Shirley Meier's Blog, page 80

274 - A Play Session with Ili

I spend mornings with Jeramaer, but today I wanted so much to be outside. I dragged Sini in by the tail, not wanting to go in. "Hello, Ilesias. Please come in," she said. "Hello Jeramaer." I plunked my butt down and then lay down on the soft floor, really not wanting to be there. She looked at me like she was thinking. "I have a new thought of what we could do. Would you rather stay in

273 - School on Haiu Menshir

Lesatren is fun to play with. She has a room that has lots of toys. Part of the room has really really thick seasponges everywhere… it's small with a low ceiling and round so people can crawl in and pull a curtain across so you can hide. She says that way some children can talk better because they feel safe if you can't see them. Min came the first time and she talked to him a lot too.

272 - The Vote and the Seals

Rough Draft 4...Every Akran knows that the Imperials Seals, gracing the hands of the Imperator… or the Imperatrix in this case… have a very specific meaning. Most do not know that even the four slender chains attaching the rings to the bracelets used to have meaning as well. Of the symbolic nature of the Imperial Seals the meaning of those four connections have been the ones least taught in

Author's Note

Posting six days a week... I've gotten a little behind on things, so I had it driven home to me pretty hard that my kid, my house and my car all need attention. I'm fighting off burnout and hope that a few extra days will restore some sanity around here [fat chance:]. Screens, and lawn and a new hen house... oh my!I am going to take a rest from the nineteenth of May to the twenty fifth. That

271 - Things Happening on Healer's Island

I sat at a tiny table in the open balcony of our room, with a glass-shielded lantern giving me light this evening. The breeze off the water was soothing, rustling in the narrow leaves of the trees all around the hostel. The long term residences in Sailortown were as open and full of plants as the University, even in the lowest, most raucous parts of the foreign enclave on Haiu Menshir. I

270 - My First Session

Gan pounded the sand once we got out of the reception area. He sat down hard and pounded the sand with his fists. "I'm going to just kill my shadow-parents for putting those posters up everywhere! How could they? It's embarrassing!" "You're famous, amimya," I said, trying to calm him down. "I DON'T WANT TO BE!" He buried his face in his hands. "They wanted to find you that badly.

269 - Signing In

We spent the rest of the day in the inn, with Gannara eating in the room. He didn't want anyone to recognize him and that night when he started weeping in his sleep I heard him. I wasn't sleeping and pulled him onto my shoulder. In the middle of all the arguing I had heard the best idea. If the Haians could bring back memories and fix Chevenga enough for him to become Imperator, surely

268 - The Memorial to the Dead

I had to grab Ili's hand and we both had to run after Gannara, and our sea-chest trailing along behind me like a dog on a leash. I managed to re-hang my scabbard without tripping over it or losing Ili."Gan, look… why don't you stay and settle things and if you want me to, we can meet up in a few months, somewhere.""We're going to the memorial, and then we get like stink out of Asinanai!""Forzak,

267 - "Come on, Guys"

We had to go to the port office to get my knife peace bonded. Minakas didn't wear his scholars robe. He looked nervous and told me that the robe was hard to run in. We all had our things on our backs and Min and Gan argued a bit over who was going to tow our chest of stuff. It had a handle and two wheels big enough to bump over any uneven ground. "How did we aquire so much stuff?" Min

266 - Arriving Asinanai

The ship we were on was making what they called a short hop to begin their trading trip, picking up the bulk of their cargo in Asinanai but the wind was against us and the captain had to go far out of her way to be able to beat against it. That was Gannara said she was doing. The waves broke so big I was nervous and kept my sword on me, and the Imperial Book in its pack on my back. Just in