Trauma
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

He woke up in hospital. He was puzzled at first. He had no idea why he should be there. The memory of the train crash only came later, after usual questions were asked. He remembered the girl who had been sitting beside him, and how she had fallen into his arms as the railcar left the tracks. They could feel that moment of weightlessness as gravity seemed to no longer apply, just before the impact. He had held her tight, and she had held him.

Have you ever had that dream where you’re sailing through the air, simply admiring the sky and the wispy strands of the clouds as you pass through them? But then, you fall. You can flap your arms and kick your feet, but to no avail. You reach terminal velocity and your heart races as the Earth gets closer and closer until you strike something like a car, Then, everything goes black, and you wake up.

I had to admit. Robert was right. It was a good idea to experiment alone. I will not describe what I did. It was familiar and yet completely different from anything I had done as a guy in that same bed. Shelly had had the wherewithal to have me buy bath products while we were out and I made use of them afterward. It was my first shower in this body and it too was eye opening.

Orphan Petal

July 2023 - Part 4

Shirley has changed and is doing things he would never have done a few months ago

This is a spin-off to the story "The Teenage Years of Alexander Horten"

What do you do when you look 7 years old, but you're actually a college student in your late teens? For Kathleen's entire life, she had fought against people treating her much younger than her actual age. Feeling obligated to grow up fast to show people she wasn't the age of her size, Kathleen never let her inner child out. Tired of fighting against the world, she explores the adult submissive world. What she finds, however, is an enjoyment of regression. Had she made a mistake? Would life be better if she just let people treat her how she looks, 7 years old?

Steven yearns for acceptance. His sister and friends want to put makeup on him. In exchange, his sister offers honorary sisterhood among her tight-knit group of friends. When they see how he looks, they want to dress him en femme and for this his sister promises full sisterhood if he accepts. However, another member of the group is more protective of this sisterhood than the others. Having justifiable concerns about allowing a boy to be part of that circle, she insists upon including an initiation to ensure that he is worthy of their sisterhood. What will Steven have to do?

Chapter 35

Tony went back to the studio to prepare for a band that was booked for this afternoon and evening. Alan, Helen, and I hugged before they left. I invited them for Christmas lunch and Helen told me that if it was as good as lunch today, she would be happy to come.

That left Josie and me, so I sent Becky off, and made us a cup of coffee each. We discussed the farm business, and the Josie told me that she had picked up her guitar again and was re-learning how to play.

---

---

---

---

by Andrea Lena DiMaggio

---

---

Can't close my eyes
They're wide awake
Every hair on my body
Has got a thing for this place

Oh, empty my heart
I've got to make room
For this feeling
It's so much bigger than me

When I met up with Chris at lunch, he had several scratches on his face and a large bruise on his forehead.
“What happened to you?”
“Matt., but don’t worry about it. Everything’s cool.”
“Great!” I exclaimed as I smiled. “So, we’re still going to ‘The Ruins’ for the race?”
“Yes, and we’re going to ride with Tony.”
“Is that safe?”
“Of course,” Chris replied, and I agreed with him.

When a mountain downpour forces Lydia and Thomas Thompson into a cavern's shadowy embrace, Lydia's touch upon ancient runic inscriptions awakens her latent power and identity. As they emerge to find the enigmatic town of Sælicbrook—a nexus of realms and magic—Lydia is transformed into her destiny as its guardian. But as the cosmic entity Nyarlathotep stirs, intent on unraveling the threads of reality, will Lydia's newfound power be enough to stand against an eldritch horror bent on devouring all? The battle for existence looms, and only the guardians of Sælicbrook can safeguard the world from the impending darkness. Will they triumph, or will everything they know be consumed by the infinite appetite of the Crawling Chaos?

Orphan Petal

July 2023 - Part 3

Shirley has changed and is doing things he would never have done a few months ago

This is a spin-off to the story "The Teenage Years of Alexander Horten"

A dreamless sleep awaited Natalie once she entered the mirror. And after all she had to endure the previous few days, she wanted nothing else. Short, easy, noninvasive, that was all she needed to be satisfied.

Here she was, finally, in the other timeline. The original timeline.

The real timeline.

I Am What I Am
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

I am what I am, and I am proud to be me. I may appear to be a woman, but I am not one. I love appearing as a woman. I love everything about it. I love the hair and the makeup and the nails and the clothes and the bags and the shoes … I love it all. But I am not a woman. I am what I am.