Mature / Thirty+

Smith-the-Ghost

I got off the bus swearing at myself in a village in the middle of nowhere where only a few poor sods could understand English. It was in December 1947 and the quicksilver would have shown minus 40 if it had been able to. It had been a very long journey and the worst part had been the last. 4 hours on a rickety bus that didn’t even pretend to be a coach! I had to remind myself why the hell I was there. Sure, the case interested me but the real reason was that Boston wasn’t big enough for both me and the men in black.

The Struggle of Bean Chapter 3

Though the princess and I never quite became close friends, we reached a mutual understanding: both of us simply wanted to complete basic training with minimal complications. Neither of us had the energy to engage in any unnecessary drama or feuds that would only serve as distractions.

Arctic Fox Book 3: Pursuit of the Dream - Chapter 22

The Arctic Fox 3.jpg

Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

Marcia is seventeen, and along with Darryl, has moved south in Alaska to attend the Anchorage campus of the Alaska State University. She wants to pursue her dream, but will it pursue her instead?

Mike Chatham always enjoyed being in the pilot's seat of an airplane. His Beechcraft Bonanza was less powerful than his fighter, but flying over the Chugach Mountains was a beautiful view.

In the plane was his daughter Amber, seated in the right seat. A newlywed couple was in the back row, and in front of them were Marcia and Sammy. The little boy had come to help take his mind off the terrors of the Fourth of July, but he wanted his Aunt Marcia along with him. Once Sammy and Marcia were going, Amber wanted to fly with her daddy too.

Arctic Fox Book 3: Pursuit of the Dream - Chapter 21

The Arctic Fox 3.jpg

Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

Marcia is seventeen, and along with Darryl, has moved south in Alaska to attend the Anchorage campus of the Alaska State University. She wants to pursue her dream, but will it pursue her instead?

Freshly sprayed down with Off®, Marcia, Darryl, and Sammy sat at a picnic table near the Matanuska River dock. It was a ways from where the body had been found, for which they were glad. They didn’t want Sammy thinking about that either. Whether he understood what he’d seen in the case of his parents death, or the skeletal hand, would have to be determined by a counselor.

The Light Between - Part 8 (complete)

The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 8 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 30 - Terminus

 

For more than thirty years, Deniz Akbas had given fishing tours of the Bosphorus with his small boat. With his pleasant demeanor (and perhaps due to a few missing teeth lending him a certain charm) tourists had found him trustworthy as well as deeming his white-tire clad vessel seaworthy for a day’s cruise. From his pilot’s position in the wooden front compartment, travelers to Istanbul had relaxed in the glass-walled and ivory-benched area in the back where they enjoyed whatever food and drink they’d brought aboard inside their many baskets - all while marveling at the magnificent views of the Turkish seaside and the wide bridge connecting Asia to Europe, a construction officially known as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and unofficially as the First Bridge.

In all that time he had never been paid so much to do so little.

Arctic Fox Book 3: Pursuit of the Dream - Chapter 20

The Arctic Fox 3.jpg

Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

Marcia is seventeen, and along with Darryl, has moved south in Alaska to attend the Anchorage campus of the Alaska State University. She wants to pursue her dream, but will it pursue her instead?

When Sammy was three years old, his biological parents were killed in a freak accident at a 4th of July fireworks show. For quite some time, it seemed as though he hadn't remembered the event, but looking at the drawing on his wall, it was obvious that the images were inside his mind.

Merope, Maybe : 3 / 19

 

"I get the picture: The processing center looks at my old world and my new world and asks each one if they want me."

"That's a good way to put it. Then, if you're a no-go in both directions, they give you their whole-new-life bit. It's a package deal: a new name, a Greyhound bus ticket, and the offer of a shitty job that you'd never take. They walk you to the door, tell you the world is your oyster, and give you a great big swat on the butt, 'cause it's your birthday."

 

Love Bombing Chapter 1

IMG_0121.jpeg

When I was younger, I didn’t really think about love. I didn’t think about liking anyone. I was completely ignorant to Valentine’s Day and the barrage of cards and gifts I’d receive. When one is in sixth grade, that’s the farthest thing from your mind. You care about playing sports, reading, or listening to music until either the tape disintegrates, or the batteries die. Either way, one remains oblivious to everything having to do with guys.

Friends

Ellen Carpenter woke first. She always did on a work day, and almost always on weekends, too. After enough time, some habits just stick with you. The pattern had become a routine - throw on a dressing gown, step into slippers and pad down the stairs to make a pot of tea and some breakfast for both of them, sit quietly listening to complaints about work colleagues she had never met, make a packed lunch and a flask of coffee, then a quick kiss, a “have a nice day”, and she was on her own again.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 44 Spring, Broadband, and Natural Justice

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 44 Spring, Broadband, and Natural Justice

Since being a toddler, Violet had heard many conversations concerning war, it was something regularly discussed by Bearthwaite men, a number of who had served in the armed forces, and she had taken it all in, for to her the Bearthwaite view made perfect sense. Much of what she’d heard over and over again could be summarised in short pithy sentences. ‘Wars are caused by idiots who have the principles that ordinary blokes don’t give a toss about, but end up dying for anyway.’ ‘The number of armed conflicts a nation gets involved in is a measure of the incompetence and stupidity of its leaders because in the end all conflicts are settled around the negotiating table. It doesn’t actually require that much intelligence to have the negotiations before the conflict.’ ‘A squaddie I knew a long time ago who’d been in the mob for twenty-odd years once telt me that a battle that doesn’t happen is one won by the lads on both sides.’

The Light Between - Part 7

The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 7 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 25 - Uprising

 

The mass of people below the balcony windows shouted and screamed, chanting with all the power in their lungs for the end of corruption and misery, for the end of the current responsible regime, calling for the death of the military dictator who many years prior had seized control. Distant gunfire echoed towards the swarm of people still filling the streets and their howling grew only stronger and defiant.

The hotel had once held well-maintained grounds of palm trees and grass, but now its bricks sat scorched by the flames of rebellion, and each night hired security had needed to barricade the doors to keep an angry throng from setting torch to the fineries present within the lobby. The singed patches of carpet he’d stepped across when he’d arrived gave testament that the previous evenings’ defense had not always been successful.

Merope, Maybe : 2 / 19

 

"Incidentally," he added in a quieter tone, "my girlfriend can be quite jealous."

I paused in the doorway. "Okay, noted. Does she live with you?"

"No... not yet, anyway. But if she calls, don't talk or make noise, alright? And if she comes over, just... act normally."

"That's what I usually do," I assured him.

 

Changing Roles - Chapter 31

th1E5FMWIT.jpg

Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 31

Emily took my hand and led me into the bedroom that she had allocated to me that was luxurious compared to my apartment and the one I’d grown up in at home. It was even better than most hotels I’d ever stayed in and I’d been excited by the prospect of sleeping under the freshly laundered and crisp white sheets in the large inviting bed. Emily sat down on the bed and gently pulled me to her side.

Metempsychosis Apotheosis - 11

When Robert’s wife’s body is stolen, Robert must discover where and who she is and get her body back. But can he succeed when Exmuritious Forrester, the CEO and owner of Transmigration Studios, decides to stop him? Who can Robert trust, when anyone could be anyone?
MA Cover small.png

Domesticity

Domesticity
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

00 Domestic.jpg

I love to cook. I learned how to when I was laid off and my wife Jane became the principal breadwinner.

“Let me keep house for a bit,” I told her. “I will keep looking for a job, but until I get one there is plenty I can do at home.”

It turned out that there is plenty to do, and that does not give time for job hunting.

Metempsychosis Apotheosis - 10

When Robert’s wife’s body is stolen, Robert must discover where and who she is and get her body back. But can he succeed when Exmuritious Forrester, the CEO and owner of Transmigration Studios, decides to stop him? Who can Robert trust, when anyone could be anyone?
MA Cover small.png

The Light Between - Part 6

The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 6 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 21 - Limits

 

The nice thing about being friends with someone who just became ridiculously wealthy is a decision such as “let’s go to Jerusalem” is easily turned into a phone call to dispatch some assistant into booking flights, hotel, and ride to the airport.

You then get to sit back, enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee), and wait for details of the itinerary to magically appear.

Okay, so Isaiah stayed on the line so he could approve the hotel and also relay the required information from my passport. Delegation was never really his strong-point.

[FW] Crafting A Witch's Diorama

Bakersville is the ideal little small town with picturesque buildings and happy townsfolk.
But local carpenter Hamish knows better.
A fashion witch has settled here and isn't above bending minds and bodies to her whim.
All to create her ideal and perfect vision.
Now, Hamish suspects he will be her next victim.
Can he fight her? Change his fate? Or has he to accept what the witch has in store for him?

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 43 Bearthwaite Beck, Solid Fuel & Limned Letters

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 43 Bearthwaite Beck, Solid Fuel & Limned Letters

If Dr Tenby had any surprise at seeing a naked, eleven year old, biological female holding his father's hand she kept it to herself.

At the end of Peter’s appointment, Dr Tenby stood up and said, “You have an amazing relationship with your son, Herr Meltzer. A relationship that many of my younger patients could only dream about having.” She escorted them to the door and shook hands with them as they said goodbye.

Metempsychosis Apotheosis - 9

When Robert’s wife’s body is stolen, Robert must discover where and who she is and get her body back. But can he succeed when Exmuritious Forrester, the CEO and owner of Transmigration Studios, decides to stop him? Who can Robert trust, when anyone could be anyone?
MA Cover small.png

Writing in Style

Writing in Style.
by
Angharad.

I was a calligrapher, I did the fancy writing on things when they didn't want it done by machine, anything from wedding lists and labels to certificates for all sorts, including politicians, when they'd been granted the freedom of the town centre and that sort of thing. I wasn't particularly well paid because you can do it with a computer but when they wanted something special I was the go-to for it in our town.

Arctic Fox Book 3: Pursuit of the Dream - Chapter 19

The Arctic Fox 3.jpg

Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

It was very awkward seeing Trish again.

The younger girl had never been Mage's favorite person as she had always been competition. Even before Mage revealed her true self, Trish obviously had a crush on Chet.

What do you think?” Mage asked.

Discovering me

I had finally done it. I was on my own in my own flat. My marriage had failed and I had split amicably with my wife. She kept the house that had been paid for mostly by a trust fund set up by my parents. I kept the remainder of my savings. I did not begrudge her the house. She had been patient and understanding about my "condition". Both my parents were dead, which is why I was contemplating doing something I had been longing for all my life.

Metempsychosis Apotheosis - 8

When Robert’s wife’s body is stolen, Robert must discover where and who she is and get her body back. But can he succeed when Exmuritious Forrester, the CEO and owner of Transmigration Studios, decides to stop him? Who can Robert trust, when anyone could be anyone?
MA Cover small.png

The Light Between - Part 5

The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 5 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 16 - Sins

Countless nights spent staring into a fire’s dancing flames or into skies darkened by midnight’s gloom flooded everything, twisting as a barbed arrow within the chest. Abandoned by a father whose infinite radiance had turned as cold as the snow he’d left her in, a young girl had wrestled with inner scars which seeped anew from every self-perceived failure. Even her uncle - though he had at least stayed - always bore into her soul with hooded eyes of penetrating and absolute judgment.

Only Siabh had held her tenderly. Only the fae priestess had softly offered words of love and support.

But some nights those hadn’t been enough. And as the long hours crept towards dawn the child had whispered the same questions over and over:

Does my mother also think me worthless? Is that why she never came for me?

Is she ashamed of me too?

Pages

Subscribe to Mature / Thirty+