The Stranger

    "Hello. My name is Eudora.  Yes, I am a turkey vulture.  Boy, do I have a story to tell you."

    Once upon a time in the kingdom of Malari, there was a beautiful princess named Keniah. She loved to perch at the castle's walls and look out over the kingdom. One brisk morning as she sat looking over her nightly kingdom, she noticed something different. There was a new bird in town. This bird was nothing like any of the others. His plumage was colorful. He had feathers of purple, gold, turquoise, and white. How did he get like that? Did he fall into one of the human's chemical pools on the westside? I pray not.

    She opened her magnificent wings and glided down to where the stranger sat. She walked around him checking him out.

    "Who are you?"  she asked.

    "My name is Tremont.  Who might you be?" he replied with a smile.

    "How did your feathers get like that? You are a turkey vulture like us, are you not?"

    He clicked his beak together a couple of times then walked into her personal space.

    "Though I am like you, I am also unique. You see my father was a turkey vulture,  my mother was a peacock. You would think this wouldn't normally happen but it did. I'm living proof. Does it matter what I am?" 

    His head bobbed back and forth as he spoke. A shadow flew over them and they both looked up. A flock of storks flew overhead heading to only God knew where.  He looked over to her but she was gone. Where did she go? He looked all around but did not see her anywhere. Guess I blew it. Sadly, he turned to walk away.

    Keniah walked inside of the palace thinking.  He was certainly a mighty fine looking bird. The sound of ruffled wings grabbed her attention and she hurried to the throne room.

    "Why do you do these things, sire? I  can't stand your whining!" Loki the paige stated.

    "Do not speak to your King in that manner!" King Rion bellowed. 

    "My apologies, sire."

    "Be off with ye, Loki."

    Though he was hopping mad, Loki did as he was told and turned to leave. He nearly bumped into Princess Keniah.

    "Father, is everything alright?" she asked bowing before him.

    "What do you want daughter? I am busy."

    She looked up at him sadly. Feeling a little guilty for taking his anger out on her, he softened the look on his face.

    '"I'm sorry daughter."

    She sighed, "I saw a stranger in the kingdom this morning."

    "And what of the stranger interests you?"

    "I don't think he is a vulture at all."

    "Why do you say that?"

     "Well, his feathers are not like ours. They are very colorful while ours are shades of black. He says his mother is not one of us."

    "I see."

    He brought his wing up to his face and rubbed his beak.

    "What do you wish for me to do?"

    "Nothing Father. I can handle it alone."

    "Yes, now go."

    She turned to leave the room.

    "Father, you didn't tell me what's going on between you and Loki."

    "Don't you worry your little head about it."

    She shook her head as she left the room. She wondered why her father refused to let her help him. She went to her room and laid down. Yawning, she decided to take a nap.

    A strange bird climbed through the open window of the princess's room. He looked around carefully. He then covered her beak and flew them both out of the window. She didn't even resisted as she was in a deep sleep. This was too easy. He looked back at the palace but no one was persuing him. 

Watch for the next part of the story next week!

Live Life Abundantly

How can one be happy in a world full of chaos? That's easy, fill your life with the things that make you the happiest. For me, those things are God, my family, my dogs, and writing. I choose not to surround myself with negativity or stressful things. Know what causes you to be filled with stress then eliminate that from your life. Now obviously you cannot eliminate your children or family members but you can find ways to change what it is that is causing you to become stressed by them. Perhaps, you need to take some time for yourself once a week. Do something you enjoy.

Life is too short to not live it abundantly.  Choose to live it happy and stress free. That's how I intend on living mine.

Good Morning All

Good morning everyone. I hope that you are all doing well out there in the world. As for me, today is a good day. I am actually getting to relax and not have to run for my life today. That in itself is a good thing. I guess that you are all probably wondering why it is that I am in hiding, right? Well, I wish that I knew. All that I can remember is returning back to my hotel after a meeting with the group in the situation room (it's in that beautiful building I told you about that Nicolaitanes' company built for the military. He's built them all across the United States. I bet you didn't know that.) Anyway, a little voice within me (I wonder if that was God. I'm still trying to figure out if He's really there and if He'll accept me. I've done some things that I'm really not proud of. Does anybody know how I find out?) told me to pack my bags and leave the hotel. Well, when I was walking out of the hotel the whole place blew sky high. I don't remember much about it.

A pretty little lake that I found while exploring the military post here.

The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital a few days later and Dr. Ezekiel White telling me that I was extremely lucky to still be alive. I just looked at him because I had no idea of what it was that he was referring to. He told me that the hotel that I had been staying in had been bombed. I couldn't believe it. I'm the only survivor. I wonder how many people died. Who planted a bomb at the Hinesville Inne? Why would anybody do something like that? Seems kind of surreal doesn't it?

I love sitting out on the dock out in Sunbury. Don't know when I'll get to do that again. (sigh)

Anyway, I guess that Nicolaitanes wasn't happy with that (my still being alive) because he came storming into the hospital after me. (Hey, do you think that he's the one who had the bomb planted at the hotel? I wonder.) Dr. White, bless his heart, whisked me away from there and hid me. That was really kind of him, especially since he didn't really even know me. I'm still not sure why he helped me that day. Why would you help a perfect stranger like that? But irregardless of why he did it, I am so thankful that he did. Andrew and Tara have been hunting me down ever since Dr. White took me from the hospital. The strange thing is I still don't know why they are. I have no idea why Nicolaitanes is so desperate to get me back. You see, I have amnesia and I only remember bits and pieces of things. I'm still trying to figure out what it was exactly that I was doing working with the group. Perhaps you guys can help me figure that out. Will you?

A New Book In The Making

As you all know, the month of November is NanoWriMo. Each year I participate and strive to write an entire book in 30 days or less. This year  I decided to do a fairytale retelling of The Nightingale. I chose this story because it is not one that is well-known. The original story tells of an emperor who had everything but was unhappy. A little bird called a nightingale would come and sing to the emperor. He liked it so much that he caged the animal. This caused the little bird to become sad and not want to sing anymore. With deep regret, the emperor set the bird free. The little nightingale fled and did not return. The emperor became so distraught that an inventor made him a mechanical bird that would sing whenever he wanted. This did not satisfy the emperor. He wanted the little bird to return. 

So, in my story instead of using the little bird, nightingale, my emperor has everything he ever wanted except love. He finds a young girl who comes to the palace to sing for the emperor. She sings so beautifully the emperor falls in love with her but would she ever love him? He isn't a handsome man and his body is obese. She is the nightingale of my story. Something happens and she is no longer a part of his life, hence the little bird that fled. He goes into a deep depression and an inventor creates an AI, the artificial nightingale, to replace her. Not satisfied, young girls around the world are abducted and brought to the palace to sing in a golden cage. He does not find the right replacement at first but does he ever find a replacement? Well, you'll need to read the book when it comes out. So, watch for the book NIGHTINGALE coming soon!

You're Just In Time!

I will be taking orders for autographed books, tumblers, tshirts,  and bags. I am getting everything set up so just keep your eyes open. You won't want to miss out on these awesome deals!