FASHION STYLE FOOD ALPHABET

  I don't even remember exactly when I realized I could destroy the world. It was probably in childhood, when time has no meaning and everything is still so new and fascinating to us that it's hard to grasp, and even harder to organize. In any case, one day this strange and disturbing awareness simply appeared in my mind. It's not for me to figure out where it came from—after all, so many strange and incomprehensible things happen in the human mind, for which there is no explanation, and no source to be traced, so it's simply not worth bothering with. So I didn't try. I didn't ask my parents. Like any child, I used to pester my father and mother with questions about trivial things, like why strawberries are red, and quite complex things, like the nature of day and night—but I never raised that one issue. It seemed disturbing to me—even when I knew little about the world—so I kept quiet. Like a child ashamed to admit to something they'd done. Even though I ha...

  It happened between Małysz's decline in form and the Pope's funeral. She was beautiful, and I was cynical; she was moderate, I was inept. I met her at a disco or some club, where I'd probably gone for the ultimate humiliation. She was standing against the wall, smoking a cigarette, though smoking cigarettes was no longer fashionable, and feigning conversation with her potential boyfriend, husband, fiancé, friend, lover, or father of future children. I had a terrible urge to smoke. "Before opening the foil package, I gently moved it inside so as not to damage anything by tearing it. I didn't use any sharp objects. I handled it carefully. I removed it from the package so as to avoid damage from fingernails, jewelry, etc." She might have looked at me expressively, but I dismissed it with feigned indifference. However, as soon as she looked the other way, I began to stare hungrily at the object of my desire. A cigarette, and not a menthol or superlight; the ciga...

  Thursday, March 27, 10:58 PM I snapped at her, then headed for the restroom aimlessly. Staring at the dirty mirror, I thought about how I was behaving, what I was getting at, and why the hell I was dragging this out. I left with the irreversible intention of pouring out all my regrets and worries to her, to unburden myself of the burden of filthy and dirty thoughts. Then I reversed my irreversible intention and whispered only softly, "Screw you." Ania responded with a light snoring, or rather, she responded to the wall, as her pretty face was turned toward her. This could only mean that she was asleep and uninterested in my outpourings. I automatically felt I wouldn't be needed for anything today, so I threw on my outerwear and left this den of debauchery richly seasoned with hatred; I left without even slamming the door, though I was incredibly tempted to do so. That day, we began arguing more on principle than for any clear reason. The lack of sufficient living space,...

  Toto was passing an inn, crowded with soldiers eager to at least quench their thirst with a cool beer. He longed to savor the golden beverage as they did, but he knew his impatient mother was already waiting for him in the capital, and besides, he wouldn't get into the packed inn anyway. So he ran to the grandmaster and, after making sure his friend was alright, went to meet his mother. Suddenly, Little One saw a figure standing at the gate of the capital, dressed in a large black cloak and a hood over his head, revealing nothing beneath. Curious, he approached her quietly, so as not to frighten her, and touched her shoulder. The startled figure turned sharply toward Thoth. Little One saw a look he knew very well, having loved to stare at it when he was little. It was Dyremith. At first, he wanted to scream to warn everyone about the enemy, but the harpy quickly covered his mouth. Toto complained of the unpleasant smell and the feathers that had entered his mouth. He thought he w...

  After the exhausting march, when everyone reached the city, they found a great bustle and chaos reigning. Every adult male inhabitant of Erythia lined up in a large field in front of the city. Women from various tribes ran across the city square with their children. A centaur mare called out to her child, who had apparently gotten lost in the commotion. Eventually, however, it turned out that the child was playing in a nearby puddle with a unicorn. The little one couldn't take it all in. So much was happening in front of the Council of Elders. The elves had gone to the inn to rest, eat a hearty meal, and quench their thirst. The men of their people, who were in good shape, immediately after resting and regaining their strength, went to the field. Meanwhile, Toto and Kyerion went to see Theodorus to learn what the council was planning. Once in the Capitol, they passed through the hall, which was in terrible chaos, and then proceeded to the Council Chamber, located on the third flo...

  The little one didn't realize the danger he was in. He was dreaming of his mother, who had recovered, and of his father, who had returned from a long journey with a snow elf. Toto was about to touch the elf to see if he was real when, suddenly, somehow, he transformed into a monstrous harpy who spoke to him incomprehensibly. The voice grew louder and louder, until finally Toto realized it was a dream and that someone, or something, was standing over him, telling him to wake up. He awoke to find a large, cruel bird-woman above him, and that he was in some dingy cell that seemed carved into the rock. The darkness was dim, illuminated by a small candle, which was enough to help Toto figure out where he was. He remembered one of his father's stories, about how he had to escape the underground kingdom of the harpies that had imprisoned him. His father told him that this was one of his most dangerous adventures, one in which he could have lost his life. The little one, urged on by ...