Three wishes from a Genie seemed like a dream come true. But a poor choice of words may leave a young man with more than what he bargained for.

I woke to the dawn chorus. The birds happy to have made it through another night were twice their normal volume. As I opened my eyes, I realised that I wasn’t in my bed. In my flat the sound of a motorbike or the squealing of the breaks on a bus normally woke me.

I saw through my blurry vision that it was still dark outside. I knew that it would be getting lighter by the minute. So, it must be about 6AM?
I could have reached for my phone, but I didn’t want to disturb Ray. That’s what I did last night I thought, I finally accepted his invitation to go home for a “coffee”.

Wonders of Weird, Manhattan, New York:
Carla walks into the store and the theme song to Ghostbusters starts playing. She really hated that song and found it really annoying. She heads toward the counter to see if Pixel was in.

James comes from the back and spots Carla standing at the counter. He knew he heard the Ghostbuster theme song played. A smile appears on his face “long time no see Carla. What brings you in here today?”

LOCKDOWN LUCY: JOHN’S STORY

This story is a sequel to “Lockdown Lucy.” This time, we see events from John’s perspective.

Included are another set of all new photos of Lucy; some from familiar scenes. This time, they’re how John saw things.

---

The hit sitcom returns with a “Christmas in July” holiday special! With the mob closing in, the last thing Terry expected was a nighttime visit from a magical elf and three snarky spirits. But he’ll need their help if he doesn’t want to stay stuck as a French maid for the rest of his life! (Featuring artwork by Fraylim!)

Tomes and Tiaras, Brooklyn, New York:
Carla pulls into the parking lot of Tomes and Tiaras. She had questions about the servant of Nyx she encountered the other night and if there was one person who could give her answers, it was Iris. She knew Iris has been around for a very long time. There were only a handful of people who knew what Iris truly was.

Constant in All Other Things 2: Chapter Five, Part A
by
Fakeminsk (fakeminsk@gmail.com)

“Friendship is constant in all other things
Save in the office and affairs of love:
Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues;
Let every eye negotiate for itself
And trust no agent.”
Much Ado About Nothing

(Another chapter in under a decade? Well, not quite: half a chapter, trying out shorter but more frequent releases. More detailed author's notes at the end.)

Cover Story

A Short Story   Times Gone By

By Maryanne Peters

Carol at Age Fifteen:
Carol looks at the four needles she managed to get from a friend that sold drugs. She was tired of waiting until she was sixteen years old to have the surgery to get her vagina. She heard what these drugs could do and wanted to be a true girl now.

She puts two of the needles into her left arm and puts the other two needles into her breasts. One needle per breast. She was glad she had the house to herself because otherwise, she would have to wait until everyone was asleep.

Heading to SWAT Headquarters:
Robyn rides down the highway as she heads to work on her motorcycle. Her ribs were doing better, but she still couldn’t go out in the field, until she was fully healed. Unlike her other sisters, she didn’t have a bodyguard, guarding her. Her mothers could track her motorcycle and she could call on the LAPD for help.

Fit For Life Fitness Center:
“Higher ladies.” Sandy looks at everyone in her exercise class.

Some of the women were new and some were ones that have been taking her class for a while. She notices a light brown hair teenage girl that was new to her class. She was a little awkward in her movements. It was like the girl didn’t know her own body.
Sandy continues to watch the girl until her class is over. She walks over to the girl “I noticed you were having some difficulties. Is everything okay?”