After a whirlwind of festivities at a recent wedding, my wife and I decided to take a much-needed break and booked a charming stone cottage for a night at a tranquil hill station. When we arrived at the cottage in the early afternoon, we were greeted by the breathtaking sight of a cluster of cottages nestled along the hill slopes. The road to the resort wound its way up the hill, ending at our destination—a secluded haven at the hilltop, overlooking the city below. The cottages, each made of sturdy stone blocks, exuded a rustic charm and promised a cozy retreat. We chose this place not only for its tranquility but also for my long-standing desire to try astrophotography, as…

Two years ago my family and I left Earth on an experimental mission. Our big, blue marble was experiencing extensive gravitational insufficiency. Numerous renowned researchers and the most intelligent scientists from several countries had developed a spacecraft in order to test their semblance of an artificial gravity. A massive lottery was designed to choose pioneer passengers. Every address throughout the world was placed into a database. lmagine my surprise when the Weltraum clan was selected. I was going to be the first teenager ever to zoom past stars and other planets. I had never been much on astronomy or little green men or galaxies beyond our reach. I had never even watched Star Wars or Star Trek. My brother though,…

It started suddenly. Autumn was coming to an end, the weather was rapidly deteriorating. Busy streets turned into canals filled with icy water and debris. Thin streams ran along the dirty walls and mixed with the long-term patina of rust. An atmosphere of decay, a thick, viscous feeling. It started early in the morning. A piercing sound fell on the sleepers, awakening them from a fragile, painful sleep. Steel, glass, concrete chips, crunch of bones. This lasted about a minute. The insides, turned inside out, tried to gather back into a heap, previously called a man. The eyelids refused to open, in an attempt to save the already shocked mind. Bright. The harsh light hit my eyes and forced me…