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Time and Tide - "Bargaining" | Penana
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Time and Tide
ISSUE #15
Author: Viktoria Fyodorova
Time and Tide
Author: Viktoria Fyodorova
ISSUE #15
"Bargaining"
No Plagiarism!sPqrXrvlKjYSccFgC5Ziposted on PＥNAＮＡ

Why?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbqizolbVH

Why was it him?

Why did the world take my parents’

only biological child?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamCuh7GIvT

Why wasn’t it me?

I have sinned so much in the past few years,

to the point that I have lost track

of all the horrible things

I have done.

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhvYZc3cvE

Why was my brother the one punished

and not me?

Why did this have to happen so close to his

32nd birthday?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIm6s7ij2I3

After everything he has been through,

this is how the world repays him for

overcoming his

alcoholism?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmwWeKijKE

Why is the world such a cruel place?

Why is there just as much good in the world

as there is evil?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxCFIWlkKp

Why were Mom and I the last people

he talked to?

Why did he die

only 20 minutes after getting off the phone with us?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtaVUiFKYj

Why did he accept those drugs from someone?

a straight-up murderer?

on the street?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJPfqjoFAr

Why am I still here?

Why did I survive those 24 hours

on the doorstep of the orphanage

in frigid Russia,

with only a blanket and crib to guide me?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YxV6yuf0d

Why,

out of all the orphans,

did my adopted parents

choose

me?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4QoApg68e

Why did my brother want a little sister?

I was a chubby, little thing—

severely malnourished—

and now I struggle with anxiety.

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSkgAJS5cn

Why is grief so

mentally and physically exhausting?

Why are there so many people

who support us?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSxBHuRLdD

Is this really what love is all about?

Is that all grief is?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbl59dHgM4O

Why am I down here

and not with my family during this time of mourning?

Why did I come back to school

only a week after the tragedy?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRS6ZHfIwo

Why am I so desperate to succeed,

considering the current circumstances?

20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwlAn2yahm

Most importantly...

What is the true meaning of this anomaly

that we call “life”?

216.73.216.134

ns216.73.216.134da2
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Time and Tide
Poetry
Adventure
Short Story
Last updated: Jun 3, 2026
Total word count: 3,470
Total reading time: 16 Minutes
adventure magic comingofage college timetravel warriors poetrycollection foundfamily animals destiny lifelessons prose diversity nostalgia collegestudents symbolism writingchallenge undiscovered schoolassingment wildcard
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