The night draped over the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela like a dark shroud, its towers soaring majestically against the starlit sky. Valeria moved with determined steps, passing through the cathedral's doors, her eyes lifting to the Portico of Glory, and for the first time, she took in the millennia-old carvings, the figures sculpted as if to guard an everlasting secret. The grandeur of the site enveloped her; the p...

The dark-robed figure loomed over Jacob, his face obscured by his hood. His raspy voice seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. "Brother Jacob, you stand before the sacred waters, ready to begin your purification. Say yes, and I shall guide you along the path." Jacob swallowed hard, chest tightening. Across the moonlit clearing, he could see Emily being led away by George. "I...yes. I'll do whatever is required." "Wise...

Jacob drummed his fingers nervously on the steering wheel as he navigated his beat-up Honda Civic through the winding roads of the Oregon countryside. In the passenger seat, Emily stared out the window, her eyes following the gentle rolls of the hills and farmland scenery. She’d never been this far away from home before, and she wondered if she would even miss her parents. An uneasy knot twisted in Jacob's stomach as he g...

I was walking home from the Tender Trap. I’d had hopes that Benny would take me home but she had other plans. I had no idea what those plans were but it clearly wasn’t a quiet night in. She’d arrived at the pub in knife-creased, airforce blue trousers with a white pilot-style shirt (long sleeves, patch pockets and epaulettes) with a black leather waistcoat over. I had a couple of drinks with her and a couple of other girl...

As I climbed over the railing, he caught on to my intentions. Carolyn ... wait ... what are you doing? You cannot swim! "I can't spend the rest of my life like this, Percy." Gathering all the courage within me, I decided to face Death and peered down at the rushing water below. Tears stained my cheeks as I released my grip on the railing. No! I forb- The sting of the icy water cut through his last word to me. ~ooOoo~ One...

That fateful night, the boldest and fearless of her soon-to-be ex-colleagues had seen her off, with a discreet gathering at a local watering hole, a known hang-out to the force. There, at ''Our Boys in Blue'', a dimly lit, seemingly seedy dive bar, neatly tucked away in a dark alleyway off the main strip of the city, Mia lifted her glass one last time with the men and women with whom she'd earned her first stripes, gradua...

He took a sip of water and pressed on with the questioning. “So, Cristal, what is your earliest memory of a bad experience?” She wasn’t entirely sure why she needed these interviews, or even why she was being put forward for promotion. Sure, she could program computers in her sleep, it was that easy, but she was happy with that. She loved algorithms and she wasn’t looking for anything more. She looked at the top of his he...

Well, fuck…that was damn nice, I remember saying to myself! I love beginning my Saturday’s with a good masturbatory session, I have needs and that morning my need registered a huge ten on the pussy Richter scale. I had just the right toy at hand to deliver that much-appreciated earthquake and subsequent aftershocks! Now, my question was, do I pack ‘Mister Happy’ in my suitcase? Will there even be room? OK, I was joking; h...

Parked under a buzzing, stroked out streetlamp, I looked down the street.  People moved slowly in the night, shadows slinking among shadows.  The occasional cars’ headlights made them scuttle like roaches.   Home.   My limbs were heavy, the darkness inside me begging to take over.  Leaning back in my seat, I pushed the prescription bottle deep into my panties until I felt its hard round shape between my pussy lips.  Years...

While driving north on Route One, we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic around LA. The so-called expressway was slow and crowded with cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses. Horns honked and exhaust rose from cars that moved a few feet and then would not budge for five or so minutes. I thought about the people who drove this expressway everyday to work and then back home and imagined the number of hours they spent in the...