Cluttered Shelving

Writing is rewriting, and in that spirit, I've cleared the ground and started my 'Emma' story over. I plan to salvage some of the old writing, but much of it will be completely new material. Part one starts today. -- Blue Cost Part 1 Clouds ringed the valley, swallowing the trees and rocks of the upper slopes in a grey mist. Even at noon the sun could not cut through the dense cover, leaving the valley in cold shadow. The statue Emma leaned against was damp and cold, but she paid it little mind. With her eyes closed she took deep breaths, letting the cold air linger in her nose and throat before slowly exhaling. It felt clean, fresh, like she was the first being in the whole world to breath in that particular gulp of air. She thought about nothing as she pressed her back into the statue and breathed. When she finally opened her eyes she looked to the line of clouds moving further down the sloping edge of the valley. It created the illusion that there was nothing more to the...

Want to start at the beginning - Unweaving pt. 1 -- Robin’s friends called the house a few times to check on her. She decided that they must have set up shifts because the same person never called twice in a row. Not that she ever spoke to them. She let everything go to voicemail, and she completely ignored texts. She could imagine them on the phone with each other, sharing their worries, just as she had with them after Caius’ mother died. Robin couldn’t think of anything to say to them, and could imagine only too clearly the things they would say to her. The only thing she could think to do was continue to ignore them.

Recently one of my stories was published in the Niner Anthology  'We Had Stars Once' . Though this story has appeared here before, I have decided to post an updated and unabridged version. On this blog I can expand my stories out to fill in my growing 'Divide' universe in a way that is not appropriate for a short story anthology. ---- Mountains rose out of stony planes, a long spine of earth and trees that stretched across the horizon. Waning sunlight cast the mountainside in a pale orange glow. Flat pine needles reflected the light, washing the forest in false autumn colors. Cutting a path through the trees, overgrown with moss and creeping vines, was a steep dirt road. The stones that once lined either side of the trail had slipped away, succumbing to the incline. In their place ground cover slowly reclaimed the road. The rhythmic sound of hoofbeats against the ground was muffled by the dense trees all around.

A weak breeze blew, taking some of the stifling heat off Robin’s skin. The relief lasted only a moment and she was again overwhelmed by the hot air. She squinted up at the pale blue sky, unbroken by clouds. She sat in the front row of the large crowd, glad to be one of the few who had a chair. It wasn’t exactly hard for her to stand, her legs weren’t weak, her head was clear, but still she was amazed her legs were holding her upright. Standing took effort, it took a choice and a resolve, and she didn’t think she had any of that. All day, from waking up in the dark after a fitful night of sleep to standing here in the cemetery, she wasn’t sure how she did any of it. But she was here, so she must have accomplished it somehow.

The cars on either side of her crawled forward.. The sun had yet to burn through the gray cloud cover, and the lack of sunlight left Aubrey lethargic. She shifted in her seat, trying to stretch her muscles and get blood flowing to her head. This early on a Saturday morning she’d expected to have the road to herself. She tried to think if there was some sort of game in town, some reason the roads were full, but her sluggish brain could do little more than focus on working the pedals in the car.