It seems strange, even if it’s true, that the ends of our adult lives shall precede their beginnings.

The tragedy of it was it didn’t matter what Nixxi wanted to be, for she already was a girl and she had been since just after conception.

Debriefings 25

Chapter 5

It came as no surprise to anyone when Edmondo eventually died. He had not enjoyed his last few months, being trapped in a body he could not control. I could see his anger in his eyes and tried to talk to him about good things to keep him happier.

Promotional Advantage
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

John Dabney and I were army through and through. We had served three years each out of OCS. Both of us had chosen careers in logistics, but I found myself in a dead-end posting in personnel records in a well-known garrison in Kentucky. John was in the same camp but in another building complex working on engineering support.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

Chapter 3.6

We weren’t quite certain what the effect of Marc being present would have, so both he and Paula were asked to remain out of sight.

We started our trip down the wall of the pit. On our way down, my husband, ever the engineer, examined the walls. “These were molten once. It's like they were super-heated, then cooled into an alloy.”

“Do you think Kari did it?” Daddy asked.

Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

--

Following her cousin down the stairs, Erica reached the bottom and looked out into the living room to see her aunt talking with April; Cook and Franchesca listening from the couch while Fredrick stood by the dining room entryway impassively. She smiled at the sight of April and her aunt, the two talking freely and seeming to enjoy each other's company.

Aunt Katherine
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My mother’s aunt Katherine had always hated men. She had never married, and that had served her well. She thought that her sister had married badly – to a man of course. The wealth that they had inherited was frittered away by my grandparents, where she had kept hers and multiplied it many times.

“No man will ever get his hands on my money,” she would say. And she meant it.

In my eyes the town looked as miserable as it had done 25 years before when I left it. I suppose it was OK if you had a thing for Midwest small towns. A long way from any sizeable city it was the commercial center for a wide swathe of the countryside. Not that the aforementioned countryside was particularly densely populated. I passed a small mall when entering the town. That was new. However, the main reason for the existence of the town was The Mill. Most of the working population worked for the mill directly or indirectly. The fact that I arrived on a cold and windy December day didn’t matter. I couldn’t have hated South Odom any more anyway.

“You have the right to remain silent”
I nodded my head; at least I think I did…I was pretty sure I was 3-squared sheets to the wind.
“Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
I had a pending court date for a speeding ticket…for going five miles over the speed limit out in the middle of nowhere.
“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
Yeah…in twenty days or so…

Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

--

Reaching the stairs and ascending, Erica recalled the first time she'd done so, scared and alone. Now as she went up them, she felt only the fear, this time that Faith was beyond reach. That of all the people she'd helped over the years, the one who needed it the most would be the one who she could help the least. Slowly walking down the all too familiar hallway, she reached the door to their once shared room. Knocking gently, she waited.

Light And Shadow (Part 8 of 8)

by Erisian

Chapter 37 - Citadel

Krux led me through hospital corridors full of a mix of demons, devils, and souls - some were patients, some staff, and all very organized. Other than the eclectic collection of body-types, skin tones, and random number of limbs, the place had that same frenetic-yet-focused feel of most busy hospitals I’d been in. Bureaucracy blended with function all mixed together as white lab coats, suits and ties, and professional skirts.

I stood out like a sore thumb or an outcast from one of those medieval historical re-enactment groups as I pushed past them all. The armored breastplate and feathered kilt felt all the more primitive as compared to the security stationed at the glass doors which exited to a landing platform. They stood there complete with modern body armor and elegant-yet-nasty rifle-sized blasters packing a punch orders of magnitude higher than the agent’s pistol. While the demons among them only had five to six souls suffering at their cores, their equipment likely made up for the lack of raw potential and then some.

Michelle spent most of the week online, looking at things she would need for her wedding. She hadn't even set a date yet. She had called Suzi, and told her the news. Sam could hear Suzi screaming over the phone. Typical women he thought, he smiled at the idea that Michelle was just a "typical women". She really was getting there now.

When the rapid chat and laughs had ended, Michelle put her phone down and helped Sam put on his coat. She kissed him before he left for work, and stared lovingly into his eyes.

"I love you Sam, I'm going to be the best wife ever!"

[Hayley and Maxine had been talking about who would take over from Maxine should she get run over by the proverbial bus]

"Yes, I am serious. You asked me what would happen if I was run over by a bus… Well with some training, the answer could be you."

“You make it sound like an old advert for the National Lottery?”

Chapter 8

For the first few minutes of the drive Ashley remained relatively quiet as she stared out of the window, pretty nervous about being seen and recognised despite how good she looked. After Jessy’s pep talk she realised it was all just in her head and that she should be proud of who she was. That she shouldn’t fear people getting to know the real her, but it was a task that was easier said than done.

Melody Davis had grown up like all other girls in the Queendom. She was a little disappointed when they were separated from the boys
in her early teens. She understood that her teachers told her boys brains could not handle much more than an elementary level of education.

Chapter 3

They finally chose one of the male orderlies to take me out for a meal to get me through the initial fright of being out as a woman. I think that I must have done well as I was looked at with a few admiring eyes and the waiter pulled out my chair and fussed around me as if I was royalty.

Confronting
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

The story that I am telling is set in the year 2001 which is the year that my mother died, but it really starts much earlier than that, in the year 1969, which was the year before I was born. Earlier that year my mother had a miscarriage. My sister never lasted too much beyond conception, but my mother mourned her until the day she died.