𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 A gift from me to you, - glo 01/10/24

book #3

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭? "𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫," (recently revised)

The streets have a way of snatching innocent souls. By the time you realize and try to escape, you're already in too deep. Will Yasir, Yulan, and Yulani make it out? Or will they realize they're in an abyss?

Do you remember who you were, 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞? 'Cause 𝐈 do.

"You know I been gone like way too long Tell me where you been it's been way too long" When I met you ten years ago you were the man of my dreams. Even at the tender age of sixteen I knew that you were the one for me. When I got you there was nothing I wouldn't do to keep you. That high of you lasted a good eight years before it all crashed and burned. Now the only memories I have of you are these faded scars from the night our lives were forever changed.

Success doesn't equate happiness. I've had to learn that the hard way over the years. With every disappointment, every let down, every heartbreak, my solution was to just achieve something. Gain a new award, a higher accolade, a bigger position. The distractions only work temporarily, but once it dies down you realize that you're left with just you. You realize that you're still alone, still a failure in other aspects of life, and still hiding from the past. My name is Brynn. I got married at nineteen to my college sweetheart, and at the age of twenty four I found myself packing up and leaving him in the middle of the night. During that ungodly hour is when everything starts to hit you, when everything begins to resurface. My husband never attempted to come after me, never even attempted to reach out to me. Yet I still find myself going to sleep with him on my mind. I can still feel his touch if I dream hard enough. I still find myself keeping up with his social media, following his life from a distance. Only in that ungodly hour do I let my fantasies roam free and allow myself to miss him. I allow myself to still love him, still care for him. As long as I know that once morning hits it's back to business, back to being distracted, and back to being alone.

/ˈemˌpī(ə)r/ noun noun: empire; plural noun: empires Building a foundation, a team, a generational wealth, a legacy. An Empire.