'Rise': Sehri Tales selections, Day 16

I.

Heavenly bodies, bread, confidence and self esteem.

by Elita Karim

II.

I sigh as I wake up to the deafening screams of the alarm.
A full night's sleep feels like a distant memory. 
I drag my weak, tired body off the bed and ascend to my feet.
I want to sleep, so desperately lose myself in its comforting embrace, but I must pray now. 
I have much to atone for, much to beg for, to the Lord.

by Mushfiq Redwanuz Zaman

III.

I fall as the winter night's secret rain, so gently soft to your delicate ears 
That you could disguise me as moss-kissed droplets from a leaked pipe.
My body and soul have no fluidity;
I am a master of contortions.
Yet, I tried to water myself down to fit every mold for your convenience.
You forgot to say,
"I thank you, dearest."
Now, the floodgates open against my wishes to be heavy weight. I would drown you. This I know. You will not forget to give me credit this time. This I know.
I'm glad you didn't thank me with your delusions so I could fill my own rabbit hole of self-pity with rainwater to the brink until the rabbit dies of suffocation.
I will crawl out. I will rise.
I will rise to the skies of heaven and hell and fall again like the biblical angels. This time to the open, free sea, leaving a trail of silver linings for you to see. And I hope you will say, "I thank you, dearest."

by Amira Reza Dewan