Melody Writes

 Under the Ice  I came to the lake to rescue my sister. Ice covers its surface and I drop to my knees. Together, we bang against the icy barrier between us as I spout useless apologies. Her angry eyes gut me. I didn’t mean to condemn her to this when I brought her body here. Local legend claimed she would come back on the thirteenth day of winter. It did not mention the ice. With a loud crack, her hands break through. Joy fills me but quickly turns to terror when instead of escaping, she pulls me down under the ice with her.   Originally published in Beneath from Ghost Orchid Press on May 5, 2021

Years ago, I attempted to read all of Stephen King's books in order and blog about them. I eventually gave up because there are just too many. Below is one of the posts I wrote.  Original Review from January 3, 2015: Rereading The Stand showed me just how faulty our memories can be. This is my third time through the book, and while several complete scenes shine in my memory, I know now they are just a handful of dim stars peeking out between the clouds in the night. Tiny pinpricks that represent only a fraction of the expanse that is King’s The Stand. Before reading, I remembered about half of the main characters, the larger strokes of the plot and a couple random scenes like Mother Abigail eating peanut butter or Harold staking out his claim on Frannie (and failing). When I reentered the world of the Stand, I thought I knew what I was in for. I plowed through this book over the course of four days during the Christmas holidays. It had been a long time since I'd had the t