Or I Could Be Reading

We never know… My life became monotonous not long after the boy left. I resumed my discourteous hunt for chickens and men their hunt for me. Though I knew he would never again return to our shared wheat field, to the shade of our shared apple tree, I still felt the call to return every day by four o’clock. At three, the pads of my paws would tingle, and I’d sniff the air in the field’s…

The final chapter the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Eight It is an essential feature of life, learning from mistakes and being willing to change a faulty perspective. After the battle against the would-be destroyers, the village by Lough Lene in the Kingdom of Mide found peace in their alliance with the wyvern Fell. It soon became common knowledge that a wyvern protected the village, its people, and the surrounding countryside. Though the…

Chapter 7, of 8, of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Seven When they finally arrived at the village, only a few spears were thrown at Fell. None of them hurt him and Fell did not return aggression against the ignorant ones who’d attacked. Though they’d initially been reluctant to accept, even Gudbrand and Dagmar stood with Fiske and Svanhile to defend Fell to the others. Once the initial surprise and confusion passed, a battle plan was…

Chapter 6 of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Six Svanhile led the group, Fiske often at her side, with Gudbrand, Dagmar, and a few others following behind. In case the Norsemen were closer than initially thought, they thought it best to keep their numbers small. It made it easier to hide and blend into the rocky countryside. They were a mixed group. Svanhile was the only council member, while most of the group consisted of…

The fifth chapter of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Five Svanhile hurried home, her head filled with the fears and concerns traded at the village council. There was so much they must do to prepare, if they even could prepare for this scale of threat, and they had so little time to do it. The reports coming in from the neighboring kingdoms and villages were not in their favor. Complete destruction of once-thriving towns. No survivors, more…

Chapter 4 of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Four He was used to his seclusion by now. It had been years since he’d felt the touch of a human hand or heard the sound of a human voice spoken directly to him. Oh, there were plenty of times when curious adventurers strayed too close to his lair on Uisneach Hill. But their voices would echo off the hillside rocks, giving Fell plenty of time to hide away. He had no interest in giving…

The third chapter of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Three One of the bleakest emotions is mourning the loss of one only you have loved. To be surrounded every day by routine comings and goings of the familiar and yet to feel so strongly the absence of that piece of your heart. To have no one share solace in your gloom. That was the most painful and challenging emotion Svanhile had ever experienced in her young life. As much as she…

Second chapter of the wyvern story written for my niece.

Chapter Two It hadn’t been difficult at first, keeping Fell secret. Svanhile knew of a decent-sized cave near the lakeside. It was located just on the other side of the village. A thick copse of ancient trees surrounded it with a gnarly root system weaving through the soil, creating a natural “fence” for Fell. Svanhile added another layer using rocks and branches to build up the fence, so Fell…

Chapter One of a story written for my niece featuring a wyvern.

Chapter One It was supposed to have been a simple race. They’d run races several times before, and while Svanhile did not always win, she won more times than the others. Perhaps out of jealousy of her swiftness, Fiske pushed her off their racing path and sent her crashing down the hill. The world tumbled over itself in a spinning mass of colors and shapes and sizes as Svanhile fell. At first,…

Wrote this little diddy years ago for my youngest niece.

There is an extraordinary lake lies in the northwestern jungles of the South American country, Venezuela. Before it spills into the Caribbean Sea, Lake Maracaibo is the ending point of the tributary Catatumbo. A spectacular phenomenon is at the mouth of this waterway, where the lake and river come together in a liquid ballet. The locals call it “Relampago del Catatumbo” or “the everlasting…

Poetic reflection on present state of online text speak and conversation.

F&@^ That’s all you see today n emojis in memes In texts and on screens I was fed peppers- my mouth washed out with soap. If I dared not mind my manners… well, I had no hope. What has happened to our language? To our ways of expression? Have we lost all politeness? Left with this session of: Lol Brb Ttyl                         … Is there nothing of substance? With all your…

Haiku for loss and mourning.

Snow on darkened loam- Winter’s grasp delays new growth. Lingering wishes… Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Roderick’s Perilous Journey

I. Roderick was born and spent his young dragon days on the southwest coast of Wales. More specifically, he lived in an area that would later be called Pembrokeshire by the men who would come to settle there: a land of rainy mountains, steep cliff sides, and lush green valleys; a land teeming with life of the likes of dragons, unicorns, and griffins; a land that birthed imagination. This was…

A children's story I made for my niece some years ago when she was fighting her way through some difficult places.

I. A little girl named Emmeline once lived with her Mère and Père in Auxerre. They were a happy family who often hiked in the distant mountains to the south, swam in the sea to the east, braved the crowded cities to the north, and followed the meandering river to the west. At home, they liked to watch silly cartoons and have silly song competitions, and they always liked to make meals together.…

Adventure Over Thunder Mountain

Not long ago, but in a land far away, there lived two little girls. Sumi was the elder, and Mae-lin was the younger. They lived together with their Baba and Mama in a simple house at the edge of a village situated across the valley from Thunder Mountain. Their two ayis, Hai-le and Mei-en, also lived in the same village and often visited to share stories and snacks, always more interested in…