Just for once I had managed to get away from the steel mill at 4. It was Friday after all. Coming home tired after a very bad day and opening the door I surprised my 16 year old son getting ready to go out. I was appalled! He was wearing a calf-length dress, pumps with a 2 inch heel, a necklace and ear-rings that had belonged to my departed and sorely missed wife, red lipstick and a little rouge. Where did I go wrong? I had tried to be a good parent but it hadn’t been easy since my wife passed away four years ago.

It took a little convincing. Not that Matt wasn't open to the idea. Just that he was wary. It seemed too good an opportunity... and seemingly out of nowhere.

“So let me get this straight...” he asked ….yet again. “....you're leaving for your Asian tour....”

“...with the cast of Thornbirds. Yeah. A press blitz. We've already terrorized North America, Europe and bits of North Africa. So yeah... we're off to blitz Asia next week.”

“And you want me to come along as ...staff photographer?”

"The Mythology of a World"
((warning: this is semi-spoilerish for the 'separate' stories that will follow but not really more so then the tags))

Chapter 4

Little Shadow

Mrs. Carson looked at the Egg that from time to time started to shake from the movement within. Then there appeared a small crack in the shell of the egg. Tennyo one of the last years freshman of the academy that was brought in together with the rest of team Kimba got excited and questioned.

"Oh my god is that a crack in the eggs shell?"

The long-awaited moment arrives

 
Julina of Blackstone
Her Chronicles, Book 2

by Julia Phillips

066 – The Arrival

“I could not ask you… I am too damaged. I have never... Never even had a friend, really. I do not deal with people well. The therapists tell me I will learn but I have never managed to reach out.”

“I think I have to contradict you on that one Kadijah. You reached out to me, just now.” He reached over to touch my forehead with the inside of his wrist and I flinched away for a moment before allowing it.

“You’ve warmed up enough to sit in front of the fire.” He reached over and popped the lever to drain the tub and grabbed a huge fluffy towel.

Mercy Chapter 10

Talia rushed into Faith’s room and held her tight.

“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay.” she said.

“Ta...Ta ... Talia?”

“I got you, hon. It’s okay.”

“Talia I ... had this dream ...”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Huh? How?”

“Hon, because of our friendship, you ... broadcasted to me. That’s how I knew you were in trouble.”

“Why would I dream of ... that?”

“Well, if I were to make a guess, I’d say it’s because you’re about to start your period. Same thing happens to me just before my period starts.”

The Ambassador’s Wife.

by

Angharad.

Our pleasant dinner had degenerated into a loud fight between my mermaid sister & our mom; Anee yelling, “How can you keep harping about how awful land people are if you never even met one?!”

Mom stated flatly: “I know all I need to about them.”

“You think you do, but Daddy liked humans. And he had experiences with them, not just a bunch of ignorant bigotry!”

“I've had dealings with humans before.”

“When? When was this?! I've heard all your stories and you never mentioned-”

“I prefer not to discuss it.”

"Now there's a surprise! 'Ewww, it's unpleasant! Let's not discuss it!'" mocked Anemone. She kept goading Mom, relentlessly, stopping just short of calling her a goddamn liar: “No Mom, I wanna hear this! Tell us! Tell us about your encounter with the horrible evil hewwww-mons-”

“I FELL IN LOVE WITH ONE!” roared the Queen, slamming her fists down on the table.

She froze there, stunned; like she'd just blurted out a secret she'd intended to take to the grave with her. Then she sighed, composed herself + told us her story...

“Of course it doesn’t… it shouldn’t. You left a part of yourself in that godforsaken place… same as I did.”

He scrubbed his palm over a bristly scalp, leaving no noticeable trace. “That shit never goes away elltee… You already know that. The physical discomfort reminds you of the horror show in your mind…” he trailed off into silence, staring at the floor while he wrestled with his own demons.

“You question yourself every time you step on your stump… even if it doesn’t hurt right then you always ask yourself just how you managed to fuck up that badly…”

We drove deep into the city. Through neighborhoods that I was certain Katherine had never seen, yet I recalled Dennis talking about their early days 'on the streets' back east before her discovery, and I knew she would find them all too familiar. Emile grew up here, and somehow found himself part of Katherine's world. It did not surprise me that he knew these streets well.

As we were driving, I took the opportunity to grill Matt.

“So Tiny Tim. What's with the crutches?”

A silly drabble inspired by this month's challenge