A wish for Joy

The old man fingered the ring, then summoned the genie.

“What is thy wish?” the genie asked.

“I’ve come to realize I never gave happiness to anybody. So my wish is that for whatever time I have left, I would be a person who makes others smile when I come into a room. To be a source of happiness wherever I go. “

“Granted”

Some time later, in a hospital across town, a baby is presented to her parents.

They say “Let’s call her ... Joy ...”

End?

Summer with Em - Chapter 25

By Julie D Cole

I burst into tears and ran to the nearest bathroom across the entrance foyer. It didn’t matter that it was the female toilet I went into. I was past caring if anybody complained and who cares anyway. I seemed to be more and more emotional these days that coincided with arriving in Manchester.

Shy and precocious, Martin, enrolls in graduate school in mathematics, never having had a girlfriend. With the encouragement of his parents, he stays with his mom's good friend Miriam, who provides a safe environment within which Martin explores his sexuality. Along the way he finds love and makes a major mathematical advance that assures his fame and fortune.

We argued all the time at weekends, usually starting along the lines of me shouting, “He’s my son.”
Countered calmly by, “No. She’s our daughter.”

Misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia are all born out of self perceived inadequacy and fear.

Stuck in a Rut.
By Rosalie Redd

Casey Church is a normal 13 year old girl, But in a world where there hasn’t been a girl born in over 100 years, Casey adjusts to her new life as a girl. Can Casey cope with everything that comes with being a girl, or will others conspire to ruin her life?

Chapter 43

Everything you know about yourself is wrong....

 
Introduction: This story is the third, the penultimate, in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around” and “Marti and the Doppelganger”. The latter left many unanswered questions. Some of those will be answered, some probably not. There are many references to previous stories in the series. If you are confused by some of them, just put it off to my senility. The Cynthia Chronicles takes place in a universe very similar to ours. Unfortunately, it might be too similar.

For any who read “Myrna and the Genetic Disaster”, this is the same story, only with the political rantings and scientific explanations removed. There may also have been a few edits and additions.

This is the fifth part of ten.

The girls from summer camp are going to get together at Rhonda’s home in Chico, California. The subject comes up about Wanda and Tamesha perhaps wanting some private time. It is not a problem.

The story begins with an off-chance visit to a female friend, now a widow, and what followed.

This is the story of the country's first transsexual president, and her struggle to be accepted by her people. It wasn't something she sought out, but now that she was in the White House, she had to do her best for the country, though it was hard going when one was transgender, not to mention a transsexual, and many were still not accepting even if it was the middle of the 21st century already.

LIFELINE LEAPFROG
As discussed following the first two parts, I am slicing away a chunk of the early part of the book to avoid distress. There is a huge story I want to write, but it has to start somewhere, and that place involves Charlie Cooper. This offering bypasses that with a summary, and then leads into the story at a later date.

I intend to include a fuller beginning when I publish commercially, but just not here, not now.

Anyone familiar with my work will know exactly what Cooper is, and how he likes to spend his quality personal time. I left Billy about to meet him and Don, and I need not spell out what happens over the next three years of care home life. A summary:

Much abuse. Much of what you read in ‘Job’ and ‘New Beat’. Two escape attempts by Billy, in both of which they meet a friendly police sergeant. I have described the bars on the windows. Billy marks his shirt cuff with the width of the bolt, and when he is awaiting return from the police station again, he finds he is left in a storeroom for once, rather than a cell: there is a prison visitor inspection in full flow, and Sgt Friendly does NOT want him seen or spoken to. There is a lost/stolen bicycle in the room awaiting disposal. It has a saddle bag, and a flat cycle spanner slips into his underpants after a quick check against his shirt cuff…

Now read on.

 

 
"Guys!” Ron complained.
Con and I stopped again to wait for her to catch up.
"Thought you were a hotshot racer?” Con grinned.
"I've not ridden one of these clunkers for years.”

Once Clair’s car arrives at the garage, Raven gets to work on it. She has the old water pump out and sitting on her work cart. The new one hasn’t arrived yet, so she goes to the back storage room and starts looking for the belt and hoses. She knew they had them in stock because she just did the weekly stock order.