KEITH BURKHOLDER - SHORT-STORIES

​Keith Burkholder has been published in Creative Juices, Sol Magazine, Trellis Magazine, Foliate Oak Literary Journal, New Delta Review, Poetry Quarterly, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Birmingham Arts Journal.  He has a bachelor's degree in statistics with a minor in mathematics from SUNY at Buffalo (UB).

​Digging to the center of planet Earth

   There is this place on Earth where a person can go to a new destination if they did to the center of it.  This person can live in a world that is full of peace and serenity.
                This place is a world that is separate from modern day Earth.  It is below the surface of this planet and goodness is what it brings to people.  There are people from the surface of Earth who choose to live down there, and their lives have changed for the better this way.
                The center of the Earth has always been a mystery to many.  Until now, where people in this one part of the world can dig their way to this location.
                The center of the Earth is a place where people go to, to get away.  They need to go there to recharge their batteries or go their to permanently live there.
                The people that have never come back from this experience love their lives even more down there.  They love a peaceful life without war and confrontation.
                People who live on the surface of Earth endure constant confrontation and destruction.  This is how it is for the most part for the people on the surface of this massive planet.
                The people who now live at the center of the Earth enjoy their time with peace.  There are no wars down there or massive bouts of confrontations.
                The world here is only for people who love peace and serenity.  This is a place that is completely different than the surface of the Earth.  The world that is above the center of the Earth where most of the humans live.
                The center of the Earth has many theories about what is down there.  As the author of this story I believe in the science interpretations.
                This is a fictional short story.  The world at the center of the Earth is amazingly peaceful and quiet to anyone there.
                People need this in their lives.  The life for most of them on the surface of Earth is completely the opposite.  This is the case especially in large cities around the world.
                The only thing a person needs when they venture this way to the center of the planet Earth is an open mind.  A person with an open mind can allow this to take place and experience the greatness of such a world down below.
                This is how it will be for this world at the center of Earth.  The planet is what it is and humanity can do what it wants to see peace and serenity in this way.
 
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​The Dead Communicate with the living on Planet Jupiter

There is a cemetery in this small town called Dover.  The dead at this cemetery communicate with life on planet Jupiter.
                Their reincarnated selves can travel to planet Jupiter and see that world.  The life on planet Jupiter can interact with the dead from the present and the past.
                This has taken place for about fifty years in this cemetery.  No one in the town knows about this because this is the way the dead communicate with Jupiter.  Once a person is dead no in the town knows about their reincarnated lives.  Reincarnation is not believed in Dover, but it still exists after fifty of the dead communicating and traveling to Jupiter.
                The dead will communicate tonight with Jupiter.  There will be a full moon in Dover and it will be a clear night.
                The dead like the friendliness of Jupiter and its people.  They love to communicate with friendly people who do really care about the dead in general.
                The dead feel that communicating will keep their minds open.  The dead love to see how enthusiastic the Jupiter world is when they do travel to see them.
                Right now, the dead are communicating with Jupiter.  Various graves will let their dead go and explore Jupiter when Jupiter allows them to reincarnate and see their world.  This should be a treat to the dead and to the world of Jupiter.
                Various spirits leave the cemetery here in Dover.  No one can see them leave their graves, but they are doing it now.
                They will enter the domain of Jupiter quickly.  Spirits arrive in Jupiter much faster than living man does.
                The spirits should reach Jupiter within ten minutes or so.  Then they will be able to see the planet Jupiter and interact with people there.
                The dead mean a lot to people on planet Jupiter.  There will be famous and not so famous people there as they interact with the people on this planet.
                Jupiter is a vast world, obviously.  It is the largest planet in the solar system and it is by far the friendliest as well.
                Jupiter is expecting at least twenty spirits to enter their world now.  They should arrive in no time as they travel at hyper speed in the solar system to reach Jupiter.
                In exactly ten minutes the spirits made it to planet Jupiter.  They love seeing the vastness of this great planet.
                People that live on planet Jupiter now see the spirits.  The spirits are happy to be welcomed by these people.
                There is so much to do on planet Jupiter.  The spirits will take in a lot of sightseeing here.  The people want to show them all that they can before they go back to planet Earth and their graves.
                The spirits turn into human form on planet Jupiter.  They are not affected at all by the gravitational force here.
                The spirits will travel in a tour bus for some time to see planet Jupiter.  They will see different sites now than before when they ventured here.
                As time has passed, the tour was totally amazing for the spirits.  They were able to see the red circular site on the planet.  They saw how gravitational forces affect people here as well.  They also saw how beer and wine are made on this planet.  The lifestyle here is totally different than on planet Earth.
                The people here are friendly and welcoming.  There is no such thing as wars on planet Jupiter.  This made the spirits feel great inside.  Wars and destruction are common on planet Earth.
                The tour has ended.  It took them about five hours or so to see what they encountered on this tour.  They loved every moment of it.
                The spirits will now travel back to planet and to their graves.  They loved being here and would come back to planet Jupiter again.  The people wished them well as they venture in space back home.
                Planet is so far away from Jupiter, but the spirits travel at hyper speed to venture back to Earth and remain in their graves.
                When will these spirits see planet Jupiter again?  There is no clear answer to this question.  It could be soon or far off into the future.  All that can be said is that enjoyed their time on planet Jupiter and hopefully they can experience such hospitality again when their next venture awaits their beckoning call.
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​Devils and Angels bringing the dead back to life

This is a unique situation, but a reality in this world.  The dead are coming back to life because of the powers of the devil and angel.
                Most people think of angels and devils as fantasy characters.  In other words, no realistic in our society today.
                However, massive reincarnations have been spotted in certain places in the world.  The dead could be seen coming back to life.
                The devils brought back to life famous bad people.  On the opposite end of the scale, the angels brought back to life famous good people.
                The bad people who came to life only existed in the dark.  Their bad pasts would not hold up against sunlight at all.  The good people were the opposite.  They came to life, no matter what part of the day.  They had good souls and cared about people when they were alive.
                These are unique situations, but the realities have taken place.  The first people to come life are the good souls.  They have come to life from this one cemetery just outside the city of Los Angeles.
                The bad people have come back to life in a cemetery just outside of Seattle.  Again, these souls only come to life when it is dark outside.
                These former lives will see the modern day again.  This is how it is and how life will be for them when brought back to life.
                The angels want goodness in our world.  This is how they see Earth and how they believe anything positive can happen from this.
                The devils do not understand goodness.  They only understand bad concepts and that is why life will come back to life at night.  However, the bad souls that do come back to life do not last long.  The are mostly contained in the cemetery they were buried at.
                The angels are powerful, even more so than the devils.  This is how it is for them and how it will remain as well.
                The angels have brought back the dead now.  These former souls are now alive and can explore planet Earth now.
                They were chosen by the angels.  The angels want them to explore Earth and enjoy this second chance at living.
                They can always come home to the cemetery.  They can do whatever they want within reason.  They were the good souls chosen by the angels and life should be great for them, too.
                The situations for both parties will continue out.  However, the devil’s plans will not take part too much longer.  The bad people are shunned too much from the power of the angels.
                Goodness will always outweigh badness. This is something that can never be overlooked.  This is just a reality in our world.
                The goodness in our world will always exist.  The planet needs this input for better things to happen.  Take this all in and let it continue.  For this is our planet and our future as time continues forward to let our future be bright every step of the way here on out.
 
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