I put my arms around her waist and drew her as close to me as I could. She laughed as we both bumped the portfolio and easel in her hands. “You are a rare gift, Gabrielle,” I whispered as I leaned in and brushed her lips with mine. “And I think I’m falling for you.” … More Final Kiss, Part 2
The painting, ink and watercolor on handmade Japanese paper, spoke to me. Two women, cheek to cheek, share a tender moment. Bold strokes of black ink outline their faces while hues of blue, red, and yellow wash over the surface of the canvas, blurring boundaries as one color evanesces into another. The old clock on … More Final Kiss, Part 1
“I don’t know much about people, Savine,” he said, his voice low. “Don’t understand them most of the time. It’s the nuances, the subtleties of the words they say that make it hard for me to know what they’re really telling me.” He paused and sniffed. “And most of the time I misread them, get … More Burning Rage, Part 2
The acrid smell of moldy, decomposing wood filled the air. Savine breathed deeply, welcoming the scent. Noise from the crowd escalated as stragglers tossed the last of the decaying timber onto the voluminous pile. Tonight, the siblings would perform their own ritual. Savine Marek studied the open matchbook in her hand. Twenty red match heads … More Burning Rage, Part 1
Bia had expected to find the Espírito’s powerful search beacon lodged in silt on the sea floor and shining up into the water above it—or worse, the Espírito itself. What lay before them, though, still left her stunned and fearful. Bia had never seen anything like it before. “Bia! Thank God you found us!” a … More Lost at Sea, Part 6
Javier had made it to the top and was standing on the edge of the ridge, facing the blue light. His body was motionless, as though his feet had become rooted into the rock. As Bia swam toward him, a red message flashed in front of her. She quickly shut her eyes to avoid its … More Lost at Sea, Part 5
Javier reached down and gently pulled the partially buried object out of the silt. It was a large, round piece of dull yellow fabric. Long lengths of braided polymer rope were uniformly attached around its edges. The ends of the ropes connected to a single metal ring that was coupled with a shackle attached to … More Lost at Sea, Part 4
Javier strapped the handheld LIDAR scanner to his belt. And then, once again they both jumped off the side of the boat and into a vortex that would carry them straight down to the bottom of the ocean. “Bia, are you up for this?” Javier asked, eyeing her with concern as he stopped the cabin … More Lost at Sea, Part 3
The LED array illuminated their path with a wide, bright arc of light that penetrated the blackness and provided close to 20 feet of visibility in front of them. Bia noticed they were now on the MUDAM display, appearing as two ghostly figures skimming along the bottom of the ocean. As she was pushed along … More Lost at Sea, Part 2
Mama and Papa had insisted their 50-foot sloop, built in 2020, was seaworthy and could make the 1,200-mile trip from their marina in Cádiz, Spain to the Portuguese Azores archipelago. At the time, Javier and Bia had no reason to doubt them. But then the siblings lost contact with the elder Barqueiros. “You know this … More Lost at Sea, Part 1
Allorianna Matsourani Author 