Austin, Texas
Early August, 2016
Tuesday, Afternoon

It always amused me, most people put on makeup to look prettier or more exotic, I put it on to make myself look more normal and drab.

At just over a thousand words, there wasn’t really all that much to the epilogue. In fact, if they wanted to, the reader could just stop at Chapter 13 and they wouldn’t miss much. Like most epilogues, it served mainly to round out the story rather than continue it.

The Ladies’ Tee
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

Is there anything more infuriating in golf than to have your playing partner set his tee on the ladies’ tee and then enter it as a valid score?

“It’s only a few yards shorter and the lie is better”. Or how about this one – “I am not going to drag my clubs over there when the trail ends here – this tee will do.”

I could protest as much as I liked, but he just gave his usual smile. It was always hard to stay mad when he did that, but it always irked me, especially when I followed the rules.

Alice, Ripper, and Carla look at the building Alice brought them to. Her ability to detect magically enhanced items was unique to her and she was never wrong.

“What you are looking for is in there.” Alice’s voice had a rough sound to it like she was sick or smoked a lot.

Ripper looks at Alice “are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m positive.” Alice looks at Ripper.

“So, how do you want to do this?” Ripper looks toward Carla for an answer.

“The direct approach.” Carla puts her helmet on and starts walking toward the building.

The Late Unpleasantness

Seven / Crooked Judges

A Story from THE ONE

Ariel Montine Strickland

How will Danielle rescue Susan from the treachery of the crooked judges?

Part 1 of An Aria for Cami is now available exclusively on Amazon Kindle, published as The Holly and the Ivy. The first few chapters remain posted here as a sampler. All proceeds from sales of this book on Amazon will benefit BCTS.

What if supernatural beings like Witches, Faeries, Demons, and their ilk are all real? Glen Evanston is about to be caught in their many traps in my new work in progress: Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem a Graphic Novel by Raine Monday

Gakkou No Kaiden
The Futakuchi-onna

This story was told to me by a student in classroom 1-B. According to her, some years ago a mysterious transfer student by the name of Yuna Kagesaki joined the school halfway through the school year. And by all accounts she was a true beauty to behold with long, straight black hair, porcelain skin, heart shaped face, almond shaped eyes and petite frame she became an object of desire for all her male classmates who flirted endlessly with her. Though with demure charm she rebuffed all their advances.

I have a wide grin on my face as I gaze at the other three women, all of whom are dressed identically to me in sparkly blue mini-dresses and high-heeled shoes (or, in my case, boots). The crowd is screaming with excitement, loud enough to bring my whole body out in goosebumps as we step forward onto the stage and raise our microphones to our mouths… before my phone rings, bringing me crashing back to reality. With a sigh, I pause the DVD and grab my phone from the coffee table, taking several deep breaths and trying to clear my throat before answering.