult to rate though.

RATING: 4.5/5

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Immortal Prison

A tale of a boy trapped within a dream for 40 years.

Trapped at 11
Released at 51
Spent a lifetime fighting the pain
Had enough gain
To learn how to train
Many days skiing
Many nights spying
So much more
To this lie
And released on bail
Inhumane
What did he learn?
That it was too long
That the rain was poison
Sunlight was fire
And each breath, Jesus’ beginning
Searching
Crying
Embracing
Changing
Accepting
Forgiving
Climbing
Reaching
Being
Believing 

As I have talked about this before, acceptance, one of the most difficult things in the world second to forgiveness. My post on healing the heart may help. This page has an interesting article on it (https://serenityrecovery.org/acceptance-really-mean/).

To accept, we have to acknowledge and be aware of the issue that we may be trying to get past, either consciously or unconsciously. Embracing and being, and accepting, being, seeing, as the boy did, and believing as he did when he returned.

A part of the song below which will not display for some reason. (Ravenskill, Dream Theater) has lyrics that are:

“I can’t go back
Hope fades away with each passing second
(Gabriel enters and Faythe embraces him.)
Faythe: Lost in this moment

Is where I want to stay
This can’t be broken
We need to find a way”

Do you understand what is happening in this scene? Is it too late or is it an illusion? Do they accept or deny the resolutions staring them in the face.