Sunday Snippet: Questionable Vision

Washing machine update. The new washer got here and I'm happy to say the mountain of clothes is now a manageable pile. It's amazing!

Coffeemaker update. The new one arrived and it's a combo single cup or full pot. I love it. Here's hoping my caffeine habit doesn't trash this one in under a year.

Another crazy-busy work week. I finished up the mystery and the romance copy edits and started a cozy mystery. Also continued with novella edits. Had a couple of calls about two or three new projects. I'm excited! I also managed to get some good writing in for myself. A good week!

I didn't get much of anything watched on my viewing schedule. I did a LOT of social media scrolling, especially after Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris for the democratic nomination. That's unexpected and exciting. Also spent a lot of time shaking my head over the GOP nomination for vice president. It's going to be an interesting couple of months.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Questionable Vision, a novella with a bit of a dark premise.

Here's the miniblurb:

Park Danielson doesn't want to fight anymore. Stuck in a warzone, he has one burning question. Why bother sticking around? Darby Young has the answer. He's not allowed to leave.

And a sneaky peek…

Darby stopped breathing for a moment. "What do you mean … you didn't want to come back?" She couldn't have heard his words right.

The very concept of Park opting out hit her hard. They had so much left to do. So much left to explore. But first, they had to get the hell out of their own way.

Something neither she nor Park had been able to do. Yet. They always seemed to end up on opposite ends of the spectrum and had to build bridges to meet in the middle. If Park stopped meeting her halfway, her world might just crumble.

His gaze slid sideways. "It means what you think it does." He moved his eyes straight ahead again … to stare at the top of the bunk.

Darby got up. She needed to move, to think, to digest. "Wow." She paced back and forth. "I have no idea what to say to that." Her head couldn't process the idea of Park Danielson not being in her life anymore. By choice.

She whirled around. "Actually, I do. What. The hell. Park?" She paced again. "You're serious, aren't you?" She shook with reaction.

Wanted to shake him for causing her world to tilt on its axis.

Universe be damned.

She punched back with words. "Did you think about what losing you would do to me?" She hadn't … until now.

And she'd be lost without him.

Thoughts cascaded in her mind. "What about your dad? You're all he has left." Did Park not realize how much he meant to his old man?

Park's lips twisted in a grimace. "And that matters how? He all but ordered us on a suicide mission. You know damn well the odds were slim we'd make it off that ship alive."

Darby winced because Park could be right about what their chances might have been … but the op fell apart so…

She started pacing again. "Okay, point made. But remember why he chose us. We're the only two people—"

Park cut in. "He fully trusts. Yeah, doesn't help." He sighed. "I'm tired of everything being twisted and bent. Up is down. Forward is back. And everything spins around like a whirling dervish. Why, Darb? What's the purpose? The end goal? Is there one?" His voice rasped harshly with each question.

Darby paused, a lightbulb moment washing over her. "I honestly don't know. You're putting voice to questions no one wants to ask … because the answers aren't easy." She resumed walking back and forth. "And they change on a daily basis. So … we do the best we can with what we have, which is shit on a good day and something indescribable on a bad one." She tried to imagine what Park had gone through in what he thought were his last moments. "You're out of sync right now and I don't think anyone would blame you."

But … what could she do to get him back on track?

This started out as a bit of an experiment to see if I could write a something that started out dark and give light and hope by the end … and keep it under ten thousand words.

We'll see if I pull it off.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye