Chapter Seven: Kitsura-kai

The attention kept growing. I started to notice it not just at work, but everywhere I went.

“Do we have another question?” The emcee asks as I look out at the audience — a typical crowd that you’d get at a press conference, but this one is different in many ways.

Wychwood Venice - The Doge’s Ball

One

Sandy woke to the aroma of coffee, and it took a few seconds of sleepy confusion before she realised where she was. She opened her eyes to see Ricci making coffee in the kitchen, wearing Sandy’s Ramones T-shirt and a pair of knickers. She watched Ricci for a couple of minutes as memories of the previous night returned, bringing a sudden warmth to her face. It hadn’t been a dream after all, she thought, squirming with pleasure.

“You look so sweet in that,” Sandy said, making Ricci jump.

Out of the Pan
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

The door closed and Janey was finally gone. She had been called into her office, even though it was a Saturday morning. She could only promise that she would be back before lunch. That left me alone with Tanya for the morning. The whole morning had seemed totally unreal.

I spent the next week seeing how well I could juggle, for Gwen’s wedding was set for the weekend before we were due on my secret squirrel trip. It would be a hell of a drive to Albany, about five hours, but there was a flight If I did that, thank you, Suleiman, we’d need less extra time off from work, and would avoid the frazzle of trying to be neat and tidy for the do. That, and not have to drive with a hangover, of course. Our team would only have to cover the extra Friday for our trip down, and that was really an admin day, so we were fine.

We had a family meeting, Ish mailed his friend, and we were sorted. At least until the Tuesday before the wedding.

[Central London, 2016]

Stephanie looked out of the office window and sighed. The grey February skies and the rain that seemed to have been falling for days showed no signs of easing up. She wished for winter to end and the world to start to come to life again.

Authors Note: Ive spent four chapters trying to build a world and I know in that time I've lost many of you. I think the world is built now, the board is set. This is the best chapter so far.

Just to a quick synopsis: It's 1994, ASHTON is a 20 year old college student in a small town. His best friend, GARRETT is a geek who is interested in esoteric knowledge and magic. At a party they met MARIE, 24 and JESS, 20. MARIE was looking for people she might recruit to her circle.

Ish murmured something, and Susie asked him to speak up a little.

“Sorry. Just, well, lost my Mum for six years, but I got her back. Obviously… Would you mind, if you do get to speak to Gwen’s Nan, that I log in as well? And we’ve already spoken to her, so it gives them a known face”

Powers
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

She just walked up to me. She must have seen that I was a guy out of place. I sure felt that way, that afternoon. My girlfriend at the time dragged me along to that “convention” – I forget the name of it. It was about spiritual stuff, like meditation, incense, crystals, whatever. She was at some stall talking with some woman about some kind of nonsense.

Authors note: I know I said I wasnt' going to post the rest of the story, but if you can't read it anywhere else here it is. Please consider giving me a review on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Mud-Creek-Sarah-Hillcrest-ebook/dp/B0H6JS7MW7 I know many of you can't and I totally understand, no need to buy it, just looking for reviews to try to get people to notice it.

Chapter Two
The Awakening

Chapter Eleven — The Ledger

Gwen smoothed the front of her own dress in the mirror — deep green, worn exactly once before and never for a reason this good — and caught Sam's eyes finding her in the glass instead of her own reflection.

"You look incredible," Sam said, turning from her own mirror to actually look, unhurried, appreciative, the particular look she'd only started giving Gwen in the last few weeks, like she still couldn't quite believe she was allowed to.

Wychwood Venice

After The Fitting

One

CHAPTER 8
In the way pf all holidays, of course, just as we had not just established a routine, but settled firmly into it, the clock ran out and we had to return to the UK. We saw Jenny and Lil off at the airport as we awaited our own flight, and I pondered the eternal Welsh question of how waterproof skin really was. Amina was quiet, which was always an unusual state for her, so I distracted her by dragging her off to grab something to eat, after the non-competition of choice between the tapas bar and a certain burger chain. Once we were settled on a couple of stools, I asked the usual penny-related question.

Chapter Nine — The Morning

Chapter Six: Signal

Morning in Hinokuni didn't rush—it unfolded.

Chapter Eight — What They Choose

Outside, the night had gone clear and cold and enormous.

They came down the hall's wide steps into it together, and the dinner closed behind them like a door underwater, all that candlelight and scrutiny and held breath suddenly muffled and far away, and Gwen stood on the bottom step in the freezing air and let herself, for one unguarded second, simply breathe.

"The car's down past the trees," she said, automatically, reaching for her keys.