Sorry everybody, it's camping time! Going away for the weekend means no technology handy, so look forward to another piece of my story this Monday. Also- I will be posting pictures here for you and they will hopefully be as good as the ones at the bottom of the page! Thank you for your patience... please let me know your thoughts and suggestions as I love to hear good advice. 

Plain Jane

Helen was in shock, and so was everyone else. Yet confusion reigned over the shock and they were all asking questions, or at least thinking them. Why would she run away? Where did she go? What happened to her...? No one knew. And Helen had the eerie feeling it wasn't just a coincidence this was happening two days after the anniversary of her grandmother's death, but she kept this to herself. It had already been a week and Mave's run-away letter had stated she would return in two days. What were they to do if they never found her? Although she had many cousins Helen had always been very close with Mave (even though she could be snobby sometimes) because they lived in the same neighborhood, but she never said a word about running away. Maybe she left on impulse, or she was kidnapped and forced to write the letter. The grownups were doing no good with their search and the dumb investigators always came over to ask Helen the stupidest question's such as: "What is Mave's favorite color?" or "What are her hobbies?" Like that would help anyone find her! The only thing they did find out was that Mave had been at the public library two days before she disappeared and asked the librarian to help her research their grandmother, but they were all spending most of their time trying to figure out what had been going on in Mave's life before she left, and they all believed she had run away. Helen thought they should be digging into the past and trying to uncover the mysteries of all her grandmother's failed marriages and what it was Grandpa Ben saw in her that had contented him to stay with her. Maybe some of this had to do with what Mave discovered at the library.

Their grandmother had gone a little crazy near the end when she last saw her at Grandpa Ben's funeral. All she talked about was how she was cursed and they were all cursed. Aunt Blaire tried to get her to stop, but she just wouldn't stop rambling on about the devil and all this evil stuff. The family wasn't as affected by Grandpa Ben's death as they were when Grandma died. It was terrible to see all her uncles and her aunts so sad and upset, but not many of her cousins had been close to her their grandmother, except Shirley and Dorothy, but they were really weird too. Helen's grandmother's will was a really big deal after she had died. Everyone in the family got lots of money, but some more than others because Grandma made it very clear she had favorites among her children. All of the old woman's grandchildren were greatly disappointed to find that none of their family heirlooms would be passed along to them. Their grandmother had given them all to the mysterious man named Evans.

That was another thing, who was this Evans guy? That was the question they had all been asking for two years. It had been in the papers because it was such a big deal that a complete stranger would be given such a huge bounty of priceless objects and a million dollar estate, and then do absolutely nothing with any of it. As far as they knew, he hadn't sold a thing and never even visited the house. Well, that was just hearsay really. No one actually knew if he even lived there, but her cousins who lived in the same town as their grandmother had kept everyone in the know about the comings and goings of people in town, and they had never reported seeing a strange or even a familiar face anywhere near the estate. Strange... very strange. Helen was a big Nancy Drew fan and loved a good mystery, but she didn't want to get into trouble. That was where she and Mave contrasted in their characteristics. Mave was always the courageous and outgoing one in their circle of friends and would be the one to date all the cutest guys and she was very popular, but Helen was shy and quiet; not painfully shy, but she was compliant and didn't like to make a fuss. Mave's nickname for her was plain Jane.

Oh, but she had to pursue this mystery, didn't she? It wasn't just a small town crime to solve, this was personal and she feared her cousin's life may depend on it. She knew that she could do better than any of those over-paid dummy investigators that all her relatives had hired. Her search would be fueled by a personal pain. No way would they find Mave fast enough, and anyway even if she didn't turn up much she could at least contribute something. First thing was first, though; Helen would have to make a visit into her family's past.         

Mave The Princess

Nothing but an eerie silence filled the midnight October air. Mave looked over at the blinking orange light of a streetlamp as it faded out and did not turn back on. She suddenly felt very vulnerable on the empty bench with no one else in sight, and flinched back as a cat jumped out of the bushes nearby and ran down the road. She flicked on her flashlight, but then turned it off, wanting to save the battery. She had a plan, but unfortunately it included public transportation. A blue and gray bus with a picture of a bird on it pulled up to the sidewalk and screeched to a halt. The doors opened with much protest and an old woman frowned down at Mave, who eagerly jumped up onto the bus and paid her fare, taking a seat at the very back. It was an empty bus.

Waiting until the bus had pulled away, Mave quickly jogged across the empty road towards the path with a sign: "NO TRESPASSING," that would lead her into a dense forest, which was part of the estate that had once belonged to her family, and would again if she had anything to say about it. She abruptly remembered her flashlight sitting on the seat next to her in the bus, which she had left behind. It didn't bother her too much, though because the moon was so full and bright. She let out a yelp as the ground sank beneath her heavy step, covering her shoe with mud. Looking down, she saw a bit of white glistening in contrast to the mud hole it lay embedded in as the full moon kissed it. Her heart began to beat harder. This was it- a piece of the treasure her grandmother had left behind. Everyone knew that there was so much more money to be gained from the old woman, but nobody had ever tried to get it directly; without the help of a stupid lawyer. Tonight she was going to find it. Well Mave knew she was the smartest in her family, and she knew exactly how to get what she wanted from anyone. Even if she got caught she could always talk them into letting her off the hook or she could bribe them. She had lots of money, but it wasn't enough. She needed another ten thousand dollars to buy the new 3D Virtual World Game Master 6000. Throwing tantrums and getting really really mad worked the best on her parents, who spoiled her rotten, but her allowance of 50 dollars a month just wouldn't get it for her fast enough. Nothing could ever be good enough for her, which was what Daddy always said.

Mave looked around for the hundredth time, making sure no one had followed her through the dense forest surrounding the estate. Of course no one had; she was much too clever to be tricked and get into trouble. There were many pine trees and she scraped her cold gaze over them jealousy wishing she was as impervious to the cold as they were. First stepping out of the sticky mess of mud, Mave leaned over top of the mud hole and reached down with a gloved hand to pull out the treasure. At about the same moment she realized she was holding a piece of bone, a cloud of breath rose up out of the trees nearby, and something pushed her. The mud greedily wrapped its arms around Mave, pulling her down into its dark, wet stomach. Screaming, she became acutely aware of a presence and something watching her. The puddle was sinking fast and becoming deeper and wider than she had first thought it was. Mave scrambled up onto a log, wildly looked around, but saw nothing. She was now completely covered in wet, sticky mud and the forest suddenly darkened around her as a black-gray cloud stifled the moon's bright glow. A terrifyingly conspicuous presence surrounded her, clearing her mind of everything she wanted and leaving only one feeling that she had seldom experienced in her life before... Fear.  

Inspiration Is Always Welcome

I thank those of you reading my blog, and hope you will add yourselves as followers. I will be continuing this story tomorrow and throughout my writing I hope to receive encouragement and suggestions. Inspiration is always welcome.

The Very Second, with a story

So, as we stand I am quite undecided about my future career and my passions. Here I am writing to you though... or at least writing. Let me begin with this; as I have said, endings for me are just a dream, they never really make it to the page, but here is the beginning to what I hope will be at least something to catch your attention and maybe help me decide a little...

Years ago, an old woman bought a cat and took it home with her. It seemed to be the only animal left in the store, and when asked why, the man at the counter just shrugged and quickly placed the cat in its carrier, handing it to her. Two days later her husband died, and 10 days after that the woman died as well. Both were said to have had heart attacks. She was 72 with seven children from various marriages, but her will declared the large estate be given to a man named Evans. Even though each family member was given very large portions of the old woman's money, everyone was very upset that her million dollar mansion had been given to a stranger. After much discussion, the family decided to go to court on the assumption something had been terribly mixed up in her will, but she had written it in her own hand and it was absolutely correct. Yet nobody knew who Evans was because he never sold the estate or moved in. It just sat there for years collecting dust. No one gave a thought to the cat after the two tragedies and huge inheritances they had collected, it was a very small matter that seemed not to deserve anyone's attention. Two months later another death occurred in the same area when a pet store owner fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck.

Of course, this is is only the beginning, so expect more. Also feel free to leave comments and suggestions for me and this story.

The Very First

While I know almost everyone who goes onto the internet to blog is thinking about what they will gain from it, I am not because there really isn't anything for me to gain. Of course there's your respect, but really all I want is to have something in my life that is real because it can be seen by other people. Most of what I do, like drawing and writing little short stories will never be seen by anyone but me. Even if I die tomorrow, no one will publish anything I have written, or send any of my drawings to an art museum just because it would be more valuable once I'm dead. I actually doubt anything I do will ever be famous, and really I don't want it to be. Fame, as it seems to me, is exhausting. people swarm around you like flies on a carcass, looking for you to sign your name and give them a hug or pose with them in a picture. It is all very material and my opinion is that if you really want to meet a person you have to at least have a conversation, not just see and acknowledge them. 

What I want for my life is to build things that give other people joy. To me, the meaning of life is to be happy and inspire happiness in others, but I have no idea how any of my talents can do that. I love drawing, but I am extremely amateur and so dub most of my art as abstract with lots of color. Writing gives me stress, and while I can absolutely start a story, and even work it to the middle, the finish is never in sight. I have always loved to run, but without the proper motivation it just won't happen for me. And anyway I don't see how becoming an athlete could help bring me closer to giving others happiness. That would be just for me and my competitors. There is one other talent I have, but it is not the best thing for me because I am so afraid of being judged by others and of failure.

So there you have it, my very first post. A little peek inside my head, I just hope someone's listening... out there.