   “ Are you coming tonight?” She screamed into the phone. She probably thought that Mr. Ken wasn’t hearing her above the noise of the vehicles for she noticed from background noises that he was in the bus. “ I don’t know as of now, I still have a lot to cover today, I will give you an answer in three hours time.” Mr. Ken Obiakor had been on the road since 6:00am. He knew from experience that Nigerian time is different from the rest of the world. When you’re hosting or being hosted in any occasion, just know that any hour you put on the card means plus one hour. It has became a tradition here now to add one hour on any occasion one is invited. Courts, banks, hospitals, ceremonies etc. Any kind of invitation.

People don’t like being the first to arrive in any meeting or occasions for they see it as belittling themselves by loitering around waiting for others to show up. He was invited to lecture the market women on the do’s and don't's of fire prevention. It was scheduled to start around 9am and the journey was two hours journey. He left his house around 6am and got there by 15minutes to 9 but ended up staying another 50 minutes before people began trickling in and the event finally took off around 5 after 10.

It lasted about two and half hours before he started his home ward journey. It was really a stressful journey but he doesn’t have choice nowadays like most do since after the covid-19 locked down was lifted. Most firms embarked on laying workers off and he was one of the victims of his organization's down sizing.

He had gotten work in the privately owned firefighting firm after graduation. after his lay off, he had used his contact in getting lectures and demonstration on anything concerning fire out break. Thanks for four years knowledge he garnered in the firm. It has been the means he had used in supporting his family while hoping that his applications to government own firms would be successful.

He had used the opportunity provided by the occasion to water ground like the saying around here goes. He handed over his contact cards to the organizers of the event and most women he believed has connections. He noted that they were impressed by his presentation and drill demonstration.

     On disembarking from the bus after two hours plus journey, he entered a restaurant nearby and ordered a plate of fried rice with goat meat. He would have preferred pounded yam and Egusi soup but he still have three invitations to honour, the food would be heave in him. He opted for rice. While on the food, he remembered that he had not returned call to his former classmate as promised.

She and her husband is organizing Thanks given party for the contract her husband got in supplying spare parts to an oil servicing company in Rivers state. First part of the contract had been successfully executed and they decided to host their friends to little get together.

While on the food, he did his calculations and decided that attending that get together was practically not possible. He signed, focused on his food and promised to call the lady after meal.

         On finishing the meal, his phone rang and it was his landlord calling to remind him that his jubilee wedding anniversary has gone half way already, “Where are you?” he demanded. “ Ah, sorry sir, I am on my way immediately” 30 minutes later, he entered the man compound. After presenting his gifts, and chatting with the celebrants and other guests, he excused himself to attend yet another birthday party of a friends kid. He entered a supermarket and demanded for a toy.

“ Why is the gift too expensive?” he queried. “Sir, there are all foreign products” “foreign products?, you mean to tell me that toys can not be produce here?” “ No sir, no company like that exist yet” “ How do you mean, you mean that all these engineers don’t know yet that children toys are hidden treasure?” “ I am not sure that any foreign companies would listen to their advice to invest in the country sir” “ I don’t mean partnering with any foreign firm, I mean going it alone” “ Ah, sir, they don’t have that knowledge and money” “ How do you mean?, you mean they can’t produce toys?” “ Maybe manual wooden ones sir,” “wooden?, I mean like all these ones here” “ Ah, sir they can not. I think their lecturers don’t teach them these things” “ Don’t teach them?, ah, these guys can produce real cars for goodness sake” “ Sir, if they producer, would you buy?, the bridge they built in my village fell within three months and kill six people. No body will buy anything they produce, it is too dangerous” “ What type of mentality do you have?,,

“ Sir, this mentality is normal I tell you true. my cousin was among the victims of that bridge. I see a lot of those engineers every evening here, they knew a lot of politics, money and women, not toys” “ Hand me my gift, I hope you wrapped it well?” “ sure, it will need scissors to open it” On getting to the friends building, he noticed a crowds of about 50 or more people gathered in front of the three storey house, he went near to know what was going on. He had only been there for a minutes when suddenly they were rounded by the police vans. Everyone was pushed into the van and taken to the station. On getting to the station, they pushed everyone inside the holding cells after collecting everything on them for safe keeping like they said.

One hour later, they started calling them out one after the other for questioning.

Mr. Ken's dilemma was that no one knows where he was. The friend he went to his house don’t even know he was arrested in front of his house, his family don't know too. His phone has been confiscated and Nigerian police and they cell is never anything to write home about. “ Who is Kenneth here?” one officer asked. “Yes, I am the one” “You seems to know a lot of caring friends, they have been calling this line for long now, you are the type of customers we need here. Follow me” As he picked up the phone, a woman voice barked into his ear; “What happened, are you coming?”


I post this as a warning. Learn from my mistake. I was in bed last night, scrolling through Reddit. I'm a fan of horror, and strangely I actually find it easier to sleep after a good scare, so I was browsing through short stories, clips and other horror-based content when I came across a post simply titled "**Don't rub your eyes**". As I began reading, half drifting off to sleep, I read a line that said "**I feel a slight tingling sensation in my left eye. It's almost not even there, except for the fact that I know it is**". The line took me by surprise, as I laughed at this attempt to unsettle me, only the thought wouldn't go away. I didn't feel anything in my left eye, did I? I couldn't tell if it was the brightness of the screen, or the fact that the thought was placed in my head by what I was reading, but I felt a twitch in my left eye. At this point, any sensation on my face seemed amplified, as all my attention focused .on what I was feeling. Even among being aware of all the sensations on my face I normally tune out, I was most aware of my left eye. Before long, the faint sensation became difficult to ignore, as I continued to read this story. I thought of raising my hand towards my face, when my eyes diverted to the title once more, "**Don't rub your eyes**". My heart began to race. A sensation I would normally welcome, but this was different. This felt personal. I wanted to close my phone and just go to sleep, but I couldn't. The sensation in my left eye was growing. It felt like there was dust there, or perhaps a little hair. Nothing that couldn't be solved by just cleaning it away. Yet I kept coming back to the title of the story that faced me, "**Don't rub your eyes**". But I couldn't simply leave the feeling be. I couldn't just ignore it. It was bothering me. So I made a decision. I raised my hand and rubbed my left eye, still continuing to read with my right. I could feel the irritating sensation ease up as I rubbed, and I smiled at my own trepidation a few seconds prior. It was just a story, nothing more. Whether it was dust, or hair, or imagined irritation, it was almost entirely faded away, when all of a sudden, I heard a ***POP***. In fear, I dropped my phone and sat up. The bright screen looked up at me. As my left eye cleared, I looked down at my phone, and all seemed fine, except for a strange soreness on my face. I tried to explain it as an understandable byproduct of my efforts to clear my eye. The popping noise meanwhile was surely just something to do with plumbing. Yet the strange soreness on the left side of my face wouldn't let up, as a creeping suspicion overcame me. I closed my eyes and covered them with my hands, and I could feel it. I told myself I was imagining it, but I could feel it. My left eye felt further into my head than my right. In a panic, I turned on my bedside lamp. Even amidst the new lighting, my phone lay on the bed, on my leg, shining up at me. "**Don't rub your eyes**". I checked my eyes again, hoping to be proven wrong this time. Hoping I could just laugh at my momentary lapse in judgement and go to sleep. If only. My eyes felt more misaligned than before, as my left eye seemed to be retreating into my skull. Unsure of what to do, I tiled my head forward, once again facing the stupid post. The soreness did not seem to fade, and so I tapped the back of my head, hoping to coax the retreating eye back in it's place. I don't know the science behind it, but at the time, it seemed a reasonable thing to try. But try as I might, the eye continued to sink. The pain was not significant, which I found strange. Only a tangible soreness that took over one side of my face. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush I was feeling at the time, but by now, my vision began to distort. From my right eye, I could still see my phone looking up at me, but from the left, a strange circular border began to form around what I could see. I tried to close my left eye, but with nothing to hold their form around, my upper eyelid simply dangled when I tried. I'm not sure why, but I grabbed my phone, before I jumped out of bed and ran to the nearest mirror. As I saw my reflection, I tried to scream, but the sound was stuck in my throat. The vision from my left eye began to darken as I felt it slide entirely out of its place and fall back, rolling inside my head. I could see from my remaining eye, that all that remained was a dark red, empty hole. I looked down at the phone I was still holding tightly. I read one final time, "**Don't rub your eyes**".


Many times, I’d seen him, wild, bushy, greying hair framing his entire head like some kind of grotesque creature. Down the corners of where his mouth apparently was, there were brown lines fading into the beard hair. I was sure that if I looked deeper into the hairs, I would definitely find lost food particles. He would usually not acknowledge any greetings or waving. He was definitely “grumpy guts”! His clothing was always drab and stained with threads hanging off and he wore great heavy steel capped boots that looked like he never took them off as the caked mud went from trouser to toe all in an unbroken sheen. Over everything he wore a very old, tattered leather jacket, Davey Crockett, style. One thing though, I don’t remember him actually smelling bad, odd that. He would drive slowly past in his ancient, grey, Land Rover with miles and miles of looped binder twine hanging across the upper section of the flat tray. Some of it you knew had been there for nearly as many years as he was old by the colour because every few years the manufacturers brought out a new colour and there were examples of all variations hanging there. At the time, as a child of 10, I found him quite scary especially when he became convinced that I was purposefully tying knots in the manes of his “wild” horses. Even he couldn’t get near any of them. There were also reports from other people that he would fire his gun threateningly if he found them near his property….and bellow, I used to hear him roar at his dog sometimes. Our property’s boundary fence was also his and occasionally he would come up to the fence and holler for my father. After a brief exchange he would promptly turn and march away. This was how we found out that he thought I was knotting his horse’s manes as he indicated to my father that if he caught me, he would “tan” my hide. My father said he better not or else….and that’s when he stomped away. Of course, even I couldn’t get close enough to those horses to be able to do such a thing even if I had wanted to. I did used to handfeed them and rub their noses though, there were heaps of them, such beautiful creatures they were with show bloodlines. There was also a great herd of wild goats that roamed the entire area, coming and going through ANY fence at their pleasure. Technically he owned them since he was the one who originally started the herd but after that they owned themselves. Sometimes the bucks would come and try to fight with our goats, they were much “smarter” than our poor billy and we would have to rush to his rescue. Anyway, as things go, we ended up with some pretty coloured babies, much to my dad’s disgust. Eventually he got a new puppy. He called him Useless. I think after a good year or so the new dog grew on him and he seemed to love it, however unfortunately the name stuck. As the years rolled by we began to have a little more to do with him and he even used to get us to assist with injured horses when they needed daily treatment and he had to go away to his job. Later we were even permitted to walk across his property to get to a beach that was there. We had to be careful to only climb through specific “holes” in the fence and not climb over and only walk in certain paths. I started to see another side to him and under his bushy eyebrows I now saw the most beautiful blue eyes. Many years later I was helping another neighbour test a new cart behind his donkey on the road and suddenly the donkey decided that he had had enough of this business and bolted down the hill. The cart began to breakup and my friend and I bailed out. A little further on and the rest of the cart came loose and the donkey continued on with just the traces dragging and flapping behind. Grumpy guts came driving up the road and saw it all happening. He leapt out of his truck and stood in the middle of the road with his arms out to stop the donkey. He couldn’t stop laughing. He said to my friend, “Chariots of Fire, Chariots of Fire”, and nearly choking. One winter whilst he was checking on one of his boundary fences he found evidence that someone had crossed onto his land. He would have been furious. There was a little pickers hut in the bush from yesteryear when an orchard had once existed and a young couple in there trying to survive. They had nowhere to go and she was heavily pregnant. Instead of getting his gun out as usual and throwing them out he let them stay and even started taking them bags of food and other supplies. I don’t know how long they ended up living there but it just goes to show that despite living a gruff and meagre existence and appearing like he couldn’t and wouldn’t trust anyone and giving all who come near him a hard time there was still a tiny seed of decency and care for his fellow man. Maybe the woman reminded him of his only daughter that I knew he never saw. Maybe he thought one day she might be in need and someone might just come to her aide. I don’t know, but I do know that eventually he died alone in his rundown, dirt filled house. He never slept in the bedroom in the bed but instead lay on the couch looking out over the paddock and down to the sea. He drank black coffee with whisky in it and ate bacon fried in a pan that was so full of previous meals fat all black and gross that I am sure it was simply NEVER washed. He was a very odd man, a loner and alone. A product of several wars at whose end no side wanted him back so he ended up in the back of nowhere as far as you can go without going to Antarctica. Yes, as a child he scared me but no one should die alone!


My dorm wasn't as small as I thought it would be. 540 square feet. There was a small private bathroom included in the space. It was now filled with boxes. The only furniture was a full sized bed, a cafe table with three wire chairs, two bookshelves and a television stand. "Its actually too bad that your first day of class is tomorrow. It doesn't give you much time to get settled." Mum sighed, looking around. I nodded. "I had thought about petitioning the dean to give me permission to come early, but I was already worried about standing out. I didn't need to make it worse." I replied, dropping into one of the wire cafe chairs. She shrugged. Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the open door. We both turned and saw a pretty young female satyr standing in the door way. She was about the same height I was with a long caramel side braid, deep brown skin and bright jade green eyes. The fur on her legs was the same as her braid. "H-hello, My name is Margaret. I-I'm your neighbor. I've just moved in next door this morning, so I'm pretty new too." She announced nervously, shuffling on black hooves. She twisted the hem of her bright orange tunic. I waved from my seat "Its a pleasure. My name is Kiska Thatcher and this is my Mum, Deliverance. You don't have to be nervous, we won't bite." I added jokingly. Mum gave me a dirty look before turning back to Margaret. "Are you the only one here, Margaret?" She asked gently. Margaret nodded slowly. "My papa was supposed to come help me move in but he was called into work. He works for the Department of Natural Resources as a park ranger." She explained. Mum went over and pulled Margaret into the room. "I know that both rooms are probably a mess but I was thinking about getting a pizza or something for lunch, then we could start unpacking. Margaret, if you'd like we could help you unpack too. Would you like some pizza?" She asked as she sat the young satyr in one of the chairs next to me. Margaret nearly burst into tears. "Y-yes please." She mumbled, her chin trembling. "It's settled. I'll go get the pizza and you guys can start unpacking. why don't you start in Margaret's room." Mum advised as she strode from the room. I nodded and stood up, grabbing Margaret's hand. "Lets go, it'll take less time if there's the two of us working on it." I dragged the protesting satyr into the hall. She reluctantly showed me which side was hers and we opened the door to find very little in the way of her stuff. Her face suddenly disappeared behind her hands and she shuffled quickly on her hooves, giving the impression that she was doing a very awkward dance. "Margaret, you're gonna scuff holes in the floor if you keep that up." I entered the room and surveyed the small pile of bags, blankets, pillows and beanbag chairs. Everything that she owned, it seemed, was hand made with natural fiber fabric. I picked up one of the thick blankets and marveled at the softness of it. "Did you make all of your stuff?" I asked, turning to her. Still covering her face, she nodded. ***I couldn't tell why she was so embarrassed. The stuff that she owned, despite being small in quantity, was beautiful. The colors were so vibrant and vivid. The fabric was so soft yet so strong. I couldn't imagine making anything of the same caliber.*** "Margaret, I can understand being in a new environment, but you don't need to be shy with me. I'm not going to judge you or anything. Promise." I coaxed, putting the blanket aside. Slowly she uncovered her face. "I'm sorry, the humans in my neighborhood at home weren't always the kindest." She confessed quietly. I gave her a quizzical look but didn't pry. "Well, I'm not like them. Promise." I assured her, turning my curiosity into a beaming smile. Her demeanor seemed to open up a little as she smiled shyly back. "S-Shall we get started?" She offered, picking up one of the bags on the top of her pile.


The deer carcass on the edge of town was found lying next to an old tree by Heather on her morning walks. Her screams woke the tiny town of Hawthorne from its slumber. Dead animals were a common sight in the village. Hunting was a way of life, and if humans didn't kill it, a larger animal surely did. This deer's killer was clearly neither human nor animal. It had chunks of flesh torn in a symmetrical fashion, and a purple substance in the wounds. A few yards into the woods from the deer; two piles of the purple substance mixed with meat was found. Alien invasion hysteria gripped Hawthorne. Heather was briefly accused of killing the deer herself and being a traitor to humanity. Heather responded by slapping her accuser, and the matter was resolved. Three lone hunters took it upon themselves to hunt the beast themselves. One got lost and returned at sunset. One was found dead the next morning. The last survived and was traumatized by what he saw through his binoculars. Six long scale covered legs climbed through the trees like a car. Four tentacles vibrated around it. Two faced in the direction it traveled while the other two were constantly changing directions. The body was oblong and covered in fur. A fur pouch on the side covered a small slug with a mouthful of teeth drooling purple slime. He assumed another slug was on the other side. The town was divided on how to handle this alien threat. One group wanted to carry on its life as normal. This creature was no different than a bear or a puma. If it got in their way, they would shoot it and hope that it had enough meat for dinner. Another group wanted to leave town and start a new life. They were reminded that the world outside of Hawthorne was a wasteland, and the creature could follow them. The group decided to stay, but they would be sure to propose moving at every opportunity. A third group wanted the glory of the hunt; the surviving hunter reminded them that another hunter had died hunting the beast. The last group wanted to do a combination of setting up a watch around the town for security and send out parties to gather information on the creature but not confront it. In a shocking twist of events, reason prevailed, and the last group won. The watchers observed the creature never went near the town. When small parties of six were sent to the forest, they found a variety of animal carcasses and purple slime near the bodies. The creature was sighted running past the information parties, but it never confronted them. With this information, it was hypothesized that the creature was intelligent enough to not attack large groups, and it needed nutrients that were lacking in Earth creatures. This information changed group dynamics at the next meeting. The group that wanted to live life as normal proposed to continue living life as normal. The group that wanted to leave, proposed leaving again. This time, they proposed moving somewhere with nicer weather. The cautious group desired to continue studying the creature. The hunters had already left the meeting to kill it. Chip and Ken were two of those hunters. Their heads crouched and scanned the perimeter for signs of the creature. Their shotguns were close to their chests prepared to fire. When a deer ran behind them, Chip turned and shot it. Ken castigated Chip for wasting ammo especially since he missed the deer which was now running away from them. Fortune favored the stupid, and the creature dropped from the canopy to consume the deer. Ken stopped criticizing Chip and began running towards the creature shooting at it. Chip followed and fired his gun as well. Chip continued to be a poor shot as every pellet misses the creature. He did manage to hit a bird fleeing the fight. The creature did not move from its meal. Several of its tentacles were struck by bullets and drop to the ground. Its legs went limp crushing the carcass beneath it. The two slugs drooled purple slime. Chip and Ken stood over the body and fired several rounds into it until they were certain its dead. The town had no research facilities to study the creature so they buried it. A minor cult formed around the creature in the weeks after its death. The location of its burial was forgotten causing the cult to disappear quickly. Chip and Ken were briefly treated as town heroes until Chip crashed his car into Gayle's farm. They were then regarded as idiots again. Some long for the chance to study the creature further. The presence of an alien briefly made life exciting, and the existence of life in the stars posed engaging philosophical questions. If only Hawthorne could be graced by another alien creature, one that would not be murdered by local hunters. Until then, it was luck and stupidity that killed the beast.


Kill Count Pre-adventure: Gregory: 0 Brylynn: 0 Tedal: 0 Lubith: 0 Gert: ∞ The group looks determined as they prepare for their descent. Leading them is a small gnome. “The Lizard King has been sending up his lizardpeople through a large tunnel nearby. We don’t have the numbers to meet them head-on, so we are sending in our greatest adventurers through a smaller tunnel to ambush their general. His name is Otel Deraj. He is known for his bowtie and pretentious attitude. Kill him and we will reward you with 5 gold pieces.” Explains the teenie tiny gnome named Jerome. The party leads through the tunnel. In the front stands the gallant holy warrior, Gregory Hillyer. His sword is strong but not as strong as his conviction. He leads the way, torch in hand. Behind him is the eloquent elven mage, Brylynn Flowerlight. She can't cast healing spells so quit asking. She holds her spell book ready for action. Following is the halfling rogue, Tedal Shadowrabbit. He’s just a little guy. He pulls his hood over his head, blending into the shadows. Struggling to keep up is the Obese Dwarf Cleric, Lubith Brownheart. His fat is mere insulation. Sweat drips down his beard dripping onto his heavy plate armor as he pumps his arms to keep up. Behind Lubith is Gert. The ground of the tunnel is uneven dirt, and the roof is unsupported. The tunnel is primitive, like something a badger would dig, not like something made by a gnome. “I’m not used to being underground like this, I don’t feel safe,” says Brylynn. “Oh hush now. Being underground has never hurt anyone,” says Lubert. “Gert,” says Gert. They hike for what feels like hours to Lubith, until they encounter two lizardpeople sweeping the floor. One holds the broom and is yelling at the other sweeping the floor. “Hergthassasssaaasshhhhhhh,” says the sweeping lizardperson once he sees the humans. “Stand back infidel, repent or be slain,” exclaims Gregory. “Gert,” says Gert. Gregory charges first, slashing with his sword. Flying from behind him; a bolt of fire from Brylynn. The fire and sword collide with the lizard, applying a stab wound and burning a hole through his chest. The lizardperson pulls a sword from the broomstick and clashes blades with Gregory. The second lizardperson unsheathes his dustpan, revealing a blade at the end of it. Before the second lizard person could land a hit, Tedal jumps on his back, stabbing him in the head. Lubith follows with his Mace straight to the knees, snapping every bone in the poor joint. “Gert,” says Gert. The swords of the Lizardperson and Gregory cling. Gregory breaks through the bind and stabs the Lizardperson through the chest leading his intestines to fall out. Brylynn puts her hands against the lizardperson’s face and melts it off. The lizard person fumbles back and slashes at Gregory. The other lizardperson fights the grip of Tedal but is unsuccessful. Tedal stabs both of his daggers through the eyes of the lizardperson. Lubith holds his holy symbol in his chubby fingers and says a prayer, shooting a holy bolt of light straight at the face of the lizardperson being ridden by Tedal. The light glides gracefully and incinerates the lizardperson’s face. “Gert,” says Gert. Gregory lands the finishing blow against the Lizardperson with a clean strike. Lubith ends the other with a bash to the head. The party heads to the opening where the lizardpeople came from, seeing a dark stone dungeon. To be continued… “Gert,” says Gert.


“Dan, it’s pouring out here! Can’t this wait?” Deidre yelled over the roaring wind, buckets of rain pouring down their backs.

“No! It can’t if I can’t get this thing running we might as well have packed up and moved back to the high country,” he said, water pouring down his face as he held the flashlight. Dan hovered over the engine of the sputtering generator that ran the sump pump.

“Without the generator, we’re sunk, literally! Wait! Here’s the problem, this plug isn’t screwed in all the way. Hand me that pair of pliers, would you, honey?”

Deidre reached out for the metal pliers inside Dan’s nearly floating toolbox when it seemed as if the world stopped for a brief moment, each of them feeling the hair stand up all over their bodies. About the time Deidre reached for the metal tool, blinding, searing lightning entered her body through her right hand and exited out the bottoms of her feet. The bolt, electrifying every part of her, including her heart. Dan, standing in water, got a shock but not like his girlfriend.

Dan grabbed the wooden railing of the deck and thrust his aching body toward Deidre who was lying lifeless rain pelting her ashen face.

“Deid! Honey!” Dan felt for a pulse, none. He reached for the cell phone on his waist, it was fried.

“I’ve got to DO something!” He screamed. “Think, Dan!” He bent over Deidre, shoving the pliers off the wooden slab, tilted her head slightly and began giving rescue breaths and shoving his hands up and down, heaving her chest. Dan thought to himself, “Who am I kidding. I’ve only ever seen CPR done in PE class and that was over ten years ago!” “One, two, three, four, five…..breath, breath. Do I repeat it?” Dan continued for what seemed like an eternity then the color began to return to Deidre’s face as she gasped for air, sputtering water from all the rain. “Honey, I’m going inside to call 9-1-1. Don’t move, I’ll be right back!” Dan said nervously as he rushed inside, grabbing Deidre’s multi-colored rose decorated cell phone. His wet fingers slid all over the glass surface initially, until he dried them off on a paper towel.

“Emergency services, how may I assist you?” The eerie calm automated voice on the other end gave Dan the creeps.

“Send an ambulance, my girlfriend’s just been struck by lightning! Hurry!” He yelled.

“Sir, what is the nature of your emergency? The voice said once again. “Lady, I need an ambulance. Deidre’s just been struck by lightning! Don’t you understand English!” He shouted in frustration.

“Sending an ambulance to your location and thank you for calling Emergency Services.”

“I can’t believe this is what the world’s come to”, he said as he went outside to help Deidre but she was nowhere to be found. “Deid! Where are you? Deidre!” Dan walked around the side of the house by the garage, saw the open door and walked in to find Deidre in the car with it running. “Aren’t we going to the hospital? You said you were struck by lightning, didn’t you?” Deidre asked.

“No, honey.” He reached over to turn the car off. “You were! There’s no way I’m letting you drive. There’s no way I’m driving because I got a shock, too!”

“So that’s what that light was. It seemed to go on forever, everything was lit so intensely for so long! Are you sure that was lightning?” She asked, clutching her chest. “Ugh, Dan, my chest! It feels like someone’s been pounding on my chest for hours!”

As the ambulance pulled up, sirens roaring over the din of the pounding rain Dan reached out to help Deidre out of the car, collapsing at her feet. Deidre noticed something strange about Dan’s sneakers. They’d turned this strange shade of brown around the edges. At first, she looked and thought it was because they were wet, but the closer to the ground they were, the darker the shade of dirty brown.

“Help! Over here!!” She cried, ushering the soaked paramedics to a breathing but incapacitated boyfriend.

“Sir!” The first paramedic yelled, rubbing the middle of the dragon on Dan’s chest, his favorite tee from the glory days of high school football.

“Ma’am, what happened?” The other paramedic asked Deidre.

“I’m not exactly sure. One minute we’re working on fixing the generator, the next I wake to Dan giving me mouth to mouth! The only thing I really remember is right before I passed out, I felt a strange tingling sensation all over, then a sudden burst of heat, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.” The paramedic wrapped Deidre in a blanket, ushering her to the back of the ambulance where Dan was being loaded on a gurney.

“Ma’am,” the paramedic started, then paused, staring at the profile of her face. “Wait! Are you Deidre Maxim, the Deidre Maxim?” He asked, astonished.

“Yes,” she replied with a bewildered look on her face. “Do I know you?” “No, but I know you. You graduated from Ashtyn High School?” He asked, making sure he was talking to the right person. “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” Deidre replied, starting to feel a bit creeped out.

“You, it’s really you!” The paramedic said, grabbing her hand and shaking it. “It’s such an honor to meet you. You don’t know how long I’ve waited to meet you!”

“What on earth are you talking about?” She wondered aloud as the other paramedic hooked Dan,coming around but still groggy,to the heart monitor. “You’re the girl who saved my fiance's life! The reason why I do what I do today!” He replied with the excitement of a five year old being given carte blanche to a candy store.

“Then your sister must be….Angelica? Deidre asked, unsure she was remembering the name correctly.

“YES! You don’t know how grateful my family and I are to you! We’ve been trying to find you for some time now. We knew you went to Ashtyn High but the school, for obvious safety concerns, wouldn’t release even your mailing address. And here you are in my ambulance! Just goes to show you, there are no coincidences!”

Deidre smiled, reaching out to grasp his hand. “High school can be rough. It was for me. I was just doing what I hoped anyone would do if I were in that situation.”

“Yes, well, because of you, I have a future with an amazing woman. She told me the whole story, how you acted quickly, getting those sleeping pills away from her, getting medical attention, holding her hand all the way to the hospital, visiting her while she was recovering. It meant the world to her, especially after she’d lost so much that year, her best friend moving and her mom leaving without a word.” “Isn’t it strange how some life events can alter our lives in such a short time?” Deidre asked, holding Dan’s hand with a stronger grip than before.


Finally, it's summer vacation. You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day to come. Two months of fun and sun. Tomorrow me Aaliyah and my two best friends Clara and Reagan are going on an adventure of a life time. A once in a life time trip. We are going cross country from New York to California by train. I'm so excited to go. I've been talking about going on this trip since forever and now the day is finally here. Right now, I'm preparing my bags for the trip. I'm only taking one duffel bag and my camera. I'm going to document this trip with pictures. Me, Clara and Reagan chose to go by train instead of by car so we can see more of the country. I spend the rest of the day packing and reminiscing about summer vacations I took with my family and friends. I go downstairs to the family room and go directly to the photo albums I made. I take one of the albums out. This one is from three summers ago. I remember this one. This was probably the best summer vacation I took that is not with family. This trip I took with Clara and Reagan. We went to Europe, Italy to be exact. This was the first trip I went on without my parents. I loved every minute of it. Me, Clara and Reagan went to Rome, Florence and Venice, of course I document the trip using my trusted camera. I put the photo album back and I take out another. This one is from ten years ago when I was ten. This is the first road trip I took with my parents. This trip was the craziest trip I ever took. My mom was horrified when my dad came home and told us he rented an RV and we were going on a road trip to California. I was excited. My first time in an RV and my first road trip. This was also the time when I got my first camera. I took many pictures that day. That road trip began my love for photography. I put the photo album back. I look around at all the pictures I have taken through out the years, so many trips with family and friends all of them close to my heart. "Aaliyah." I turn around and see my mother. "Hi mom." "What's wrong?" "I'm looking at all the pictures I took of us throughout our many trips." "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" "No. This is another trip in a line of many trips I went on." "Then what's wrong?" "I don't know." "Clara and Reagan are leaving after this trip." "I know. my two best friends are starting new lives." "So are you." "I'm going to miss them a lot." "I know, but they will always be your best friends." I hug my mother. 'Thanks mom." This trip is not only about me, Clara and Reagan having fun, but also for us to create lasting memories. I'm going to have fun with the two most important people in my life besides my parents. I already planned so many things we are going to be doing and of course my trusted camera is going to document everything. There is a knock on the door. I go to answer. Clara and Reagan are at my door step with their luggage. "Hey chica." Reagan has always been the craziest of the group. "What are you guys doing here?" "Your house is closer to the train station." "Very funny Clara." "Are you going to invite us in?" "Come on in." I love these girls. They make everyday fun and they make my life fun. This trip is going to be one I won't ever forget. "I know you girlfriend. You have this trip planned out." "Of course I do and don't worry it's not going to be boring." Reagan gives me a wink and I burst out laughing. I don't know what I'm going to do without these two girls. Every special moment we share together will be in my heart. "Aaliyah this trip will bring us even more closer together. We will be sisters forever." "I know Clara. We will have the time of our life." I give Clara a hug. I go and show Clara and Reagan what we will doing and seeing on our cross country trip. The first thing we are going to do is get up early, eat breakfast, go to grand central station, get on board the trip. We are going coast to coast. New York to California, San Francisco to be exact. This is going to be exciting. Clara and Reagan nod. Once on board the train we will see the Great Lakes, pass through the Great Plains, through the Rocky Mountains, deserts, salt flats, and finally the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I will be taking pictures of everything we see. "This is going to be great." "It so is." I'm glad my girls are loving this trip. It took me two weeks to plan all this. After our long trip we will reach our destination San Francisco. "You guys really like the way I planned the trip?" "Of course we do. This maybe our last trip we take together." "I want this trip to be special for all of us." "It will be Aaliyah. Now we need to get our beauty sleep." "Okay." I recheck my bags to see if I have everything. I have enough clothes, shoes and other unmentioned items. I have my tooth brush, hair brush, and deodorant. I have my camera and journal. I'm relieved I have everything. Time to good a good night sleep. My alarm rings at 5 am. I get up and wake up Clara and Reagan. "Ladies wake up." "Five more minutes." "Reagan! get up now!" "I'm up." "Good." I go take a quick shower. I'm out in five minutes. Clara is next followed by Reagan. I get dress in record time. I wait for Clara and Reagan to get dress. "You guys ready." They both say yes. I see my parents are waiting for me, Clara and Reagan. They are taking us to grand central station. "You got everything?" "I do mom." Clara and Reagan are coming down the stairs. We all pile into my parents car. We don't say anything to each other during the ride. We get to grand central station in 15 minutes. We get out of the car and say our goodbyes to my parents. My mother starts to cry. "We will be fine mom." "I know you will. Take care of each other." "We will." I hug my father. He kisses me on my cheek and tells me to have a good time. I begin to walk inside. I turn around one last time and wave goodbye to my parents. They wave back. Me and my two best friends are ready for our once in a life time trip.


Mist roiled across the cobblestone stones as the moon winked through the clouds at irregular intervals. A lonely stature clad in a frayed cloak walked quickly through the streets. With a bang, they threw open the doors to the pug. It was like a completely different world, the lights were bright and the people were rowdy. The clocked figure threw off his cloak! The people paused and stared. A knight in shining armor raised his sword. “Cheers!” The knight cried. The place erupted once again. The knight made his way through the crowded place to the back tables. He slammed himself onto a bench and ordered a round of drink for the other 4 people there. After getting tipsy, he asked the table “Can you guys tell me about the tower outside of the city?” A bearded dwarf sighed. “You’re here for the princess too? You know that I might just be a legend, right? A 1000 year old princess in a tower guarded by a dragon? A human living that long is funny enough but the fact that she needs to be woken up by a kiss is stupid. If a witch wanted her to suffer they would have but a pain spell on her or something, and that kind of curse is harder then a pain spell.” The knight chuckled. “Thanks for looking out for me but I’m mostly here for the dragon. If there happens to be a beautiful princess in the end as a reward, all the better.” The dwark chuckled and chugged his beer. * * * The next day, the slightly hungover hero arrived in front of the tower. It looked like a typical wizarding tower, coned top, shooting into the sky, and magic symbols that had long decayed. The Oriental Dragon with it’s long body was coiled around the tower. From the knight’s distance it seemed like the dragon could wrap its body around half the perimeter of the average city if it wanted to. It was black with large purple horns pointing to it’s back. *Roar* It raised its head from the cone top and stared at the knight. It was true that dragons were favored species. WIth just that roar it, the knight could feel the mana running rampant. His Shining white armor with gold designs light up even more. The rampant mana was drawn towards his sword. It had a white and gold design with a dragon on it’s handle. *SHOOOO* The mana in a 40 foot radius was drawn into it. The dragon stared at the sword, it’s eyes widening. It uncoiled and ascended to the sky to create some distance. It roared again and the clouds parted making the sky clear. It’s figure cast an enormous shadow across the plains. Opening its mouth it gathered energy, the dragon watched the knight. The knight dashed towards the tower, his sword running across the ground. The dragon’s body swelled more and more. When it was close to bursting, if squeezed his entire body, blasting out all the mana in the form of a black beam. *DOOM* It streaked across the sky, hitting the earth in a second and shaking it. The knight quickly pulled out a sheild from its back. This was a multi colored scaly shield. It didn’t look that good, quite ugly in fact but as each of the scales lit up, the mana ran rampant once more and the image of a dragon appeared, tens of times larger then the purple dragon. This faint outline swallowed the black beam as he purple dragon adjusted it’s aim to follow the constantly running knight. The outline rushed towards the panicked purple and went through it. *Thump* *Thump* The purple dragon was filled with a sense of dread and emptiness. It decided run. But it was too late. The knight had finished drawing his inscription circle. He stabbed his greatsword into the center. “God’s Avatar:Imitation!” He cried. *SIIII* The ground evaporated in a perfect sphere with a radius of 100 meters in all directions. The knight stood on the patch of land the circle occupied, about half of a football field, balanced on a thin column of land, remained. The rest of the land transformed into energy that fueled the circle. A semi translucent, humanoid figure rose up from the circle. Starting from the size of a mouse, then growing the size of a human, then to a orc, then a giant, then to the size of the tower. Eventually it grew to the point the dragon would barely take up it’s palm. As it grew larger, the dragon flew away faster. With a speed that the knight’s eyes couldn’t follow, the giant leaped forward, quickly snatching up the dragon from mid air. They tumbled into some mountains, crushing them. The sound was deafening and the impact even more so. All the glass in the city was shattered and the people were stunned. The translucent humanoid, without missing a beat pummeled the dragon. By the third hit, the dragon was died and by the 5th, the humanoid had disintegrated. The earth shook and ruptured, the city was practically destroyed. The knight fell to his knees. He quickly took out potions to recover. With the knight’s measly mana of 5,000,000 points, he could only hold the skill for 3 seconds, hence why he got close to the dragon before using it. The knight quickly got rid of the circle, then he pulled out a teleport scroll and ripped it. He quickly arrived at the purple dragon’s corpse. Picking up a scale, he placed it onto his shield. The rest, he collected in his storage ring. He ripped another scroll and arrived back at the tower. Make no mistake, each scroll was worth hundred of thousands, but dragon hunting was a very rewarding job. The knight entered the tower, going through each floor, and each room. “Nothing. There’s nothing here???” Everything was barren, not even a scrap of paper was left. Whoever sweeped this place clearly did a good job. As the knight reached the peak of the tower he saw a stunningly beautiful women floating at the top of the tower. She was naked, her clothes probably stolen. ‘That dragon was one hell of a perv staring at her all day, how is she not cold while being so exposed?’ The knight thought. He reached out and pulled her down. He wasn’t gonna lie, this girl was hot. He smirked thinking about how she might ‘thank him’ for waking her up. He leaned in and gave her a deep kiss. Her eyes snapped open, piercing, cold. The knight who had his eyes closed felt shivers down his spine. He snapped his eyes open and pulled back. The girl’s expression was gentle, her eyes warm. She examined her body for a moment, then with a snap she rightened herself up and clothes appeared on her. She approached the knight and hugged him. “Thank you sir! It’s been so long since I was able to open my eyes, without your help who knows how long it would have-” She froze as she stared at the shield of scales on the knights back. She took a step back. “Sir, are you a dragon slayer?” She asked with a beaming smile. “Ha, ha, so you noticed? Yes, I am!” The knight, eager to impress the lady boasted about his feats, from slaying the ice dragon, Ignoi to his travels around the world. The lady listened, her smile growing wider and wider. As they walked down the tower, the lady pulled the knight into a room. She pulled the knight into a passionate kiss. Though the knight was caught by surprize, he was more then happy to go along with it. The lady snapped again and a bed fit for a palace appeared. The knight thought nothing of it, hile it was rare, there were cases of people inscribing themselves with spacial spells in which they could store items just like any spatial ring. Stripping the knights armor off, she pushed him onto the bed. It had been a while since the knight had seen some action because he was traveling so much that he eagerly took off his clothes. She quickly stripped and climbed on top of him. Leaning down she whispered “Mister dragon slayer, my name is Alisha, the Dragon Tamer.” The knight tried to get up, but like with the dragon, it was too late. A dagger had inserted itself inside his heart. Alisha got off the bed and drew a magic circle on the wall. A miniature dragon’s head protruded out of the wall. “Come forth the spirit of Olisha, the mother of all dragons! I offer this ones filthy blood and soul as tribute. Grant me strenth!” With a smooth flick of her wrist, the blood on the dagger was sent into its mouth.The head spat out a ray of light, hitting Alisha’s chest, before disappearing back into the wall. If an aura master was there they would have been shocked. The aura surrounding Alisha which was previously dim and faint grew brighter and clearer. It quickly expanded to fill the room and then the tower! She was a walking war machine! Teleporting above the tower she looked down at the cracked and destroyed land. “Hanna, last time you caught me by surprise, this time I’ll crush you.” This was the beginning of a new legend! The legend of the strongest mage in the past era, and her revenge. “Rise” Alisha commanded the tower. In the depths of the earth a roar resounded. The ground rumbled and split once more as a creature, larger then anything humans could easily comprehend rose from the earth. 1/100 of a continent disappeared as a dragon of stone rose. The tower previously seems was just a little horn on top of it’s head, barely noticeable. It reverted to it’s true form- a throne. Alisha placed herself on it and the dragon flew up, soon to become a symbol of terror everywhere.


Our family secret starts with an oak tree Jamie and Oliver are two brothers who share a sacred secret. Their green, freshly mowed grass touches the earth. As Oliver says to his brother Jamie " hey bro, let's plant our secret here. " Oliver dug vigorously to the earth's core, digging the fresh-grown mud and placing the secret together.

They looked at each other, reasonably pleased with their accomplishments. Jamie smiles and says this oak tree is the best. Yes, because we planted it together pipes in Oliver. This will be our secret forever. The mystery was impacted against the glass from the end of the garden's greenhouse as it reflected against the shimmering light of the sun. The secret is still hidden in the heart of the soil as the sun shines twice as bright. Oliver and Jamie call it a day sweat drips from their heads. They melt like snow. Oliver wears a cut button shirt with brown base shoes.

And Jamie is wearing a velvet brushed up hand me down like farmer Joe. They both look different as different faces become one. And as they scatter across the warm subtle path. The secret remains a mystery but something magical is lurking in the background a fire fly called Edal is making her creations come to life. Edal with her super powers builds a lantern path full of light as she tackles the nights garden. Edal watches on as Oliver and Jamie brother's for life two different souls. Make there way through the tinted glasses of there creation secret which lies in the mud. 15 years later

A jaded curtain folds down the final goodbye of Jamie’s and Oliver's father. Both boys now men at the age of 21 they are grieving for the love they share for there late father allusive golden rays of fairies sparkle among the scattering ashes. Jamie looks to Oliver, who says nothing and then walks away from the funeral away from his brother. There mother floss is traumatized by the loss of her husband Eric and tries to conceal her children but she sees the moment that changes history she sees two brothers bonded for life fade into the background. She watches her eldest son Oliver walk away from the reality of the loss and grief he feels but the untouched antidote is not forgotten by floss as she sees with her own eyes the coldness of Oliver shudder in the four chambered walls she was not sure whether it was the weather drawing in or the fact that her husband had just been scattered across the tree house at the end of these family garden. But she couldn't help but notice the tears that fall high from her sons eyes as they cry like waterfalls falling high from the sky. As close makes her way towards her son Jamie who is crying hysterically the youngest of the two sons she reaches out to hug him tight . “ your father would be so proud of you and Olly "

As Jamie tries to shrug his emotions he cannot hide anymore if this was a game of hide and seek which he used to play with his brother and dad so close they all were the three brothers of eternity however the game had ended when he lost his dad and now his brother is gone too his here trying to be strong for his broken mother. The walls seem to break down as Jamie can't control it anymore . “ mum why did dad have to go I miss him so much and now how will we cope how will we get through this ". Cried Jamie. My dearest Jamie everything will be ok not sure believing her words was enough he just welcomed his mothers warm embrace.

Outside in the garden, Oliver is broken as he looks at a photo of his beloved dad. Dad he says what are we going to do without you . Just as the tears fall escaping the lids of his tiny eyes they land on the photo the wind flushes against the photo and it blows towards the oak tree that was built by his brother and him . It landed directly where they had built there secret that still hadn't been revealed just yet. In that moment Jamie came out with there mum and he witnessed this beautiful moment of his brother touching the place where they had built a secret so long ago. Dad would have been proud says Jamie

Holding his arm onto his brother and mum. Oliver cried and broken held him right close to him. Just then a flash of light appeared it guided towards the three of them. It was a fire fly . Edal is that you the brothers say together shocked but delighted . Edal was happy to see them too she smiled the thing is Edal couldn't speak only blubber . But this time she came with good news somehow voice had come back and she formed words like the stars in the night sky. Edal spoke in crystal tongues my dear family it's ok I have spoken to your dad in heaven he is ok he sends you love always . As Edal speaks the boys turn to her you spoke finally they said

And you have seen our dad how can we ever thank you . Well said Edal this will help she brings up the box like gravity . Engraved on the box it says our secret with the boys initials on. Amazing our secret is still here Olly. After all these years Jamie there mother smiled the first real smile in ages since her husband died. Mum do you know what's in here

Its our secret

The truth is we don't even know the secret ingredient to open the box it's been so long. And just then there was a thud, a sound of magnifying light. Out came the gracious key to open the box. It really is fate as behind the key was there dad . Dad

Dad

They both ran as fast as lightening to the arms of there dad. And his wife floss met his gaze in a loving way. You didn't think I would miss this did you he said I have waited too long to find out your secret boys. And here it is as the key floated simultaneously towards the box. It fell deep under the boxes spell as it opened in an instant they all looked around in awe. Oh my they said there is nothing here. The secret is here my boys right in front of you it's you two to love each other and to protect each other in times of need. But what dad does that mean

It means my dear boys that the secret is love. You hid love here you built love here and there will always be love here in this home. You created Edal with love Edal smiled tears flicker in her little light eyes. You my boys are the secret. The reason you forgot it

Is because I left to go to heaven in which I have to do again very soon . But dad you only just got here. There mother interrupted them and hugged her husband like it was the first time they had met they danced In the moonlight. My dear love you explain to them

We will both she says quietly lost in the moment they both turn to there boys. Our dear boys we created you with love we have you strength now you must learn to have each others strength . It's time for mum and dad to go to heaven . But mum is here . I am always here in your heart I knew today would be hard when you said goodbye to dad so I had to be In person . You mean

Yes we are both together again

It's all thanks to you two . Our love for you has won over every obstacle in our life. Your secret is finally revealed and it's time for us to fly high in heavens light. But mum

But dad they both said hurting tears in all there eyes. You will never know how much we love you both we love you forever in a day. Love you too it's time darling we must leave before the final light draws the curtain on our world. Mum I love you Olly says

Dad I love you Jamie says

Together in beautiful moments of peace everything fades to light. Mum and dad no more. As with one final word they say we will always be here for you and we will love you for eternity. Forever in a day until we meet again sons but for now let the love shine in your heart and always . They finally leave there mark and turn to the final light there they are taken to heaven. Two years later

The boys love did grow and they found wives themselves with who they both had one child each Jamie had a boy he named him Eric after there dad. And Jamie had a girl in which he named her floss after there mum. In that moment there was not happier site. And the two children grew up with love in there hearts always forever in a day Olly says to Jamie

Forever in a day. The night draws a close, and Edal watches on as she flies high in the night sky. As for the tree it's still planted in the end of the garden with a new secret in place but the same remains that love always saves the day. As the final curtain draws heaven remains very much alive. And Eric smiles at his wife floss. We did good floss. We did indeed Eric

They both kiss and they watch there loves grow up and gracefully from above. Forever In a day a moment that lasts a lifetime .


Jason, Monica, his sister Kayla, and her boyfriend Jake were traveling down a desolate road in West Texas. "There's no way they'd create an Office show attraction out here in the middle of nowhere," Jason said. "See, The Office Experience, 50169 Route 118, Texas," Kayla said, pointing to her phone. "I don't care how great the show was; eight hours from Austin is too far for anything," Jake said. Jason got out his phone and searched for it. "We looked it up already," Kayla said. "I just want to make sure. Okay, here's Yelp; it has 15 reviews, all 5 stars, and three comments; it was fun with a period; it's a good place for family, and I be back soon, again with a period," Jason said. "It sounds like it was written by a foreigner," Jake said. "I don't think this place exists," Jason said. "You're wrong," Kayla said. Suddenly, a building appears out of the miles of flat terrain. Kayla lets out a sigh of relief. "There it is! This is going to be so fun." As they pull into the small parking lot, the building looks like the building from The Office television show. A banner is hung a quarter peeled off the building that reads, "The Office Experience," with pictures of Steve Carell, John Krasinski, and Rainn Wilson. They went inside and found a self-service kiosk that accepted all payment methods. They purchased four tickets, and an elevator door opened, transporting them to the attraction. It was a replica of the Scranton Branch from the show. "Wow, it looks exactly like I thought," Kayla said as she sat in the reception chair and twirled around. Monica entered Michael Scott's office as Luke and Jason sat in the sales chairs normally occupied by Jim and Dwight. She exited with the famous "World's Best Boss" mug. "I must say, they got every detail right!" Monica said. Dressed as Dwight Schrute, Rainn Wilson burst into the office and approached Luke. Everyone is shocked. "You're in my seat," Rainn said. Luke moves, surprised that it is the real actor. "Oh my God..." Kayla was about to say something else when Jim and Pam entered the office, and she fell into shock. Jim sat down after Jason moved out of the way. "Can I help you?" Pam said to Kayla, who was sitting in her seat. Kayla couldn't speak and sprang out of her seat. Jason approached Jim. "Hi, John. I really liked you in A Quiet Place. Can I have an autograph?" "I'm sorry, chief, but I think you got the wrong guy," Jim said. "Oh, sorry, you just look like the actor from the show." "No, the name is Dwight Schrute," Jim said, putting on convenience store glasses and imitating Dwight. "What are you doing, Jim?" Dwight asked. "Bears, beats, Battlestar Galactica," Jim said. Jason stepped back and whispered to Monica. "Is that really them?" Jason asked. "They're in character. Do you know how much they'd have to pay to get the real actors? Millions!" Monica said. The remainder of the cast then entered the office. Oscar, Angela, and Kevin were the first to enter. Ryan and Kelly then entered bickering and proceeded to the annex. Andy, Meredith, Creed, Phyllis, and Stanley walked in and to their respective desks. Andy stated as he passed Kayla, "Good day, lady." Finally, Michael Scott entered the room and addressed the staff. "I have some important information to share with you all," he stated seriously. "As you are all aware, there have recently been several attacks in Scranton, and the police have been unable to catch the culprit, who has come to be known as the Scranton Strangler." As Michael continued, everyone fell silent. "I have reason to suspect that the Scranton Strangler works here." The meeting was filled with gasps and murmurs as everyone glanced at each other in shock and suspicion. "This is too much for me, Michael," Angela said. "That's what she said, but seriously, I know this is difficult to hear," Michael replied, "but we have to face the facts. And to capture this person, we must take matters into our own hands," Michael said. "What do you want us to do, Michael? Right now, I have a medieval torture device in my car," Dwight said. "That isn't going to be necessary, Dwight. I designed a series of tests based on material from the Scranton Strangler case file, which may or may not have come into my possession when I hit a police officer with my car," Michael said. "You hit someone else with your car?" Meredith asked. "It's not like that; he was barely bleeding from the head when the ambulance took him away," Michael said. Jim stares at Kayla, and she smiles because it is the same stare he does in the show. "The first test is in the warehouse, so let's get started! Anyone who does not comply will be forced to spend the afternoon with Toby," Michael added as he led the way to the warehouse. Kayla, Jason, Monica, and Jake accompanied him to the warehouse; they thought the immersive attraction was great. Michael hops onto the forklift and addresses the employees in the warehouse. "For the first test, you will each use the forklift to..." Darryl cut Michael off in the middle of his sentence. "No one is using the forklift," Darryl remarked. "How can we catch a serial killer if we can't operate the forklift?" said Michael. "I don't care; no one is using the forklift," Darryl said as Michael climbed down. "All right, everyone will stack these boxes by hand in a specific arrangement. I'll take note of your methods and compare them to that of the Scranton Strangler, who stacked boxes to hide a body three months ago," Michael replied. Everyone in the office started stacking boxes, including Kayla, Monica, Jason, and Jake. Michael is taking notes. They made their way to the conference room once everyone had finished stacking. "The first test results were inconclusive," Michael explained. "I want you all to complete a series of questions in this next test, and I don't mean crossword puzzle questions, Stanley," Michael remarked. "You're an idiot," Stanley said as he resumed his crossword puzzle. "As Assistant Regional Manager, I demand to know who the murderer is immediately!" Dwight insisted. "Assistant TO," Jim declared. "Right, Assistant to the Regional Manager. I still want to know right now!" Dwight stated. "Everything will be alright. In Threat Level Midnight, Michael Scarn prevents Goldenface from blowing up the NHL All-Star Game by determining that the bomb is in the puck. Today, I'll figure out who the murderer is by analyzing your responses to basic questions and comparing them to the Scranton Strangler's phycological make-up," Michael said. Michael's short quiz is taken by the entire staff and visitors. Michael threw the answers on the ground after analyzing them. "There is still no killer!" said Michael. "What happens now, Michael?" Pam asked. "The last test will be at an office party, which will be held in one hour. The killer will be revealed at the party," Michael said. "You want us to plan a party in one hour?" Anglea asked. "I have everything you need," Michael said. The party planning committee (Angela, Pam, and Phyllis) decorated and put out food provided by Michael. Kayla, Monica, Jason, and Jake explored the office for the next hour; they spent time in the breakroom, reenacted their favorite scenes, and took a ton of pictures. There was no cell service in the building, but they would post them later. The entire staff attends the party. "I have provided an assortment of food; please eat the refreshments," Michael insisted. Kayla, Jason, Monica, and Jake also ate the food. After a few minutes, everyone collapsed to the ground, and it revealed that all the characters were bug-like creatures who were digitally altered to look like The Office characters. "What's going on? Are they okay?" Kayla asked. Michael takes a seat in front of the four guests. "No, they're no longer alive," said Michael. "Who or what are you?" Jason asked. "As aliens, we discovered that people will go to incredible lengths to be entertained. Being out in the middle of nowhere helps us to kill humans without being discovered," Michael explained. "Are you going to kill us?" Kayla asked. "Yes, but first, if you're so inclined, we'd like five stars and a favorable review," Michael explained. "This was fun." Jason typed on an office computer, making sure to put a period.


With a sigh, Charles Abbot placed his now empty cup of coffee on the table. He lowered the rims of his horn-rimmed glasses and pinched his nose as if he was willing his headache away. He could feel the eyes of his two colleagues on him, and with a grimace, he said, “This is the second time today that we have a potential candidate not show up for their interview on time. Does your generation care nothing about punctuality, Cassie?” As Charles Abbot, a man just beginning to gray around his sideburns, sighed and placed his empty coffee cup on the table, his young colleague, Cassie Fisher, frowned. She was now the same age he was when he initially hired her for the company. Ten years later, she had his position, but Charles still insisted on treating her like the newly graduated twenty-two-year-old he had first met. She looked at her notes and gave him a smirk. “Although I appreciate you still thinking I look like I’m in my twenties, I’d appreciate it if you stopped grouping me with everyone under forty. After all, I don’t curse your name whenever someone is going under the speed limit.” Charles scowled at Cassie and eyed his last colleague, Maggie Kilfer, who was stifling a giggle. Meanwhile, Cassie checked her watch and lightly drummed on the table. With a nod, she continued, “I don’t see any problem with giving this guy until I finish my coffee. I’m in no hurry to get back to work anytime soon.” “I’m fine with that,” Maggie said approvingly. She flipped the applicant’s resume before her and reread his name at the top. “Frank Horton seems worth the wait. He’s everything we’re looking for in an applicant. He has a couple of years of experience under his belt, and he even has a couple of solid recommendations.” Charles waved the comment off and flicked the resume away from himself. “Do we really want some who can’t even…” Before Charles could even get the last of his complaints out of his mouth, the door to the meeting room flung open, followed by the panicked voice of the receptionist, “Excuse me, miss? I told you! You can’t just barge in like…” The young woman quickly closed the door behind her and cut the receptionist off. She was out of breath and sweating and leaned against the wall to steady herself. All three watched the young woman as she finally steadied herself and gave them a rather mischievous grin. “I’m sorry to barge in like this, but this is where you are interviewing for the new sales consultant - the one for The Wagging Tail pet store off of 5th and Lilac?” Cassie looked at Charles, who stared at the unknown woman with his mouth agape, while Maggie raised eyebrows as if trying to put the situation together. Cassie cleared her throat, and everyone’s eyes fell on her. “That’s right, but you might have gotten the date wrong. This interview is actually for someone else.” “Frank, right?” The young woman said without missing a beat. That surprised Cassie, who only gave the mysterious woman a nod. A look of relief washed over the younger woman who walked over to the seat opposite the table, the one meant for Frank Horton, and began jabbering, “That’s great! I’m here to tell you that he’s running a little late! Also, I hope to convince you not to bail on him. I’m Arty, by the way. I’m not sure if I introduced myself yet, but now I have! Anywho, Frank will be here soon.” With that proclamation, a dead silence lingered for a good while until Charles took the task of trying to bring the situation under control. “Listen here, miss…” “Arty!” the young woman supplied with a helpful and youthful tone. “Yes…Arty,” Charles said with annoyance. “If Mr. Horton was running late, why didn’t he just give us a phone call?” Arty leaned in conspiratorially as if she had been waiting for someone to ask this question all this time and said with a bit too much exuberance, “Ah, you see, the thing about his phone is…” — Frank looked at Arty with the same look he always gave her when she dragged him into a situation that he knew would be a story he would be telling his grandchildren forty years from now or another trip to the emergency room. “So, let me get this straight,” Frank started as he tried to piece everything together while Arty bounced on her feet with anticipation. “You want to take my old mattress…and you want to ride it down the hill?” “It’s a perfect idea, right?” Arty said with the amount of energy that only she could muster, and threw her arms up in the air as if she was trying to release some of it before she exploded. “How else will we graduate you into adulthood by getting rid of your old twin bed? Obviously, by riding it down a snowy hill like a sleigh, like any responsible adult would do.” “Ah, I see…so we are responsible adults because we are riding an old mattress down a hill?” Arty nodded, glad that he finally understood. “Yup! I’m also sure it will be the most action that bed has ever gotten. I mean, if I walk into a guy's apartment and see that he’s still rocking a twin bed, I’ll assume that he’s never grown up and find myself a real man.” With that said, Arty jumped on the bed, which was currently teetering precariously on the hill, and beckoned Frank to join her for the ride. “Now I’m only going to say this once, as I’m sure no woman has told you this while you owned this thing - are you ready to ride this thing with me or not?” Frank gaped at her. “Wait, did someone use that line on you?” “Someone?” Arty scoffed at him. “I said that line to Caleb. Do you remember Caleb? I wanted to see what crazy things I could say to the guy to where he would consider not having sex with me. It was kind of like a sociology experiment. Turns out that you could say anything to the guy, and he would be more than willing to jump in the sack with you.” “Wow. Thanks so much for the tip,” Frank muttered as he glanced around for an escape route. Arty was now patting next to her and spoke in a tone that would suffer no more disobedience. “Now. Get. Into. Bed. With. Me.” Frank chuckled at that and, without complaint, sat next to his childhood friend.

“Oh, give me your phone,” Arty said with complete glee. “We should definitely record this.” “Yeah,” Frank said with a mock groan as he handed her his iPhone. “It’d be great to have something to show the paramedics as they bring us to the hospital.” — “...and that’s what happened.” Arty finished as she leaned back against the chair of the interview room, and her audience waited for the rest of the story. “What?” Maggie said with a frown. She waited a few more seconds until she realized Arty finished with her story. “That doesn’t tell us what happened to his phone.” “Sure it does!” Arty exclaimed like nothing was ever so obvious in her life. “So, we rode down the hill with the phone recording the whole thing, and that was when we rode straight into a tree, the phone flew out of my hand, landed in the middle of the street, and that was where a Tesla Model X ran over the damn thing. Luckily, no one was hurt…except, you know, the phone…” Charles could only stare at the young woman sitting across the table from himself. He was tapping his pen against the table, and that was when he asked the obvious question, “How long ago did this happen?” “About four days ago,” Arty said helpfully. “And Mr. Horton couldn’t have bought a new phone within that time?” Charles asked inquiringly. “Well, he just bought a new mattress,” Arty said pointedly. “Mattresses these days are pretty expensive, and he waited until he knew he had a new job before deciding what phone to get.”  “That sounds perfectly reasonable,” Cassie chimed in, remembering what it was like when she just graduated from college. “I’d probably would have done the same thing. It also explains why he couldn’t tell us he was running late.” “Silly me,” Charles said sarcastically as he eyed Cassie disapprovingly. Cassie had now finished her coffee, and this “interview” was now running far beyond schedule. He needed to end this nonsense and get on with his day. “So, tell me this, as a couple more questions come to mind.” “Sure, I’ll be glad to help in any way I can,” Arty replied without missing a beat. Charles cleared his throat as he leaned across the table inquisitively. “First, how did you know that Mr. Horton was running late if he didn’t have his phone? Second, and probably most important, why is he not here?” Charles punctuated the last question by pressing his index finger hard against the desk.

“Oh yeah, I guess you would like to know that, wouldn’t ya?” Arty stated while she gathered her thoughts together.

Charles opened his mouth to snap, but Cassie interrupted him before he got the chance, “If you wouldn’t mind, we’d appreciate it. At this point, we’ve waited this long. What’s the harm in waiting a tad longer?” “Our sanity,” Charles scoffed. Arty snapped her neck to the side with a grimace and began her story, “It was about half an hour before this interview was going to start, and…” — “Yup, that cat is definitely stuck in that tree,” Frank said bluntly as he and Arty stared up at the orange tabby, meowing worriedly at the humans below. The tabby's owner, a young girl about ten, stood beside Frank and held his hand for emotional support. “I’d call the fire department, but you know, my phone got Tesla’d.” “Geez, you still haven’t forgotten about that? And did you just make Tesla into a verb? I approve!” Arty said happily with an impish grin pointed in his direction. As for Arty, she had gone for a run and had forgotten her phone at her apartment. Frank had called her a psychopath for running without music, but she often used her runs to collect her thoughts and enjoyed the silence. After her moment of self-inflection, Arty waved her finger at Frank and spoke with a lecturing tone, “That was like a month ago. Women don’t like a man who holds a grudge.” “It was four days ago!” Frank said a little too loudly while giving Arty a look that made it seem like he wanted to strangle her. He glanced down at the small girl who was holding back her tears.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we can find someone to lend us their phone.” “Why don’t you go up and get it?” Arty asked inquiringly. “Because I haven’t climbed a tree since I was her age, and I’m wearing a suit for an interview that starts in less than thirty minutes. Speaking of which, why don’t you climb the tree and get the damn cat?” Arty punched Frank’s shoulder and pointed at the little girl before he could complain. “Language, mister. I’m afraid of heights, and Frank, we both know it’ll be at least an hour before the fire department arrives. What if something happens to the poor cat before then?” Frank opened his mouth, but any argument he had died quickly as the little girl’s grip grew tighter, and the waterworks flowed freely down her cheeks. The cat even began to take on a more pleading tone, as if it was asking Frank why he was going to abandon it.

Frank felt a light pat on his shoulder as Arty grinned at him. Her typically sarcastic and flamboyant nature faded to reveal one with a hint of admiration hidden behind her eyes. “We both know you would have climbed that thing eventually. I’ll tell you what. I’ll run ahead and tell them that you’re running late. I promise that I won’t let them leave until you get there. Deal?” — Arty finished her story and gratefully took a glass of water that Maggie had given her. “And that's about it. Do you have any other questions?” “Do you honestly expect us to believe that story?” Charles Abbot said with an air of frustration. “Believe what?” Charles leaned forward and pointed accusingly at Arty. “The whole thing! You expect us to believe your friend is running late for his job interview. Mind you, this is a position for a pet store, and he is late because he was getting a cat out of a tree?”

Cassie could only give Arty a sympathetic shrug. “He does make a good point, Arty. It seems too fantastical of a coincidence. Plus, your friend still isn’t here.” Arty opened her mouth to argue for her friend, but at that moment, the door swung open to reveal a bedraggled-looking young man. His jacket had several rips across the sleeves and the shoulder to the point where one looked like it was about to fall off. He had a singular scratch across his right cheek that would match a cat’s paw perfectly, and finally, a few leaves were tangled into his hair. “I’m sorry I’m late,” the man said, trying to catch his breath. “There was this cat stuck in this tree. I would have called, but my friend threw my phone at a Tesla, and…” Frank Horton stared at the four people in the small meeting room and flushed slightly with nerves as if he had just remembered that he had come for a job interview. “What? Am I too late?”


No one will dispute that if the mid-west were a country that Chicago would be the Big Apple or the New York of the mid-west. Chicago would be the news and entertainment center of the mid-west. Kansas City Missouri would be considered a business and financial center, a much smaller version of Chicago. It is usually overshadowed by St. Louis. Kansas City Kansas isn't mentioned very often because when you say Kansas City, most people think of Missouri. Even so, both of the Kansas Cities are the step-children of the mid-west. While it's true that both cities are known for having good medical hospitals and government agencies, Kansas City Missouri is more known as being a business and financial center than it's little brother across the river. Kansas City Kansas is a much smaller size about 153, 000 whereas Kansas City Missouri has 491, 000. Kansas City Missouri is more like the big brother to Kansas City, Kansas. . The big brother who gets really annoyed with his little brother from time to time. A rivalry but not one that is out of control. From time to time they get into disputes over things and one feels that the other has more of an advantage. They works things out usually. Depending on where you live, you will favor one or the other. I'm not going to do that but will admit that I've visited both cities which are very different (the Kansas side is growing up and is newer than the Missouri side). I know more about the Missouri side. The history and politics of both states are interesting but I will not get into this. You can read about it if you are interested. If you have a child in the Missouri side, they will learn about Missouri history in school. I assume the same is in Kansas. When talking about mid-western medium to large cities, Kansas City Missouri is like an after-thought. The Kansas side isn't really thought of at all. Some people think that Kansas City Missouri is a boring unexciting city which it isn't. Back during the time of Prohibition, people often put their money in the banks in Kansas City Missouri for safe keeping. Many people liked Kansas City because it was more peaceful than Chicago (like any city you had crime, but it was a lot lower than other cities during that time period). I have enjoyed on both sides going to various art and historical museums, performing arts theater, gardens and other activities. Of course it was on a much smaller scale than Chicago but I believe more people could enjoy these things and the cost of attending events were less than Chicago. The Kansas City Airport (on Missouri side of course) is north of the city. When it was built, it's very passenger friendly. They are remodeling the airport or starting to remodel the airport so that it conforms to other airports. It's smaller than others and easier to get around. I wish they would keep it the same and upgrade it. It's a nice airport. People in Kansas City on both sides are friendly (something you don't always see in a large city). If you like trains, there are a lot of them in Kansas City.


This was a challenge many, many years in the making. I first thought of doing it, when I read A Sari for a Month for Newsweek by Shoba Narayan. I loved the idea, and since then, it remained in my mind as something I would do one day. What’s the big deal for an Indian born and raised, 50-year-old woman to wear a saree for a month ? It’s not a big deal for most women of my age, especially if they were raised in India, just as I was. Even today, I have cousins, both older and younger, who wear a saree and feel no constraint and are completely at ease with it. But for me, it was a challenge. And what better way to embrace the new year than take on a challenge? I have always loved sarees. Loved their vibrant colors, their stylish drapes, the way the cloth felt. Talk to me of elegant women, and I immediately think of a saree clad woman. My mother, aunts, and cousins all drape it well and look so refined and put-together in a saree. However, my love for sarees lasted only till I left the shop with it; wearing one was never my choice. I didn’t know how to drape a saree well, and I was never comfortable in one — and it showed. While I love the Pottu (dot on the forehead), I dislike the other jewelry accessories that go with a saree. I wore sarees as infrequently as I could, and eventually, I got worse at draping, worse at walking in it. Even with pins, the sarees unspooled. And driving — “Why did I get married if I have to drive even while wearing a saree?” Part of the problem was that I did not have the kind of sarees I could be comfortable in for many hours. Mine were either super heavy Kanjeevarams, or super soft ones that spooled all over if I moved just so. I got so used to comfort wear — my faithful sweats or a pair of jeans — and left my sarees hanging in my closet like prized pieces of art. There was always the guilt, though, and then the inevitable

what are my girls learning from me about the saree and, by extension, about India and Indian clothing ? Well, I did find out what the girls thought of it. We were talking about clothes, colors etc. and my daughter said (I paraphrase) “Sarees are not comfortable and are for old people — young people would never be able to wear it.” When I reminded her that her grandmothers lived in a saree day and night and did everything, far more than we did, she said, “Exactly. Old people can be comfortable in it. You wouldn’t be able to wear it all day and be comfortable,” Challenge accepted. I would spend 31 days (1 month) in a saree. All-day, every day. I did give myself some outs: It was winter in California, I would wear the saree with sweaters. No Jewelry. I would wear the saree from my morning shower till my night shower — typically after my cup of tea in the morning, until I was ready to go to bed. I gave myself three sick days, days when I could not wear the saree for health reasons. If used, I would make them up at the end and keep the challenge. I used one. If I could do it in sweats, I would do it in a saree, but if I could not do it anyway, then it’s not on the ‘saree’. So how was my journey? In two words, very comfortable. Once I decided to do it, a switch went off. This is what I had to do, so I was going to do it and be comfortable. I give huge merit points to the sweaters. Without the uncomfortable blouses or the constraining jewels, it was me in a saree and not a foreign being. It was night and day in comfort compared to all my previous experiences. What did I do or could not do? I did everything I would normally do, and then some. I increased my physical activities dramatically. Things that needed me to move more. I upped my dance aerobics by three times what I used to do. I did more hikes, more walks. The household chores, the work — all of it. One thing I wish I had done more of — I did not go on video calls as much. I did go on some, but not too many. There was the professional side of me that did not want to use up meeting time to explain my challenge and attire to non-Indian colleagues. In all fairness, even before, I never did video calls. So no one thought any different when I didn’t switch the video on. I do not think what I wear has any bearing on what I do or how I work or how I think…but that is a different challenge I guess :) Did I see many questioning glances? But of course — you can’t go hiking, shoe shopping or walk in the rain in a vibrant saree and expect no one to notice. There were many eyes on me, but they didn’t make me or the folks with me uncomfortable. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. But I would not call it a challenge! So, the changes that came in because of this: I can now drape a saree well. I still do not look as great in a saree as I have seen others look, but I do not look sloppy or uncomfortable either. My biggest win is that I do not use pins at all. Not a single one. Not even when I do aerobics or hiking. That is a huge win, as I have never seen my mom use pins either and it always bothered me that I needed them. Well, not any more. The other big win: thanks to my large-hearted friend S, who loaned (and now says she gifted) me 10+ sarees for the challenge, I now know the sarees that I am comfortable in. Things I like, can drape, and can live in. I also have a closet full of them. WIN Today is day 31. Am I going to miss wearing a saree…well, no, not really, but I liked it while it lasted. Loved dressing up every morning, the whole process from what will I wear to finding sweaters that match, the daily photos, etc. I have happy thoughts associated with a saree. But I can’t wait for sunrise tomorrow and to don my well-worn sweats and t-shirt as I get ready for another workday. What is the one thing I hope you get out of it? Exactly the lesson that my kids got and acknowledged on day 10 of my challenge — sarees are the perfect combination of elegance and comfort. You can do anything in them and do it more elegantly than you would in any other attire. If I can do it, anyone can. Wear it with grace….. for 31 days.