Orphan Petal

August 2023 - Part 2

Shirley must decide if he is brave enough to be like the girl in his dreams

Masks XXVII: Tales Old and New

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

The domestic bliss of the Peltior household was disturbed by a muffled exclamation from the kitchen.

"You all right in there?" asked Michelle, concerned, from their couch in the living room.

"I broke another garlic press," said Vic, sourly.

"It's all those fingertip pushups," said Michelle, laughing. "I've shown you how to smack the flat of a knife blade to crush garlic."

"Yeah, but the last time I tried that I... well, let's just say I used too much focus."

I felt incredibly self conscious as he held my hand and guided me through the crowd. I didn't need to look back at the group to know that they must have been watching us closely.

I glanced over at all the different faces that now filled the beach. This spot used to be so empty. Now there were so many people having the time of their lives, some were even already passed out.

The few dozen words in the summary part of the email from ‘Sam’ was enough to turn Sergei’s world upside down a few dozen times.

“I think he sought his bride-to-be; and awaited her return after her day was over. I believe.”

Back At The House:
Jasmine arrives home and carries her backpack upstairs to her bedroom. She saw her grandmother’s pickup in the driveway and noticed that the shotgun was missing from the mounting rack. She grabs her Glock and quietly walks back downstairs. As she entered the kitchen, she noticed two teacups and the shotgun in the kitchen.

A Family Mystery
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

I found this picture in the attic just before Grandma died. She wanted me to bring down some photos of her in her youth, but this one seemed much older. She recognized it immediately.

“That is my grandmother’s brother,” she said. “I know it is hard to believe, but that pretty young thing is a young man.”

I needed to know more. I was deeply fascinated by the image even without hearing about who it was.

Orphan Petal

August 2023 - Part 1

Shirley must decide if he is brave enough to be like the girl in his dreams

Occulta puella

To those who helped I give my blessing.
To the rest, may you one day receive what you deserve,
On my deathbed, alone as always,

Occulta puella. [Hidden Girl]

Silver Bell Wish 2
by Peregrine

Copyright © 2023 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

For the first time since moving in with Jack, Eddie woke to the sound of an alarm. Having always been a creature of habit he’d usually have Jack’s suit laid out for the day, showered, and dressed himself. He’d be starting breakfast in the kitchen, but that morning his head was pounding. Veronica was right. He did in fact like the wine better than beer, but he didn’t like the dry mouth, the sick feeling, and everything else that went with it the next day.

John insisted on telling Will and the rest of the crew which abruptly halted any plans I'd had of going out the next day.

"Could this have anything to do with her abilities?" Robert asked as we discussed the situation the next morning in the medbay.

"It's the most likely culprit." John agreed "Either way, I want to get it removed quickly before it spreads to more problematic sections of the brain".

Chapter 2

Next morning, Sally met with the paramedics when they arrived for work.

“Thanks for seeing me, gentlemen. Can you tell me about the time you attended Fred Williams?”

“It was a pretty normal visit. The guy had died, the attending nurse had called it in when she found him. He was on the floor, on his front. He had vomited and is bladder had emptied.”

“Vomited? That wasn’t in the official report. Was it where he was found, or was it in other places in his home?”

We departed from the station and set a course to the contested zone. After the night of drinking, everyone was tired. I offered to stand watch on the bridge. Gabe invited himself to join me on the bridge. It would make the watch easier on me with someone to talk to.

I showed him to the bridge while the rest of the crew settled in their quarters. I sat in the captain's chair and took command of Shadow Stalker. Gabe grilled me, "How did some greenhorns get roped into running a spec ops mission?"

This one started as an idea for a longer story, but the team was so good they solved the case before it went too far. It wrapped up just in time for Christmas.
Marianne

Chapter 1

The month long winter break flew by. Mom spent most of the break trying to make up for lost mother-daughter time with me. Faith ran interference a few times to get me out of it but I really didn’t mind spending more time with Mom. Dad was not quite distant. We still played chess in the evening every now and then. He loved playing against me. And I could still beat him occasionally.

Marc visited a couple weekends and got along great with my parents. He could not sleep over though.

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?

We entered the throne room, and I had Spire show me what was going on outside the station. We saw Queen’s Rage firing on three ships that had come into the system. “Spire, get me in contact with Admiral Stook.” A separate screen flashed up showing Admiral Stook in the command chair.

“Admiral, what is going on out there?” I asked.