Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Western Sky


Ellen leaned back in the saddle and stretched the kinks out of her back and legs; until now, she hadn't realized just how blue the sky was, up here on the mountain. It seemed as if they'd been climbing forever; she knew her horse was feeling it, too. Time to make camp.

She smiled as she pulled the saddle off; she watched her horse shake off the sweat with a satisfied grunt. As tired as she was, she took care of her horse first; a cooling walk, a brisk curry with the sweat scraper and then they could both have something to eat and a good rest.

In the morning, when the sun rose, they'd continue; there were many more mountains ahead of them.

© 2013 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Monday, June 3, 2013

Rivers of Time



Eugenia was game for most anything, but even she had to admit that this proposition gave her pause. Did she really want to wear an exact copy of her life, a record of all her thoughts, hopes, and deeds, on her wrist for all to see? (Even worse was the idea that this copy would be created and the original scanned by the cutest pair of puppy-dog eyes she'd ever seen, on top of the nicest..."Scratch that, Geni," she warned herself; "if you go through with this, he'll see that, too.")

Realizing that this wasn't the first time those thoughts had appeared in her mind, she grinned and let herself dwell on them again. Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, she thought; the chances of anyone thinking her the least bit lamb-like were somewhere between slim and none.

Given the trouble she'd found herself in recently, it wasn't a bad idea to have a copy of her life on file. There was a pretty good chance that she might need to reboot herself one of these days. Her journey hadn't exactly been ordinary; neither were her thoughts. But still, there were some things that she'd kept private, and she wasn't sure she wanted to give that up. Of course, if the alternative was that her life might disappear as if it had never been, and there would be no way to recall her to this sphere, well, maybe it would be worth the risk.

As it turned out, she needn't have worried. As quickly as the fabric of her life was woven, it pleated itself; the bracelet became as embellished as her own life; and, in a fraction of a second, even she didn't know what was true and what she'd invented.

If you'd like to read the previous adventures of Eugenia, check out Flight of FancyTime and Tides and Out the Other Side.

© 2013 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel, modeled by Maria Daniel