The Silver Pen
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The Girl In the Golden Cage
When she sang, everyone turned to listen. There was a profound silence in the Big Top, broken only by the ethereal clarity of her voice, a voice that soared and dipped like the swiftest of larks, weaving tales of longing and forgotten dreams.
The Circus Clown, Part 2 (of 2)
He peered around the edge of the wagon. The men were still there, their shadows stretching long in the late afternoon sun. One of them, a burly fellow with a thick mustache, pointed at the wagon with a beer bottle in his hand.
The Schoolmistress of Cottonwood Springs
The schoolhouse stood at the edge of town, a simple building with fresh whitewash and newly mended steps. Inside, she found the windows cleaned, the floorboards swept, and the stove blackened and ready for the coming winter.
The Changeling’s Price
But Eilis saw the flash of fear in her mother’s eyes when the baby turned its golden gaze toward her. That evening, when this unusual creature refused to nurse and remained silent even as her mother sobbed over it, Eilis watched her father place protective herbs above the doorframes.
The Schoolmistress of Thistle Creek
Verity Hartley lay still in her narrow bed, the linen sheets crisp against her skin despite the warmth dawning beyond the glass panes. The larkspur grew just outside her window—planted by her own hand in memory of her mother—and it was from their gentle rustling, not the clamor of mining carts or the distant shouts of early risers, that she’d awoken. A lark chirruped atop the garden gate, its warble interrupting the morning hush.
Petals of the Past
The results confirmed what she remembered about lavender representing devotion and loyalty. But her breath caught when she read the complete meaning of white violets: “Let’s take a chance on happiness” was the romantic interpretation, but they also traditionally meant “innocence” and, in some contexts, “secrecy.”