“I opened my eyes this morning and I saw you laying next to me. I smiled as you opened your eyes and you smiled back at me… your hair shimmering in the morning sun. As I reached over to touch your face, the image of you began to fade. I was alone,” she starred down at the rose in her hand, gently playing with the petals.

“It was like reliving a memory of happier times. Back when we were together, when everything felt so right, so perfect. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and fall back to sleep. I wanted to dream about us and how good it used to be, but instead I cried. Heaving sobs that made me feel like a lost child in a world of torment,” she sighed, wiping back the tears that began to form in her eyes.

“I miss you, but I know we can never be together again. The dreams we once had are long lost… as lost as I am, but I still remember. I’ll always remember.”

“Remember the time we went to the park for a picnic?” she stood and began to pace back and forth. A smile of remembrance crossing her face. ” I never saw you smile so often or look so happy. I glanced over at you and became lost in your eyes for a moment. When you asked me what was wrong, I told you I loved you for the first time. I was so scared, but I thought my heart was going to burst when you told me that you loved me, too.”

“We walked hand in hand that day, talking long into the night. We planned out everything, our lives together, how many children we were going to have, how happy and long our lives would be. I was never so happy in my life. And that night… you showed me your love in so many ways. All I wanted to do was stay in your arms forever,” she blushed and stared down at her feet.

“When I woke up that morning, your face was right next to mine. You were sleeping so peacefully and you looked so beautiful to me. I reached over and stroked your hair, ran my fingers lightly down your face.” She imitated the action in the air, pretending to run her fingers down his face like they ached to. “You stirred and slowly opened your eyes and smiled. I always melted when you smiled. Such a little thing, but your smile could brighten the darkest days.”

“Oh, how I miss you. I wanted that perfect life. I wanted to be with you now and always.”

Crying, she walked away. Tossing the rose she carried in her hand onto his grave.

“I love you. I always will.”

NaNoWriMo 2010
Starting on November 1st, this bar will start moving. I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do this year. There are several projects I’ve been contemplating as potentials for NaNo. Whatever I decide, I better do so quickly because the hour approaches.

KEM
Still not much movement. I’m hoping to have this written before I turn 80 or die. I’ll be putting this project on hold until NaNo is over. I’m hoping when I come back to it, I’ll be able to dive right in and make some real progress. This is a tough one for me and I think I’m making it more difficult than it has to be. Maybe some time away will do us both good.

SPD
At this time, I don’t plan on putting this project on hold for NaNo. It’s a side piece that I can plug away on while working on other projects. It all depends on how my NaNo project goes.

I’m still doing The Artist’s Way. Just a couple more weeks and I’m finished. After I post the final review, all the time and effort I put into it will be redirected to actual writing.

The air was crisp and cool as it filled his nostrils. He glanced around him at the autumn leaves, so perfect their representation. “If I didn’t know this wasn’t real…” Mordin remembered the stories well; the Citadel had once stood upon this land. How he ached to be a part of that time, when civilization was new. The battles they must have fought… the feeling of victory… the sweat of combat. He was but a mere shadow of the great tales of that time. A scientist that longed for the magic lost. Magic, sorcery, powers beyond his comprehension, they were nothing but tales now, fantasies to those like him.

Mordin tended to his hologram generated world. He always found something new in his studies, something he could add to his circuits and programs to make the world around him more real… more authentic. As he reached to open the hidden panel that contained a never ending program used to create a pond complete with fish and plant-life, he found himself staring at his reflection in the water. His skin was slightly grey, his grey eyes slightly sunken into his head. His ears still maintained a small point to them, although others had lost their elven traits. After so many centuries of the races of old breeding outside of their kind, Mordin’s entire cultural had become a mixture of all of them. To Mordin’s eyes, he was bland, dull, without the beauty and luster of his ancestors.

Mordin splashed away his reflection, causing ripples in the water and returned to his task. He inserted a small chip into the panel and stood back to watch his newest creation take shape. A single bud rose slowly from the ground at the edge of the lake. He had programed it to take time to grow, like a real plant would, so he would have to wait to make sure it was exactly what he wanted. He felt a rush of excitement knowing he had added just one more piece to the puzzle.

Mordin stood and slowly walked away. Every day he made the rounds of this ground, making sure that all his creations were still functioning. But this day, something was out of place in his perfect world. Laying on the ground near an ancient willow tree was a completely still woman. A blue-skinned creature that greatly resembled one of the elven races of old. How was that possible? He hadn’t mastered making live beings look and react well enough yet. But how could she be real?

He approached her slowly, gasping in awe at her beautiful blue tinted skin. Kneeling down beside her to examine her further, completely confused, he was too curious to remain cautious. He knew he had to touch her. It was the only way to be sure. His head swimming with possibilities, he extended one shaking hand to touch her face. His heart lept as his fingers lightly brushed her cheek and he jumped backwards, falling on his backside as her yellow eyes snapped open…

I’m going to be posting bits and pieces of old stories and poetry I find on my HD or in files at the back of my file cabinets from time to time. Most of these are from round robins, author duels, or fan fic from years passed. I found myself keeping them not only because I was enjoying myself, but because they were written during a time when I had the most support I had ever experienced when it came to my writing.

These will be raw postings, so don’t be surprised if they’re chalked full of every error and no-no imaginable. You never know how old some of these pieces are, so some of them might be absolutely terrible. I might do something with these in the future… but for now, they are a nostalgic look into the past for me and I hope at least moderately enjoyable for you.

I just finished NanoWriMo 2009. Yea! There were times I wondered if I’d make it, but I did with time to spare! I’ve been trying to think of ways to reward myself, but I honestly think I’m just going to take a day off and play a game or something. Better idea… get away from the computer for a day and read. I have a book I started ages ago that I’m still not done with and a stack of books on my desk screaming at me to pick them up and dive in. It made finishing Nano tough with all the screaming…

Sorry everything has been Twitter updates for the entire month, but I was hoping the Tweets would tell the tale of Nano and the busy, crazy month November turned out to be.

So what’s next? I haven’t decided yet. I have a new project I’ve been burning to get started on for a couple of weeks now. I have several people expecting me to podcast after this Nano, which means lots of editing and rewriting of my Nano project. I have other obligations I need to catch up on as well.

I’m going to take a day off and start in on the blog again next week. I plan on writing more about Nano this year, what it did for me, and what the future holds. I have several other projects I’m hoping to launch very soon as well, so I’ll be keeping busy.

I’d like to thank @Mornaric and @greyfane for the support during Nano. Both have been long time friends and I’m glad they joined me in the craziness.