tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78995705296064005292024-03-13T10:11:26.574-07:00Stories Inc.Welcome to my virtual den, please wipe your feet and leave reality at the door. You're in the realm of stories now...Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-68381176523048325052012-03-04T12:54:00.001-08:002012-03-04T12:57:56.073-08:00Spring Haiku<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><><><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span> </>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black;"> Wind seeps through spring leaves</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> humming songs of bygone days</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> so far south from here</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z278/Tinker1111/haiku.gif"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Source</span></a></td></tr>
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</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's haiku... <em>"Gesundheit!" </em>No, a haiku, a poetry genre from 17th century Japan comprised of three lines and 17 syllables (5 in the first line, 7 in the second and 5 again in the third). Traditional haiku's are mostly about nature, but present day western haiku's can be about pretty much everything and anything. It's really fun, try it!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickeninsult.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickeninsult.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Side note: thanks to you English speaking folk's insane way of spelling stuff, English haiku's are a lot trickier than Dutch ones. Just your luck...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">By the way, special thanks to </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15402293433544594442" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Timothy Cook</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> - <span style="color: black;">also known as 'Drachma' from his novel </span></span><a href="http://thebookofdrachma.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">'The Book of Drachma'</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black;">(book available on Amazon 27th of March!!!) - for kicking me in the butt and making me get my ass back here alright, dammit! Thanks, Tim :).</span></span></em></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-88657370453893233212011-12-27T12:30:00.000-08:002011-12-27T12:32:12.197-08:00OMG, my blog finally went over 10000 page views....<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and I freaking MISSED it! Damn you, computer crash!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4XlZFrOFAXSh_rBT_37ThBWvPBBVj4GF1wpq0QSody0R2v7LNtHlOSt1UR_y54eHC3bTH4GazC88Vd0bOzmUso5QHK85AgZHTByxnRuEmOD-SDRqPLe8e-mOLcJ_d7YFD5x76BPTmwc/s1600/j0427604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4XlZFrOFAXSh_rBT_37ThBWvPBBVj4GF1wpq0QSody0R2v7LNtHlOSt1UR_y54eHC3bTH4GazC88Vd0bOzmUso5QHK85AgZHTByxnRuEmOD-SDRqPLe8e-mOLcJ_d7YFD5x76BPTmwc/s320/j0427604.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*cough*</span></div><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyways, I've been away for a while now because I had some computer trouble. The hard drive on my laptop sadly passed away, dragging my working projects down to the grave with it (right in the middle of freaking NaNoWriMO of all times). </span></div><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It has (just recently) been replaced, but now I'm left with a pile of corrupted files, in obscure versions because I'm an absolute slob, to sort out. I have a tryout version of word repair, so I should be able to fix some, but it'll take a lot of time (I have to copy the recovered text word for word).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Apart from that, I'm also taking up a bunch of projects in my mother tongue, so my activity here will be low, practically nil, for the time being.</span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But hey, at leat the Halloween page will finally go down. That'll be enough for a day's work... Sorry.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'll try to post something new really soon. There are some "new" poems on Hubs (</span><a href="http://storiesinc.hubpages.com/"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://storiesinc.hubpages.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">), just look for'the 'Dead Wood' cycle.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And last but not least:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">May 2012 bring only bliss and joy for you and all your family and all be right with the world.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As if. But here's to hoping ;)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.delovesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/happy-holidays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.delovesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/happy-holidays.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cheers ;)</span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-6793276720035518352011-10-29T05:24:00.000-07:002013-11-07T15:05:22.345-08:00The alien in the cornfield (Halloween horror short story, Write Anything challenge)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rlv.zcache.com/cute_funny_alien_u_f_o_in_cornfield_1_poster-p228195137260212523t5wm_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ida="true" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/cute_funny_alien_u_f_o_in_cornfield_1_poster-p228195137260212523t5wm_400.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was a rainy afternoon, the kind that makes you put on your coat, open the door, sigh heavily and then turn back to flop down on the couch and stay there. But not for Bill. At least not this time.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bill, 47, “and still goodlooking”- at least in his own opinion – ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper tresses. They were lush like a lion’s and waved luxuriantly in the wind. Back when he was 25.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Are you ready, Bill?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What?” He yelled over the racket of the engine, pulling at his bright-orange jumpsuit.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are you ready?!”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“No!!”</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Bill looked out the open door at the ground, so dizzyingly far beneath him, and swallowed hard. Damn kids...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pinching his eyes shut, he drummed one note into his mind, ‘memo to self: never, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i>, tell your kids you want more excitement in your life the week before your birthday.’</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Say, Fred.” He probed the jump-instructor. “Is there any way to make a deal with you, so I don’t have to do this? We can take some pictures together, you’ll Photoshop a couple more where I pretend to jump and then we’ll land this thing, I’ll give you a hundred dollars, we’ll go to a bar and I’ll buy you a nice dinner and a beer, what do you say? For old times’ sake?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No can do Bill.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“When did you get so big on ethics, old chap?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fred grinned. “I didn’t. But your kids paid me two hundred. Bon voyage, mate, and don’t forget to pull the red lever!” With one big push, Fred hauled a shrieking Bill out of the plane backwards. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh”,</i> Fred yelled after Bill from the door as he dwindled further and further away,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “and I’ll be sure to tell your kids you screamed like a little girl!”</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.air-and-space.com/20051022%20Edwards/DSC_4453%20Golden%20Knights%20parachutist%20l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" ida="true" src="http://www.air-and-space.com/20051022%20Edwards/DSC_4453%20Golden%20Knights%20parachutist%20l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Son of a...” Bill muttered under his breath as he struggled to untangle himself from the parachute. “And then you think you know somebody.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He let out every possible curse and cuss he could think off. Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely so unexpected. Perhaps if he hadn’t spilled that milk on Fred in high school... Or flushed his lunch down the toilet.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What the hell...” Bill felt underneath him for what was pricking in his back and realised he landed on his bottom... on top of his phone, that had broken into three pieces under his overweight bum. He clacked his tongue. “Great, just great! Now how the hell am I going to get home?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He paused and walked up a bridge over a tiny creak. Kind of weird to have a bridge here, he thought, he could cross the stream in one big step. Leaning over the ridge and watching the water flow by, he tried to reconstruct the environment as he’d seen it from the sky. Gazing at the cornfield ahead of him, he remembered a road. If he just crossed the field, he should walk straight towards it. It hadn’t been busy, but someone was bound to come by to hitch a ride with. He peered down his trousers sceptically; they were smeared all the way up the knee and along his backside. If only someone could be prevailed upon to take him like this...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With a sigh, he searched his pockets for his pack and lit a cigarette, plodding through the mud. Taking another drag, he started when big blue lights flashed from in between the plants.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What in the world!” He exclaimed, mouth agape and the cigarette slipping to the ground from in between his open lips.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the corn, a tall grey figure approached him, it’s four-fingered web footed hands split in half the same way his kids did when he made them watch ET on DVD so he didn’t actually have to babysit them when his wife went out.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Greetings, earthling, I come in peace.” The creature spoke in a strangely clenched, electronic sounding voice. It had a narrow, triangular head, was very thin and had big, pitch-black eyes. For a minute, Bill thought some teenage asshole in a suit was messing with him.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Al... Alright.” Bill replied, swallowing hard. “Greeting, eh, sir.” For a moment, he considered it might as well have been a madam. Perhaps it was hidden camera</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I am here to better acquaint myself with the wildlife of earth. Would you like to join me for a beer and a chat?” The alien-person asked.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bill contemplated the offer. Hey, if ET offered him beer and screen time, why not? “Sure, my extraterrestrial friend.” Might as well play along...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You know, perhaps you alien folk isn’t really as bad as they always claim in the movies, don’t you think?” Bill was starting to enjoy playing pretend with his newfound friend.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I kind of like your earth movies. Their views of alien races are very entertaining.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No doubt.” Bill grunted. “So, what’s your name?” He continued, sipping his beer while he and his tall companion were sitting on folding chairs on the porch of his UFO. The thing wasn’t that outlandish for make-belief advanced technology; it looked just like a metal trailer, just round and a whole lot bigger. And it probably was, given some pimping with plenty of tinfoil.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Come to think of it, the whole thing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> a little too sophisticated for hidden camera. Perhaps it was a movie set. Bill threw another glance at the cheesy metal monster. A low-budget one...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“My name is-“ The alien-actor commenced such a wild succession of spitting, clicking and gesturing vigorously as to almost make Bill jump to his feet and start throwing punches, until he plainly continued “but you can call me Danny.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Man, talk about staying in character... “Nice to meet you, Danny, I’m Bill.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For a moment, the two sat side by side in silence. Bill studied the bottle in his hand. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t drink and fly!</i> It said in fine print at the bottom, next to an illustration of a drunk alien in a crashing space craft. He chuckled. They were a creative bunch, this film-crew, very detail-minded.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then a whiff of the most heavenly odour reached his nostrils and made his mouth water.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What’s that smell?” He asked.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh,” Danny replied carelessly, “I was just making dinner.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What are you making?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Today is Harvest Day on my home planet Planton 364, our most important holiday. I’m making a traditional Harvest Feast Special in earth-style.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sounds interesting.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, it’s almost done. It just needs one more key ingredient.” Danny sipped his bottle. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hey, why the hell not. It’s not every day you get to try intergalactic feeding habits, right?” He replied, straining his squinting eyes to look straight ahead. “By the way, this beer is pretty potent stuff.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I imported it from Planton 364. It makes the Harvest stew taste better.”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Right.” He retorted in an ironic tone, setting the empty bottle on the ground. This guy just wouldn’t give up the act... “My wife does all the cooking at home, so I wouldn’t know, but aren’t you supposed to add the beer to the meat instead of drinking it?”</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes. And now you mention it...” </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The last thing Bill remembered was everything going black as his new “friend” knocked him out with the empty beer bottle.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://rookery.s3.amazonaws.com/1021000/1021136_24a7_625x1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="http://rookery.s3.amazonaws.com/1021000/1021136_24a7_625x1000.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grinning, Danny hung Bill’s stuffed head on the wall, next to the others. They were such vile looking things, these humans, so beastly and primitive.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The alien spooned through his high tech cauldron, adding a pinch of savoury herbs from his home planet with one hand and zapping through earth’s TV channels with the other.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Damn reruns.” He muttered, skipping hundreds of channels a second, until he reached a late night showing of ‘Alien’ and sniggered. These humans were always in for a good comedy.</span></span></div>
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<shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" id="_x0000_t74" o:spt="74" path="m10860,2187c10451,1746,9529,1018,9015,730,7865,152,6685,,5415,,4175,152,2995,575,1967,1305,1150,2187,575,3222,242,4220,,5410,242,6560,575,7597l10860,21600,20995,7597v485,-1037,605,-2187,485,-3377c21115,3222,20420,2187,19632,1305,18575,575,17425,152,16275,,15005,,13735,152,12705,730v-529,288,-1451,1016,-1845,1457xe"><stroke joinstyle="miter"></stroke><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connectangles="270,180,90,0" o:connectlocs="10860,2187;2928,10800;10860,21600;18672,10800" o:connecttype="custom" textboxrect="5037,2277,16557,13677"></path></shapetype><shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 7.15pt; left: 0px; margin-left: 7.15pt; margin-top: 28.2pt; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 9.75pt; z-index: 251658240;" type="#_x0000_t74"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></shape><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Humming a cheerful Harvest song from his youth, he threw on an apron saying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <3 </span>the chef</i> and leafed through one of the cook books off the shelf for the page <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Traditional Planton 364 Harvest Stew.’</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ah”, he moaned happily, “just like grandma used to make.”</span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step 1: Wait for the brew to boil and start cutting the meat.</span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whistling, he started hacking away and added chunks of the thick white meat to the bubbling kettle. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Yes’, </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">he thought to himself, ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">earth’s wildlife would be very suitable for import</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good flavour, nice texture, versatile, easy to work with, ...’</i> With a little encouragement, Planton 364 would prove an insatiable market for this flesh. His human cattle farm would surely thrive. He should just remember to save some of the Bill stew for his empress. She’d find him quite a delicacy and reward him for his service to the crown. Even so much so as to forgive him for the martian fiasco and undo the exile. Well, perhaps. It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> a big fiasco that wiped out an entire nutrition planet. Still...</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Consumed in happy revelries of home, he chopped away so zealously that drips of blood spilled all over the aphorism sign over his head;</span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Sometimes prejudices are true after all.’</span></span></i></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Note:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This post was inspired by <a href="http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/2011/10/fiction-friday-challenge-231/">this week's <em>Write Anything</em> challenge</a> (Fiction Friday: October 28th), which ended yesterday. The story was done in time, but unfortunately, a succession of computer glitches (don't get me started) prevented me from posting it until today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The challenge was to write something inspired by a picture (see link above).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hope you enjoyed it ;).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">This challenge stuff is quite fun. I intend to join in for the next editions too and warmly recommend other writers to do the same. It's a great exercise to boast your abilities and helps you get inspired when your own creativity is running a bit low... <em>Write Anything</em> posts <a href="http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/writing-prompts/">new writing prompts</a> every week. Good luck!</span></div>
Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-78688441213597370302011-10-26T07:15:00.000-07:002011-10-26T07:15:08.492-07:00Halloween Week!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bier.blog.nl/files/2011/10/halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" ida="true" src="http://bier.blog.nl/files/2011/10/halloween.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hooray, hooray, it's (almost) Halloween! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Convinced as I am that one day just isn't enough for this glorious event, there will be a full week (and a few days) devoted to my favourite part of the year (f*** Christmas).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I added a new 'Halloween Week' page that lists all of my own Halloween-ish posts (and will remain available till somewhere in the first week of November).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Basically, every post of this week will have to accord to the Halloween theme.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Feel free to join me with 'Halloween Week' and leave links to your own scary stuff in the comment section or in <a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=303182230c18f476&hl=en">this forum thread</a>. I'd like to read me some scary stories too, so if you've got some, help me find them ;).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">After all, life's too short to do without a good scare...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bertjesite.webs.com/halloween_wallpaper-4809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256px" ida="true" src="http://bertjesite.webs.com/halloween_wallpaper-4809.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-16804304492100626352011-10-26T03:28:00.000-07:002011-10-26T07:16:03.095-07:00The Surgeon's Assistant (A Halloween horror short story)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://maturingpastmilk.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/black_blood_door14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" ida="true" src="http://maturingpastmilk.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/black_blood_door14.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The Surgeon’s Assistant</span></span></span></u></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Her quick feet thudded through the empty corridor. The wind howling through the broken windows could not drown out the distinct clang of metal against metal behind her as he ran his scalpel across the cracked wall.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Where do you think you’re going?” He bellowed, bursting into hysteric laughter.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Please let me go!” She panted, her back against the wall.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">He gestured with his smoking cigar and leisurely puffed the fumes in her direction, filling the hall with a breathtaking heaviness. Lightning set a ghastly light to his blood-stained scrubs.</span></span></span> </div><a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-loA55pqOhvg/TV-6pkT_dhI/AAAAAAAABSg/kynx07G2yf8/s1600/hospital+corridor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" ida="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-loA55pqOhvg/TV-6pkT_dhI/AAAAAAAABSg/kynx07G2yf8/s320/hospital+corridor.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Well, I can’t really do that, now can I?” He mused, calmly taking in another haul while he toyed with the bloody scalpel in his other hand.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“The police suspects you anyway, even without my statement.” </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Hm.” He grunted, taking a step closer. His eyes were wild and enormous in his thick, round glasses. “Perhaps.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Stay away!” She cried. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear! Who would listen to one like me?”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">He caressed his scalpel, slowly, lovingly. “It’s a shame, really. You were such a devoted assistant.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">She squinted around the corridor and grabbed a stretcher. With all her strength, she pushed the obstruction towards him and turned right as fast as her shaking body would allow.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">He sniggered casually. “You’d think that after all this time, you would give up.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Never!” She retorted. “I will never stop trying to escape. I will be no part of this.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">At the end of the abandoned hall, a door loomed. It opened, bursting forth an invasive white light.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The poor girl sped up. She was almost there, stretching her arm towards the Light, when a sudden shadow blocked it from her grasp. The door fell shut.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“No, wait, please!” She cried, pounding the door with her fists until they bled.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">She shrieked as the surgeon tossed her over her shoulder and carried her off with rough jerks.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Do you honestly think I’d just let you go?” The Surgeon whispered in her ear triumphantly. He always enjoyed games he could easily win.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The girl rested her forehead against the cool door and sobbed. The Surgeon grabbed her and in one strong heave, he carried her off over his shoulder. She shrieked and clawed at him, but he just smirked. His heavy steps rung through the institution over her pleading voice, as he dragged her down the stairs, to the basement. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">In a desperate gesture, she grabbed hold of the door frame, as firmly as she could and struggled to flee. “No!” She begged. “I don’t want to go back down there, please let me go! Let me go!”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">One by one, her fingers slipped, leaving a crimson imprint, and she disappeared into the screaming darkness.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">She could not get out. She could never get out. Not even after the thirty years she’d haunted the asylum, trying.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fieldpoppy.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/buffalo-corridor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" ida="true" src="http://fieldpoppy.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/buffalo-corridor.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Note:</span></span></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">To come to this story, I used a creativity tool: Word Generator Plus (it’s very handy for writers, go ahead and check it out).</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">5 chosen words: corridor, filling, devoted, smoking, suspect</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Normally, I keep this kind of story with the generator to 150 words, but it’s been a while, so I went overboard.</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Because practice makes perfect, I’m going to try to write a couple of these this week.</span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Feel free to use the generator for your own (creepy) story – try to set a word limit for an extra challenge – and share it by posting a link <a href="http://storiesinc.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-week.html">here</a> or <a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=303182230c18f476&hl=en">in the forum</a>.</span></span></i></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-39216028899127786362011-10-19T02:35:00.000-07:002011-10-23T02:32:22.568-07:00Blogger Wonderland<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Exactly one year ago, little Stories - isn't it wonderful how you can always patronise a (slightly) younger self? – inadvertently hopped into Blogger. There a little orange rabbit popped up. ‘Do you want to create a new blog?” The button-rabbit asked tentatively.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://0.tqn.com/d/weblogs/1/0/V/-/-/-/BloggerHomePage.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245px" rda="true" src="http://0.tqn.com/d/weblogs/1/0/V/-/-/-/BloggerHomePage.PNG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Hey, what’s that?” Little Stories asked *self and clicked it. With a dizzying fall, the noob writer plummeted through the rabbit hole where (s)he beheld a world of miracles, where people from all over the world could converse and laugh together as if there was no distance between them, where the wonderful people and skilful fellow-writers were suddenly only a link away.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mediastorehouse.com/image/young_boy_peeping_through_leaves_norfolk_may_5198149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="211px" rda="true" src="http://www.mediastorehouse.com/image/young_boy_peeping_through_leaves_norfolk_may_5198149.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stories ‘ooh’ed’ and ‘ah’ed’ through the year, pulling some leaves aside and surprised to find a jolly little coffee shop where people who never met sat together nipping delicious chatter. 'Booh!' Stories cried. 'What are you doing?' And then the new comer soon joined the regulars for thee. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.partybox.co.uk/data/party_news_images/Alice%20in%20Wonderland%20Tea%20Party%20with%20Mad%20Hatter%20_1707_19173076_0_0_7003706_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" rda="true" src="http://www.partybox.co.uk/data/party_news_images/Alice%20in%20Wonderland%20Tea%20Party%20with%20Mad%20Hatter%20_1707_19173076_0_0_7003706_300.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpbh74DVHp1ql3umeo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1319102226&Signature=V1esRn4v6zVKZfXhuGUE2%2FmQqfE%3D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black;">There at that table, (s)he met the most interesting creatures,</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://www.demolishingtheblock.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">a boy with a gigantic hammer</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span>longing to smash something, </span><a href="http://www.thebookofdrachma.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">a witch-doctor with a wicked pen</span></a><span style="color: black;">, </span><a href="http://scornfulprose.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Red Queen of Ranting</span></a><span style="color: black;">, a </span><a href="http://pennedbytaylor.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">high school girl</span></a><span style="color: black;"> writing by the sea side, </span><a href="http://www.adayisworth100words.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">a boy who spoke only one hundred words</span></a><span style="color: black;"> at a time, a </span><a href="http://my-bread-and-butter-2.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">multi-talented lady</span> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">buttering toast</span></a><span style="color: black;">, an </span><a href="http://writingofanovel.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">active pilgrim</span></a><span style="color: black;"> on a path to enlightenment and enlightening others on the way, and many many others aside. Stories stumbled into a </span><a href="http://www.galleryno3.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">decorated Hall</span></a><span style="color: black;"> where the walls were full of marvels and – perhaps a bit too little lately – stood awed leafing through the tales that seemed to just rain from the heavens and fluttered down in the Blogger breeze.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And this, my dear absent friends, is the story of how Stories ended up in Wonderland. And never since did (s)he want to go home again.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yes, people, today is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">this blog’s</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ANNIVERSARY. </b>Woot, woot!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hard to believe a whole year has gone by, it feels like just 6 months ago. The month long lapses could have something to do with that.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Either way, virtual cake and drinks on me!</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://essencehairandbeautylounge.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/champagne-glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" rda="true" src="http://essencehairandbeautylounge.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/champagne-glasses.jpg" width="245px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Help yourselves to a drink and as we say in Dutch: 'Proost!'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hotbreadsmddc.com/images/wedding_cake_images/wedding_cakes_20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="316px" rda="true" src="http://www.hotbreadsmddc.com/images/wedding_cake_images/wedding_cakes_20.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Confessions of a chocoholic: I really want this cake. Badly...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.partytent2rent.nl/upload/957//Champagneflutes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" rda="true" src="http://www.partytent2rent.nl/upload/957//Champagneflutes.jpg" width="317px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Cin Cin!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-11720394817276159782011-10-11T05:40:00.000-07:002011-10-11T06:22:12.855-07:00Faery, part II (epic fantasy novel excerpt)<em>Part 1:</em> <a href="http://storiesinc.blogspot.com/2011/10/faery-part-i-epic-fantasy-novel-excerpt.html">http://storiesinc.blogspot.com/2011/10/faery-part-i-epic-fantasy-novel-excerpt.html</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWj_F5YOzLiM75vi9MSZN3MiZsFZQvYrtUNHfrRbaES3YgqjvSUhf84-lpgJ1RhfLLbjg51dgynV8JSKvrh2BxwqryVspvMfnRHO1rqRCARrg7RucPCe9zTo0LTM6A04C2TDF-kOc4sEHZ/s1600/macy+rent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWj_F5YOzLiM75vi9MSZN3MiZsFZQvYrtUNHfrRbaES3YgqjvSUhf84-lpgJ1RhfLLbjg51dgynV8JSKvrh2BxwqryVspvMfnRHO1rqRCARrg7RucPCe9zTo0LTM6A04C2TDF-kOc4sEHZ/s320/macy+rent.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 300%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 300%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">II</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 300%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Wait, wait, little bird!”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">She cried after it, but it kept speeding up. Not once taking her eyes of the curious birdie, she chased it across a meadow full of fragrant flowers. The little bonnet slid from her head and unleashed a wild abundance curls. Running and crawling through the field, her fancy black varnished shoes slipped off in the high grass and green smudges formed on her freshly-washed Sunday dress. Smeared with grass and dirt, the child ran as fast as her bare feet could carry her and reached for the creature. Finally, she managed to poke it with a fingertip and startled. It was so warm.</span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The little creature hovered and looked at her with big, round slanted eyes as dark as the deepest lake. To her astonishment its feathers were not feathers at all but slender green leaves bound together into a dress with a matching miniature hat. From her back sprouted the bright wings of a butterfly, which she pensively clapped open and shut.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">From up close, the tiny woman was radiant and beautiful. She had an elfin, oval and somewhat angular face laced with long, waving hair in a shade of brown with golden hue <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the girl had never seen before. From in between the lush locks, a pair of pointed ears stuck out and frail feelers swayed gently up and down as if stirred by a life of their own. She looked so delicate and startled.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“What a strange bird you are.” The child said. Fearlessly. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The elfin woman batted her marble-like eyes with a gasp and hurried away as fast as her little wings could carry her. She ducked down in a flowerbed.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Wait!” Macy went after her. Then wing-battering and voices, thin and shrill like a child’s, caught her attention. The sound was sugary sweet like singing. It seemed as though a choir of flowers had sprung to life.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">When she looked closely over the flowers, the girl found the entire field buzzing with pretty birdies in the sundriest attires, as if they were trying hard to blend in with the foliage around them. They popped up to look at her, whispering and pointing.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Can she see us?” She heard them gossip in their high-pitched voices. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“No, it couldn’t possibly be.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“I swear, she’s looking right at me!” </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Eyla, you lured her here.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“You should have been more careful, Eyla!”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Just inches from Macy’s hand, the little elfin woman called Eyla raised her head from her hiding place amidst the blossoms and clasped her throat in shock. “Bippityboo, what did I do?” She muttered, staring at Macy with open mouth.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Oh, hello.” The girl murmured in a cheerful tone, bending over to her.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">The little being hid behind a leaf shyly, then peeped at her from the sides.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” The girl ensured her.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Now the tiny one started to enjoy her little game. She giggled and showed her tiny head, before hiding again, with Macy digging into the green to find her.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“It’s okay, you can come out.” The girl said, kneeling down slowly. “I’m Macy. What’s your name?” </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Eyla.” She replied in an unsure tone from the back of a plant.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Macy gently slid the leaf between them out of the way with a fingertip. The elfin creature gasped, holding on to the leaf with her tiny dainty four-fingered hands. “Are you a monster?” She asked in a voice as small as her posture. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Macy laughed her carefree child’s laugh. “Who, me? No, silly, I’m a girl.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“A girl?” The tiny one pondered that for a minute. “Are you going to eat me?”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Why would I eat you, you don’t look particularly tasty. Besides, you’re far too small. You’d only increase my appetite.” She teased. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">The butterfly-girl sighed in relief and stretched her leg like a ballerina, until her nimble four-toed foot touched Macy’s skin. With upright toes, she stepped gracefully onto the girl’s index-finger. Macy raised her hand to watch the creature more closely. In every aspect a woman, but different.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“What a peculiar butterfly.” She said puzzled.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Butterfly?” She clenched her little fists and stamped her foot, with her wings clapping in agitation. “I’m not a butterfly, and I’m not peculiar either, I’m a fairy!”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“A fairy?” The girl said pensively. “I’ve never met a fairy before.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Then how can you say I’m peculiar?” The fairy bent over to look at her, hands on her hips. “You look pretty strange yourself.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“I don’t think so.” The girl muttered, suddenly self-conscious and a little offended.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The fairy chuckled and reached up. “Your ears are funny.”</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Aw!” Macy covered her ear to protect it against the fairy’s mean little jerks. “Are not!” She whined. The little one giggled.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Another fairy called out to her firmly. “Eyla!”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Oh.” The butterfly-girl arched back wringing her hands behind her with a guilty look. “We’re not supposed to talk to humans.” She shuffled her foot and threw nervous glances at the other fairies who beckoned her persistently.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“But...” Macy protested.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The air grew thick with fairies who shone like fireflies throughout the impending dusk. To the girl they resembled tiny shooting stars across the sky, close enough even to grasp.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Macy watched them in amazement while the buzzing around her slowly diminished. Everywhere minute bundles of light disappeared on the horizon. The last remaining fairies motioned at little Eyla.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">The fairy startled. “Dippityboo, I have to go too. Bye.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“No, wait... I...” Macy raised her hand after Eyla to keep her from going, but it was no use. With a hurried flutter, she was gone, afraid to be left behind in the dark. The fairy turned to Macy for a final wave and then vanished in the distance with the others.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Macy watched them all go and stood forlorn in the middle of the meadow. She should probably go back to the park, daddy was probably out looking for her by now. Her shoulders sloping, she absently kicked a pebble. He would be angry. The girl looked down at her stained dress. Mummy would be too.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-32050492476128241042011-10-11T05:23:00.000-07:002011-10-17T07:13:32.486-07:00Faery, part I (epic fantasy novel excerpt)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=88755&from=embed2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img src="http://pixdaus.com/small3/1223953350sqyyTLq.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On a Sunday stroll through the park, an exuberant young lass finds herself drawn into the Land of the Fairies.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In this world of magic, Macy is swept up in an epic quest that will determine the fates of the fairy world as well as her own.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black;">On this journey, she and her friends will have to pass numerous tests and discover as well as surpass their own limits in order to literally save the day.</span></span></div></div><strong><span style="color: black;"></span></strong><br />
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<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 250%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: black;"></span></em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></b><br />
<hr align="center" size="0" width="98%" /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">PART I: THE FAIRIES’ CAVE</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“A book is a mirror. When a monkey looks in, no apostle can look out.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Georg Lichtenberg</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 24pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></b><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 48.9pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">There was a hint of magic in the air that morning.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The little girl hopped from stone to stone along the path by her father’s side. Macy so loved those Sunday walks whenever the weather was nice. And it was nice. Nice and sunny and warm. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">In the park, couples snuggled close together on the benches and boys ran across the banks of the pond after each other or their miniature boats. A band of musicians was playing lively folk tunes by a busy bagel stand and men tossed out their fishing lines. They were all so cheerful and loud.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Extra, extra! Get your news while it’s still fresh!” A vendor close by yelled so loud and suddenly it made the poor girl start for a moment. Daddy handed him a few coins and eagerly leafed through the paper, before rolling it up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Every now and then, Macy stopped to add a new addition to the lush bunch of wild flowers in her hand. They would look great on the kitchen table. The girl chuckled and arranged the lavish bouquet. Mother would be pleased. She hopscotched and skipped along, humming a song her mother loved and flapped her arms vigorously to keep her balance on a wobbly brick. Then something swift caught her eye.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It quickly moved from left to right and back in front of her, made a full spin and dashed into the shrubs. Another bright feathery creature lunged from the green at high speed. Was it a little bird? It was so small and so quick she had trouble keeping track of it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">Where did it go? Straining her eyes to the fullest, she spied for any sign of movement. There was another... And another!</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">“Daddy, daddy, look, daddy!” She jerked his hand and pointed at them, but he was too busy conversing with a friend over a cigarette to respond to her relentless plea. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Not now, honey.” He whispered in between sentences. “Daddy’s busy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;">After a pout, she was again engrossed in watching the strange creatures with big, curious eyes. One by one, they retreated into the wall of plants and disappeared. Were they leaving? Gently, she removed her slender hand from her father’s grasp and drew nearer to the captivating beings. The last of them circled her head a single time then rushed off into the bush. Impulsive as she was, she plunged after it, headfirst into the green, leaving her pretty waistcoat torn in the hedge.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">And so the legend unfolds.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NL-BE;"></span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WztPx220FXs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<span style="color: black;"><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Meta-info: </span></i></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those of you that have visited this blog before may know a short story named <a href="http://storiesinc.blogspot.com/2011/03/macy-and-fairies-bedtime-story-for.html">‘Macy and the fairies’</a>. I’m proud to say it is the most popular of my blog posts and has been for some time. </span></em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I'm posting the first 10 pages of the novel version because those are the first – and possibly only – part of it an agent is going to see (hopefully in the near future). Any feedback that can help improve it is very much appreciated. </span></em><br />
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<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Going on version 354, I don’t really see the actual text for what it is anymore, with all the rereading and revision, so you, my dear reader with a fresh look *bats eyes*, would be a real asset in getting this novel to work...</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Please try to be as critical as possible; I know what is good about it, tell me what sucks.</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thanks!</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yours truly,</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stories Inc.</span></em></div></div></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-17514810083161782892011-09-25T11:16:00.000-07:002011-09-25T11:17:20.501-07:00Kicking Pebbles (3)<span style="color: black;"><strong><u>WARNING</u></strong>: <strong>strongly not suitable for minors</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1photos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/wpid-web_marines_s2_42_part.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320px" src="http://1photos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/wpid-web_marines_s2_42_part.jpg" width="213px" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 18pt 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Part 3: Turn for the worse/Desperation</span></span></span></u></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">This morning brought the falling of first snow, but hardly had it touched the ground, before a platoon of invaders dyed it red with blood, defiling even a child’s joy in the white bliss. No one cares about a white Christmas anymore; our only dream now, is to have a free one, with all of our relations left intact.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">There have been riots of unusual number and organisation, but all are suppressed fiercely. The rebellious outbursts annoy the invaders, they seem determinate to crack our spirit with their harsh measures. It is as if our entire lives are read into a proportion machine and scheduled, every detail of it: that many hours of work, that many coupons, that many grams of food, that many ounces of water a day, that much electricity. Food is rationed. Whoever crosses the regime, or dares to doubt it openly, receives no more coupons and are forced to starve, unless they renounce their doubt after being beaten within an inch of their lives. Or they just disappear. Journalists, politicians, revolutionaries, idealists, human rights activists, even entire families, research wings and press groups, they vanish overnight and turn up dead in a ditch somewhere with a bullet to the head, if they do at all. The people are frightened. ‘The regime’ and ‘the invasion’ have become taboo words, avoided as if they called on the plague itself just by being mentioned casually.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Work and school are all the assemblies that are allowed, as well as obliged. Whoever isn’t in either, is rounded up and taken to a work camp till nightfall, under the threat of files of guards with guns. Gatherings of any other kind are forbidden. Cafes and restaurants are either closed down, demolished entirely or under constant supervision. Every public place is bugged. The regime listens in to every public conversation, every phone call, every email. No one dares speak out loud in the streets anymore, but just whispers and falls silent, lowering their heads, when one of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">them </i>looks our way. It feels like we’re always being watched, no matter where we go. They’re always there, alongside us, armed and ready to shoot.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Companies are under supervision of the regime, all produce and resources, pass through their greedy, grasping hands. The message is clear: every citizen is in the employ of the new state. Slaves are we, no more. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">If that wasn’t bad enough, they set up death squads, raiding houses and carrying out executions in squares and streets. They favour demonstrators for their prey, drive them apart like cattle, separating each member from the group and hound them around town leisurely until they grow tired of the game. They like that, playing with them first, giving them a hope of escape before crushing it, and them. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Rebels are shot in the street and left to rot in plain sight, hung up on lanterns along the road like some grotesque Christmas decoration. Sometimes they are still alive. Everyone itches to, but no one dares bring them down. Not when they’re watching, and they always are. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Walking around in the streets, the pungent stench from the rotting bodies, the blood and the filth in the gutters is unbearable. On really hot days, it’s necessary to hold a perfumed hand to your mouth at all times not to gag. Shabby birds eat human flesh in front of us, sitting undisturbed on the shoulders of our dead, arguing with loud shrieks over the best pieces. It is sickening to the bone.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">I suppose having ‘garlands’ of corpses is their idea of scarecrows to keep the other civilians in line. This city is no more than their harvesting field.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">It was a reign of darkness that has come over this once great city of light.</span></span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-65505886675605406742011-09-18T03:39:00.000-07:002011-09-18T04:25:14.253-07:00Kicking Pebbles (2)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">WARNING: not suitable for minors. If you're under 18, don't read the cycle.</span></span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Part 2: Under siege</span></span></u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.heritage-print.com/image/adolf_hitler_visiting_the_occupied_city_of_laon_france_world_war_ii_1940_1238681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" rba="true" src="http://www.heritage-print.com/image/adolf_hitler_visiting_the_occupied_city_of_laon_france_world_war_ii_1940_1238681.jpg" width="224px" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It’s been three months since the invasion. The new regime is settled beyond possible opposition and reigns with terror over the people of our fair city.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">During the day, life pretty much takes its course like before, but we’re always aware that they are constantly looking over our shoulder. Soldiers patrol the streets at all hours, in their hoods and masks, showing off their big guns at the slightest like the sick, trigger-happy lunatics that they are. No one dares stand up to them. Now and then, there’d be an outbreak, a riot, something impulsive from the spur of the moment. There’d be yelling, some windows would get smashed, a few cars lit up. Every sensible person just gets off the street, closes the shutters of their houses and huddles up inside, pressing their ears shut, waiting for it to be over. A round of gunfire, a few screams, that’s it. After that, everything goes quiet, like the grave. The most deafening silence anyone has ever heard.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">There is far less traffic than before. No one gets in or out of the city now without a travel pass and luggage inspection. There is a curfew, no one is allowed out in the streets after dark. At sunset, the streets are deserted, like a ghost town. No lights, no cars, no noise. Troops parade around the city at night, their big army boots thudding across the floor so violently, it makes the walls around quiver. “The curfew has set in”, a voice yells from the speakers on the unlit lanterns, “please remain inside, all violators will be shot at sight.” As soon as the sun goes down, we are all reminded, acutely, that the city is under occupation, in case we ever could forget.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Hurrying home late from work to get to safety before dark, you could hear the sound of their brazen parties in the barracks they commandeered for themselves. Those who refused to give up their housing ‘for the benefit of the new state’, were easily disposed of, their possessions confiscated irrevocably. Off-tune, upbeat music, laughter, shrieks, drunken yells, clapping and singing rung in the hallow alleys. They turned chapels and schools into their very own private whorehouses, hosting perverse masses and orgies. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">On hearing it, every sane person would throw on their hood and pick up the pace, not able to turn the corner fast enough for fear of being spotted and dragged in. They had the eyes of a hawk and the appetite of a wolf for everything, especially the cruellest kinds of torture that they would call ‘games’. There was nothing worse than coming across a band of bloodthirsty invaders that were bored. And they were always bored.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It feels as though a shadow has been cast over all of us, and we have no choice but to clench our teeth and bear it, waiting for the sun to return to us.</span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-15336233681575282482011-09-11T04:37:00.000-07:002011-09-11T10:31:04.149-07:009/11 challenges<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Hey everybody!</span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/it2527s%20my%20birthday%20lolcat/youngun39/miscellaneous/Cat-CatWearingPartyHatItsMyBirthday.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/youngun39/miscellaneous/Cat-CatWearingPartyHatItsMyBirthday.jpg" width="310px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">You thought this was a joke, but I really mean it... Confessions of a chocoholic.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/3/2/129120223631311531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240px" nba="true" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/3/2/129120223631311531.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Yes, this calls for lolcats... (Despite 9/11)</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It’s 9/11 today and exactly ten years ago horrifying things have happened, but as some of you may know from the ‘about me’ page; it also happens to be my birthday. Yeah, I know, not a day for celebration, but I didn’t pick it.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.johanverhoef.nl/site01/images/road_behind_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" nba="true" src="http://www.johanverhoef.nl/site01/images/road_behind_2.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Looking back at one year's worth of miles and ruined shoes...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, since I joined Blogger almost a year ago (October 19<sup>th</sup>), it’s time for some looking back at the road behind. I came here with one main goal: improve my skill so I could get something published before my next birthday (which is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">today</i>) and as you may <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also</i> know; I failed. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.failings.co.uk/photos/seagull_fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" nba="true" src="http://www.failings.co.uk/photos/seagull_fail.jpg" width="237px" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.risedream.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/failed.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" nba="true" src="http://www.risedream.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/failed.gif" /></span></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Nevertheless, there are a lot of things I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> achieve in my time here. I met some great, interesting people here, some of which I’ve come to consider close friends, and amazing, inspired and inspiring inexhaustible fellow-writers who I’ve learned so much from and who’ve been here, backing me up all the way from the beginning. To these people (you know who you are ;) ) I’d love to say thanks, for always being there and being so kind to me, even though I’m a really lousy follower myself lately.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZsKrYd8PJ95ZprLv0gnd-KKe6idm9ESJ45wMxn0GyPTYsgEEQug5YNs492Db9vPjFvKRlAnLvvfIGXRNjkln_mx7TnYKsEypjGeicYAdkHbn5IH4ITMgXWXX6rWnVKEGb31zGvoN78o/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="212px" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZsKrYd8PJ95ZprLv0gnd-KKe6idm9ESJ45wMxn0GyPTYsgEEQug5YNs492Db9vPjFvKRlAnLvvfIGXRNjkln_mx7TnYKsEypjGeicYAdkHbn5IH4ITMgXWXX6rWnVKEGb31zGvoN78o/s320/1.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Thanks, you guys, and I really mean it. It means the world to me you're really there.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Also – despite my recent absentness – I don’t think I’ve ever written so many stories in my life before as I have in this one year and I’ve learned more from it than I ever imagined I would. Where I am now, is a very long way from where I was at the beginning. Most of all, I'm happy to have seen my most compelling wish granted in having found an audience for what I do and write, one I can reach, hear from and talk to. Despite not reaching my (ambitious) goal in starting with blogging, this year has brought more than I ever could have imagined. And, apart from that, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> publish all of the stories posted here, well, kinda, even though I did it myself. Bottom line is that they are being read, everyday, as opposed to taking up bits hidden away in my computer memory for no apparent reason. Feedback rules!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.schnuggle.nl/beauty/images/stories/thumbs_up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="319px" nba="true" src="http://www.schnuggle.nl/beauty/images/stories/thumbs_up.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">All in all, it isn't <em>that</em> bad. </span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">With that said, I think it’s time for a new, official list of challenges to be set and this time, I intend to keep all of them, and go through with it in exactly one year, starting from this day.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YtPNeii_uDmBctnITJepK3QfN-jEt8CNxRiwsbWHaMCrmLjtDUDGvAv7MFmbQE7DOSLmzDsXECALyg_2LOt7fSY475HgGGbS_b_5XwXMeSHSgKtjrH8AdoLQC3YgfzWc0J8YJii3IDE/s1600/goal_setting_activities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="188px" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YtPNeii_uDmBctnITJepK3QfN-jEt8CNxRiwsbWHaMCrmLjtDUDGvAv7MFmbQE7DOSLmzDsXECALyg_2LOt7fSY475HgGGbS_b_5XwXMeSHSgKtjrH8AdoLQC3YgfzWc0J8YJii3IDE/s320/goal_setting_activities.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">So, before my<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> next</i> birthday I must:</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finish (at least) one project </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"> (preferably the ‘mystery project’ that’s kept me away from Blogger for a whole month)</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Land a proper job</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Get my own place</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have something published (or at least: found an agent willing to represent it for publication) officially</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, FINALLY, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">finally:</i> visit LONDON</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">(<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6</b>) Optional: Visit New York</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 24pt 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Those are the main challenges I set for my ‘real’ life. Apart from that, I have a few sub-challenges more specifically for Blogger:</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 24pt 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally set up the Fairytale Blog for kids I’ve been telling people about, but haven’t got around to yet (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">= to be continued...</i>)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 35.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do some way overdue remodelling, especially by reworking the poetry, stories and work in progress (= a work in progress) pages</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 24pt 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finish my unfinished work;</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve posted a few stories and story cycles that have yet to be finished. Once I reworked the stories page, I’ll have a better idea of which still need an ending and I’ll have to bring myself to get around to it.</span></span></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">So that’s it folks, I’ve just compiled my very own ‘Sacred List’: time to set the clock...*</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Is ticking...</span></td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">* Progress reports will follow</span></span></i></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-70600472013690345732011-09-08T07:20:00.000-07:002011-09-08T07:25:35.590-07:00Kicking Pebbles (1)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">WARNING: this cycle is not suitable for young readers due to language use and violence, so if you're a minor (under 18), please do not read these stories.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">(Goal: test mood setting and compelling story-telling abilities, convey an atmosphere and portray characters tellingly)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1263/860823868_975f6525cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="213px" nba="true" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1263/860823868_975f6525cc.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 24pt 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">KICKING PEBBLES</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Part I: The Invasion</span></span></u></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">They invaded on a Saturday, like a sudden bolt of thunder and lightning across a clear blue sky.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Go, go, go.” A commander cried out and then soldiers kicked in the door and came blasting through the door with their big, loud automatic guns and forward rolled across the floor. People were dragged out over the ground onto their knees, hands behind their head and shot in their own background, on their own lawn in front of their shrieking children.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Pop, pop, pop and it was done. Nice and clean.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Clear!” They’d yell. And move on to the next home. Like a tornado.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">If I go to sleep and close my eyes, I can still hear, every night: the sound of gunfire and breaking glass, the yelling, the screaming. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">They didn’t take out everyone, just the few, one residential area, to convey a message. They picked a neighbourhood with a lot of influential people that could have opposed the new regime. I guess my street was just unlucky.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">My name is Alice Claremont, and this is my story. </span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black;">Hey guys, I know I've been away for a long time, but I was working on a mystery project. And then I got a visit from the all-feared terror-inspiring, nerve-wrecking demon known as 'Writer's Block'. Hear it and shiver...</span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black;">Anyway, I haven't written more than a few scraps and pieces of stories that were either no good or that I just couldn't finish. </span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black;">I've been here so many times over the last month, starting posts, then deleting them again, starting replies to comments, that just weren't right. It's a frustrating business, but I hope you stick with me.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black;">The night before yesterday night, I just started writing this, out of the blue. It's comprised of short parts like this one, each giving a progress report on the continuing invasion as seen by Alice. I think I might incorporate this in the Svart-story that some of you might remember, I just don't know how yet. I don't even know what it is exactly, let alone what the hell I'm supposed to do with it. Now it's just kind of there, and I had little say in the matter, like always...</span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="color: black;">Hope you like it. I plan to post the other bits separately, as soon as they sort of make sense.</span></em></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-39714555202884030832011-07-29T00:00:00.000-07:002011-10-01T09:42:55.803-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/vampire-bat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/vampire-bat.jpg" t$="true" width="317px" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 8 – Resolve</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I want to know what’s up there!”, she had hissed through clenched teeth. She just couldn’t understand why Ann didn’t want to support her theory that someone in the house attacked Julian. “Who?” She asked. “I don’t know.” She replied, acknowledging her partial defeat against her will. Why did she feel like she’d already lost the debate?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Of course you don’t. Why and how, Eliza? Why would anyone do that, especially Henry and Hawkins.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“I don’t know.” </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Henry maybe strange but he’s always been good to you, both of you, hasn’t he?” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“He has.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“And I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t exactly like Hawkins either, but to think her capable of something like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this.</i>” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It sounds crazy, but no other explanation makes sense.” </span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Sense? You actually believe you’re making <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sense</i>?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yes.” She whispered. “In comparison.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It was no use. Ann believed the bat thing. All the internet articles in the world could not persuade her otherwise. She was on her own again. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Liza, please. You’re paranoid.” Ann sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder. “You’re tired and upset, it’s quite understandable in a time like this. You couldn’t be anything but too tense to look at this clearly right now.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As if. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Get some sleep, girly. You’ll feel much better in the morning trust me.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Maybe you’re right. I really could use some sleep.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But it won’t change my beliefs one bit.</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Alright then, we’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza turned away and folded her arms. She was crying, but she bit her tongue to get her eyes dry. She nodded.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Ann looked at her with a worried eye.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It’s fine, go, I can use some time to myself. To clear my head.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I understand. Good night. And hang in there.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Sure.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m not giving up. But I’m so... tired, I have to... </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She stretched out on the bed and fell asleep instantly.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Aw. My back hits the glass hard. The girl keeps coming closer. I have to get out. She upsets me. I’m too afraid to turn around and keep facing the faceless girl, but my fingers are frantically searching for an exit on their own. I feel the glass up for cracks, openings, but the surface is always just as smooth. The girl is just a few inches away from me. She raises her horrible head. I scream. Only now I realize how much she resembles me. My sounds are swallowed up by the absent walls. Nothing but resonating silence. The girl grins, an evil crooked smirk that looks faintly familiar, like the echo of something she had long forgotten. Then the apparition freezes. I hear a child screaming. The cries are everywhere, want to help, it is so hard to determine where they come from.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hello? Where are you?”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Help!” I hear again, it is as if the child calls to me from under water. I take a step forward and look around. The mirror is liquid again. Its surface wrinkles. There is a form behind it, a dark shape, like a shadow on the surface of a pond. The waters are suddenly still.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I see him clearly now. It is Julian. He looks at me desperately, I can’t hear him anymore, but I see his lips move and the shapes they make: “help, please, help.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">His little fists bang onto the glass, even that sound is swallowed by the mirror.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I place my hands on the glass against his, I cannot feel his warmth, only a chill that runs down my entire spine.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Honey.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He’s crying. He’s scared.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t be afraid, I’m right here, sweetheart.”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">His cries and the banging of his fists and palms intensify.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">An arm from the other side of the mirror wraps itself around his throat. He fights.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian!!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The glass won’t budge, no matter how hard I smacks into it with my shoulder.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The arm detaches from the mirror and expands into its own silvery, liquid and semi-transparent body. The creature’s features are not to be determined, I can’t help but look straight through them, I can’t grab it, it evades me, but one thing I can tell for sure:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the thing has<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the same crooked grin. where did she see this smile before? The being drags him away.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hang on, Julian, I’m coming, baby!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I run forward with my arms stretched out before me. I fall through the mirror and seem to drop down a considerable distance. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I’m not baby.” I hear his voice say in my ear. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I land with a slight thud. There is something soft below me. I look around. I’m in my room, on my bed. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Help me, Eliza!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He’s calling to me again. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“HELP!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">His voice becomes fainter. He’s being pulled away by that thing. I’ve got to get to him, catch up. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I try to get up, but my body is heavy as lead and the bed won’t let go. It’s like I’m glued to it. My sheets are like giant white snakes and tie themselves around me, they keep pulling me back and make the knots tighter till I can barely more at all. I try to scream, but there is no sound. My pillow floats above me like a white cloud, then it drops on my face and smothers my cries. I can’t breathe. Help...Who can help me? Julian? I’m supposed to be helping him. There’s no one else here.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Finally the sheets loosen. Everything is back to normal. I try to free myself from the lifeless linen mass on top of me and want to rise, but a weight keeps me pressed down. I can feel a warm hand on my mouth. I reach for the pillow and push it out of the way so I can see. It’s Ann.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She puts a finger to her mouth to tell me to be quiet. She’s laughing. What is she laughing about? What’s she doing? I want to scream at her, ask her what the hell is wrong with her, but a cry of pain breaks through the unnatural quiet from the other end of the hall. It cuts straight through my heart.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Ann dissolves immediately. I got to my feet and run for the door. I dart through the hallway as fast as I possibly can, but the hall won’t end. No matter how much I try, I can’t get one step closer to Julian’s room, the distance just stays the same.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I run and run until my vision’s blurry, I see spots of white. I’m exhausted. I’ll black out. I stop, frustrated, why can’t I get to him? I lean against the wall panting.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">A hear a squeak. There is a door in front of me, it opens.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I rush in, hold onto the door frame and stumble on, still dizzy.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Julian lies outstretched on the bed, hands folded, eyes closed. I failed...</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The ground is suddenly dangerously close, I’m sinking. Something is pressing my shoulders down, my chest, the weight is just too much to bear.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No, Julian!!”</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, Eliza! Are you alright?” Ann was jerking her shoulder.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza looked at her. It took a minute to get through to her that she was awake.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It was just... a bad dream, that’s all.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You were screaming.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It was nothing.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I had to stop you from getting up. I was afraid you’d go sleep-walking down the stairs and trip. You wouldn’t be the first.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“That does sound like me, doesn’t it? “</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Are you sure you’re okay?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, it was nothing.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Ann sat down next to her on the bed. “So what was it about, the dream?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian.” She shivered and clutched her sheets around her. “He was calling for help, my help, and I couldn’t get to him. He needed me and I wasn’t there.” She wiped the tears away. “I abandoned him.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You haven’t abandoned him.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“But I failed him nevertheless. I wasn’t there to save him.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You can’t blame yourself for what happened to him. Besides, Julian is going to be alright. No harm done.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No harm done? What about next time? And so long as I don’t know and personally eliminate the cause of his injuries, whatever it is, there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can be</i> a next time. Who says he’ll be so lucky then? I might as well fail, and this time he could very well be dead.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t talk that way. You’re making too much of a deal out of this. Why can’t you just be glad everything turned out so well.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Given the circumstances. Besides, it is thanks to you that he’s still alive. If you had checked on him an hour later, you really might have been too late. But you got to him on time. There is no use in tormenting yourself over nothing.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe you’re right.” She rose. “But I still don’t like the whole thing. You can’t blame me for trying to protect my little brother. Especially since there’s no one else left to.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t know exactly what you’re going through, but I understand.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She smiled. “Thanks. And I’m sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It’s alright, I was still up.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“At this hour?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Can’t sleep.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Perhaps you should try. This really isn’t healthy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Look who’s talking... You’re quite the night stalker yourself.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hm. I don’t know if there’s any more sleep in it for me tonight though, I’m too afraid I’ll have another dream.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, I’m going to try to turn in. Take care of yourself, alright?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Will do. Goodnight.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“’night.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The door fell shut. What to do with her time? She picked up a book, but the words were just tiny black blurs on the page.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Should she go see the attic again? Ann wouldn’t thank her for it, if she went without her, but she couldn’t wake the poor girl now. Maybe just a little peek?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She threw on a translucent long vest over her thin nightgown and headed for the stairs on as light a foot as she could. It was chilly. She clutched the fabric. Did someone leave a window open?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She put her hand on the rail and was about to make the first step when she heard the notes of piano-music from the drawing room, quite clearly this time. Was it Ann? She had heard her close her door, she was in the room next to her after all. Perhaps she just didn’t hear her open it again. She’d take a look downstairs.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">With every step the music became louder, she could almost taste it in the air. A melody sweet, yet so darkly melancholy. It was infatuating. Like the soundtrack of dreams. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She was desperate to know who played such a tune. It was quite unfamiliar to her. It wasn’t one of those classic songs played so much they were almost banal despite their original genius. This was something else. Something real. Pure and unspoiled.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She crept through the halls and sprinted to the door. The music was still playing full swing. The same hypnotic rhythm, over and over. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Improbable though it was, it hardly came as a surprise to her that she found the room empty, yet again. But this time, she was sure of what she heard. She wasn’t imagining things, there was definitely something going on. Something potentially paranormal. She wondered if there couldn’t be some truth to Ann’s ghost stories after all. Maybe it was the skinned count haunting the castle. Maybe not.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She caressed the surface of the piano and the keys. It didn’t feel any different than usual.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">With a feeling of an unfulfilled desire aching inside, she retreated to bed, having nothing else to do to pass the time till morning.</span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-60730942289055301712011-07-23T00:00:00.000-07:002011-10-01T09:45:09.652-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 7<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://in5ights.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/girl-screaming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="http://in5ights.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/girl-screaming.jpg" width="304px" /></a></div><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 7 – Attack</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being in the depressing mansion did not seem to lower Ann’s spirits at all. On the contrary, Ann woke up more cheerful every morning. Eliza wondered why the castle had no such effect on herself. Her friend seemed more at home in it than she did.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At least she’d managed to blow some life into her room by adding fresh ferns and – temporarily fake – flowers in every corner and on every table, creating her own private jungle as an island of light in a sea of dimness. She tried the same trick on the drawing room, but the plants died almost instantly. Perhaps because no one remembered watering them, being such a scatterbrain herself. But even then, they wouldn’t have withered over night.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Great improvement.”, Ann said absently.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thanks. I can live with the room now, I’m still working on everything else though.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hm. I can’t believe a whole week’s gone by and we still haven’t managed to get into the attic. These people must be obsessed.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Like octopi guarding their nest.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“At least one of them ’s gone.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry was at the office, though it was Sunday, but that happened more often if he had urgent matters to deal with. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, but he left his dog.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann was leafing through another one of her tabloids. She came to a page with some sort of sibling-test. “Where is your brother, by the way? He wasn’t at breakfast.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I know. I think he might be sick. He’s been listless for a full week and his complexion still hasn’t improved. He sleeps half the day. It worries me.” She shook her head. “Maybe I’m just overprotective. I’m sure Henry will go on and on about me overreacting when he gets back, but if he doesn’t get well soon, I’ll call a doctor myself rather than leave it to those two stiffs.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Why don’t you just go check on him then?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I might wake him.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hasn’t he slept enough already? It can’t hurt.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You’re probably right. I’ll go grab him some biscuits from the kitchen, as a peace-making gift, just in case. He’s got to eat something, anyway.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sure.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza went downstairs and piled chocolate cakes on a plate. When she went back out, she nearly dropped them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And where do you think you’re going, young lady, with that filth?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uh, up.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“That is hardly healthy, Eliza, we have fruit in abundance, all untouched, you’d better eat some of that before it goes to waste.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The biscuits are for Julian. I think these will do him a lot more good than some musty fruit. He needs something substantial right now.” The poor boy had probably barely had a bite all day, he could use the calories.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Very well then, make sure he doesn’t smear chocolate all over his sheets, I just had those washed.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, ma’am.” She muttered on her way upstairs. Looking back, she saw Hawkins put on her Gestapo-trench coat and straighten its stiff collar. She was preparing to go out. Or inspect the troops. Either one.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ann, the hawk is leaving the nest.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It was about bloody time!” Ann uttered in relief.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But we’ve got to move fast, if she’s leaving the attic unprotected, Henry is probably already on his way here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They were watching the housekeeper from behind the corner with their backs pressed against the wall.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Listen, I’ll check on Julian and get the flashlights on the way, you watch her in the meantime. Warn me if she’s finally out the door.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sure thing.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sneaked upstairs and tiptoed to Julian’s room. She knocked very silently, like she always did. No answer... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Still asleep? </i>She knocked louder, still no reply, so she crept in. The curtains were closed. It was dark. She had to be careful not to trip over all his junk and wake him up. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little pig.</i> She loved him for it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As catlike as she could, she slipped through the darkness and gasped. “What the...” Her breathing accelerated, she froze. Someone was moving, in the shadows of the corner. “H... hello?” She waited. “J... Julian?” No answer. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pull yourself together, Eliza! There’s no one here. How could there be? Julian is right in front of you. </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He snored softly. There was a tiny chink in the drapes, a ray of sunlight, thin as an arrow, darted down from the heavens to illumine his face.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She gasped again. He was so pale. Deadly pale. And he didn’t move an inch. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh my God! S</i>he rushed to his side. Was he dead? Panic hit her like a lead weight on the chest, but then the boy snored again.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was not a healthy snore, more like the noise a fish makes on dry land, struggling for air. He was fighting the weakness of his body to fill his lungs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She touched his forehead, lovingly brushing his hair out of the way. No fever. His face felt cold, except the cheeks. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She grasped for his wrist and closed her eyes. His pulse was so weak. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What is wrong with him?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Julian? Julian, can you hear me?” She whispered softly. “Wake up, honey. I brought you a snack.” The boy’s eyelashes slightly quivered and he moaned anxiously, but did not wake up. “JULIAN!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She patted his cheeks, kissed him, gripped his shoulder and shook him, but he kept sleeping with his breath rattling in his throat. Did he even hear her? She took him in her arms and rocked him gently while tears streamed down across her face. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What should she do?!</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She ran back to the door to find the switch and flipped on the lights. No response to that either. She opened his eyelids. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pupils dilated. He’s unconscious.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She ran to the top of the stairs and screamed for her friend, then rushed back. Every now and then his eyes, sunken away in dark sockets, would fling open and made Eliza sigh thinking he’d come to, but they looked up at the ceiling and fixed on nothing. Then he would just slip away again. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What’s keeping Ann, damn it! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Her heart stopped every time she noticed how bluish his lips were. With all her strength she tried to keep his body from shivering with her own body heat, gripping him tighter in her arms. “Oh, Julian, please, please.” She took his hands in hers. They were cold as ice. He looked like a doll, or worse, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">heaven forbid</i>, a corps. What kind of illness could do this to him?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She carefully laid him back on the bed and ran out in the hall, out of breath, holding herself upright by the rail of the staircase, crying for help relentlessly. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann had gone after Hawkins, who was already on her way downhill, when she heard the call. Both came running in, hurrying after Eliza’s pointed finger as she strained herself to inhale enough air to speak.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hawkins quickly examined the boy and crossed herself, Eliza never even knew she was religious. “Eliza, go get a face cloth and a bowl of cold water. Ann, call the family doctor, his number is in the address book by the phone, first page.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She could hear Ann’s shrill voice stuttering into the phone in the hall as she got a bowl from the kitchen and ran as fast as she could to Julian’s bathroom to fill it with lukewarm water instead.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann stayed in the entrance hall to wait for the physician’s arrival while Hawkins kept pacing from the bedroom to the stairs and back, instructing Eliza as she went. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza wrapped her brother in as many cheats as possible and took to his side to dab his forehead, telling him but mostly herself that everything was going to be okay, as if she could mutter and dab the life right back into him.<span style="background: lime; mso-highlight: lime;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She opened his buttoned shirt to dab his neck and chest. That’s when she saw it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Miss Hawkins!” She shrieked.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The boy became more restless as her fingers lined his throat. He tossed slightly every time she touched his neck, but was too weak to break away from her. He murmured indiscernible things, reaching, trying to push her away. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Who does he think he’s fighting? </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She grasped his wrists to lull him. She could feel his faint heartbeat under her fingertips. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is it getting worse? </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hawkins rushed in and bent over him as well.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What’s keeping that damn doctor?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It can’t take much longer.” She put her hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Your brother will be alright.” She smiled gratefully. At least in these circumstances they didn’t have to enemies.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I sure hope so.”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When he had slipped back into unconsciousness and had stopped fighting, she pulled his collar back very softly, making as little contact with the skin as possible to look at the marks in his neck: two reddish dots in the slightly swollen flesh. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Puncture holes... </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What is that?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Mosquito bite?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Two of them? Symmetrical?” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What could have possibly done this?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I’d like to see the mosquito that can leave a mark that big?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here are two. And what kind of mosquito leaves a mark that big?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Spider?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What kind of spider would leave marks that big?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t know... Maybe a snake? That’s hardly the point here, our first priority is to get this poor boy some medical attention.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A snake or a big-ass spider that suck blood, it’s highly unlikely!” She muttered, though taking the elder woman’s advice and tending to her brother rather than examining his marks.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It must be some sort of bug. We’ll see what the doctor has to say.” She looked out into the hallway which was still empty. “When he finally gets here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza caressed the boys forehead, desperately thinking of what else to do for him. What could she do but wait? She took another look at his wounds when Hawkins went downstairs to make sure An had dialled the right number.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The marks were perfectly horizontal, about two inches apart. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They’re almost like... teeth marks. </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Perhaps it’s not what, but who bit him.”, Eliza murmured perplexed. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She rose in dismay when the doctor finally came and immediately asked her to make way. She watched his actions from the doorway. A frown came over the older man’s face and kept growing deeper. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something’s not right.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then he pulled Julian’s collar away. One look at the bite marks apparently sufficed for a diagnosis. He hardly looked surprised.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Miss, your brother has lost a lot of blood. There is little I can do for him here. He must be taken to a hospital immediately.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A hospital?” Was it that bad? She couldn’t possibly convey how much that sentence scared her. She nodded, unable to speak.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Elvira, I suggest that I take the boy and his sister with me right now while you and the other young lady pack his suitcase and wait for Henry.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Certainly, doctor.”, Hawkins agreed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He wrapped Julian tightly in his sheets and carried him while Eliza did her best to support his little head all the way to the car. She sat on the backseat with Julian’s head on her lap as they rode off. She could hardly give a single landmark she passed by in retrospect.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She was in the waiting room staring out the window, when her uncle finally strode in. She got up to meet him.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, I came as soon as I heard.” He looked at the closed door ahead of him and whispered. “How is he?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I... I don’t know.”, she said in despair, “The doctor hasn’t come out yet. All I know is that they’re giving him blood transfusions.” She pressed her handkerchief against her eyes and did her best to swallow to make herself speak clearly enough. She had to keep herself standing so she was there for Julian when he woke up. If he... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t even go there! He’ll be alright. He has to be.</i> She couldn’t help but see a flash of herself in a similar room and a similar situation with similar thoughts, though in vain. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This will be different! </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He’ll be okay! Is he going to be okay? Please, tell me he’s going to make it!” She cried.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry gave her a consoling – but not very convincing – smile and took her in his arms. “There, there, little one, he’ll be fine. He’s a Haywood, remember? It takes more than a bug to take one of us out.” He stared off into space for awhile. “This is an excellent hospital. They’ll do whatever they can for Julian.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She nodded, desperate to believe him, despite knowing that he would have said the same thing regardless of Julian’s condition. She dried her eyes. Her voice still sounded coarse from crying.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Where are Ann and miss Hawkins?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“They’re unpacking Julian’s things. A nurse brought them to the room they’ll take him when he gets out of the emergency room.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If... </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She started sobbing heavily.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Now, now. They’ve already assigned him a room, that’s a good sign, you know? Calm down, honey.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She nodded again.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You should sit down and take a breath. The best you can do now for Julian, no, the only thing you can do for him now is to take care of yourself so you’ll be strong for him when he comes to.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I know.” She whispered faintly, staring at the ground.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Do you need anything? Have you eaten yet?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m not hungry.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Do you want me to fetch you some water then?” He looked at her nervously as if he was desperate to be of some use.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, more to make him feel better than because she was thirsty, she complied. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I think I saw a water machine near the elevator. Be back in a flash.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Still, she accepted the plastic cup with genuine gratitude. Apparently her throat was dryer than she thought.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It felt like an eternity before a nurse came out and rolled Julian to his own room. She looked at her questionably. “How is he?” The nurse smiled the typical reassuring smile of a person accustomed to death, the same one that nurse gave her when she ran into her in the corridor, fleeing with tears in her eyes from her mother’s death bed. As if nothing happened, even though her own world had jilted to a stop. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza took a seat by her brother’s side and held his hand. Hawkins and Ann looked at her uncomfortably. Henry loitered at the door waiting for the doctor. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the white coat finally arrived Henry used his corpulent shape to keep him from entering as they had a whispered conversation. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza didn’t like the looks they exchanged. Was she missing something? They both looked at her and exchanged a meaningful look.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She strained to catch the words, but they spoke too quietly for her to overhear a thing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The man left and Henry paced to the nearest chair to drop his colossal weight into with a big smile on his face.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“See, what did I tell you? Julian is going to be okay. Just a lot of blood loss, nothing else is wrong with him. They will have to keep him her for observation for awhile, to make sure he didn’t catch an infection. The doctor says he’ll be up and about in a week or two.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And where did the blood go?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry seemed too occupied with his own lines to listen to her carefully.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What was that, dear?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What did this to him?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uncle, just look at his neck! Do you think marks like that are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">normal</i>?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Girly...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Something <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bit </i>him!” She paused. “Or someone, and took his blood.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry reacted as if she had stung him. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You think a human did that to him? Why on earth... How could anyone...” He took a deep breath. “That’s a little farfetched isn’t it, honey?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Whatever it was bit him in the neck, left two holes and sucked the blood out of my little brother. What is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your </i>explanation for that?” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It’s more common than you think. According to the doctor it might have been a vampire bat.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A bat?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes. They had a few other cases like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More cases this month than in the last decade, he said. They think a colony has settled somewhere nearby. Global warming makes it possible for them to survive around here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Vampire bats live in South America. What would they be doing way out here?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t know, escaped pets? Migrated? Hid in ships or planes... Does it even matter? Bottom line: your brother will recover completely. All he needs is a little blood, a lot of sleep and good food. They’re going to test him for rabies and everything else conveyed by bats and then as soon as his strength is up, he can go home. Will you let it go and be happy about that?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How can I let it go as long as I don’t know what the hell did this to him! Whatever it is, it’s still out there. It could attack him again any time, or us for that matter.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, I just told you what did this to him: a bat. Are you going to get over it already?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Do you want me to believe that?” She was panting in her anger. “And did this... bat happens to nest in a chemical waste site or something?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What do you mean?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Look at those marks!”, she said pointing at Julian, “It has to be at least three feet tall to have a teeth span like that. Did it knock on the window for Julian to let it so it could suck his blood, or did it just follow Hawkins through the open door when she came back from town with the groceries?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, please.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, I’m serious! And did a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bat</i> get so hungry that it drunk nearly all of a human’s blood? With so much cattle and all sorts of easier prey right outside, by the way. Julian lost litres... Do you think a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bat</i> capable of that? Even if it could, it would be too heavy to fly away. And the window was locked. Did it close it afterwards? If it didn’t explode; with all that blood in its stomach it must have swollen up like a balloon.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Will you drop it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Not as long as your explanation doesn’t make any sense!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And is yours any better? What do you think? That he was attacked by a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> vampire?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza pouted shuffling her feet over the smooth hospital floor when she realized how ridiculous that sounded. “Well, no... Of course not. But it could have been a human. Some psychopath with an ice pick. Some freak sleeping in a coffin somewhere. We should call the police and report this, let them look into it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And how did this, psycho, get in then, huh? Crawled underneath the front door? Or through the keyhole, like Dracula himself.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She hadn’t thought of that. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It must have been someone in the house that did this to him... </i>It hit her like a bomb. Shock came over her face. Henry stared at her as if all sense had just left her and his niece was lost forever.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza returned to her chair and semi-obediently kept her thoughts to herself, but her folded arms and clenched teeth indicated that she would not surrender.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza watched Hawkins and Henry closely, the glances they exchanged, the gestures they made, the change in pitch in their voice when they spoke to her... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They know more than they’re letting on. Why won’t they tell me?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What if Hawkins was the one that attacked Julian. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That old hag. She sure looks demonic enough. There is your logical explanation: Hawkins with an ice pick. Mystery solved. Or... Henry? Could he really?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But Henry wasn’t there. However, she couldn’t say how long her brother’s... condition lasted when she found him. Hawkins was there all day, she could easily have crept into Julian’s room when she wasn’t looking. But why wouldn’t she have stopped her from seeing him if she already knew in what poor state she’d find him. Her concern for him afterwards seemed genuine enough as well. But if it wasn’t them, then who did it? And why wouldn’t they alert the police except from a desire to protect the guilty, especially if the guilty were they themselves. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It just doesn’t add up. How to make sense of this...</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She made up her mind to come back alone and find out as much as she could from the doctors treating her brother, though it couldn’t be much more than she had already guessed. The rest she’d have to puzzle together herself. She would contact the police, secretly if necessary, and get to the bottom of this. She <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would</i> find whoever put her brother in this damned hospital bed and punish them. She’d do what she had to and make his world save again for him.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every time she saw Julian looking so helpless her fury was heated further, flaming through her veins like liquid fire when she saw the tubes sticking into his skin, saw his chest moving up and down only at the rhythm of the breathing machine he was hooked to. “Just a precautionary matter, miss, just for the night until he builds up his strength.” A nurse ensured her when she saw her worried look at the machinery.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Perhaps the attic wasn’t a bad place to start her quest. It seemed to be a vault of secrets, so this secret had to have a key there too. Why else would they try so hard to keep her out of it, the same way they tried to make her leave the police out of it, with silly arguments and pointless treats. She would discuss it with Ann tonight, when they were alone.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Soon as she got back in her own room she turned on her computer to do a little investigating herself. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As it turned out vampire bats had “four teeth, two front teeth and two canine.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wouldn’t that make four holes rather than two? That just doesn’t fit with the marks on Julian.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“They have very small teeth and leave marks of about seven millimetres long and eight millimetres deep.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Julian’s marks were </i>inches<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> apart, how could a bat do that. </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A typical female vampire bat weighs 40 grams” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how could a 40 ram-bat possibly have a teeth span wide enough</i> “and can consume over 20 grams (1 fluid ounce) of blood in a 20-minute feed.”</span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7899570529606400529#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: NL-BE; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">It took </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">litres<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! I knew it couldn’t have been a bat!</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sent a mail to the police explaining the situation and giving her arguments against the bad explanation she was expected to be satisfied with. She added the material on bats as well, just in case. That should be enough to convince something wasn’t right. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the rest of the day she was silent, even more than usually and said no more to Hawkins or Henry than was strictly necessary. All the while, she was biding her time.</span></span></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br />
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7899570529606400529#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: NL-BE; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> For the information on vampire bats given in this chapter, I made use of Wikipedia. The information is retrievable at: </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_bat"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_bat</span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. The representation here is of course not completely literal.</span></span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-90657341189908751692011-07-16T00:00:00.000-07:002011-10-01T09:48:58.800-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 6<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://f00.inventorspot.com/images/sleepover-friends-movie-400a081407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="http://f00.inventorspot.com/images/sleepover-friends-movie-400a081407.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></div><span style="color: black;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 6 – The sleepover</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The singing of the birds, the rushing and rustling of the leaves in the wind made her more at ease. A chilly breeze soothed her skin as she made her way up the hill. Nevertheless, she was reluctant to go back to that house. It seemed even more of a cage now she had been out with the free birds. She shrugged slightly and went in.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">In the entrance hall she met with the housekeeper who, with an inevitable disapproving look, informed her that lunch would be served in an hour, in a haughty voice. Her initial “Ah, look who decided to drop in after all” did not go down well. She wondered what it was exactly that the woman had against her apart from the fact that her mere presence seemed a nuisance to her, which was weird, she did her own cleaning after all. Perhaps she was annoyed with her tardiness, but what was that to her. It’s not like she was waiting around for her to come back. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That woman is such a pain. Why the hell did he hire </i>her<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> of all people. Then again, who’d want to work here?</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She went to her room to unpack her bag and freshen up and was at the dinner table long before Hawkins and Julian arrived, just to make a point.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Julian took little interest in his food, toying with it rather than eating it, but unlike herself he wasn’t a great lover of vegetables. She waited till the cook had given him his portion of potatoes and beef, but his appetite didn’t improve.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You look a bit pale, Julian. Are you alright?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Huh?” Julian looked at her through eyes that were turned towards another world entirely, hiding a yawn in his fist. She heard a light beep and knew he was playing his Nintendo under the table cloth. Hence his mental absence.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Did you sleep well?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, I think. I dreamt a bit strangely though.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“What about?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t really remember clearly. I was lying in my bed and all of a sudden there was this guy...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Julian, could you please leave your Nintendo upstairs next time?” Henry interrupted.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Yes, it really isn’t decent to bring that thing along for dinner, young man. It is an insult to the cook.” Hawkins, of course, had to add her opinion to Henry’s. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bootlicker.</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Still, it perplexed her that she and the housekeeper from hell were of one mind for once, though she wouldn’t have expressed her sentiment quite so strongly. Her dislike for the piece of electronics was more of a grudge than a concern about her brother’s manners. She just loathed the thing. Almost like jealous. She shook her head. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ridiculous.</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Julian shrugged and sunk back into reverie, without his annoying toy, that was ‘confiscated’ by Hawkins.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">They take his Nintendo and he doesn’t even say a word. Where is his spunk? </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She looked at him over the table, to the feverishly bright eyes in their dark, puffy sockets, glanced at his pale, rosy-cheeked face. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He looks so tired.</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Maybe it was just an oncoming flu or bad cold. Things like that were always going around in elementary schools. He must have got some kind of bug from one of his classmates. It would probably wear off with a good meal and some sleep. She’d make sure he turned in early today.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Julian had a few more bites and excused himself, saying he didn’t feel too well and wished to retire to bed, without even asking for his plaything. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The cook brought in pudding for desert and they ladled on in silence until her uncle, who had kept himself rather on the background in a pensive fashion, addressed her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Had fun last night?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hmm?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“The party?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, uhuh. It was okay.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You didn’t have to use your, uh...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No, I didn’t need the spray at all. It isn’t that dangerous around here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. You shouldn’t go out alone, not at night, you wouldn’t believe what’s creeping around out there.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>suppose.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“By the way, I met the mother of that friend of yours, this, uh...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Ann?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Right. I met her mother at the baker’s this morning. Apparently Ann’s parents are leaving next week.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Leaving? She didn’t mention any of that.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“They’ve only just decided to go.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“And is Ann going with them? In the middle of school?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No, no. Her parents are going by themselves. She said something about a second honeymoon in the Bahamas or whatever, somewhere tropical. And then Italy, Venice. They’re going to be gone for at least two weeks.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“And they just leave Ann behind, all by herself?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, that’s the thing. We have a lot of vacant rooms here and since you and Ann get along so well... You could probably use someone your own age to talk to rather than two old hounds like Mrs. Hawkins and me.” Hawkins nearly choked in a potato and stuck her nose up in contempt, “so I suggested to her mother that Ann could stay with us while they were away. She was glad to accept the offer.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“That’s great! I’ll go call her right away.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Sure, child.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She dashed out of the dining room so fast she missed how Hawkins bent over to Henry and said in a muttered voice: “I don’t know if it’s prudent to bring in another one. Two of those girls might cause even more trouble for us.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Nah. It’ll keep her off our back and out of the attic. We can’t have her snooping around any longer. Ann will surely keep her busy, too busy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe, for one or two weeks. How are we going to keep her occupied after that? We can’t inevitably keep her from seeing...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Shush! The walls have ears. Besides, in a few months time the new academy year will start and she’ll go to college, somewhere far away.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Anywhere far away.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Cheers.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza rushed up the steps and stopped. Should she ask Julian to join her for TV or something? He was alone too often, not that it bothered him, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unfortunately</i>. It couldn’t be healthy for a boy his age to be so isolated. And she really missed his company... She knocked, but there was no reply. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The poor thing must have fallen asleep already. </i>Hopefully he would be more lively in the morning.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It wasn’t long, it was never long, before Ann arrived. She had readied her room herself and lead Ann up the stairs to see it. Ann didn’t seem to be too down about being dumped at a friend’s house like an unwanted dog. Then again, she already guessed she wasn’t too close with her parents, though they gave her whatever she desired, except what she really needed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Here you go, Ann. This will be your room. Like it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Love it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I know that it’s not really your style but hey, you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got, right?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Any place would do to run to when that bitch crosses your path.” She eyed the housekeeper, who just walked by at the bottom of the stairs with a sour glance in their direction.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Charming, isn’t she.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“More like ‘hexing’. I suppose that’s the overage Morticia you were talking about? You know, when she answered the door, I was afraid she was going to eat me! But I’m sure she would have spat me back out, judging by the way she looked at me. I’m telling you, that hag is evil.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, she’s a nasty old witch.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She only missed my foot by an inch</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You can say that again.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“She makes me wanna snap my fingers and go Tadadadam...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza chuckled.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, guess I’ll just leave you to your unpacking. Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep that freak away from you.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Not me. If she comes after you, you’re on your own, I’m not going to take her on, no way. She scares me far too much.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Gee, thanks.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, I’m such a good friend...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, it’s heart warming... Just knock on my door when you’re ready for a tour, okay?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Got ya.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza showed her the gardens, or rather pointed them out from behind the window, Ann wasn’t exactly the type to enjoy green stuff. Then she lead her through the house, from the basement to the second floor.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, that’s it.” She said, patiently waiting to introduce her own bait.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“And where does this go?” Ann asked, gazing at the peculiar wooden staircase with a curious eye.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Oh that, that goes up.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Ann rolled her eyes. “I can see that, it’s a staircase for crying out loud, up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">where</i>?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It’s nothing you’d be interested in, just some old stuff.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, do I have to drag it out of you? I can see that you’re about to burst, so tell me already: what’s up there?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Fine then, that, my dear Ann, is the infamous attic.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Infamous, how?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“We’re not allowed to go up there.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Why not, it’s just an attic.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“A very dangerous attic.” Ann looked at her and raised an eyebrow in mockery. At least according to my uncle and his hawk. When they caught me nosing around, they got so mad... They claim it’s for my own good, but I find that hard to believe.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Are they afraid the spiders are going to attack or something? Or worse, that the cardboard is going to gang up on you.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“They should put up a sign: caution, killer boxes.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You may laugh now, but they will box you to death.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, sure.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No joking around, those things are fierce. I can totally see it now: new in theatres, ‘Revenge of the cardboard boxes’, that’ll be something.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It would be a hit.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It could be the next ‘birds’.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Or ‘rats’.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“They’ve got rats?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Loads.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Ieeuw. I don’t like rats...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Ann, you crack me up.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I really wasn’t kidding, stop laughing, Eliza, it’s not funny!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Ann punched her shoulder playfully.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Aw!” She laughed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“But seriously, I’d like to go up there. I like infamous things.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Geez, I never would have guessed...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t play dumb, I can see in your face that you’re dying to check it out, too.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You bet. I just know they’re hiding something, and whatever it is,” Eliza pointed up, “that’s where the answers will be.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“We have to get in.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, we will. Have a little patience. After all, they can’t guard it forever, can they?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“They sure are guarding it now, someone’s coming!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">They stumbled down the two flights of stairs and into Eliza’s room chuckling. They were determined. Curiosity spread through them like wildfire, lighting stars in their eyes.</span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-84522078220756914662011-07-09T06:25:00.000-07:002011-07-09T06:25:59.056-07:00Announcement: impending (temporary) emigration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/On-Vacation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" m$="true" src="http://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/On-Vacation.png" width="274px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hey guys! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A quick <em>heads up</em>: I'm leaving for Italy tomorrow. I'll be gone for a few weeks and though I normally <em>should</em> have internet access while I'm there (probably not the first few days though, we make a long road trip out of getting there), past experiences incline me not to get my hopes up so I'll schedule a few posts just in case. If I don't respond, you know why...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hopefully, I can do a few 'on location' posts while I'm there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Anyways, take care people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I really hope I can stay in touch abroad or I'll be really pissed and walk all the way back home... No, I won't, but I'll say I will out loud, which is basically the same thing. Cu later ;).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxcsmpXV011qae1hao1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212px" m$="true" src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxcsmpXV011qae1hao1_500.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-72631230478433508012011-07-08T05:28:00.000-07:002011-07-08T05:32:01.656-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 5<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 5 – the encounter</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thenextweb.com/apps/files/2010/06/hands-reaching-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="213px" m$="true" src="http://thenextweb.com/apps/files/2010/06/hands-reaching-2.jpg" width="320px" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She held two tops up and tried to determine which to wear.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“What do you think?”, she asked Ann.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“They’re both black.”, Ann replied with a quick glance while reading a fashion magazine on the bed now her schoolwork was done.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe that’s just the colour of my soul.”, Eliza said mockingly.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“As if!” Ann laughed while Eliza dodged the pillow aimed at her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">They laughed aloud and dropped down on the bed to listen to some music. Ann turned the volume up a few notches. “Nothing like some party music to get into the mood.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Right.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The first party in months!</i> Eliza only wished she actually wanted to go. Perhaps she just hadn’t digested all the ghost stories yet, even though she liked a good dose of horror. It does make a difference if it’s set in some distant movie studio or in your own house... But she was resolved on enjoying herself, on command if she had to, for Ann’s sake and for her own.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a name='more'></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I can’t believe you could find a club in this dead part of the world. I didn’t even know there was a nightlife here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Or life at all.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You’re the best, Ann.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, just leave it to me to find out where the fun is at.”, she said snapping her fingers to the rhythm and half-rose with a glance at the alarm clock. “But if you don’t make up your mind soon, there won’t be any night left when we get there.” Ann was already fully dressed and ready to go, while Eliza was still fidgeting at her hair and deciding on clothes. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Like that would stop you!” Nevertheless she thought it best to hurry up and picked up the black cocktail dress Ann had picked out for her from the heap of clothes she had dumped there. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Isn’t it a little short? Oh, well.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thank God Ann has an eye for fashion cause I’m hopeless...</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Nonetheless she looked at her reflection with a critical eye, or at least attempted to when Ann grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You look great, now let’s GO!”, Ann yelled while lugging Eliza, who could just in time pluck her handbag off the bed, to the door.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">They left the car in an underground car park in a more residential area and headed for the booming nightlife on foot. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza tried not to notice that the clubs were situated in a fairly unfriendly looking part of town, with just as unfriendly looking people lurking about in the alleys. She closed her hand around the pepper spray in her pocket for comfort. Her uncle made her take it with her when she told him where she was going, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">go figure</i>... Still, the number of clubs here was a pleasant surprise and it was good to see some other young people in the streets for a change.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Which club?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Pick one.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Alright then, ohm... – eenie meenie mini moe - that one!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">An hours later, she nipped on a breezer at the bar while Ann was enjoying herself on the dance floor with a few of the local creeps, who started surrounding her ever since they got there.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza said she went for a drink, but in reality she could really use a time-out. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At least Ann is having fun. </i>She turned to look at the group and couldn’t help but wonder how her new friend managed to just about radiate despite a shabby nightclub like this. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Almost like a star in a dark sky. I’ve got to make her teach me how to do that some time.</i> The fact that she chose the exact middle of the dance floor and wore her brightest dress while most of the people around her dressed in all black probably had something to do with that, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but hey, guess that’s just Ann. </i>She wasn’t exactly one for letting herself go by unnoticed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She let her eye dwell on the others present until her gaze fell on a young man near the door. He just came in. Couldn’t be much older than she was. What first struck her was how subtle his movements were, like a cat on the hunt, a black cat. He stuck out from the rest somehow and he... was looking at her! When he saw she noticed a faint smile came over his lips, curling one edge of his mouth up just a little, nearly unnoticeable, while he practically floated about.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">For a second their eyes locked and then she looked away hoping her cheeks didn’t colour. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Off course he was looking at me, it’s only logical the way I was staring at him</i>. Quickly she feigned disinterest by fixing her eye back on Ann. Would he follow her eyes and start watching Ann too? Everyone else did. Great way to get rid of spotlights.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Still it wasn’t long before her eyes mutinied on her and turned back to the door in a frantic search, but the hansom stranger wasn’t there anymore. He seemed to have dissolved. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He couldn’t have left, could he? </i>Something in the way he moved was scary but intrigued her at the same time. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She turned and saw him at the bar to her right, looking, sizing her up almost with that revolting yet captivating smile of his. Part of her wanted to beat it off him, another part had a completely different plan for those lips of his. She wished to silence them both. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Best to pay absolutely no attention to him lest he would fancy her interested. She put the empty bottle on the bar and made her way through the crowd back to Ann. This whole thing gave her the creeps.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hey, don’t you think we’ve been here long enough? How about we go now?” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“What? Are you kidding? This place is great, why you wanna go?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She definitely wouldn’t be persuaded to go home, even if she would explain the situation to her. But how could she do that? It didn’t make sense to her either. She just wanted to get away, whether she could understand her unease or not. The guy just stirred up too much in her and not all of it was pleasant. Not all of it was unpleasant either. Something in his gaze made alarm bells go off in her head. So she settled for the next best option: get out of the club. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Surely, I can win Ann over for that.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, Ann. So many clubs, so little night left. The hours are ticking away and we’ve got to do all of them before dawn. What do you say?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“See it as preparation for when we start college next year.” She winked. “You’re not going soft on me, are you, Ann?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hell no! You’re on!” Ann whispered something to some of the guys around her who looked at her mournfully while scanning the rest of the crowd from the corner of their eye for a girl to replace her with. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">“Come on, Liz, let’s go!”, she said while she waggled ahead, trying to lead the way. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Better keep her away from booze for the next hours to avoid disaster...</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“See, this place is even better! A shame so many others think so too.”, Eliza said while she tried hard to avoid collisions in the crowd as much as she could. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“No worries, the school kids have curfews.” Eliza wondered why Ann didn’t have a curfew. They kind of were school kids after all, at least for a bit longer. “They’ll be gone soon and then we’ll take over the dance floor.”, Ann said winking. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m supposed to go home with her if I want a ride back anywhere near home. This might get very late, or rather early. Maybe she’ll be sober by then.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">When she wasn’t looking Eliza snatched away Ann’s gin tonic, finished it and put it back. She had been doing that ever since they left the first club to keep Ann from getting completely drunk. Whenever she could, she replaced Ann’s alcoholic drinks with soda’s or signalled the waiter to change Ann’s order while she was distracted. After all, Ann was going to have to drive... </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza was snatched from her reverie both literally and figuratively when the DJ threw the newest chart leader on and the familiar tones reached their ears. The club went wild and so did Ann.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“It’s our song, Lizzy!” Ann grabbed her wrist and made her way to the centre of the floor, dragging Eliza behind her like dead weight.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The dancing had made her cheeks turn bright red and they stopped, laughing, to gasp for air and keep each other standing. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Eliza ducked to pick up Ann’s purse that had slipped off her shoulder and wanted to hand it to her when before she was aware of it she was looking right into the dark eyes of the mysterious boy she saw earlier. She froze immediately.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He was back and he didn’t exactly blend in with the party folk, yet no one seemed to really notice he was there and they all just kept moving whereas he and she were standing still amidst the spinning all around them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“What is it?” Ann asked.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Him.”, she whispered trying not to nod in his direction but unable to pull her eyes away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, he’s kind of cute, isn’t he?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, I suppose so.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">His calm air bordered on arrogance, which really got on her nerves and yet he appeared to attract her despite herself. He seemed way too relaxed as he hung back at the bar, watching them, perfectly at ease, while everything and everyone else were in flux, like a rock in a turbulent current. A rock wearing a shiny black leather jacket. What was he puling the good old ‘bad boy’ act? How strangely effective. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He didn’t look away, didn’t even blink, he just kept staring with that half amused grin that really started to annoy her. His look had something almost cruel about it which made the blood in her veins freeze and boil at the same time and yet his whole posture had something immensely appealing as well. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, or him for that matter or anything about him, not even what his effect on herself was. That gaze of his was almost hypnotic, almost beckoning, almost magnetic and left no escape as he seemed to look at her so intensely and through her at the same time as if he pierced into her very soul and he kept calling, calling her as if she could hear his voice, low as a whisper, in her head and she... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">STOP!</i> She shrugged. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees as she struggled to regain control over her limbs and the crowd stopped parting to let her through. What happened? What was she doing? What got into her that she would go over to him? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It was as if she awoke from a trance and all was cold and chill and dizzying around as she looked at him and regained her consciousness. Still, she had to battle herself to turn around, to run away, but she didn’t want to yet she was desperate to but couldn’t and so she stood there motionless, an island in moving bodies, like him, and returned his glare while black lights went on and off over their heads.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">As she stopped approaching he was startled and crawled up on the bar stool as to almost get to his feet, the crooked grin was almost entirely wiped off his face as they stood about nine feet apart, assessing each other like predator and prey, though it was hard to tell which was which.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He lost his composure and a haze of confusion came over his features. He took some hesitant steps in her direction, then stopped like she had and seemed to change his mind, retraced his steps, took position at the darkest corner of the bar and lowered his eyes, but she knew he was still watching her from the shadows, she felt his glare burning on her skin and below it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She tried not to pay attention to him or at least make him think she didn’t though every movement, every breath she took was entrenched in his presence.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The intensity of his observation grew. It made her feel very uneasy, yet it gave her a pleasant glow in her stomach, which she hoped wouldn’t spread to become visible on her cheeks and give her away. Better go <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“How ‘bout we check out this club across the street?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“I’m in!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">But fleeing was no refuge; he followed her wherever she went and seemed to enjoy it too, like a child playing hide and seek. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">He looked at her somewhat differently than before, more lively, more earthly too and nodded at her almost imperceptibly as if they were in a duel. In a way, of course, they were.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It was not like he didn’t like being challenged at what he was good at and she refused to lose to him and so they both silently accepted the dare.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Her reluctance to lose the game aside, Eliza felt she couldn’t read him, couldn’t penetrate as far beneath the surface as he apparently could and every attempt gave her headaches. It was like looking into a dark, deep pool and trying to see the bottom, yet she wouldn’t give up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">For her the contest of looks and attitudes continued till her nerve disappeared together with the temporary intoxication of the alcohol which always made her braver than she generally was. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">An hour before dawn, as the sky was slowly clearing up, he disappeared with a final nod in her direction, a little more obvious than before. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was trying to communicate a wordless “We’ll meet again”. She certainly hoped he wasn’t and craved to see him again still. She wondered if it was possible for a person to literally be split in half. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If it is, I’m in big trouble...</i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, is the hottie gone?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Apparently.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Shame. Why didn’t you go talk to him or something?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t know. I didn’t intend to even try.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Well, if you don’t want him, can I have him?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“You’re unbelievable, you know that?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“So I’ve been told.”, Ann said, sticking out her tongue.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, let’s go. Don’t you think we’ve had enough action for one night?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">All the way back to Ann’s house Eliza was silent, but Ann decided not to go into it and left her to her thoughts, though secretly guessing their handsome object.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">That look of his had fascinated her and the power of it had scared her, yet whatever feeling came over her, though it took her considerable effort to regain composure at times, the experience was never really unpleasant. It had been more like the verge of deep sleep, like a peaceful sliding into a state where her head was light and empty.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">What worried her was that it had been emptied of herself and filled with him and that he seemed to know her hopes, her fears and her deepest secrets, seemed to pluck them right out of her heart. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She didn’t like it at all when people came too close, and she liked it even less when they knew too much about her. She wanted to be like the dark watered pond in the castle yard, that resembled his eyes so much.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Just for a moment, he had bereft her of her ability to resist but that moment had made all the difference. How long had it been? A second? Two seconds? Three? A whole minute? It didn’t even matter but for that blink of an eye, which he refused to give, he took her over, he made her think and do as he chose and that she would not let him or anyone else accomplish ever again. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">However resolved on not ever thinking of him again, his eyes haunted her dreams and were imprinted in her soul whether she was conscious of it or not.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The mist will not go down, it spreads all around me. However, the cool glass of the mirror in front of me remains crystal-clear. Still there is no reflection. I stretch my arm and touch the glass with a fingertip. The surface wrinkles like silvery water, impenetrable to the eye. It is only now that I realize the rectangle is not a mirror at all, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a doorway instead. I slowly hold my hands out and push through the chilly liquid into another room that is not foggy. However, everything still consist of different shades of white, one shading<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>into the other. It is difficult to see anything distinct, all is hazy, I can’t separate one tone from another. Where am I? </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">“Hello?” My voice sounds shrill. Am I afraid? </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Responding to my call, something moves forward from out of the white and very slowly takes form, detaching itself from the background. I see the slightly more greyish spot grow into the form of a girl. She has been here the entire time, why couldn’t I see her before?</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">The girl is dancing. If I had to describe her dance in one word, it would be exotic. Exotic and eccentric. Unworldly? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I can heart bells on her clothing toll as she moves. I envy her for her enchanting dance. Her movements are liquid and graceful, as herself. She dances to the rhythm of the indistinct white haze around her, matching its patterns perfectly while making the figures and lines it lays out for her in space. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I focus on the girl herself. She is so thin, she reminds me of a vision, a spectre, something unreal, intangible and fleeting. Fragile too. Transparent almost. Like a ghost, the spirit of something that never was and never will, can, be. Her figure is long and she has exceptionally extended slim arms that move like serpents, as responding to a will of their own, one will for the both of them. Such harmony.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">On each of those elongated arms, bending and curling, are a number of white masks being joggled along with her movements. Each of them a different expression and the clearest tone of white in the entire room. The girl herself borders on light gray, but still very pale and of a translucent kind. There is such serenity in her entire frame, in the way she curves to a laid-back tempo with such elegance, every part of her corresponding to it. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">It must be her visage that lends such a overwhelming calm to her performance. She keeps her head down, her face is hidden in the shadows of her long hair, I take another step, I have to see it. Is she sad? Her posture seems drooping. It must be the untied hair that makes it so. I approach her like one would a wild animal, she does not interrupt her dance, until we are just inches apart. Then she lifts her head. The girl has no face. Only a blank spot looms were an expression should be. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I stumble back in horror. She’s coming towards me. My back slams into the portal, it is a mirror again, he liquid ice had turned back into metal. I’m trapped. I’m stuck in here, with HER</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 378.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">In the morning the thoughts of him that had lingered in her mind throughout the night had vanished as if the sun had melted them away. She still welcomed the walk from Ann’s house back to the mansion to help clear her head.</span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-17261244711216676312011-06-25T00:06:00.000-07:002011-06-25T00:07:28.704-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/50282/50282,1129265654,6/stock-photo-open-a-crack-round-top-door-628479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" i$="true" src="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/50282/50282,1129265654,6/stock-photo-open-a-crack-round-top-door-628479.jpg" width="181px" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 4 – The alliance</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She banged the door shot and sighed. Another week gone by with nothing in it for her but school, reading, sleeping and more school. The “village” was a bore, she knew hardly anyone in it and she could forget about diversion in her explorations as well, since the attic was guarded continually by Henry and his watchdog by the time she got home.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday, normally the most exciting day of the week, and she couldn’t wait till Monday so at least she had something to look forward to: homework. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julian wasn’t much of a comfort, he was busy building a very close relationship to his Nintendo, leaving her with nothing but the piano. And that always grew too painful at a given point, even when playing her favourites.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She put her hand on the railing to go up to her room, when she heard voices. It sounded like two people arguing. One of them was obviously Henry, she would recognise his deep, resonating timbre anywhere, but the other was a quite unfamiliar, yet undeniably pleasant-sounding clear voice.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was coming from her uncle’s office. Curiosity took her over as she crept closer, clinging to the wall, determined to hear more of the whispered conversation. Henry and his troublesome guest had left the door open just a crack. She could make out Henry’s face, and see most of his gestures, but the other person was hidden entirely from her sight.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her uncle’s tone was suddenly surprisingly high, like a woman whining in desperation.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Please, I beg you, she’s just a child, I promise you...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You seem unable of keeping promises.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I ensure you that from now on...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You ensured me that these <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">children</i> would be no trouble at all.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, but, please have some...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Can’t you even control one little girl?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Were they talking about her? She shivered. Regardless of the dissatisfaction in his words, his voice remained completely level and he didn’t raise it even once. He was so calm it was disturbing. Henry, on the other hand, doused himself in countless arguments, pleads and apologies, not to mention downright begging.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I want what was stolen returned to me, do you understand?” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stolen? Did I steal something? What is going on...</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, of course, sir, I’ll take care of it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, I will. I have little faith left in your abilities.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, please, don’t! If only you would give me another chance, I swear I will not fail you again, have mercy, I’ll do whatever I can to...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She could see a pale, bony finger being lifted, accompanied by a low hiss. Henry ceased his word flow and looked at her, stupefied and reddish. For a moment she hesitated like a deer caught in a headlight, then rushed in. She plunged forward and pushed the door open, stumbling into the middle of the office to find herself eye to eye with absolutely no one. The room was empty, apart from Henry, who continued to look at her as if one of them had just gone completely mad, either one.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Where... Who...” She looked around again and after a quick glance at the dumbfounded, open-mouthed Henry, left the room without uttering another word.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m losing my mind. Either that, or there’s something really fishy going on in this house.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She retreated to her room and turned on her computer, at least she had that little excuse for a connection to the outside world, still shaking her head in confusion. Looking at the blinking screen before her, she started breathing regularly again.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She could watch some TV online, that would calm her down. She was glad she had it, since her uncle had a strange grudge against modern media and didn’t even own a set. This of course obliged Julian to come to her – or rather her computer – for entertainment... until Henry incited her eternal wrath by giving his “favourite” – and only, and estranged by own default – nephew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his own TV!</i></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She briskly tapped a key in her irritation. He had to be hiding something. Who was that man, what did he want, and what did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she </i>have to do with it all? It had to be her they were talking about. Or was it? What else could they have been discussing but “little girls” in this castle? What exactly did she do to upset whoever he was? How did he get out of a room with just one exit unseen and where did he go? And more importantly, how was he planning on “taking care of it”? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a futile attempt at distraction, she tried to google some nearby cities that were actually worth their title, but geography had never really been her cup of tea to start with.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She’d be happy strolling the garden and the woods, which could put her mind at ease, had it not been freezing for a week solid. According to the weatherman it would still be freezing next week. And the week after that. It would freeze all bloody winter. It didn’t use to be like that where she grew up, where it was always nicer, always warmer. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcome to your new home... </i>She longed for spring.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was an abrupt beeping. She was surprised at how long it took to sink in that it was her cell phone ringing.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hello?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Heya Liz!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her mother used to call her that. In any case she had one friend here. She was so glad she dropped her books that day, otherwise she might still not have met anyone. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hey Ann, what’s up?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Look around you, what do you think? Not much, obviously.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Same here.”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unfortunately.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, since we’re both bored, how about I come over? We could work on that English assignment together.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“English assignment?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, the one on the English Renaissance... the one that’s due <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tomorrow.”</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, dear, thanks for reminding me, must have completely slipped my mind...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That I finished it a week ago, not to mention redid it twice. Pathetic.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, guess you owe me... So is it on?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, sure.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Then I’ll be right over.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t you need directions or something?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann laughed. She felt like she was missing something. “No need. Everyone around here knows where the castle is. It’s kind of hard to miss.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Figures.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, and uh, I was thinking. Since it’s Friday, I was wondering if, you’d be interested in doing something, you know, after the assignment, like maybe going out or something?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She smiled. She knew Ann was a bit of a misfit too, and being a relatively new inhabitant herself, hadn’t managed to “infiltrate” into the tight-knit high school society either. That’s why they had initially closed a silent pact to join forces.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">An alliance throughout high school, especially since they were planning on getting into the same college, and now another one against boredom. Ann must have been longing to get out as much as she was, though she always put up the ‘miss cool act’, not really fooling anyone with it. It was fine with her, as long as she could get away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Tell me something though, out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">where</i>? Kicking it down at old Mrs. Hallows’ grocery shop? That’ll be fun.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No silly! Just because you have to go an extra mile or two, dozen, doesn’t mean there isn’t some place to go to. It’s Friday night, that means something, even here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, going to bed an hour later than usual because ‘Titanic’ is on, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">again</i>.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We have parties too, you know.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You just need one hell of a tracking sense to find them.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’ll take you somewhere that will blow your mind away.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fat chance. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Amaze me.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You’ll see, just let me take the lead.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, can’t hurt.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Jeez, such enthusiasm.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Jeez, such sarcasm.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She hated parties, the crowds, the smoke, the filth, the intoxicated assholes that poured themselves full of booze or worse and covered everyone else in it too because they can’t hold on to their drinks anymore, the pushing, the yelling... She couldn’t wait. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anything is better than staying indoors in this nuthouse. </i>She grimaced at her reflection in the mirror and turned away from it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She opened the door. Ann stared at her, not giving any indication that she was planning on lifting her foot as if she was waiting for something. Eliza raised an eyebrow.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I expected Lurge.” The girl said.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t worry, it’s not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>bad. You might see an It or two, and definitely an over-age Morticia. Please, come in.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“After that introduction?” Ann asked playfully, yet looked around with great interest. “I always wondered what it looked like from the inside.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, voila.” Eliza spread her arms, gesturing towards their surroundings.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann made a face.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, I know, I didn’t pick the house.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Who is it?” A deep voice enquired, coming into the hall with another newspaper under his arm.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A friend of mine from school, uncle, this is Ann.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You could have at least told me we were having guests over, young lady, this is very inappropriate!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uhm, I didn’t think it would be a problem, we just have an assignment together.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, no use in arguing over spilled milk. Welcome, young lady, Ann, was it?” He stretched his flabby hand out to her. “How do you do?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Very well, sir, thank...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, just make sure not to make too much noise, okay?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He looked at her severely and left.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Okay.” Ann mouthed. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, that was my uncle Henry, he took us in.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What a nice man.” Ann said insincerely.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I think he’s in a bad mood or something, he’s usually better. Perhaps I should have warned him you were coming.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Why, so he could have hid the skeletons and got rid of the drugs or something.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Very funny. Let’s just go to my room, so we won’t be making too much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">noise</i>.” She rolled her eyes. His furtive meeting must still go on his nerves. Was he afraid Ann might see or hear things? Or did he fear that she might tell her things?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They went upstairs.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“This is it.” She tidied her desk and hastily shoved the printed assignment in the nearest drawer while Ann looked around and whistled in admiration.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Wow. My room looks like a broom cabinet compared to this.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But yours is probably a lot more cheerful. I did my best, but this entire house is just so... depressing.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“If by depressing, you mean creepy, then yes.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t get me started, I actually have to live here, at night. Have a seat.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Let’s get to it, then. The quicker we’re done, the faster we can leave.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She soon discovered than Ann had the same attention span as your average goldfish. In hardly no time at all, her mind was full of something – or rather anything – other than renaissance poets.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She bounced through the room from one object to the next. Finally her eye was caught by the crimson rose.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Nice rose.” Ann sprinted at it like a cat leaps at a mouse, crawling over the bed to reach the bedside table and plucked it right out of the vase. It made Eliza feel a pang,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> what is this feeling, it’s almost like</i> jealousy. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ridiculous!</i> What a ridiculous impulse to get jealous over a flower. She smiled her most benevolent smile to try and conceal it. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Absurd!</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thanks. It’s from the garden.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The garden?! In the middle of winter?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza put her pencil down, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what the hell, she was done anyway. </i>“Oh, yes, and what’s even more weird is that it’s been cut off weeks ago and it’s still <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fresh</i>.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Hmm, how odd.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A sigh of relief shook Eliza’s entire frame when the girl sprung to the next curiosity. Pensively she turned over the mysterious box from the attic.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Pretty.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza raised her head to look past Ann at the window, listening to the howling outside.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It’s storming again.” She said tonelessly.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ah, yes. That’s normal here, especially this time of year. I wouldn’t worry too much about if I were you, you’ll get used to it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I wonder.” The streams of water bashing the window resembled too much the long, hard claws of some monster. Inadvertently she recalled the pale bony fingers of the stranger she’d seen that day and his long, pointed nails. Should she tell Ann about that? How could she ever explain the person’s disappearance? And what would she tell about him, she’d never even seen his face. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She’ll just think I’m a total nutcase.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All of a sudden she noticed that Ann had been watching her carefully all this time.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Scared?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Of what?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A stormy night in a site like this, some people would be afraid.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t be ridiculous! I live here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It may look a little strange or even creepy, but it’s still just a normal house.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What, maybe?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Spill it!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I don’t know...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What do you mean?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“There are rumours.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza took the bait. “What kind of rumours?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Gruesome ones.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What sort?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Nothing substantial, just stories the villagers tell each other”, Ann bent over to Eliza and whispered, “about the castle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, come on.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m serious, they say some pretty scary stuff goes about here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“People talk, especially if they don’t have anything else to do. Particularly about things that they just don’t know anything about it. If my uncle was a bit more hospitable with the villagers there would be no mysteries and no rumours like that.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Still, this place has quite a history.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“History?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uhuh. They say a count lived here, a long time ago.” Ann said in a low suggestive voice.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Alright, I’ll play along; what happened?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He found out the countess cheated on him with their servant, who had been his childhood friend and whom he trusted like no other.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So what did he do?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He murdered his – or the servant’s – son, chopped him to bits, roasted him on a wood fire and fed him to his wife, whom he bricked into the wall along with her child’s remains.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, please.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I swear. And then he blamed it all on the servant and had him hanged, even though he kept yelling he was innocent, all the way down to the very end. They tortured him, of course, to make him confess, but he refused.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And he got away with it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Why yes, no one dared stand up to him. In those days the aristocracy ruled absolutely, they were prosecutor, judge and jury all in one. You couldn’t oppose someone like that. However...” She left a small pause and looked Eliza deep in the eyes. “His wife could not find peace.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You mean his... dead wife?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uhuh. Every night again she would appear before the count and confronted him with his deeds, showing herself to him all bloody and howling through the night, making as much racket as possible in the house till eventually all of the other servants fled and the count was left all alone. They say the guilt drove him mad. Every night he was kept awake, every day his wife would make her presence felt.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Felt how?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Moving the furniture around, making things disappear, making noises, writing things, you know, ghost stuff.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Then what happened?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eventually the count couldn’t take it anymore and killed himself, you wanna know how?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He skinned himself to death!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, come on, do you seriously believe that? How can anyone skin themselves to death?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“They found him like that, in the morning, amidst peeled skin and drenched in blood. They could only recognize him by his seal ring.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Geez.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Of course no one can tell if it wasn’t really his wife’s ghost that did it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sure, blame it on the ghost.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“They even say you can hear them, at night, especially on nights like this, with the full moon and all. You can hear the cries of the burnt child out in the woods, the begging of the servant that was hung at the entrance gate to be picked clean by ravens” She came closer “and the count and countess, they haunt the castle walls at night. If you’re very quiet, than at midnight you can hear the countess wail.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’ve never heard a woman wail here, and I’ve been up at night often enough.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, if you hear something crashing to the ground or see a shadow moving through the hallway, don’t go check!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What about the count? What noise does he make?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, nothing in particular, some hysteric screams, it’s what he does that makes him so scary.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What does he do?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann had been waiting for this encouragement. “He kills everyone that enters his castle, sooner or later. He’s very territorial.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m still alive aren’t I? I’ve never seen the count.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Previous owners have. A number of them have died mysteriously, including the man that owned it before your uncle bought it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“That’s just...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You don’t believe me? There’s a report on Mr. Defevre in the school library. I’ll show it to you some time. We could go there Monday, I’ll prove it to you.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Coincidence.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Maybe. Don’t come whining if one night you wake up and see the bloody count peeling off his own skin right in front of you, if he doesn’t peel off yours next.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Nice... Admit it, you made that up!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What are you saying?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“All I’m saying is that if I were you, I’d check under the bed every night before I’d go to sleep.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, come on! You’re just trying to scare me!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I wouldn’t be too confident.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Otherwise you would never have offered to come here.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m getting the hell out before midnight though.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We’re not twelve anymore. That kind of thing doesn’t work on me anymore, so cut it out!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh really? Who says it isn’t true? Haven’t you noticed anything strange since you got here?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Like what, ghosts?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Who knows. No seriously.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She hesitated, should she tell her? It would make her feel better to confide in someone. “Well, maybe.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Like what?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m not going to tell you. It’s silly. You’ll just think I’m nuts.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I won’t. You can tell me.”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come on.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, I know there is no such thing as ghosts and all but... but sometimes I almost come to think that... this castle might be...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Haunted?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, stupid isn’t it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I told you so!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It’s just that there are some things...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What kind of things?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sometimes I hear things, probably just the wind, but...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Like what?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She paused and then spoke more agitated. “Sometimes when I’m up at night and I’m absolutely sure everyone else is asleep, I hear voices when there’s no one there.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In your head?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Haha. Or it’s like the piano just starts playing all by itself or I hear footsteps in the hall or on the stairs, or a door slams shut in an empty hall, or someone or something appears to be moving in the shadows... But that could all be imagination.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The power of suggestion in a gothic castle, huh.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“There is something else. It’s an indisputable a fact that every time I open the curtains, someone shuts them behind me and I never get to see who did it and then there are these, cold draughts that crop up all of a sudden and seem to be blowing out of nowhere and even worse, sometimes it’s like I can feel a cold hand just...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann burst out in laughter. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“None of it was true, was it?” Eliza said, sighing. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That will go around on Monday. “Hey did you hear, the new girl is nuts! She thinks she can see ghosts. Say hi to Casper for me, freak!”</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Like I said: the power of suggestion. It’s probably that housekeeper of yours that closes the curtains and leaves windows open or something. Draughts are pretty normal in an old house like this.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, whatever. Just forget I said anything.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I wish. At least she’ll make new friends gossiping at my expense.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, I heard isolation can do strange things to a person, why do you think they use it as a punishment?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Great, so I really am nuts.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, silly. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I’m not like that.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thanks.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Anyway, I have something to say that will cheer you up.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What, do the ghost busters really exist?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, better. I know the perfect cure.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And what would that be?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann hopped of the bed and made suggestive dance moves while making a full spin.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Party, party and party like there’s no tomorrow.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza smiled softly. “Then let’s get to it!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Now you’re talking! Atta girl.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But how exactly do you plan on getting there? On foot.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I have a car, it’s parked right outside.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Nice.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You can spend the night at my place, my mum doesn’t mind. All you have to do is pack your pyjama’s and a toothbrush.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She only had pyjama’s with hello kitty or snoopy on them because her mum used to think they were cute... Just great.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, fine then. I’m just going to ask my uncle permission.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ask permission?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Damn. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Yeah, don’t ask.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Does he have you wear a collar during the day and walk you on a leash to school or something.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh, don’t worry, it isn’t that catastrophic.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yet. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But she’d never tried getting him to let her go out, especially at night. He wouldn’t even let her walk home from school by herself now the sun was setting sooner. But then again, Ann was with her. They had a car, it wasn’t like they would go on foot. What if he wouldn’t let her go? Escape? Climb out the window? She was getting too old for this...</span></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-28832631704024046212011-06-21T00:00:00.000-07:002011-06-21T00:00:04.789-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 3<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><strong></strong></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><strong> </strong></span> </span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZhnDnpkU-dOQnACQbSxyVepsiGQASw_uFh7k3rBS2StTjhGd4gFY148lX21BSIJ_tPvCBUpOp1rnxOUDE08GYKt8FP7B5sBtnukTwL5FKAjcdDxRjl4jDllj4rPHUrX3EKvnzhmhUcU/s1600/autumn+leaves+with+green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZhnDnpkU-dOQnACQbSxyVepsiGQASw_uFh7k3rBS2StTjhGd4gFY148lX21BSIJ_tPvCBUpOp1rnxOUDE08GYKt8FP7B5sBtnukTwL5FKAjcdDxRjl4jDllj4rPHUrX3EKvnzhmhUcU/s320/autumn+leaves+with+green.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><strong><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><hr align="center" size="0" width="98%" /></div></strong></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><strong>Chapter 3 – the village</strong></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Si sta come</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D’autunno</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sugli alberi</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Le foglie</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(“ One is/as in autumn/on the trees/the leaves”, ‘soldati’/’soldiers’ by</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Giuseppe Ungaretti, translation as found in Harrison, ‘dominion of the dead’, p. 125)</span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="0" width="98%" /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her eyes flung wide open. It took her a minute to realize that she was staring at the ceiling and then another to recognize the annoying beep in the background as the alarm clock. She turned to look daggers at it, but as the thing refused to explode she extended her arm to the fullest to reach it. No more denying it was already morning... </span></span></div><a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With the new year, her senior year, about to start, the holidays were irrevocably over. She rolled herself out of bed half-heartedly and went to knock on Julian’s door. No reply. Nearly tripping over the alarm clock that had “miraculously” smacked on the floor still peeping, she made her way to the sleeping boy.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, sport, time to wake up!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He groaned and hid his face below the covers.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She tickled him, he tried to fight her hands off and snored merrily along. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, Julian, it’s time for school! You don’t want to be late on your first day, do you? That’s no way to make new friends.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Aren’t you the expert?” He muttered under his breath.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, that’s not nice!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julian wrestled himself back under the sheets she’d pulled away and mumbled something close to “shut up” and then yawned “go away” and sunk back into his little dream world.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Honey, get up!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a single cruel jerk, she pulled all of his sheets off despite his whining and opened the curtains. The poor boy tried to shield his eyes from the hostile light as well as he could, but to no avail.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She went back to her room to shower. What would this new school be like? She picked up her backpack and threw some random stuff in it she thought she might need, writing materials, a scrapbook, wallet. What would these people be like? If they were anything like all the others, she wouldn’t fit in at all. At least she wouldn’t be worse off here than before. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She opened her abnormally large wardrobe to marvel at how little was in it. This was her first day as an imposter among childhood friends, and today she would have to make that first impression that her entire social life for the coming year would depend on...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No. No! No, no, no! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One after the other outfit landed on the bed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Too black, too pinkish, too short, too long, too colourful, too formal... Is there absolutely nothing in here I can use?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sighed and flung herself amidst the heaps of clothes scattered across the spread. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s hopeless.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And what was worse, was the weather. She looked at the dreary sight and instantly felt listless. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Might as well stay home... </i>Rain drizzled down and every now and then a lonely snowflake would even float by. It was cold and so windy that it shook the trees till they surrendered their very last leaf. It was definitely winter. Forget the appropriate, she’d just go for something warm to wear.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She moved over to the kitchen to have a quick breakfast and make a bowl of cereal for Julian, who stumbled in yawning a few minutes later.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They spooned on in silence till they heard deep humming from the hall. Their uncle came in with a newspaper under his arm. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Morning.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Morning, uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The atmosphere grew more tense with the three of them together, each staring ahead of themselves, wondering what to say.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Horrible weather we’re having.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, and the sky so gray, I think it’s gonna...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Gonna pour today.”, Henry agreed stuttering along. “I could drive you up to school, if you like?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“That would be...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“That will not be necessary, thank you, uncle.”, Eliza answered in the opposite in Julian’s stead. “It’s walking distance and we have to learn how to get there ourselves. It would be nice to have a look around in the village on the way on foot.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Just make sure to be home before dusk. The sun sets early this time of year and the paths are hard to follow in the dark, especially if they’re muddy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sure.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julian was still toying with and sometimes even eating his cereal, when she went back to her room to brush her teeth and search for extra clothes to keep them warm.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With a glance at her alarm clock, she rushed downstairs with a bundle of cloth in her arms. They ought to get going.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While he was still spooning along and heavily resisting, she wrapped Julian in his coat.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You have to wear a shawl and a hood today, honey.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m not a dressing doll, Eliza!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Quit jumping around and stand still! Its friezing outside!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza, stop mothering the boy!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Both of them looked at Henry. There was an awkward silence. Henry twitched the corner of his mouth in what seemed to be a wordless apology and left to read his newspaper somewhere else.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Fine then.” Eliza said. “Then freeze to death if you prefer it.” Maybe she was exaggerating, at least in Julian’s eyes, but she was aiming at someone else’s approval, someone who might not even be watching, yet had to be.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, let’s go.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They went downhill in silence. Julian’s backpack seemed a bit too broad for his tiny body, she hoped they wouldn’t laugh at him. He could get a new one any time he wanted to, but mum gave it to him for his last birthday. They’d like him, everybody liked Julian, these little boys and girls would be no different.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So this was the village? They passed a “supermarket”, which was little more than an informal grocery shop, where an old lady was looking out the window at the passersby, which seemed to be national sport. Every window hid at least someone glaring at the street from behind the curtains. There was hardly anyone outside. Every now and then another high school student or school kid would turn into a street headed for school, but it was hardly a flock like in her old town. Where were the young people? Couldn’t blame them for leaving a place like this, she would too as soon as she got the chance. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They passed a bakery, a butcher’s place and a café and before making it to school. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guess that was it. So much for the town centre...</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She brought Julian to the gate of the elementary school, which was right next to high school and gave him some money to buy lunch. She bent down to hug him and tried to kiss his cheek, but he just said “Eliza, please!” and wiggled himself out of her arms, looking nervously from left to right to make sure none of his future friends had seen it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“See you later, sis!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She waved and watched him walk away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In her own school, students went in sporadically in twos and threes, babbling on about their holiday. Should she approach them? Better not, she’d try the ones she was in class with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>later. She’d have to find the secretariat in this labyrinth first. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The secretary was a decent looking (previously) blond lady in her early fifties with a pair of glasses low on the tip of her nose. She could easily pass for a prototype librarian. She shuffled at the door nervously and knocked on the glass, though the door was open.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes?” The woman asked, in a clear voice. She went in. “Can I help you?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m Eliza Lenore Haywood, I’m new here?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Haywood.”, the lady said pensively as she went through a pile of files on her desk. “Ah, here we are, Haywood. Senior, are you?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So you’ve come to live with mister Haywood in the old castle, have you?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“That’s right, he’s my uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ah, decent man, that.” The woman said in a friendly manner.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She smiled in response. She didn’t know the man half as well as this woman probably did, so who was she to say something about his decency?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So here is your class journal.”, she handed her an ugly black booklet.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thanks, ma’am.” The woman beamed. Not a good sign; if you please the old, you’ll probably fall out with the young.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And this is your class schedule, a map of the school grounds and here are some of your books.” She looked at the woman doubtfully. “It’s alright, dear, your uncle already paid for all of your school equipment when he heard you were coming.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How considerate of him.” She carefully balanced the pile of books on her arm.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I hope you’ll find your place here soon and if you have any school related problems, feel free to come see me and for problems of other kinds, you can always contact the school counsellor.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guess she actually read the file.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fabulous. So much for clean slate.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“By the way, my name is Mrs. Taylor.” She struggled with the books to shake the lady’s hand along with a conventional smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Welcome to our high school, miss Haywood.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She mumbled another “thank you, ma’am” and set out to find her class room and locker. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the hallway she carefully supported the books with one knee while checking the map to see where the room was, when one of the young boys, excited about seeing his friends again – probably because he had stories that would stupefy them and glorify himself – burst into a sprint and crashed into Eliza. He mumbled a sorry, she thought and hoped to discern and just kept running. The bell rang. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Great.</i> She bent down to retrieve all of the fallen books in the middle of the hallway while students passed her from the left and the right either staring or whispering. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How could I be so damn clumsy?</i> Someone stopped and with quick movements handed her some of her books.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thanks.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You’re welcome. New?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Does it show?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She smiled. “Maybe a little. Where are you headed?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Room... Uhm... A 5, or something.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Math? Great way to start your first day.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Tell me about it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Can I see your schedule?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She handed her the sheet.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ah, just follow me. We’re in the same group, so our schedules are practically identical.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thank God, I’m a total disaster with directions.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come along, then.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“My name is Eliza, by the way. Eliza Lenore Haywood.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Fancy name.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I didn’t pick it.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m Ann. So you’re the new castle freak?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Castle... freak?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Never mind. News travels faster than people here. Welcome to nowhere, capital of boredom.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yeah, thanks.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She lasted for nearly two hours, crunching numbers in math and listening to a dry English teacher going on and on about the English renaissance when she started to wander off. Despite her character, she picked a seat next to the window and knew her attention would be lost, not that she didn’t already know what the prosaic man was trying to sell them. He could teach them facts and dates, but he didn’t know the first thing about poetry.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so she turned away and watched the leaves fall off the trees one by one, first shaking, than loosening, then swaying in the wind before crashing to the ground and becoming part of the indiscriminate brown-greyish humus. Trampled on, lifeless, mere nutrition for the trees they grew on or worse, flattened to nothing underneath car tires.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She heard the chalk scratching across the blackboard, so harshly it hurt her ears. Without looking she knew the words the teacher scribbled in the green, felt them as if they were inscribed into her heart and burned a hole through her stomach:</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One is as</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in autumn</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the trees</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the leaves.</span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><u>Note:</u></em> <em>hey guys! Sorry I haven't been able to reply to comments yet, I just stopped by to schedule a new post. I know the chapters are in (too) rapid succession, but I have some fear of failing issues to deal with that increase exponentially during exams and tend to spiral out of control. I find that publishing something the day of a tricky exam helps counter that, you know, some Heraclitean (tomorrow: philosophy from Antiquity exam ;) ) battle of a negative/destructive and a positive/creative force that will hopefully cancel each other out. It's comforting to think that somewhere in the world, someone will be reading this. It worked last time. So call me superstitious...</em></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyways, I really enjoy all the support you've all been giving me, it really brightens my day. Enjoy the chapter.</span></em></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-32215106103953680652011-06-18T00:00:00.000-07:002011-06-18T00:00:01.282-07:00The Black Rose (novel): chapter 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2270/2274275699_4e1386ff1c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2270/2274275699_4e1386ff1c.jpg" t8="true" width="200px" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 30pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 30pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 2 – The attic</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She startled and woke from the depths of sleep at midnight. What had woken her? She could have sworn she felt... It was storming, of course. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No wonder she couldn’t sleep. The winds were no soft whisper like home, they roared and howled and made the walls whistle and the floors creak. For a moment she doubted the strength of the bricks that were her shelter, but they had sheltered others for hundreds of years. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Still, the cracking and squeaking kept her from going back to her sweet slumber. Or had it been sweet at all? The imprint of the dream was already gone. She rose and strolled towards the window. It was pouring, rain pattered the glass with a merciless vigour. Thunder seemed creepily close by and so did the forked lightning that tormented the land below her dark ivory tower. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even the fierceness of nature has its splendour. Yet there was a restlessness outside which caught on and stirred up her inner agitation. She felt trapped. At least the tempest was free, a privilege she had not. She fixed her eye on the horizon instinctively, but what was that to her? Where would she go? To view another skyline and long for that one. The horizon was a myth, though a lovely one. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She picked up a random volume from the pile of books on her desk, something to clean up in the morning, and opened it at an arbitrary page. </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At first the words didn’t get through to her, until she noticed that she was reading Poe’s ‘the house of Usher’, more specifically the part where the characters are reading during a storm preceding the rise of Lady Madeline from the dead. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She threw the book back where she had found it in disgust and wrapped herself in her sheets, but the feeling of approaching doom did not quit her. She was a great lover of Poe, but not right now.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Julian!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> He was so afraid of thunderstorms, he had to be petrified all by himself!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sprung up, tiptoed across the hallway, startled by each loud blow and opened the door of his room as gently as she could. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thank</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God, he’s vast asleep</i>. She listened to his deep, regular breathing and was enthralled in the slight quivering of his short black eyelashes. He seemed<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>totally unaware of anything beyond his cosy bed. She envied him a little.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Very carefully she sat at the edge and watched him. Adolescence was creeping up at him already, but his relaxed face still showed full-blown childhood. He looked so peaceful. She gently caressed his forehead and pressed a warm kiss on it. The boy responded with a slight jerk of his head and a low moan, it made Eliza afraid to wake him. She straightened his sheets and tugged him in properly before quitting the room, turning back once more to make sure he was okay.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He was snoozing away like a baby, but her getting some sleep was out of the question, so she just strolled back through the hallway at a leisurely pace, wondering what to do to pass the time, when she froze in her steps. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What was that? She paused and listened. All was quiet... No, there it was again, that sound, very faint. Was that... the piano? Who’d be playing the piano in the middle of the night? Henry couldn’t, she thought and she couldn’t imagine Hawkins touching a thing so delicate, especially at this hour. Apart from herself and Julian, who she knew was asleep, no one else played and yet she could swear she... </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She slipped downstairs as quietly as she could and peered into the drawing room, but there was no one there. She shook her head. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Delusional, delusional. </i>Had she just imagined it? She caressed the surface, which strangely enough wasn’t filthy, nor were the keys, but it was in use now they moved in after all. It was open. She might have forgotten to close it herself, that wouldn’t be the first time. Must have been nothing. It was only a faint noise after all, she shouldn’t have made quick assumptions, it could have been something else, could have been anything else. Who knows what noises the wind can make in an old house on a stormy night. Would she play it? She couldn’t sleep anyway... But she’d risk waking the others up. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She silently closed the piano and went back into the hall, roaming it purposelessly, opening doors at random, going up and down the stairs and halls for hours, but it didn’t tire her. Without realizing it, she found herself on the second floor, in front of a dark niche. She stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was a dusty wooden staircase which was narrow and turned upwards somewhat clumsily as if it were not really part of the house anymore, but part of something else, or a portal of some sort. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She hesitated, but her feet had less doubt so in curiosity she followed them to a dark attic. A shabby looking hatch separated this room from the floor below and kept it out of sight. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Inside there were no windows and just one miserable little light bulb that hardly shed light at all when she finally found the string to turn it on. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She found herself in a sea of time-beaten stuff piled up so high as the ceiling. Heaps of things were scattered across the floor. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She wondered what these things were, whom they had belonged to and to what they owed their exile. She tried her best to make out what the shapes surrounding her were, but it was too late and too dark to tell one contour from another, so she decided to return during the day with better preparations.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She had a final look around and wanted to turn the light off when something stirred in a corner. A rat ran off peeping. She turned the light off and shut the hatch. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Five a.m., breakfast was served at eight, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sharp</i>, she thought, mimicking her uncle.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a week’s routine, she knew her uncle left by half past eight in the morning to go to office and never returned till after four. The housekeeper went for groceries or whatever in the afternoon, making it the perfect time to snoop around... </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza grabbed some flashlights and plastic gloves (treasures from her more recent strolls), threw on her oldest sweats and a t-shirt and set out to continue exploring. Her patience had been tested enough in a week’s time... </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She switched the flashlights on and put them on the smaller piles while she kept one in her hand to find the string. With multiple sources of light on, she discovered that there were windows, but they were so soiled they had almost turned black.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No wait, they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> soiled, but black because they had been taped shut. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why would anyone do that?</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She carefully removed the tape that fell apart from long service as she pulled it off. Now there was quite enough light, at least to get by.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It seemed as if the grime in the lower parts of the house originated here and had snowed all the way down from this very room.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every inch of it was covered with junk; old lamps, furniture, discoloured paintings, children’s toys, boxes full of bibelots, saucers, dishes, cups and piles of half rotted paper. For a moment her eye was caught by an old chair. Old was an understatement; it appeared to be ancient. It was robust, roughly cut and rotting away as she was looking at it. The wood had a distinct musty odour and must have been hollowed on the inside, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">better not sit on it, </i>she wrinkled her nose, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as if I would. </i>It stood there, in the dark, like a skeleton, turning inward to keep itself upright, resting on its own deteriorating limbs. The thing intimidated her, made her uncomfortable. It seemed almost like a person in the dim shadows. Peculiar little object. Still it would have been a fine chair if it had had more care in its existence. Her mother would have loved it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was one island in this sea of rubbish. A small gray rug in the middle was not covered. It took some effort to shove herself a way through to it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There didn’t seem to be anything exceptional about it, until a bent piece of metal caught her eye. She drew the mat back a little and uncovered a metal ring on another hatch. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She got the rest of the rug out of the way and pulled the ring. It was heavy and squeaked at every inch.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally she managed to open it completely and held her breath lest she should suffocate in the dirt round up. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She grabbed her flashlight tightly and looked down into the opening. There was another staircase, or rather a staired tunnel like those you could find in medieval convents. Perhaps this was a remainder of the original fortress, which would explain the absence of any light source. She knew the castle was rebuild on top of the ruins, using as much of the original material and model as possible, making it a crossbreed between a medieval castle and a Victorian mansion. However, it was highly unlikely that only a staircase had remained upright when everything else had crumbled. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The stairs seemed to lead to a lower room, but even the flash light couldn’t reveal much in that darkness. She would have to descend to get a closer look, however she somehow didn’t quite like the idea of actually going in. She checked the opening for cobwebs, but strangely didn’t see any. Was the tunnel still in use?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Very carefully, like she was afraid the hatch would shut on her and bite it off, she put her foot in the abyss, still holding the frame. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gasp!</i> Startled, she pulled her foot back from the gaping hole. Was something moving down there? There was not a single sound. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Must be the nerves... Come on, girl, be brave! You’re behaving like a total idiot.</i> She took a deep breath and began to lower her foot, scanning for a bottom with her toes. Finally she touched something hard and planted her foot on it. She was lowering her second foot when she noticed whatever she was standing on wasn’t exactly stable. The object turned on its side and her feet slipped off. With nothing to support herself, she fell into the tunnel, clinging to the frame of the hatch and banged her knee on the edge of the next step, crying out in pain. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Eliza?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Damn it!</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Someone was pacing below calling her name. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She’s home early!</i> She wrapped her arms around her knees and bit her lip to keep silent despite the aches, waiting for the footsteps to die away. After Hawkins appeared to have left, she kept quiet for just a little while longer, to make sure she was really gone.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feeling around for the flashlight she dropped when she fell, her fingertips touched on something cool and smooth like metal. She picked it up, it was some sort of box and it must have been what she tripped over. Who would leave something like that out here? What was ever weirder, was that she couldn’t feel even a trace of dirt on it, unlike everything else in the attic, room itself included.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She put the box down, picked up the flashlight and turned it back on. She had had enough of the musty attic. Now was her chance to get down unseen.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She quickly – but silently – covered up her tracks and collected her stuff, rubbing the dirt off her clothes as she went. She was about to leave, when her eye was caught by the curious box, the metal of which reflected the light, making it shimmer with a strange, magical aura. Would she take it with her? Might as well, for all the trouble the thing had caused her. She grabbed it and made her way downstairs, peeping down the attic steps just in case. She sneaked across the halls and stairs and slipped back into her room, gently closing the door with a deep sigh.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suddenly she heard footsteps again. Someone was walking quite briskly, picking up the pace with every step. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh, no, did she hear me come in? That old bulldog!</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She hid the flashlights in her closed, grabbed a book at random and flung herself on the bed to act as if she had been there all day when Hawkins knocked and entered without waiting for her reply. Eliza strained herself to look at her in mocked surprise.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Can I...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Where have you been?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Right here, reading.”, she said in an innocent voice. Hawkins threw a meaningful glance at her – visibly filthy – outfit, pausing at her bloody knee.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And I’m supposed to believe that?” She turned towards her before storming out of the room. “By the way, you’re holding your book upside down.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Damn!</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The door fell shut.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza put the book aside and threw back the covers to expose her suddenly even more prized treasure. Unsure about what it was, but sure that it was something important, she gave the odd, yet surprisingly pretty, object a place of honour on her cupboard. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There! I’ll deal with you later.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She looked at the alarm clock on her bed table. At least she had enough time to treat her wounds before dinner. She took off her ripped sweats to assess the damage. Nothing too serious, just a rather deepish cut and some painful bruises on her knee along with some scratches on her hands where she’d tried to hang on to something when she fell. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washing and disinfecting will do. </i>She had to get the filth off her any way, unless she wanted to go downstairs to face the others already convicted rather than on trial.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When she entered the dining room Henry gave her a long, grave look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No question, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the hag told on me</i>. Nothing she hadn’t expected. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Throughout both soup and main course, she braced herself for what was to come. Nothing came, well, despite the perpetuating severe looks and plain out stares. The food went down her throat like building bricks, she hardly knew what it was she had such difficulty swallowing. After Julian had excused himself, and she made a weak attempt to escape by following him, the preaching began. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Not you Eliza, sit back down!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She obeyed wearily. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh oh.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What were you doing on the third floor?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">His tone was steady, but he sounded very angry. She hesitated for a moment. “I was just...” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I told you to stay away from the attic.” He nearly spat each word out distinctly, creating pauses that hit her mentally as if he was physically attacking her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I forbad you to go there, didn’t I?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, but...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry sprung up and banged his fists on the table. “As long as you are living here, you will obey the rules of this house! Is that clear, young lady?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Y...Y...Yes.” She muttered. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When he saw how his gestures and tones affected her, he lowered his voice a little, but there remained a hissing quality in his speech.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You could at least show that much respect, especially after we took you into our home in your biggest hour of need. Did you perhaps forget?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">His words seemed to string a noose around her neck. They were what she had feared to hear from the minute her brother and she were consigned to come here.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No uncle, of course I... Julian and I are very grateful that...”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, you have a wonderful way of showing it then.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tears welled up and started to stream across the sides of her face. He continued to look at her unremittingly, not looking away nor blinking even once. She wished she could disappear, become invisible, but his burning gaze relentlessly reminded her that she was not.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He swallowed away most of his fury to try a more pleading approach.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“These rules we have here are for your own good. It’s dangerous up there, do you understand? We just don’t want you to get hurt.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You got hurt, didn’t you?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She felt too humiliated to answer aloud, her injury was just ridiculous as an argument, yet it was sufficient for him to claim being right. And she’d have to agree to it. She just nodded with tears in her eyes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He smiled sympathetically as if he was on her side. “See.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She turned away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“So what were you doing up there?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Just... looking around.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He peered into her eyes intensely, searching. It made her nervous. “See anything interesting?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She instinctively felt the right answer to be ‘no.’ “Just... some old junk.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ah.” Her uncle seemed relieved and removed his blazingly investigating eyes. “Well, that’s hardly worthwhile, is it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, well, apart from your nightly escapades and inappropriate rambling about, there is another matter I’d like to discuss with you.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Oh?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I have to ask you to refrain from your habit of opening the curtains everywhere you go.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What?” She looked from him to Hawkins and back. He silenced her with another of his reproving gazes. She remembered her place quickly.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I, uhm.” He pulled his collar nervously. “I collect art. Some of it is priceless and sunlight, it damages the paintings and the, uh, pictures.” A drop of sweat made a line across his temple, down his cheekbone, chin and neck to disappear in his collar. “Therefore we keep the house in total darkness.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She pensively picked up her spoon and stirred around with it in her pudding with no intention of eating it, muttering “living for the art” and “oh, yes, I see.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She’d seen painting, but few of them had seemed to her, be it unskilled, eyes potentially priceless. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It just doesn’t make any sense.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nevertheless, it was time to put up the act of the reproached lost child that has come to see the light and leaves behind its erring ways. So she took a deep breath, put down her spoon and got up, mustering her best honey-sweet smile and hugged her uncle. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, you’re the boss.” She said, sounding like a perfect angle.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m glad you understand, sweetie. Now go to your room and get some sleep, right, child?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Child?</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, uncle, I will.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She swayed out of the room, smiling, but only till she was sure to be out of sight. Part of her felt like an annoying spoiled little brat, but somewhere deeper down, she felt sullied in the very core of her soul as if she had lowered herself to some shameful act in her insincerity. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nonetheless, she would go back up first chance she got.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Both Hawkins and Henry were still looking at her pensively when she left. She wondered what was up there that they were so desperate to hide from her. What was in that secret room she wasn’t supposed to know about and why did it make them so nervous?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in her own little space, she picked the special box up again. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At least I have this clue to start with.</i></span></span><br />
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<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Note: </u>I was gonna post this the 22nd, but with exams, I could really use something to look forward to, so I stepped on it. Hope you liked it ;).</span></em></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-73518610792450582442011-06-17T00:00:00.000-07:002011-06-17T00:00:04.837-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Intermezzo chapter 1-2 (first dream sequence)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-page-main/ehow/images/a04/kv/q7/make-own-dry-ice-fogger-800x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-page-main/ehow/images/a04/kv/q7/make-own-dry-ice-fogger-800x800.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A thick fog surrounds me. I don’t know where it comes from, smoke seems to whirl up from every side. It wells up from below my feet, from the walls, the ceiling, it’s choking me! </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I stumble to the door, it has to be here, how many steps have it been? I can’t find it. It’s damp in my mouth, my throat. I’m coughing, but every gasp brings in more mist and no air. My lungs fill up with dew, it feels like drowning.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t see. Where am I? I reach and hold my hands out like a blind person, but the room is empty. Help! I shout as loud as I can, but there’s no reply. Help! Can’t anybody hear me? Please! My desperate calls echo in the silence and are then swallowed by the nowhere around. I’m all alone.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Slowly, the mist lifts a little. I start to discern vague contours. There is something rectangular ahead of me, I can see it shimmer in the distance, as if it is beckoning me to it. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I creep closer, is it a door, a portal? I can only see the same thick white mist ahead of me as I leave it behind, like I’m walking on clouds. I crash into something hard and touch my forehead. It hurts.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel the cool glass as it dawns on me; I can’t see my own face in the mirror.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A pale hand, white and cold as the fog, forms out of the glass and two cold fingers touch my temples and caress the side of my face along the cheekbones.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I gasp.</span></span></i></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-12358786804507201962011-06-14T00:00:00.000-07:002011-06-14T00:28:11.296-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Chapter 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWy0O2RO4h08VZglbn2WXA2FdIl4dWRtuKp4TmJy9TlSn-aVVqglGLSPkSfjdw_mEmglMidhdtKTtVGqzp32jbJJfgaLZxSKzelslExinEGur3JJwgWCaAOKFg6e7YE3lPxCCpA9TiZQK/s1600/castle_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWy0O2RO4h08VZglbn2WXA2FdIl4dWRtuKp4TmJy9TlSn-aVVqglGLSPkSfjdw_mEmglMidhdtKTtVGqzp32jbJJfgaLZxSKzelslExinEGur3JJwgWCaAOKFg6e7YE3lPxCCpA9TiZQK/s320/castle_1024.jpg" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 250%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 250%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></b><br />
<hr align="center" size="0" width="98%" /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">CHAPTER 1 – The Castle/New Beginnings</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“In the middle of our life’s path I found myself in a dark forest, where the straight way was lost.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dante, Inferno, Canto I, verse 1-3</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 30pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></b><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 12pt 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She looked up at the thing looming high before her and shivered. It was nothing like she had expected, it was worse, much worse. The same look was in her brother’s eyes. She clasped his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, with as consoling a smile as she could possibly muster. With a heavy heart, they mounted the hill.</span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The castle towered over them so that it almost recoiled, as if their mere presence was an insult. She repressed a shrug and sighed, silently so Julian wouldn’t hear, counting steps to blot out her thoughts. Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her uncle was somewhat of a hermit; it was talked off with muffled voices at family parties he stopped attending when she was seven. Though she never mentioned him, mother kept a chair for her brother each time. Eliza had never knew if she ought to believe what they said about him, but now she realized she should have. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-six. Her feet were reluctant, but in an attempt to clear her head she forced them to pick up the pace with Julian hobbling after her trying to keep up. She wished she could keep her hand from shaking when she lifted a thousand pounds to ring the doorbell. A low jingle, almost as dark as the walls, resonated.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They shuffled at the entrance till an elderly lady in grey opened the door. She harshly commanded them – there was not even a hint of request in her barky voice – to follow her. They hesitated, she tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, and entered as if the doorframe were the open mouth of a dragon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eliza dropped her suitcases on the floor and turned round and round to admire the spacious hall that was all dark exotic woods and high-bent gothic ceilings till she nearly crashed into the housekeeper.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Keep up, please!”, she barked again.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The woman led them to a musty smelling room fit to be the ‘belly of the beast’ and positioned herself at the doorpost. Eliza and Julian exchanged a glance of near-despair.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Wait here, please!” How easily the woman could make her please sound like a death threat. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lovely creature</i>... “Your uncle will be with you shortly.” It said and left.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was dusky, almost dark, inside and big curtains which must have been green a long time ago covered the windows. They blocked every ray of sunlight and apparently converted it into waves of dust.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The same grime that had beaten the colour from the drapes also coated everything else. It filled the air, layered itself on the floor, the chairs which had also been flushed to faintness and all of the other (originally) dark wood furniture. The smell of decay drenched everything as if it were fluid. Her uncle should really fire that house “keeper”. Eliza felt crushed as if the walls were out to get them and could begin moving at any time. Something completely different caught her brother’s eye. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Look, Liza! A grand piano!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She smiled at him. He tossed his backpack on the floor and left it there amidst a cloud of rising dust to storm at the piano. He caressed its surface lovingly and his fingers sought the keys with a carefulness that struck his sister as entirely unlike his nature. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She turned her back to him to examine the rest of the room and lined the top of the nearest cabinet with a fingertip. She didn’t even have to look to know her entire finger was covered in filth.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The tones of Beethoven’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mondschein</i> rose and spread to fill the room. They went so well with the setting. Eliza was convinced the melancholy symphony was never played anywhere more fitting.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She leaned on a window frame and listened with closed eyes. The music drowned her in memories it was not unpleasant to be submerged in, though the low sounds around her made the castle even more frightening than it already was. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Slowly, as if it were to fall apart at first touch, she wrapped her hands in the fabric and opened the curtains one by one with a single jerk, coughing and sneezing in the process.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was amazing what a bit of sunlight could do for a place like this. Not reverse the effects of time and long negligence, of course, but at least make it more earthly.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Julian, I’m going to look around and see if the rest of this joint is just as bad, okay?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uh huh.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He didn’t seem to be really listening, but she was used to that, so she left him to his play and went into the hall, opening all curtains she came across.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The light made the hallways less scary. It even returned a certain charm to them, changing decay into dignity, like wrinkles can make a person either look old or charismatic. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She wandered through the corridors like an angel spreading light wherever she went and paused at a window at the side of the house. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She could see lush woods all around the mansion with still some summer green despite late autumn and even as far as the foot of the hill beyond the trees. What a delight it would be in spring to roam those emerald winding pathways! Whenever spring came around here, with these blasted long, cold northern winters...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beyond the ring of forest was the village. It seemed to be split by the hill like the sea splits on a rock and wraps itself around it. Like the splatters from crashing waves, houses were spread out over the most level bits and dotted the foot of the hill. Those drops immersed in one big sea of housing beyond the nearly empty circle with the castle as centre, as if it rejected all life or all life rejected it and pulled away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A red dot in the distance caught her eye. A red sports car... It moved up the mountain road and parked on levelled ground. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her eyes focused on the man who had some difficulty getting his legs onto the ground. His beginning baldness made his scull reflect sunlight like the halo of a martyr in the church paintings that had fascinated her as a child. He was a short man, a bit corpulent and walked briskly though his tiny legs didn’t seem in proportion to carry the rest of him. He bobbed slightly as he went. She had better return to the drawing room before her uncle reached the front door.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When she turned to retrace her steps, somewhere behind her one of the old doors squeaked and fell shut. With a shrug she peered into the still dark part of the hallway – had she seen someone slip away through the shadows? – but there was nothing there. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">These old houses and their noises</i>, she thought. She clasped her arms around herself and returned to the drawing room hastily, listening to the echo of her own footsteps as she went.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She quickly flung herself down into one of the fauteuils and assumed a pose as if she had been sitting there for quite some time, tapping her fingers on the tabletop in pretended boredom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her uncle knocked gently and entered. Eliza rose from her chair and Julian immediately closed the piano to stand by her side. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Uncle”, Eliza stuttered with a tremulous smile. What now? Was she supposed to go to him, or stay?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, when it isn’t my dear niece and nephew. Come here, children.” He hugged them cordially, but to Eliza it seemed there was something off, something anxious in his voice and smile. Sure, his features were much like she remembered, except for the effects of aging of course, but he seemed a different man from the kind, cheerful fellow she used to get piggy rides from and that had played with her and her baby brother on the lawn of her mother’s house. Maybe he was just as insecure about all this as she was. He was almost a stranger now, in this eccentric house that did not suite the man he used to be, or the man she thought he was, so long ago.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“How long has it been? Nine, ten years?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Almost precisely ten, uncle.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ha, yes. When I last saw the two of you, one of you still dreamt of being a princess and the other was still in diapers and now look at you: a beautiful young woman” and he patted Julian on the cheek “ and a striking young lad.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Thank you for letting Julian and I stay here with you, uncle.” She looked down at her feet, both in sorrow and in humiliation. “We had nowhere else to go.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, that’s what family is for, isn’t it, especially in these desperate times.” He was staring into space and Eliza was not quite sure whether he was talking about what happened to mother or something completely different. “Besides, I’ve wanted to see you for some time now. I just never got around to visiting.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Not once in ten years?!</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He wrapped one arm around each of them and guided them up the stairs, which were still completely covered in darkness, as was the hall she had just brightened. Someone apparently shut the shades again. Her uncle? That fast? Maybe that wretched housekeeper.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Let me show you to your rooms, children.”, Henry said when they reached the first floor. He pointed at the rooms that were going to be theirs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With silent abhorrence she noticed that her brother’s room was at one end of the long hallway whereas her own was at the entirely opposite end, but confronting her host with her discontentment seemed intolerably uncivil to her. Though he was their guardian and last remaining relative and though her mother had explicitly requested him to take care of them in her will if anything were to happen to her, he could easily have refused them. Besides, she sighed noiselessly, her mother had taught her better than that. And more importantly, she would turn eighteen soon and his obligation to herself would end when she was no longer a minor; nothing but the bond of blood to keep him from throwing her out. She realized how tin the ice was beneath her feet and what it would cost Julian if he lost his big sister now. She just needed to buy some time to get on her feet and then she would take care of Julian herself.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Julian, this is your room.” Henry opened the door and she knew she had lost Julian’s support as well as any kind of sibling allegiance when he saw the size of his new room. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m on my own now.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Wow, this is great, uncle Henry!”, he said while bursting into the room.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Glad you like it, laddy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Henry turned to Eliza. “I guess we’ll just leave him to it. Shall I show you your room?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, please.”, she murmured faking a smile while looking back at Julian doubtfully.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, here we are, missy.” He opened the door. “I suppose you want to unpack and freshen up. Just remember that dinner is at seven sharp, every day, so make sure the two of you are downstairs by 6.30 so I can introduce you to our cook.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He has his own cook too?! </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">She nodded from the doorway, but he was already pacing back towards the stairs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sighed again and closed the door to examine her new room, dropping her suitcases on the bed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The bedroom was a little darkish, but that seemed to be the rule around here. Then again perhaps it wasn’t entirely hopeless. Nothing a few homey touches couldn’t fix...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Okay then, let’s brighten this place up</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">. She looked around and opened the wardrobe. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t think I even have enough clothes to fill this thing... At least that’s positive</i>. And, opening a door which she thought was another closet and finding a private bathroom instead, her spirits were lifted a little.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She turned towards the large bedroom window and couldn’t help but to gasp. The view dazzled her and she looked forward to exploring the garden which now unfolded itself before her eyes. Dead branches, trees deprived of all leafs, withered flowers but still enough hints and shreds of colour to indicate the full palette of lavish green and rainbow colours that would stretch out before her as soon as it would be a little warmer. Now there was only rotting yellow and flushed brown. Just one single dot of colour, one indistinguishable spot of deep red below her window to freshen up the dying garden. She strained herself to make out what it was, but it was too small and too far away. She sighed, didn’t really matter anyway. She still longed to see the lively beauty of nature contrast with the more stately majesty of the house, which was all too gloomy in its wintery dark bricked presence. Too cold and empty for a child of the sun. There was a pond as well, water deep as the night was dark judging from its colour. A willow tree dipped a sad, leafless finger in the wrinkling surface. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When she was done, she looked at her remodelled room with a critical eye. A big improvement, certainly, but something was missing... It was still too dead, too cold for her taste and she could not feel quite at home in it. It needed a touch of life, some soul, but she lacked the energy to put more thought into what that could be. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I hope I can get used to this life”, she moaned suppressing a yawn. In her unease she turned to the only refuge besides nature that never failed her: a nice hot bath. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At least having your very own bathroom makes up for a lot. </i>She smiled sadly at her steam veiled reflection in the mirror while combing her hair. Now she was fresh and clean and had washed away all of the filth and some of the anxiety of their morning flight, she went to fetch Julian for dinner. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her heart missed a beat every now and then while they descended the stairs as her thoughts and feelings kept shifting from one extreme to another. Sometimes another shriek of the house made her breath stop for a second. Would she ever get used to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>? The sound of footsteps all around when there were none, the feeling of being watched by the walls themselves though you’re all alone. Julian looked at her questionably. She just smiled and shook her head.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It’s nothing, sport.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At least dinner was somewhat of a revelation. The cook was an amiable, motherly woman in her late thirties who seemed delighted at having more people in the house to admire her cooking, which was exquisite, than the grave old man she usually spent her evenings with. It was a pity she wouldn’t be at the mansion more than a few hours a day, most of them in the kitchen. Mrs. Jacobs sure was a lot more fun to be around than that housekeeper, that Miss Hawkins...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was a single red rose in a small vase on the table, a beautiful one at that. She stared at it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It’s from the garden.” Henry said to answer her unuttered question.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The garden?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, isn’t that odd? A rose at the brink of winter? And in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>garden.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What do you mean by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>garden? Is something wrong with it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“No, it’s just that not all too many flowers grow there, especially not on that rosebush. Do you like it?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The rose? Very much.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You can have it. Give it a nice place in your room. It’ll only wither away unseen here.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After dinner and a long chat with the cook, they were about to retreat when their uncle called them back, wiping his mouth with a napkin.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Before you go, children”, an address she chose to ignore for the greater good, “there are a few things you need to know. When I’m home, you can usually find me in my office. My door is always open, figuratively of course, so come see me anytime you need or want to. Know that we’re here for you. I do have to remind you that Miss Hawkins, our housekeeper, would be really displeased if you make a mess of this place”, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no need, </i>Eliza thought, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mission accomplished </i>“and quite frankly”, he whispered with a wink, “she is not the kind of person you’d want to annoy.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We sort of guessed that for ourselves.” That amused uncle Henry. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Apart from that, there are a few more rules in this household.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Of course.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Eliza mentally rolled her eyes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“On the second floor there is a library and a computer room, both of which you are free to use, but the third floor is off limits.” He looked at them severely. “Under NO circumstances are you allowed to venture up there, do you hear me?” He looked from one to the other so intensely that it made them look away. Still she noticed that he appeared to be talking mostly to her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, uncle.”, they said in chorus.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Good.” He smiled softly, “Now off to bed, you two.” He raised a finger in mocking severity and beamed. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julian and Eliza looked at each other in silence and ascended the stairs. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The rose</i>, she ran back and plucked it, vase and all, of the table. If he hadn’t said anything about the third floor, she might never have wondered what was up there...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Back in her room, she mulled things over. How to deal with this new life? This new person, who could never be a parent, perhaps never even a friend. No one to lean on, not one to easily understand either, with his strange rules and his nervous behaviour. He hadn’t said a word about mum. Did he want to spare us? Does he realize it would hurt us to talk about her even though he wants to?</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If he brought it up or not, it would still be in her head. It still was in her thoughts, how could it not be? But at least she started to learn how to blot it out, repress it for a peaceful, no peaceful was too much to ask for, for an insentient hour or so. An hour of forgetting, an hour of standing still rather than going back. An hour, she closed her eyes.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vQVeaIHWWck?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">(= the piece that started this whole thing; it inspired me to the first scene, well in the hall actually, and subsequently the novel. Hope it has the same creative effect for you ;) )</div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-18977121628795775172011-06-11T09:45:00.000-07:002011-06-12T03:49:36.114-07:00The Black Rose (novel) : Prelude<div style="text-align: justify;">This one is another unfinished project I've been working on since I was about fifteen and that I never got around to finish. It was a bit too much to handle with my skill at the time, so I could start the novel, but I couldn't push through the challenging bits. I've been reworking it (with long, sometimes year-long lapses, like the one since I lost rewrote it, long before I came to blogger) ever since.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's pretty low on the to do list for the time being (the things on there always shift about, depending on the circumstances, I'm afraid I have no control <em>whatsoever</em> over that), so I won't be making it more decent anytime soon, but I decided - very much against previous incentives - to post it. Especially since I'm too busy to get a lot of short stories up during the exams. I'll schedule the parts I've got (which is at least 80 pages or so), one a week. I don't think I'm going to read over them first and bear in mind that they're imperfect drafts, but what I'd like is for you to tell me what you didn't like about it. I'm aware of the flaws, especially that it gets pretty long-winded at times and that the whole could and should be smoothed out considerably - a legacy from its early birth, I guess - but I'd like to map out just when, where and why it spins off, so I can take it into account while rewriting it, when I get around to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wasn't keen on sharing this. I don't think I ever even thought of putting it up, until today, all of a sudden, so here's the first part. Enjoy!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: NL-BE; mso-no-proof: yes;"><div class="WordSection1"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 26pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Black Rose</span></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQYQIMu_UN8EgpH68kIHewb9DlU5-lea3uvk2BMs3vAUWTXm2fY07NSgEhHBp9FAS5pdGPftvWV87LbSXEN2fE_4k8tRZ0uxT5S_sI4Pc-8ckjeWSW9Ef7VMtQXdfJTybO-H_dSj9pblb/s1600/black_rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQYQIMu_UN8EgpH68kIHewb9DlU5-lea3uvk2BMs3vAUWTXm2fY07NSgEhHBp9FAS5pdGPftvWV87LbSXEN2fE_4k8tRZ0uxT5S_sI4Pc-8ckjeWSW9Ef7VMtQXdfJTybO-H_dSj9pblb/s320/black_rose.jpg" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 250%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 250%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><hr align="center" size="0" width="98%" /></span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PRELUDE</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“A book is a mirror. When a monkey looks in, no apostle can look out.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Agency FB','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Georg Lichtenberg</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 500%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 500%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" /></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Berry season... Finally the sweet berries are ripe in the woods behind our house. Daddy holds my hand tightly. It is warm, a bit roughened by hard work, but it is daddy’s hand, firm and safe. I look up. It’s not dark yet, but I can see lights dancing in the sky. I recognize the brightest of them, daddy told me its name: star of Lilith. Daddy said it was special, like me.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Andrea is whining again. Mum said she is having her teeth. “It always hurts with babies”, she told me. “You cried too, John”, she says, “all night and all day long”, but I can’t remember a thing. I don’t cry, I’m a big boy!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess mum is trying to calm her down and that’s why she picks her up and rocks Andrea in her arms, singing to her as if she is the most precious thing in the world. I know she’s younger and that I’m supposed to be strong, like daddy, but I wish she would hold <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i> like that.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All of a sudden the crying stops. I turn back and see Andrea staring ahead, fully absorbed. Something shiny beneath father’s belt caught her eye, silver by his hip. It shows just for a second or so every time he makes another step and lights up. When he sees me looking, he covers it with his tunic and smiles at me reassuringly.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m still a little curious, but just smile back and try to be quiet. Daddy doesn’t like it when you ask him too many questions. That’s probably why he and my big brother Paul get in so many fights all the time. Paul always asks questions. Where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> Paul? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He left for the woods with father this morning, but still isn’t back. I look around, perhaps I can see him somewhere. He is probably still chopping wood. I know he’s still out here because I’m smart, I saw him take his axe with him, and winter is coming. And then we’ll need fire wood to keep us warm. That’s what daddy always says, but I can figure that out for myself too. I like fire, it’s nice and warm and light. I move closer to daddy and cuddle up to his side. He pets my head. I look up at him, he doesn’t look down. He has to watch his step, the grass is treacherous. I know that because I’m smart. And because I fall down a lot.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The forest scares me, it’s so dark, but daddy is here to protect me. He holds my hand in his and squeezes it gently. I laugh. I’ll find out what that shiny thing is when we get there.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why is daddy walking so fast? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Keep up, laddy.”, he says, smiling at me softly. It’s the same smile he gives me when he comes home after a day’s work and I run out to meet him. Then he will pick me up and hug me and I will sit on his lap as he tells us what happened out on the fields that day. I love it when he does that. He always makes it sound just like a legend, like the fairytales mum tells us at night, or in winter by the fire place when it is cold outside and we cuddle close together, all four of us, while mum tells stories and dad is in his chair.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do my best not to trip over the lumps of wood and the roots that spring up from the ground trying to grab your feet. If they get you, they drag you down and tie you up so the forest witches can eat you, just like in some of mother’s stories. They can talk you know, the roots, they whisper something to the ground so the witches can hear it. The witches speak root.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Daddy keeps going faster. I can’t keep up, he nearly drags me over the ground like the deer and wild pigs he brings from his hunting trips on the baron’s land. But I’m not supposed to talk about that, it is a secret. No one is supposed to go onto the baron’s land, the baron gets very angry when people do, especially to hunt there. Daddy says the baron wants to keep the game all to himself, but daddy is very good. He always catches something and he never gets caught himself. Unlike our neighbour, Aaron. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He was poaching on the baron’s land, but the baron was hunting with some of his friends and then they got him and they hanged Aaron and his family and burned their cottage down. One of his younger sons, Daniel, was my friend and mother said I couldn’t go play there and I didn’t know why but then I heard her and father talking and they said that he hanged there, by the throat, and that I shouldn’t see. And then I had no one to play with any more. Except Andrea, but she is so small, and Paul always picks on me saying I’m daddy’s favourite and Sara only plays with her stupid doll. Daniel’s mother made great apple pie, even sweeter than mother’s though I would never tell her that. I went back to the house, but it was gone. Daniel was gone too, the neighbours buried him and put a great cross into the ground.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Daddy, not so fast!”, I plea when I trip and crawl back up. Mum and Sara are falling behind, I guess they can’t walk that fast either. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come on, son. We have to get to the forest before dark otherwise we won’t see the berries. Don’t you won’t some nice sweet berries to eat tonight?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, father.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Come along then, before the other kids steal all of them away.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I almost run to keep up with him. Daddy is so much taller and his legs are so long that I need to take three steps quickly to match one of his.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We come to an open space in the woods. “Wait here!”, daddy says and he lets go of my hand. I am still scared and watch the trees around me. There moving. I’m afraid the wolves will get me, or the witches. They’re probably watching me from all around in the shadows, waiting for daddy to leave me alone so they can eat me. Where are the berries? I can’t see any. And where is daddy?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Daddy is walking back to mum, Andrea and Sara. He will probably help pick up Sara and Andrea so they won’t have to walk that far. They’re always tired. It’s just because they’re small, mum says, but I’m not tired yet and I’m just one year older than Sara.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My heart is pounding. Daddy is now so far away at the other end of the meadow and I’m left all by myself with all these eyes around me. I run to catch up with him, but I shouldn’t have done that. My foot gets caught in something, a root I guess, and I fall down again. It really hurts. I wrap my hands around my ankle. Maybe daddy will carry me back now. I have to get up quickly, or they’ll come for me. I feel around for the root so I won’t trip over it again while trying to stand up, but my fingers touch something soft. It isn’t grass or moss, it’s dryer than that and longer. I let my fingers move on and feel something smooth, cold and wet. My fingers are dirty, mum will be angry if she has to wash my clothes again. She has to go all the way to the river for that. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I look at the thing that had soiled me and see... PAUL! It’s Paul, but his eyes are wide open and so is his mouth. I struggle to crawl away from the cold white thing in the grass. His head, his head! Where is the rest of him? I scan the grass and see his limps scattered across the ground, his legs that used to move too fast for me playing tag, his arms that would hold me up in the air, his hands that tickled me, Paul’s axe and my fingers.. Red, everything red, the grass, the earth, my hands and Paul... all covered in blood. I feel tears coming up and yell for dad, but he is with mum and Sara, talking, he doesn’t respond. Perhaps he saw it but didn’t want to scare me and is now telling the others because mum takes a step back and pulls Sara along with her. Andrea is crying again and clutches to mother. I get up and run towards them but then I see what the shiny thing is: it’s a knife, rising high like an eagle of light. </span></span></div><shape alt="castle_1024.jpg" id="Afbeelding_x0020_0" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 340.5pt; visibility: visible; width: 453.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><imagedata o:title="castle_1024" src="file:///C:\Users\GEBRUI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg"></imagedata></shape></span></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-86098057911615499872011-06-07T11:24:00.000-07:002011-06-08T12:02:33.814-07:00Broken Shells, a poem in 3 parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/images/brokeneggshell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/images/brokeneggshell.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Broken Shells, a poem in 3 parts*</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I</span></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At dawn it hatched,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">at noon I held</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">a chicklit in my hand,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">frail and soft like spring buds.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At dusk I stand and stay</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">with my dear bird</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">long flown away.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">II</span></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clinging to a bird in flight,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its wings beat solemn through the night</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">so slow and still, what was, what will</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and all that’s in between is seen</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">through eyes from high above,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and so we rove on and on</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">past rock, clouds, whatever may</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">be seen and watch it swirl away,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I frown, I know it is, a long way down.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 35.4pt 114.75pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><u>III</u></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 35.4pt 114.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Closed my eyes when darkness fell,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 35.4pt 114.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">hope, pray, dream that all is well,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">softly curled up I creep</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">back in my shell,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">put the pieces back in place</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">with crimson ribbon, shreds of lace.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">*Author’s note:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></u></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">date = today; just dealing with depression/anxiety and shaking exam stress </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Hey guys, sorry I haven’t posted yet in over a week, each day I wake up hoping I’ll finish the next part of the Svart-cycle (I’m almost sure I’m going to call it ‘The Nightingale Paradox. Chronicles of a revolution’), and I end up going to bed unfulfilled, though the chapter is practically done and has been for nearly two week now. Yes, exams are back in town. The regulars among you will know what that meant </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">last time<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> so be warned...</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nice to be back though, however brief. Sorry if I’m slow to respond at the moment, I’m kind of freaking out :S.</span></span></i></div>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899570529606400529.post-24421637976920351222011-05-28T11:53:00.000-07:002011-05-28T11:54:02.777-07:00when love hurts, a poem<div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Author's note: Another one of my old poems, I'd say pre-17, maybe from my 18th, but I find that hard to believe. I really can't pinpoint the exact year for this one. And I didn't do drugs, but sometimes going through my older stuff makes me think I secretly did. Truth is I just go(/e)t carried away easily and went for the obvious. I'm cleaning out my virtual closet, so what the heck, I'm posting it anyway. It's there, I have to.</em></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/Nurvisrec/cupid-valentines-day1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222px" src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/Nurvisrec/cupid-valentines-day1.gif" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When love hurts</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">O treacherous heart,<br />
so sweet,<br />
so cruel,<br />
torturing with desire.<br />
Do not deceive my head,<br />
do not betray my mind,<br />
do not dare, to control,<br />
do not force me to surrender.<br />
Weakness, shall not overcome!</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span>Stories Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17914335670413469201noreply@blogger.com7