Natasha and Damon meet and fall in love. Natasha sat at her desk listening to "All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You" by Heart on her iPod. The phone interrupted her reverie, but she did not mind. Cricket, Cal, Stefan and Monica were at an offsite meeting going over her performance under their tutelage. She had been doing well in every subject except assassination. She hated killing people; it ran against her moral upbring...

Cricket unpacked her clothes and put them away. She stood at the window and watched the village below. Smoke curled up out of all the chimneys. It reminded her of pictures she saw on Christmas cards her family had. She relaxed and smiled. A voice in her head said, "This is not so bad. You will have fun here and learn a lot." As she looked around her room, the castle outside evoked dreamy feelings. The castle made her feel...

Cricket sat staring out the window watching the clouds move past. Her mind was flooded, as a plethora of emotions bombarded her. Her stomach was in a knot, which made her feel, as if she would be sick. She felt lonely, excited, sad, adventurous, cautious and lost. She watched the clouds because she never thought or dreamed she would watch clouds from above rather than below. She had many sleepless nights when she made her...

Bruce stayed with Amber until Sunday afternoon and neither one could remember a more enjoyable time. They watched TV, played cards and of course made love. They also talked and shared personal hopes, joys and sadness with each other. This weekend signaled a change in their status and both wondered what the future had in store for them, neither thought it would go this far. Monday arrived at it signaled new school and work...

As the girls sat in Marcia's room, they talked about the party. Marcia asked, "I wonder what happened when the glitter bombs went off. Also how long did they wait until they discovered we left?" "I don't know, but I bet you will hear about it from Sarah. She must be humiliated by now. I hope she was in the room when the glitter fell. That will be a nice mess to clean up." Naomi said. The girls watched a movie and went to...

Marcia wanted to call Naomi after she talked to Sarah, but it was easier to talk to Rebecca and Naomi at school together. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind raced with many thoughts and questions. She knew Ralph would be around at the party. Sarah still held a grudge against Marcia. The Halloween party would certainly test the relationship between the two girls. She slept badly tossing and turning all night. When she w...

Bullyboy skipped lunch. He accomplished what he wanted. Marcia sat confused with the morning's events. She had no idea who did it. It turned out he had an unwitting accomplice who was also a suspect. He knew Rebecca was Marcia's cousin and the school darling. When Marcia arrived, all that disappeared for Rebecca. The logical person for the perpetrator of the prank was Rebecca. Marcia sat alone at lunch. Naomi was out sleu...

Do not give up on yourself It is something I will never do You're not a bother I have time for you Stop saying you're sorry Nothing to be sorry for Trust yourself The way I do The words that saved me From a friend so kind That took the time out of a busy life  To check on me Thank you my dear friend From the bottom of my heart For helping me For talking to me For kicking my butt For having a good heart

Marcia spent the rest of the day looking at her plight. Bullyboy knew she was there. He had not made any threats, but the gestures were bad enough. He ruined her day. School dragged on and Marcia's depression deepened. By the end of the day, she had no will to leave the classroom. Naomi dragged her to her locker and pulled her outside to walk home. "Come on Marcia. Snap out of it. You will be fine. Remember you are strong...

It is that time of year again as the autumn leaves fall Littering the ground in amber. To all come together To be grateful and give thanks and eat a majestic turkey feast. So what will you be thankful for this year? The togetherness of family and friends Having meet the love of your life Or still being together after another year. Maybe for just being alive and being in good spirits. For me it is having a small group of f...

Magnetism. It really is inexplicable. I seem to be drawn to the word "inexplicable". It's a good word. Being drawn, magnetised, to someone is a funny thing. One day, you could be walking down the street minding your own affairs, like Alex Harvey sang, and then, unlike Alex Harvey sang, someone catches your eye. It might only be momentary, but you feel drawn to that person. Then there's the Internet attraction, which. even...

F is for faith that we have in our heartsL is for the love we have for family and friendsO is for openness we should have for one anotherW is for wake, seeing what is around youWe keep flowing like waterHelping one another through life's momentsLaughing and lovingGiving support when it is neededReaching out for everyone to seeFlowing everyday

In the sky with the clouds so bright You may even see them at night When the sun comes up so bright and true Out comes the clouds fluffy and new They play tag and chase as they cross through the sky Like old friends tried and true People come and go into your life Very few stay all the time But just like the clouds A true friends love Will always be enough

Summer arrived with high heat and humidity. Being near the Hudson River did not help with the humidity. To escape the heat most families had places on the Jersey shore where the family stayed all summer. Neither Marcia nor Naomi's family had a place like that. The girls endured the summer heat together. Almost daily, they went into the woods. The trees provided a canopy, which shadowed the whole area underneath. It was co...

I was six years old at a county fair in the autumn of nineteen fifty-eight. My dad won for me a big blue balloon with his skill at pitching straight. That balloon was my pride and joy for the rest of that cotton candy night. As we departed, that big blue balloon slipped my grip and rose out of sight. It rose to the stars, the sky swallowed it up, and my mother comforted me as I cried. “Rub your chest and make a wish, rais...