Beware of Darkness

I woke up to the sound of thunder. It was the coast: sometimes the days were sunny with blue skies and other times it was a low level storm. The light through my window was grey and moody.
Unlike how I felt. I got up from the bed, grabbed my robe and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I would try my best to look as good as I could with the limited summer wardrobe I brought with me. Since it was early, I could get a good shower before all the hot water was taken by my sisters.

Diversity
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

“You have to be either gay or black to get ahead in this organization.” Luther drank deeply from his tall glass of beer. “I’m black, so you lose.”

I could only shake my head, but in agreement. But we were here to celebrate his elevation to a named manager on one of the key funds established by our employer. That meant not only the status but a share of the return based management fee.

Safe and Sound

Life was good, my past was all sorted out and behind me, I was in a relationship with a wonderful person, and settled in my new life with what promised to be a successful little business, what could go wrong?

“You never know where life is going to take you.” my mother always used to say, and she could not have been more correct. My life has turned upside down

“You never know where life is going to take you.” my mother always used to say, and now it had definitely taken me in a new direction.

Head Above Water

I had gone camping once before that day.
It was in the backyard in a medium-size pink tent with my sister. We made it through the night and then went inside for lucky charms and Saturday morning cartoons.

Having a tent was something I wished I had that night as I woke up with bugs of every shape and size crawling all over me—including a water bug that’s had no issues with sitting on my face.

The heat was record-breaking. Most of the businesses in town were well equipped for hot weather, but the air conditioners at the high school couldn’t keep up and it was 80 ͦ in the coolest part of the school. Most of the girls were coping pretty well, as skirts and dresses got shorter and thinner. But the dress code proscribed the wearing of shorts, so the boys suffered in long pants while the girls managed to get a cool breeze on their nether regions.

8 My Favorite Mistake

Ashe's journey reaches its conclusion.

Ash's unique experiences continue to change everything.

Ash's life carries on in spite of the strange goings on.

Ash "the Flash" Johnson was an average kid. Went to school, played football, wanted to get into a career writing webcomics and teaching history eventually. His daily routine consisted of getting up, getting dressed going to school, and going home. He was so entrenched in his routine that there were some things he simply didn't notice.

Mark Thomas, now fourteen years old, had been railroaded by his parents since the age of nine to end up going before a Juvenile Judge twice a year, every six months, and spent exactly two months in juvenile detention. Why? So his parents could go on vacation without having to pay someone to watch Mark at home. Their taxes were still paying someone to watch Mark, but the little they had to pay, thanks to creative bookkeeping, was more than worth it to them. But Mark's parents didn't count on a Judge they had yet to put in their pockets. A Judge, who by good fortune, and loyal people, found out what Mark's parents were doing and turned the tables on them. Judge Ruth Walinkiewicz was about to surprise the parents of one Mark Thomas, helping Mark in the process, if only she could get him to trust someone again.

Edit Note: I did not intend to bump this story, only to add an Aunt Jane Universe suggested by another reader. Also, due to my ignorance at the time this story was posted, boo-boos were made in HTML formatting, as were some writing opposes. Plus, I separated those speaking so it became clearer who was speaking and when.

IV. Light In Your Eyes

III. All I Wanna Do
I woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee. We may have been at the beach, but the traditional southern breakfast was still the norm.
“We’re all going to the beach,” Sia told me as I walked out of my room.
“Swell,” I replied as Sia’s friend, Kat, ran past the both us to one of the bathrooms.
“You are coming, right?”
I sort of shrugged my shoulders and nodded in reply and then walked to the dining area.
“Where’s dad?” I asked as Mom stacked several pieces of bacon and a biscuit onto a plate for me.

 
Introduction: This story is the fourth and final story in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around”, “Marti and the Doppelganger”, and Marti and the Doppelganger – a Follow Up”. Several of the stories in the Cynthia Chronicles left some unanswered questions. In “Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling” two of the antagonists are regressed to childhood. Now we will learn what happened to them. In “Randi and the College Professor” Randi and Frank Deere adopt Betty, a bit of a rogue witch. Betty was regressed to early childhood, but she kept her powers. As it turns out, Betty was a real blessing. We also learn a bit more about Cindy’s first born who is the first new wizard in probably close to a thousand years. Then there is a question that has been floated about. What about death?

Bobbie’s professional golf career is over and now she has a four-year old daughter and a newborn. Cindy and Don are not only raising their firs born, but have also officially adopted Martin and Joann who are only a few months older than their first born. Things are getting interesting.

 
Introduction: This story is the third, the penultimate, in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around” and “Marti and the Doppelganger”. The latter left many unanswered questions. Some of those will be answered, some probably not. There are many references to previous stories in the series. If you are confused by some of them, just put it off to my senility. The Cynthia Chronicles takes place in a universe very similar to ours. Unfortunately, it might be too similar.

For any who read “Myrna and the Genetic Disaster”, this is the same story, only with the political rantings and scientific explanations removed. There may also have been a few edits and additions.

This is the tenth part of ten. I had considered reorganizing the last few chapters of the story as there is quite a bit of skipping around and going back and forth in time. I decided the heck with it and left them as they were.

We will see how things go with Tammie and Wanda. Their relationship is one made in heaven. At least some would find that metaphor appropriate. Sydney and Marshall Hendricks find love rather quickly. We will learn a lot more about them in the next story.

 
Introduction: This story is the third, the penultimate, in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around” and “Marti and the Doppelganger”. The latter left many unanswered questions. Some of those will be answered, some probably not. There are many references to previous stories in the series. If you are confused by some of them, just put it off to my senility. The Cynthia Chronicles takes place in a universe very similar to ours. Unfortunately, it might be too similar.

For any who read “Myrna and the Genetic Disaster”, this is the same story, only with the political rantings and scientific explanations removed. There may also have been a few edits and additions.

This is the eighth part of ten or maybe eleven. I had considered reorganizing the last few chapters of the story as there is quite a bit of skipping around and going back and forth in time. I decided the heck with it and left them as they were.

The girls take a short road trip to Chico, California to visit Rhonda and her family. There is a lot of bonding.