An Adventure of epic proportion a discovery of wild imagination Comes now to your mind with joy with the salty and the sweet   A day like no other day a moment like no other moment a place like no other place sharing the salty and the sweet   A time like no time has ever been circling the world with newness of breath no one has ever discovered before tasting the salty and the sweet   My mind is expanding and growing life...

A tall tree strong and upright, A tree flowing amid rocks and fern, A songbird's call.   These mark the path Upward, to where the damp turf Springs under feet no longer dryshod   There, where sky and earth and water meet, There, lie hidden in a rocky cleft A pearl and a rose petal.   I will cherish them forever.  

So, Doctor, what can you tell me? I see. So you think he was a young boy, then? Between what, nine and twelve years old? What about the time zone, have you got the results of the carbon dating? Interesting. So about the time of the crusades then? Are you saying that this could be the illegitimate son of Richard the First, The Lionheart and the damage to the ends of the distal phalanges indicates he was placed alive in the...

It was the summer before her junior year in high school. Diana was unsure of what would happen. She was new here in this small town. Her parents had moved the family to this coastal area as soon as she and her brother had completed school. Now they were getting adjusted to living in a town that had the amount of people found on one block of her old home city. She still thought of her last home as her real home. Diana was...

*** Ever heard the tale of how the luckiest man in the world felt like the unluckiest man. Every woman in the room admired her and every man was envious of me. It was when the lights flickered, the room span and I could hardly breathe, that’s when it hit me hard. I had just entered a lifelong contract and there was no turning back. Fighting not to faint, I nervously played with the ring on my finger. And it was in that in...

Her leg was broken, there was no doubt about it. She cursed herself for ignoring the warnings of attempting to climb that mountain and explore that old castle. She remembered telling those that were concerned for her safety that she was an expert climber and hiker.When she was told that the mountain was cursed and repelled any and all visitors she laughed at these silly stories and superstitions. This was 2016, and she co...

Even though the Sheriff and his deputies would be coming in a few days, no one seemed that concerned. There was too much to do. When Alice and I went to the cabin to get settled, there was a vase on the wood stove with wildflowers and a note from Morning Star that said, "Welcome to your new home." "I don't believe we're actually here." Alice read the note again. "Me either. I feel like I'm starting a new chapter in my lif...

My dad waved at us as we came though the waist high grass in the pasture. Standing with Glenn and Dan, he held his sketchbook and pointed to some place on the other side of the orchard. Atticus straddled his father's shoulders, while Liz and Tammy knelt by the fire, preparing lunch. Alice grabbed my hand and started running towards them. I glanced back at Grace walking slowly, the branch cane over her shoulder, her eyes s...

A short, pot-bellied man walked towards us through the tall brown grass. Bald, except for a thin patch of gray hair above his ears, he had a small silver badge on his tan shirt, a holster with a black-handled gun on his hip. I’m not sure why he left his hat in the car.Glenn stiffened and watched the sheriff approaching. "Uh-oh," my dad muttered. Alice swallowed and glanced at me. I knew she was thinking Bendula. Atticus p...

Turns out, I didn’t have to go downstairs. A few minutes later, just as I was telling Alice about Elizabeth’s message, my dad came into my room. I know he heard me say, "We have to find out if it’s the Bendula." Our eyes met, and then he took a deep breath and I could see how frustrated he was with not knowing what was going on. "Right, we’ll go right after school." I knew it was late and wondered if I should skip another...

It took quite a while to find the small gravestones. They lay twentyor thirty feet in the woods, surrounded and hidden by dozens of birch trees and green bushes. Grace wasn’t certain exactly where they were, but knew they were near two huge pine trees that towered over the other trees, “I know they’re near these trees,” she said. “Now I feel bad that I haven’t been here in fifteen years. I should have realized the woods w...

"What if we paid the back taxes before it went to auction?" Glenn asked. "That way, they wouldn’t be discovered." "I’ve already thought of that," Grace said. "It’s a possibility and would solve one problem but not the more serious one." Alice and I listened, surprised at Glenn’s idea and, even more, surprised that Grace had already thought about it, but I didn’t know what she meant by the more serious problem. "You’re rig...

Loni was walking through the mall with Phyllis, her mother-in-law to be. She kept her eyes forward and refused to look in to the display windows because the reflected image in the polished glass of the display windows made her feel old and very unattractive. "Do I really look that bad? I'm only thirty and look a lot older," she said to herself. It was Springtime and the mall was hosting their annual bridal and fashion sho...

Had it not been for the rope attached to the safety harness he wore Vince would have fallen about twelve feet, but the sensors detected a free fall and applied the brakes stopping him about one foot from the stone floor, but he still bumped his head and lacerated his forehead.  He discovered that he was bleeding and went for the small first aid kit he carried in his vest and managed the stop the flow of blood. Flashing th...

Brother Sebastian headed to the rail car as fast as he dared to without giving the impression that he was running. Once inside he dug out all the chemicals that were mentioned in the ancient text along with a mortar and pestle. He set out glass containers, copper pans and alcohol lamps. He then began to blend the chemicals according to the measures provided — that was the easiest part to decipher. This formula was among t...