"Wait there's really intelligent life down there" I asked still in shock over what I'd just heard.

"It would seem so" Will affirmed.

"But he hasn't seen any yet? Just their homes?" I followed up.

He nodded.

"Could they be extinct?" I asked.

"Possibly. Or they could have simply migrated somewhere else on the planet. We can't possibly know now?" Will answered.

All Souls Requiem
Sequel to
Halloween Romance
The Conclusion of the First Arc of the Heather Delilah Soeksen

Summary: When I am writing one story and another story idea starts bubbling up in my head, it is not always a peaceful co-existence or handoff. Sometimes, the characters from the two different stories try to dominate my thoughts. The winner gets me to finish their story first. This is the tale of when Amanda, from my story, True Self Syndrome, started to fight for my attention, while I was still working on a story called, Teacher's Recommendation (note that story is still unfinished and unposted). Marla and Elizabeth from that story confront Amanda.

Chapter 1

I’ve heard it said that Bob Dylan intended his ‘The Times, They Are A’ Changing’ to be a protest song. The first version I remember hearing was sung by Simon and Garfunkel, and it sounded more like a ‘progress’ song, when sung without the nasal whine. The first verse that relates to the water rising until you have to swim to survive must be a metaphor for the reality of growing up and making your own way in life.

What Would You Do?
Part Two
A Cerridwen Solo Special

A few seconds later another stagehand a brunette woman with longish hair came beside me and ushered me from the front stage to the back area. She guided me down a long, dark hallway that was lined with doors. I could not tell the doors apart, one looked very much like the other. Finally we reached a room, she pushed the iron gray door handle down and the door flew open. She then reached one arm inside and flipped a light switch.

Lance sees a makeover offer at a costume shop that he couldn't pass up. Unfortunately, he didn't have the money to pay for it, but the store owner was willing to make a deal.

Lisa and Blake take a momentous step forward in their new lives together and make definite wedding plans. Lisa bonds ever more closely to her girlfriends at the chemise party. Josephine's surprise sends Lisa into seventh heaven.

The five of us were seated in a lounge area at headquarters. Will who'd ridden there with us at 6am that morning was now nowhere to be found.

We'd left with nothing but our smartphones since they had assured us that everything would be provided.

I stared outside the window at the grounds below. It was still early in the morning but many people were already hard at work.

As I said at the beginning of Chapter One, I have to thank Jill and Eric for their input into this story. I hope that I achieved something we can all be proud of.
Marianne

Chapter 39

The upshot of the whole thing was, as usual, a lift in sales of all the albums that Josie had been on, even the forgotten one she did with the girl group in L.A. I got Allan to put all my part of those sales into a trust fund for the twins, which also took the proceeds of the sale of their family home, as well as their shares of the estate.

=^..^=

She told me to relax and tell her exactly what had happened as she finished hooking me up to the black box that I'm sure I'd seen in movies.

But of course I couldn't relax. Earlier that night, I had killed someone.

I took a deep breath before continuing,

"I.. I was right outside the house" My eyes darted around the room. There was one other man inside the room and if I trusted my memory, two more outside.

All Changes yet Remains the Same

I’m Hermione Clearwater and I’m about nineteen maybe twenty. I have an IQ that’s off the scale and a drop dead gorgeous body most women with give all they have to possess and all men would give even more to possess my body too, which can be seriously inconvenient.

But what could I really do? If I told mum, their relationship would almost surely end. Great for them probably, bad for Laura and Lucas.

If I told dad that I knew and tell him to stop? Maybe he agrees and stops but her relationship with her family almost certainly gets strained beyond repair. He needed to keep seeing her as his little girl and this would ruin that.

"Something on your mind pumpkin?" He asked me.

Do I Pass?

I gave a little spin as I had seen my mother and sisters do and said "Do I pass inspection?"

Chapter 38

By the time we got near Christmas, again, there had been another shift in focus. Ali had been invited to apply for the Juilliard School in New York, a singular honor for one so young. She, however, wanted none of it. In the middle of the year, she would have finished high school and was certain that if Wayne County was good enough for her Aunty Pet, it was good enough for her.

Cinderfella

A Christmas Pantomime…..

For the whimsical, for the open minded, for fun and festive times.

Sydney was not a happy boy, He was 17, and alone at home where his Stepmother and Stepsisters had left him to clean up after their whirlwind of preparations for the Princess’s Grande Yule Ball. He of course didn’t get to go, mostly as the world seemed to ignore his existence at his stepmother’s behest.

Chapter 37

As we moved through the year, we played our concerts, did a couple of spots at the vet shows and looked closely at the music list we had been given. It was the first year that I had not been involved directly in a single album.

"dinner with your family?? like me you and your parents"

I read the text that had just arrived from Murphy. I was still riding the high of what had just happened. I had made a plan and executed it to perfection.

And as much as I hated to admit it, that was very much unlike me. See I never really made plans. I didn't think things through. I certainly never had backup plans for my backup plans like I'd just done.

"And Lucas. Are you busy? I can just tell my dad that you're busy" I texted back careful not to deviate too much from how she typed in previous messages.

As I thought more about it, I actually started to seriously consider it.

On one hand, if I wanted to stop the bullying once and for all, this was a sure fire way. As a former football star, I knew really well that no one dared mess with our girls.

Also this girl was a bit of a wallflower desperately in need of friends. This would give her more than she knew what to do with.

See the thing to know about me, the one and only Eddie Russo is that I don't back down from a fight. I've never cared about picking fights I can win. 5 versus 1? Bring it. No one makes Eddie their bitch. Certainly not some hormone fueled teenager.

"Relax Murphy, I come in peace" Noah said as he approached our table. Turning to me, he added "You got me in a lot of shit yesterday"

"You only have yourself to blame" I replied snarkly.

"You're real mouthy knowing you boyfriend is going to protect you" he laughed at his statement which infuriated me.

Summary: A Mom reflecting on her little girl growing up.

Why did I know that? Don't panic. I had to figure this out. I had never been the same person twice and certainly not two days in a row.

My mind darted to her locker code. 14,22,7. I didn't just remember it from yesterday, I remembered it from the start of the school year.

My mind darted from one memory to another before being pulled to focus on the heavy footsteps rapidly approaching my door. A moment later, the door opened with her father peaking through. He looked worried for a moment but his expression slowly dissipated into a neutral one.