The glassy smooth lake water reflected her cocoa-colored face and the wide white sunhat as Jumana leaned over the side of the small boat. She turned her head and looked back at the boatman who lazily plied the tiller and imagined him wearing only the white linen skirt of ancient Egypt and herself as a priestess being conveyed to her designated temple. She cl...
The night of the initiation, Jenny was so nervous she felt sick to her stomach. At one point she thought she was actually going to throw up, but nothing happened. She wondered why she was so much more nervous this time. Maybe because the first time it hadn't quite seemed real to her; now she had a picture in her mind of who and what she was dealing with. Her...
Feodor Romanov was about as far removed from his namesake and cousin, the Tsar Feodor Ivanovich whom I had met in Moscow, as it was possible to be. Where the latter was gentle, diffident and uncertain, Romanov radiated energy. He was tall, handsome in a severe sort of way, and altogether an impressive figure. But the two men had something in common beyond th...
The April meeting passed without incident, as far as I was concerned. Then Margie emailed she was coming in June and I was looking forward to seeing her. So I didn't think much about the meeting in May. Again the adventure started with a phone call at work and this time the caller was a young woman named Terry. After introducing herself and explaining her...
The fascination of Elizabeth's conversation lingers, even these many years later. As I write, I am transported back to that Hall where I sat on a velvet covered mini-throne opposite the Great Queen. Wherein lay the fascination? The Sultan himself asked me later, but neither in my dispatches nor in my oral report, could I quite capture the charm and charisma...
Inspired by "Tasha" from the L-Word. ~~~ "What the hell?" Mia Drayton looked in her rear-view mirror, shocked to see the flashing red and blue lights behind her. "Shit!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't going that fast, was I? Damn it!" Mia sighed as she pulled her SUV over to the side of the virtually deserted road. She was on her way home from spending an ear...
It was Leslie's first day back to camp in ten years. The last time she was here was when she was twelve. This time she is back as a volunteer. It is an exciting time for her as she gets to teach the kids the things she learned at camp like her camp counselors did. She is welcoming them to their first day of camp when she notices someone attempting to put a...
"Good morning." She looked better this morning, Alex noted, striding into the room. The deep, dark circles under her creamy brown eyes were retreating and she offered her a shy smile that made Alex's heart leap in her throat. "Hi." "I brought you that gown. I think you'll like this one a lot better." Alex watched as she took the dressing gown and smoothe...
The store was closing in 5 minutes and the woman couldn't make up her mind as to which top went with what pants. It all seemed so confusing to her. Her daughter was returning to college and she wanted to give her some clothes as a going away present. She knew her daughter frequently purchased clothing from the store. Dory and Lynn were getting anxious as t...
written by romane and translated by Solitary Dreamer. One fine day, I received a wedding announcement from my best friend, Chantal. I fell on my ass when I learned of her nuptials. We first met on the faculty board. Since we both got along rather well, we decided to rent an apartment together after only two months. The two of us lived well together. It was...