Story Excerpts
'Sovkhozy 111 - East of Freedom' Book One in 'The Disappeared' Historical Fiction Series
'Dita, knowing that tonight they would be leaving this hellhole forever, scrambled up to the eaves to retrieve her letters from her hiding place under the floorboards and tucked them safely under her generous breasts. Dita's breasts were the only part of her body that hadn't shrunk very much. They did seem a bit more saggy but still substantial enough to pin a few letters down securely. She felt as light as a feather as she scrambled between the sacks of grain, confident that her most prized possessions would stay put. As she reached out to grab the top of the makeshift ladder, Dita's toe kicked the edge of the elevated platform that they swung out and down to hoist up the heavy sacks, and she toppled over. Screaming, she fell a few meters to the floor and landed on the bench below with an audible crack. Her piercing screams brought everyone running to her, and her howls of pain could be heard above all the hubbub.
Thinking this was the distraction they were waiting for, Inga and Monika dashed to the woman's shed. Everyone ran over to where Dita was unnaturally sprawled on the overturned bench. Standing back close to the cookstove, after checking on Daria and Alexi's whereabouts, Inga emptied the powdered contents of the small bottle of sleeping draft into Daria's pot of cooling soup and gave it a stir to hide it. She caught Monika's eye just then and nodded. Immediately after lacing the soup with the secret ingredient, Inga ran to be at Dita's side. She knelt beside Daria, who suspected nothing.
Monika knew that they must stay to the schedule, but she also suspected that Dita had broken her leg. The swelling was immediate, and the taut skin was red and shiny. Although the bone had not broken through the skin, she knew that Dita could not put any weight on it.
Aware that Daria and Alexi had to eat their special soup, Dita pretended that everything was OK and, with Monika's help, sat upright.
"How was that for a distraction?" she whispered through clenched teeth.
The three of them giggled at their secret joke. Daria rolled her eyes at the silly women and returned to the wood stove to get their soup.'
Prospero, The Magic Fish
' At the sound of Morghana's whistle, Prospero surfaced and shouted, "What truth do you now seek?" Morghana did not try to deceive the fish; she did not have enough time left in her beauty spell to waste it on trying to outsmart him. "I need your help to find the girl", said Morghana. "What are you prepared to do for me?" asked Prospero, having no intention of telling her where the little girl was. She announced, "I know who cast the fish spell on you, and I can undo it." Prospero knew how to undo the simple spell but did not tell her; he just needed some assistance. He wanted her to think that he believed she alone had the power to do it. The truth was Morghana had no idea how to remove the spell and would need to consult her coven for further instructions. This would ensure that she would be away from the town for a few days, and he could enlist Alfred's help to get out of the well and finally back to his old self. "I will do nothing and tell you nothing until you remove the mute spell from your brother, and my spell is reversed."
"Why is the curse on my brother any concern of yours?" asked Morghana.
"Because," said the fish, "once you have achieved the eternal beauty charm, you must be as lovely on the inside as on the outside, or your beauty will be only skin deep, and all pleasure you derive from being beautiful will disappear." You must prove to me that you intend to change, and you will abandon all of your evil ways and associations."
Morghana wrestled with Prospero's conditions, her mind a mass of conflicting thoughts. She believed she could deceive the fish, promising anything to secure his help. But could she truly change? The idea of abandoning her wicked ways sent a shiver down her spine. Yet, the lure of finding Vivienne was too strong.
"Yes, alright then, I agree to your conditions," she said, her voice a mix of determination and deceit.'
Whatever Became of Cinder-Ella and the missing children
'One Day, after several years of toiling away for the three mean women, Cinder-Ella escaped, thanks to the assistance of some travellers who had recently passed through the town. The group she joined was a rather rag-tag mix of Irish nomads and Roma. Many years before, the two groups had merged to aid each other in their pursuits. The Irish could hide among the Roma, who were well-known as regular tradespeople. At the same time, the Irish were show people and horse traders who attended local fairs and festivals and got up to all sorts of mischief.
Cinder-Ella escaped one day and immediately changed her name to Cressida, making it harder for her wicked stepfamily to find her. However, she didn't think they would try very hard and were probably relieved that she was gone, once they found a new housekeeper. After all, the wicked woman and her daughters had her father's beautiful estate and all of his money and probably were very happy to be rid of her.'
Tulla Eldor
J Turkington
Poems from the Heart
The Badger Dance
Sing a song of Ireland
for there are places still
where poteen bubbles underground
Where badgers roam at will.
We know the badger normally is
a real secretive fellow
who seldom roams in broad daylight
but lollygags quite mellow.
But when he's had a snort or two
of that white lightening,
you're apt to see him at high noon
cont'd