PROLOGUE Most people would call our existence strange, but this is more than that; this deserves a headline. We're not spectacular enough to feature on the national or international news, but wewarranted a column in the local newspaper headed by seven not so lucky words: Missing Father Returns After Weird Aging Phenomenon. I'm glad that our short-lived fame died and thepaparazzi, (what a joke,) got bored with us. Now we can get back to the day to day living if you can call it that.
We live in a typical suburb of Cambridge in an untypical house. It's no bungalow, the flfloors just go on and on, and so do the rumours about us. When I say we, I mean our strange extendedfamily comprising mature, tantrum-prone Mum, Dad (alias: old man before his time), teenage me, the most stable of us all (I think), and self-harming Esme, who isn't my sister but might as well be. I could write a whole book devoted to her alone. Oh, and I forgot tomention our permanent house guest, Shadow, a black cat of indeterminate age and parentage who arrived one day and never left.
The rest of the inhabitants of our household (except perhaps for me and Shadow, although his status is open to debate) are dysfunctional, weirded-out characters.
I have to cope with a lot (and that's an understatement), so I resort to painting, rock-and-roll, collecting crystals, and writing songs and poetry. I enjoy writing haiku, a Japanese form of poetry with three lines and some syllables to count. It soothes me. I write Tanka too; adding two longer lines at the end, which soothes me more. Each poetic puzzle I jot down serves as a clue for less afflicted folk to decipher what the hell I am talking about.
So, what am I talking about? The trouble is I don't know; I'm still muddling through. Although I expect it's a cry for help (a yell), combined with me dissecting the details about Mum's life, Dad'sexistence and his disappearance, Esme's imprisonment, and Shadow's ability to appear and reappear at a moment's notice. And that's saying nothing about living in a house that feels like a living being!
Yes, I joke to stay sane. That's a lot to process (sorry), and it's only a fraction, a haiku tidbit, so let's keep it simple but poetic and start with a view...
A view, I jest not; I saw this sky through my kitchen window today...
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Author's Note: This book is now published along with its sequel, Golden Healer, The Curse of Time Book 2.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58417468-bloodstone
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The Curse of Time - Book 1 - Bloodstone
FantasyThis is the prologue followed by the first chapter (puzzle piece) of The Curse of Time - Book 1 - Bloodstone which I hope to publish soon. The Curse Of Time is a YA/middle grade fantasy set in Cambridge UK. Sixteen year old Amelina Scott's life is...