Cynthia A. Morgan's Blog, page 261

Submerged – A #ShortStory #Collaboration – Part One

 

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Submerged, I grasped the end of the dock with white shriveled hands, my teeth clenched hard to silence the chatter. An icy breeze blew steady across the black water and my shoulders and back locked in painful knots.

When the hound found me, I knew I was caught. It stood over my head barking and whimpering, torn between a desire to attack me and its instinct to stay (x) dry. (x) It stepped to the edge of the wooden planks then backed away, whining with frustration.

“He’s underneath!” said the smaller man, his footsteps clunking (x) as he ran onto the dock. “He’s there!”

“I already checked und-” said the other as I slipped beneath the surface and plunged deep. Overhead, I could see their distorted, yellow flashlights waving lazily across the surface. The light shimmered warm and inviting for the better part of a minute and then bounced away towards the shore. 

I surfaced, gasping and swallowing air.

“-boat or swimming for it,” said a voice as they shone their lights in slow arcs along the shore. The dog had been called to heel and it followed reluctantly, looking over its shoulder as they moved along the shoreline.

When they disappeared, I pulled myself, hand-over-hand, along the side of the dock until my feet found purchase. The mud was deep and greedy, it sucked at my shoes as I slogged to shore. When I reached dry land, I collapsed on my back and closed my eyes.

Too cold.

I awoke with a start. In a panic, I staggered to my feet and up the hill to a cabin that sat twenty or thirty yards away. The outside lights were on but I found the garage dark. An older four-door sedan was parked inside with its doors unlocked and I found a crocheted blanket draped over the back of the passenger seat. I wrapped myself in it and passed out in the back.

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I was shaken awake.  I came back to reality to find my teeth chattering convulsively and shivers wracking my body with violent spasms.  A young woman, mid twenties in age, was leaning into the car looking at me with a conspicuous mixture of fear and concern shadowing her delicate features.  In the dim light of the garage, I could just barely make out her reddish hair and green eyes as I tried to pull myself out of unconsciousness.

“What are you doing here?”  She was repeating the question for the third time when I realized I hadn’t answered her. I groaned half lucidly, trying to form the words of my name, but numb lips and spasmodically chattering teeth twisted them into incomprehensible gibberish.  Frowning at the state I was in, she grasped my hand and tugged; then, when I didn’t respond, she tugged harder.

“I’m trying to help you, but if you make one wrong move I’ll set Morpheus on you.”  I gazed at her in confusion, then noticed the massive Great Dane standing behind her, staring into the car protectively.  I nodded, but whether she could distinguish the movement from my shuddering I didn’t know. Regardless, she tugged my hand another time and I managed to push myself up from the backseat and leaned forward in a precarious attempt to get out of the car.

Little did I realize until I was upright that I couldn’t feel my feet, which made standing nearly impossible and the only thing I could do was reach out instinctively before I fell face-first at her feet.  The afghan I had commandeered crumpled to the floor in a half frozen, half sodden heap and it was only then that she realized my clothes were soaked through.

“It’s not even raining; how on earth did you get soaking wet?”  She apparently didn’t expect an answer because she didn’t wait for one before removing the blanket she had wrapped round herself to encircle me with it, leaving herself in an ivory nightgown that didn’t look warm enough to wear on a cold October night.  I stared at her dumbfounded, but she paid my attention little heed as she pulled me by the wrist towards the door leading into her cabin.

Morpheus stalked behind me, growling.

To Be Continued….

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Fred Rock of Fred Rock Fiction recently contacted me to discuss a possible, extended collaboration during which time we would write a short story based upon a piece he had begun and then hit a wall.  I read the portion he wrote (designated above and throughout these posts in italics ) and was immediately intrigued.  Inspiration sparked, we set about sending the piece back and forth between us for several weeks, adding to the tale, discussing possible stumbling blocks, and finally editing the ‘masterpiece’.  Our final story is now ready to be shared, which we shall do in increments for your reading ease (and hopefully enjoyment!)

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Filed under: Collaborations, Flash Fiction and Shorts Tagged: #short story, Action, BnV, BooknVolume, collaborative writing, creative writing, Drama, Fiction, Mysteries, Suspense, ~Morgan~

Happy #NationalAuthorsDay

I Would like to Wish all my fellow Authors/Writers/Bloggers a Very Happy National Authors Day and take this opportunity to let you know that I



*Appreciate the hard work you do, how you give of yourself and Share Inspiration



*Am Grateful for the many likes/shares/reblogs/retweets you Graciously extend



*Wish You Success that will bring Fulfillment of your Purpose and Contentment in your Spirit.


 


YOU Are Awesome for what you do and the Faith you have in YOU!


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~Morgan~
Filed under: Authors Books Reviews & Interviews Tagged: Authors, BnV, BooknVolume, National Authors Day, Support Indie Authors, Writers, Writing, ~Morgan~

Serenade – #RomanticTuesday – #Poetry of #Love

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The silence Serenades my Soul

Dulcet music ringing

The distance drinks deep of my Longing

Melodious chimes Singing

The emptiness of Waiting pours a Wealth of Expectancy

Like Wine, Sweet and Intoxicating

As curiosity Builds, tantamount to Passion

Strings of Temptation Harmonizing

As intimacy Encompasses the Pleasure of my Heart

Tympanic Boldness stealing

As secrets never spoken Entwine in the night

Supple songs softly Whispering

Like flames Caressing, Radiant in Splendour

My Love for you Intensifies

Desire Swells like the surging sea

And My Soul Aches to be Filled

Beloved,

By You.

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Original Artwork by Susan Seddon Boulet

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Desire, Longing, Love, Love Poetry, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, relationships, Romance, Separated Twin Spirits, Soul Mates, ~Morgan~

#RomanticTuesday – Desire’s Language – #LovePoetry

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Desire

Speaks a language

All its own

Through Delicate Touches

Soft Sighs

Sweetest Whispers

And Passion that Burns

Unrestrained

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~Morgan~

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Filed under: Visually Lyrical Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Desire, Love Poetry, passion, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, relationships, Romance, Sensuality, Temptation, ~Morgan~

Pale Vision – #DailyHaikuChallenge – #HappyHalloween

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Pale Vision of Fear

Dark Queen beckoning shadows

Shivers course Sweetly

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 14

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest.  Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the Original Photographer. Thank You~

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Filed under: Daily Haiku Challenge Tagged: Beautiful Photographs, BnV, BooknVolume, Daily Haiku Challenge, Darkness, Fear, Night, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, Poetry Prompt, Writing Prompt, ~Morgan~

The Fog – #Halloween #Poetry

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Stillness Whispers All Around,

Delicate,

Imperceptible,

Incongruous Sound;

The Hush Speaking softly

Of Another place and Time;

Bending Perception

Through Inharmonious Rhyme.

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The Fog Enwraps From Every Side,

Closing In,

Drawing Out

An Indiscernible Cry;

The Mist Breathing Blithely,

A Leviathan of Olde;

Enshrouding Inexorably

With Inescapable Cold.

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found at: .inspiringwallpapers.net. Credit Acknowledged to the Original Photographer. Thank You!

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Death, Fear, Fog, Halloween, photography, Poem, poetry, Silence, time, Whispers, ~Morgan~

Halloween Poetry : Spirits of the Dead, Edgar Allan Poe — Nigel Borrington

Spirits of the Dead By Edgar Allan Poe I Thy soul shall find itself alone ’Mid dark thoughts of the gray tombstone— Not one, of all the crowd, to pry Into thine hour of secrecy. II Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness—for then The spirits of the dead who stood In life […]

via Halloween Poetry : Spirits of the Dead, Edgar Allan Poe — Nigel Borrington

Simply had to Share this marvelous, little-read Gem of Poe’s as Shared to us by Nigel.  Thank You!

Filed under: Authors Books Reviews & Interviews, Poetry Tagged: Darkness, Death, Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween, poems, poetry, Shadows

Shroud – #Halloween #Poetry

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Echoes Mute and Transitory

Fleetingly Heard Upon the Breeze,

Mask Interminable Silence,

As Moans Escape the Beguiling Seas

Of Shrouded Memory,

In Blithe Repose;

Heralding Midnight

With Ethereal Glows.

Pale Wanton Shroud,

Enigmatic,

Surreal;

Encroaching Calamity,

In Darkness that Seals.

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~Morgan~

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Incredible Photo by:  https://abookwormshaven.files.wordpress.com

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Darkness, Death, Fear, Fog, Halloween, Haunted, photography, Poem, poetry, Whispers, ~Morgan~

Those We Do Not Speak Of – Lingering – #Spirituality and #HauntedPlaces

(Let me begin by saying Sorry, this is rather lengthy….my apologies)

Over the past few days we’ve taken a closer look at Ghosts, Spirits, Specters, Apparitions, the Afterlife, Communication and the notion of The Essence and where it goes.

Charles Dickens had an interesting notion. As Jacob Marley so eloquently put it: “It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men and travel far and wide and If that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death! It is doomed to wander through the world! Oh, woe is me! And witness what it cannot share but MIGHT HAVE SHARED on Earth and turned to happiness!” Possible…yes.

William Shakespeare also had ideas about the afterlife. The Ghost of Hamlet’s Father had an equally harrowing insight to share:

“I am thy father’s spirit,

Doomed for a certain term to walk the night,

And for the day confined to fast in fires,

Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature

Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid

To tell the secrets of my prison house,

I could a tale unfold whose lightest word

Would harrow up thy soul”

Also, entirely possible.

A more modern view, shared by many, suggests that ghosts remain, trapped in this plane of existence because they have something left to do, some message left to give, or some purpose yet to accomplish. These views are expressed in entertaining, as well as frightening, fashion in such movies as “Ghost town” with Ricky Gervais and “The Sixth Sense” with Haley Joel Osment, but who’s to say if any of these views are correct.

Being a fairly regular watcher of the television shows Ghost Adventures and Most Haunted, I can say this for certain: I do not believe ghosts show up and respond to stimuli on cue for the sake of the camera and I do not believe they really care whether we understand or accept their existence as valid or not.

Having said all that, here is what I do believe, for what it is worth. I believe in Angels as well as Demons, and I believe both regularly visit and interact with the human race on a variety of levels for many different reasons. I believe that some ghosts/spirits come and go from this plane in visitation, for lack of a better term, perhaps simply to visit people and/or places they’ve loved during their lifetimes. I believe that ghosts can be seen, heard, felt, and interacted with under the right conditions, or perhaps, the wrong conditions, given your point of view. I also believe they are, potentially, very dangerous.

Of course they are. People are dangerous, aren’t they? And there are “good” people and “bad” people, people who build others up, bolster their faith, people who are charitable, generous, kind, loving, caring, devoted, helpful, while there are those who are not. There are those who are cruel, unkind, self-serving, destructive, malicious of intent and purpose, and twisted so why shouldn’t there be “good” and “bad” spirits if spirits are, simply, people who are lingering here on this plane? Consequently, messing about with them can be, potentially, treacherous.

Having said as much, and knowing as much, I did, in fact, once participate in a “ghost hunt” and it was as exhilarating as it was frightening, so I do understand the “draw. A small group of us went with a local ghost hunting guide to two different locations in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with EVP digital recorders, EMF meters, and digital cameras at the ready and I was able to capture some very interesting, dare I say even astonishing, images. (shared below,  but being aware of the inherent danger involved with these sorts of interactions, I took what I believe to be necessary precautions. Before entering into that situation, I paused to focus my Essence on the Protection that is ever near each one of us and drew it close; envisioning an aura of bright, clear light encircling me, encapsulating me if you will, in it’s radiant protection. You may scoff and ask, how does light protect you from anything?  My best answer would be, Light is merely the tangible perception of that which is beyond our perception. A symbol, if you will, of the Loving Grace, the Benevolent and Powerful Positive Influence that guards over all of us.

It was dark, it was quiet, it had recently rained so, although it was not dripping wet, it was also neither dusty nor dry and there were only the five of us. I will, of course, say that once you start thinking you are going to see something or experience something, you are, after all, likely to, if only through your imagination; however, all five of us did witness an odd flash of red light at the same time. Given that we were out in the middle of the woods with no roads or other people nearby and no one was, at that moment, using a phone or other digital device, it was peculiar and unexplained. Also, oddly, my camera was the only one out of all five that did not have its battery drained of energy within minutes of arriving on site.

I captured many orbs, most of which can be written off as dust, pollen or water particles in the atmosphere, but some were so bright and showed up in one frame, but not in the next, that they beg to be puzzled over further. But the most shocking (to me) and unexplained images I captured were reddish, cloudy, vaporous anomalies (for lack of any better description) which appeared only in the pictures I took, but could not be seen by any of us. We heard no voices, we saw no insidious specters dragging chains, and no one ended up spewing green stuff from their mouths while shouting obscenities. (thank heaven!) I will say this, however.  I was told by the tour guide that they have rarely, if ever, seen anyone get so much photographic ‘evidence’ in so short a time (a mere 90 mins!)  Someone said the spirits were drawn to me and I confess, I did have an undeniable awareness of the Light within and without.  Like the Elves of Lord of the Rings, I felt the Light Surrounding me a glowing beckon in the darkness, drawing energy thirsty spirits from all directions.  They shared themselves with me and, perhaps, I with them, as I continued to thank them for what they had done there, for the sacrifice they so valiantly offered.  I did not taunt, I did not torment and maybe, just maybe, this is the validation THEY sought, as we sought validation that they were present.

It was amazing and it left me questioning and questing for more. Will I ever go on another “hunt”? More than likely. Do I believe I experienced the super-natural, paranormal, other side? Yes, I do. Does that mean that I can offer valid proof of something that has perplexed mankind since the dawn of time and reason? Nope. But for what it’s worth, here’s a few images of what we experienced. Feel free to formulate your own opinions and, of course, Happy Halloween.

A brightly glowing orb at Devils Den. photos taken in a 3 second interval.

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This odd light anomaly hovered and moved around this spot for 5-10 seconds before fading into darkness.

These photos were also taken 3 seconds apart. I moved ever so slightly to one side, but still… Orb in one. No Orb in the other.

These three photos were taken one right after the other. The first shows nothing. The second shows the anomaly I spoke of along with a red glowing orb. The third shows the same two anomalies a few seconds later, having moved from their original location, presumably, following me.

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This final image is light enhanced, meaning, after I took it, I enhanced it because of what I thought I saw.  Tell me what you think you see? For me, this image provides the most proof…not only of the existence of the unexplained, but the fact that there is Danger in this sort of exploration that cannot be denied.

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This closes the Series, Those We Do Not Speak Of.  I hope you enjoyed this brief foray into the unknown, but more importantly, I should like to thank you for sharing your experiences, your thoughts, your insights and adding your voices to the conversation.

~Morgan~

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Image of Moonlit woods found at: imageswallpapers.com

All Photographs taken by ~Morgan~

Filed under: Just Me Musing Tagged: After Life, BnV, BooknVolume, Gettysburg Pa, ghosts, Haunted Places, Life and Death, Paranormal, photography, spirituality, Supernatural, ~Morgan~

Those We Do Not Speak Of – Shadows -#Spirituality and #HauntedPlaces

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There are many places in this world that have a reputation for being haunted or evil. Native Americans, as well as other ancient cultures throughout the world, name many places as cursed or avoid them because they understand how dangerous they are, but why? Is it perhaps because these places are inhabited by Negative Energy; by demons for lack of a better name? If we Believe there is Positive Perfected Energy, then the opposite must also be true, but what happens to these places infested by shadows and what happens to us when we choose to live there?

Many legends exist of places that are said to be cursed.  Places where multiple murders or endless tragedies have happened across generations among those who have chosen to live on those lands.  These places seem to breed violence, hatred, or despair, which leads those who reside there to desperate acts, but my question has always been Why?  It seems unlikely that family after family, spanning dozens and perhaps hundreds of years, should experience traumatic deaths, illnesses, and other losses; or that violent choices or activities should be the actions of persons who were peaceable and relatively virtuous before taking up residence in such places.

Cursed lands are said to exist across the globe spanning from the United States to Australia, and many of these places are fraught with tales of similar tragedy and death.  Is it perhaps because there is Negative Energy in residence in these places, spawning illness, disease, destruction and death?  If we Believe that Positive Energy seeks peaceful communication and interaction, then must we not also accept that Negative Energy seeks the opposite?  And if this is the case, then, perhaps, the pattern of these condemned and dissolute places comes into focus, as does the reason behind them being condemned and dissolute in the first place.

This may also explain why so many places linger in our thoughts, cause sleep disturbances and even emotional distress when we are repeatedly exposed to them.  Does this Negative Energy cause conflict and turmoil in our own Essence as it does with our physical bodies?  Energy interacts with Energy, so it would seem to make sense that the more frequently we connect and communicate with the Shadows, our Essence responds in kind.  If we deliberately choose to discount or ignore the warning signals our Essence gives us to warn us of the presence of Negative Energy, such as shivers, fear, physical disorientation, and even panic, will we not ultimately fall under the influence of those Shadows disrupting our otherwise Positive Presence?

There are many in the current culture who seek out these places of darkness in order to interact with, or document if you will, the presence of incorporeal Energy, whether it is Positive or Negative, and these “investigators” tend to throw caution to the wind in order to capture proof, but at what cost?  Divorces, deaths, illnesses, oppressions, and other such happenings in these persons lives are hard to ignore; as is the undeniable shift in their personal appearances and personalities (who shall of course remain nameless), but when they speak of repeated demonic oppressions and conflicts in their personal lives as a direct result of what they do for a living, a certain level of credence must be acknowledged, mustn’t it?

To be sure, our curiosity will lead us into the Shadows, just as it leads us to explore the stars in the heavens and the depths of the oceans, but in all other ventures of exploration, precautions are taken and safety is rarely dismissed simply for the sake of “getting something on camera”.  Exploration is as much a part of our makeup or Nature as Energy is and there are many of us who enjoy the rush that goes hand in hand with facing danger, but we do not ride roller coasters without safety bars; we do not jump out of airplanes without parachutes; and we certainly do not stand in front of a raging wildfires without some form of protective gear, thus, if we are going to walk into the Shadows, should we not bear a beacon of Light with us; some shred of protection against the unexplainable in order to defend us.  If we find Positive Energy, that protection is unnecessary, but what if we encounter darkness, shadows and demons?

What sort of protection?  There is only one of which I am aware and it can and will shield you in all circumstances and against All forms of darkness and shadows, but only if you permit it to.  In the Final post of this series, I shall recount an experience I had not so many years ago in one of the most haunted places in the United States:  Gettysburg, PA, and shall explain further about this Protection of which I speak.

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~Morgan~

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Image found at Wallpapersup.com

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Filed under: Just Me Musing Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, cursed, Darkness, Demonic Oppression, Demons, Energy, Fear, ghosts, Haunted Places, Spirits, spirituality, ~Morgan~