We joined the other pair after two hours, Alys having stepped in halfway through with fresh cups of tea and a plate of non-greasy nibbles, plus a hug and cheek kiss for two of us. The story was even worse than the bare bones Mike had given us. Lexie was calm, gentle in fact, throughout, but I was picking so many cues from her face and hands it was clear how hard she was having to work to keep that poise. There was one episode Neil recounted, involving a particular dress, that made me want to hit someone. Lexie’s jaw muscles worked a little as she spoke.

It was a couple of weeks before I managed to find the right moment to talk with Neil, and I could feel the nerves wrapping themselves into tangles as I did the usual brew in the bunkhouse before his arrival, turning the kettle on as I heard the burble of his big German bike. The weather was not great, so we had the place to ourselves, and I left him to get out of his voluminous waterproofs before opening a pack of back bacon and lighting the hob.

Chapter 2 - Awakening in Another Body

Previously on Victorian Detective Dilemma...

Luis Ramirez fell asleep reading a mysterious first edition of "The Chronicles of Lady Vivienne Ashworth," only to wake in Victorian London—in the body of Lady Vivienne Ashworth. Now trapped in 1887, he must navigate a world of corsets, calling cards, and murder most foul.

* * *

Destiny's Serendipity

Episode Seventeen: The Emissaries of Justice

A Thriller - Romance - Transgender Serial

From the Limoxian Universe

By Jo Dora Webster

~~~~~~~~

Ellie's Voice

© 2025 by Grace Ann Hansen

Chapter 9: A SPAMtastic Outing

Museum Mayhem and Mild Miracles

July in Austin, Minnesota, brought with it a kind of energy Ellie hadn’t felt in a while. The whole town buzzed about the opening of the new SPAM Museum downtown. For most people, it was just a quirky local event, a fun, family-friendly distraction in the middle of summer. But for Ellie, it meant something bigger: a test. A chance to be out in the world, dressed as herself, in the daylight, with her whole family by her side.

Chapter 2: “Trial by Engine Fire”

Uneasy Alliances

[Cape May, NJ]

“Mom, what are you doing?” asked Brittany.

Melissa was standing at the window of their apartment, peering into nowhere.

©2025 SammyC

Chapter 22

Willow spent a little while looking at her course notes and the subjects that would round out the year in Music Studies. The first half was called Remix, and the second half was Gamelan, with a group performance listed. She looked up the instruments in a Gamelan band, finding that most of them were percussion, and generally hit with a hammer. That, she thought, may be a hilarious way to end second year.

The End of the Cold
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

She knew what it was. The drug had that effect. One minute you are walking down the street and the next minute a sharp pain in the neck, you feel woozy, and then blackness. And then the recovery is like this was – just fuzzy images and slight dizziness and then you can focus.

It was the living room of the apartment she had rented right in the middle of the small French town. But she had been brought here – up from the street perhaps.