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“People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles. This is the first thing I hear when I come back to the city. Blair picks me up from LAX and mutters this under her breath as she drives up the onramp. She says, "People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles." Though that sentence shouldn't bother me, it stays in my mind for an uncomfortably long time. Nothing else seems to matter. Not the fact that I'm eighteen and it's December and the ride on the plane had been rough and the couple from Santa Barbara, who were sitting across from me in first class, had gotten pretty drunk. Not the mud that had splattered on the legs of my jeans, which felt kind of cold and loose, earlier that day at an airport in New Hampshire. Not the stain on the arm of the wrinkled, damp shirt I wear, a shirt which looked fresh and clean this morning. Not the tear on the neck of my gray argyle vest, which seems vaguely more eastern than before, especially next to Blair's clean tight jeans and her pale-blue shirt. All of this seems irrelevant next to that one sentence. It seems easier to hear that people are afraid to merge than "I'm pretty sure Muriel is anorexic" or the singer on the radio crying out about magnetic waves. Nothing else seems to matter to me but those ten words. Not the warm winds, which seem to propel the car down the empty asphalt freeway, or the faded smell of marijuana which still faintly permeates Blaire's car. All it comes down to is the fact that I'm a boy coming home for a month and meeting someone whom I haven't seen for four months and people are afraid to merge.”
― Less Than Zero
― Less Than Zero
“That's the duty of the old,' said the Librarian, 'to be anxious on the behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.'
They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.”
― The Golden Compass
They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.”
― The Golden Compass
Dark Fiction
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— last activity Oct 31, 2025 07:41PM
Because we think that a great piece of dark fiction will blow your mind, we are a group for people who enjoy all forms of dark fiction. Lots of discus ...more
Writerpedia
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— last activity Jul 28, 2022 08:20AM
This is a place to share knowledge. If you are writing and need to know something maybe someone here can give you an answer.
Ray Bradbury Appreciation Group
— 27 members
— last activity Feb 04, 2014 12:14AM
With more stories than we can count, his works span across many genres, and with each page, he sparks a new love for all things imaginable. Share your ...more
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