I had taken the advice of a co-worker and made an appointment at a new salon in town for a haircut. My old male barber had retired, looking for other barbers in the yellow pages proved to be an effort in futility.

Realistically, I don’t think old time barbers even exist anymore. I had almost decided to settle on one of the chains for their special, even at $ 12.88 the price seemed ridiculous when I used to get a haircut for seven dollars at my old barbers. I know, I sound like a born cheap stake.

I wished with all my heart that I had been able to help him more, when he was younger. When it might have made a difference. But the past, as I knew only too well, could not be repaired.

It could only be transcended.

Things were going well in Dublin, but I now needed to move to London. From there I could apply at the Embassy for a passport with greater leeway as to who could countersign the paperwork. We told Sameed that we would be quitting at the end of the week and he was most disconsolate. He persuaded us to do one more week and we were happy to oblige him. He also gave us a reference in Arabic in the event that we wanted to look for work in any of the Lebanese restaurants or Arabic-themed clubs there.

Murder
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Have you heard it said that a friend is somebody who will help you move house, but a best friend is somebody who will help you move a body? That is the kind of friend my brother Dan was to Byron Marker. And I was as close to Dan as a sister could be, which was how I got to be included in their plan.

Alco’s Self Storage:
“Man, I am so sore from moving all those heavy boxes and that piano.” Rustie looks at Ivy as he sweeps up the last of the trash in the second locker.

Rustie didn’t know that when someone bought a storage locker, they had to throw away all the trash in the locker as well. It was a good thing the storage unit manager had a wheel barrel they could use to haul all the trash to the dumpster.

“YOU A GEEZER, OR WHAT?”

Volume control wasn’t his strong suit, evidently. Thankfully, the bus was already there, so I stepped on as if he hadn’t spoken, eructated, puked, whatever. Good start to the day.

Usual start to the day.

The car wildly veered off the road and into the woods. I could not believe that the car had entered the path used to cross the creek, so no trees were there for us to smash into. However, there was the creek to consider, and the small car went over the edge and landed in the water with the sound of twisting metal and screams from the three of us as we came to a grinding stop.

As fall approached, I knew my flower was not going to last. Sakura and I decided we were going to leave, and we told the others our goodbyes. Nobody had any problem at all with it. I suspect the original five had mostly not been born here, but migrated from who knows where, so they understood our desire to go see other places.

Part Eleven by Iona Laing.

Chapter Thirty-one.

System Quest: Ultimate Love

A Transgender LitRPG Coming of Age Romance

Princess Rebirth into a Goddess' World

By Jo Dora Webster

Will Jamie, reborn as Lyria, overcome all the quests to make her dying wish come true?

Dawn and Diana – Our New Life – Part 4

By Kathi Jo Daniels

Chapter Seven: Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 25, 2004

Diana and I woke up early, showered, and dressed. Diana chose a pink surplice floral dress and loafers. I put on slacks, a long-sleeved shirt, and loafers.

I retrieved the daily paper, started the coffee pot, and began fixing brunch. I sliced the leftover bread from last night to make French Toast, bacon, and eggs.

Chapter 7: Mirror Image, Separate Minds

Being an identical twin wasn’t always the idyllic bonding experience that everyone else seemed to romanticize. For Danielle, it came with a tangled web of complexities, now more than ever. Though she and Tessa were physically indistinguishable—mirror images in the most literal sense—the inner workings of their minds were distinctly their own. Those subtle differences in thoughts and feelings ran deeper than they once appeared, creating a rift that often felt insurmountable.

As Logan adapts to his new role as a cheerleading flyer, he must navigate a world that suddenly feels vastly more imposing from his altered perspective. Intensive training for his featured position at homecoming forces him to confront new vulnerabilities as hallways become obstacle courses and once-manageable social interactions take on heightened complexity. Dr. Gupta's clinical oversight pushes his immersion into the Elle identity to new depths, leaving him increasingly trapped in a performance that's becoming disturbingly second nature.