In this world, various traits and rights of a person can be sold at a public market, and are then taken away from that person until and unless they can buy them back. It sounds weird but if you read the story you'll get the hang of it. Their mother wouldn't let them come along for the actual bargaining. She was afraid it would be too stressful. So the three...
Things were extremely financially tight for that first year. I had months that I could either pay our bills or we could eat. I think we once had just soup for dinner for nearly two months straight, and even today the sight of Ramen noodles disgusts me. I had a few steady clients, but there just wasn't that much need for a full-time bookkeeper, except at tax...
Chapter 7 Doing What's Expected to get by February 2006 On February the fourteenth, Brian came out of his room and announced to the kids and Mary that this was Peggy's twenty-ninth birthday. "Get dressed for school," he ordered. Tonight we'll celebrate your mom's birthday. She would like for us to have a good time." "Will we give her presents?" Amanda ask...
Wall Market was a strange place. Tifa stepped out of the chocobo carriage in front of Don Corneo’s palace, and gazed at the huge residence. As the carriage drove off, she turned around and looked on the town of Wall Market. It was a strange mix of glitz and garbage. There were fancy neon lights, strung lanterns, and shops and entertainment, but also multiple...
Author's Note: Thank you for all the encouraging and positive feedback! It's very much appreciated. * They rode from the market and out towards the rolling green hills in the distance. Elizabeth looked at the sky and noted that it was an unpromising shade of gray. What if it rains? she wondered, beginning to feel a little uneasy. She watched the scenery p...
Finding Paradise Continued The days came and went, where things more or less calmed down into a new routine. Valerie took the long drive into San Diego and back on most days. Once or twice a week, she'd spend the night with her mother or her sisters, because she always liked to keep in touch with what was going on with them. Valerie's relatives pestered her...
Won a slave auction to benefit a charity at Mephisto's? OK, but what about a charitable contribution deduction on your income tax? Francine Traline tried it, the IRS denied it, and Francine and her attorney Franklin Moore took them to Tax Court. Here's the decision (I wish; this is a JOKE, son). PURSUANT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7463(b), THIS OPINIO...
Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Seven: Exercise in Frustration The next week was an exercise in frustration. Moving to an inn went well, except that Alistair was only capable of walking a few feet, and even that caused significant pain. He was mortified at being carried on a stretcher, but we really had no other choice. We rented a carriage to limit how far he...
XII The Good Seed Molly & Mark 2071 There was no denying it. Molly had taken the death of her unborn child very badly. The shock of the loss sent her into a downward spiral of despondency and then depression. The inevitable result was that she lost her job. Her impressive academic qualifications notwithstanding, she was now no more useful to humanity than a...
Young white virgin blacked in a barn on a rainy day: Candy and Teresa were sisters. Candy was 19 years old and Teresa had just turned 18 years old. They were small girls. Pale white skin, blue-green eyes and light blonde hair. Candy was only 5'-0"and her sister Teresa was 4'-10" tall. Both were intelligent, pretty and little pranksters as well. They lived...