The old man sat in his simple room looking at the bag of gold. “Use it however you want,” the rich young fellow had said. “I feel I need to give it to someone, and I have no idea who. I think you may know.” The old man was renowned for his wisdom and his…
He couldn’t be more than four or five years old, thought the headman. He really should know, as this was the son of the resident priest at the little shrine on the north edge of town. But he really couldn’t remember. This is a work of fiction. All person’s, places, and events are products of…
(See also A Fresh Perspective I) The church council didn’t know what to do. Well, that isn’t precisely true. Individually they did know what to do, but they didn’t all know the same thing, and no one plan of action was acceptable to all the members. This is a work of fiction. All persons, places,…
(See also A Fresh Perspective – II.) For years merchant trains had passed through the town by the falls on their way to the great north-south trade route to the west. The terrain was terrible, but alternate routes were even worse. One could go two or three days journey southward, past the end of the…
He stood looking at the hole in the ground. He could feel his hand trembling. He knew he was terrified and was embarrassed, even though there was nobody there to see. A stairway going down. That phrase was loaded with all the psychological freight of his own claustrophobia, heightened by his choice in literature, which…
“The prince is coming here,” said the traveling merchant. “How do you know this?” asked someone from the crowd. “I saw him in a town far to the south, and members of his entourage told me he was heading this way. He plans to come all the way to the coast, and that will surely…
“I don’t know why it isn’t working.” The old man looked over at the young pastor. He saw a well-dressed young man, with an earnest but very troubled expression. “So that’s what you wanted to talk to me about? It isn’t working?” he asked. “Right. It just isn’t working, and I don’t know why. I’ve…
The morning after the hangings were displayed to the whole system, Tad was still concentrating on the logical problems with his situation. Here they were on a planet with effectively no defense, but nobody really seemed to notice. He remembered that he had always assumed the real fighting was somewhere else, yet he thought he…
It all started with the resolution passed by the town council. No, perhaps not. That might be giving it too much weight. It really started when Tomas got stinking drunk that evening. But since the council resolution comes into it, we’ll just have to start there. It was passed unanimously, and was short and to…
“I’m wondering why Justin has quit attending Bible study regularly,” said the youth pastor, after he’d settled in at the table with a cup of coffee. Wendy Schermer, Justin’s mother was sitting across from him. “Attending Bible study has always been voluntary. I know he hasn’t been attending much recently. He doesn’t seem to be…
