Vicious-Pink

I was beginning wonder what possessed me to accept that old man's offer to train as an Esper. That would be like me, to get excited about something different, something not Karlan or living in my brothers' shadows, or Mom's shadow, for that matter. I could carve out my own identity at Esper Mansion, right? That's why I was here, at least that's what I kept telling myself. Yet, my initial enthusiasm for being on my own, for being here and not there, was fading rapidly. I'd only been here two weeks, so I hadn't given this place a real chance yet. I'd been telling myself that a lot, too. In fact, I had to remind myself all the time that I could

The warm, robust aroma of coffee percolating on the old, cast iron stove filled the main room of Thebes' small train station, but allowing it to perk any longer would mean a ruined pot. Rufus jumped from his notes-taking position next to the telegraph and almost bumped into Frank as he rounded the old man's table, giving the stove and his coffee the moment's priority. Frank grumbled and smoothed out his copy of The Rocky Mountain News, which had been folded over once by the wind gust from Rufus's mad dash for caffeine. "That's your second pot," said Frank. "At this rate you'll be made of coffee. 'Sides, ain't you s'posed to be a tea drinker?

"Where've you been?" asked Aida as Kay pulled the truck into the garage. Kay noted the usual look of reproach plastered to her sister's face. Aida's worn-out expression was always accompanied by a stern lecture; Kay watched as her sister took in a very deep breath. Here it comes, Kay thought. "If you needed to get something from town, you should have at least taken Carmen with you! For goodness sake, Kay, if you'd been gone any longer Father surely would have shut down the entire town until you reappeared!" "You worry too much," Kay said, rather dismissively, stepping on her skirt as she climbed out of the truck and tumbled to the ground wit

It was around noon on a chilly January day in the town of Thebes, Colorado; the perfect place for a midday meal was the general store just down the street from the train station. The lunch counter was tucked into the back half of the store, away from the repeated bursts of cold air anytime the front door opened. The store's biggest radiator was also near the counter, and it was good for business. On the coldest days customers found themselves lingering around its warmth. Eventually eyes would wander over to the chalkboard menu of the day's enticing specials, and oh, wouldn't a cup of cocoa be nice and toasty, too? Two of the general store's

Kain couldn't deny that Piata was a beautiful city at night, no matter how much he groused about its pretentious "east coast snobs" for inhabitants and the way they lived in the past, constantly conjuring up nostalgia for its days as a bustling spaceport city. It made his time there quite unbearable, and he often overlooked some of the city's finer features, such as the river walk and surrounding park. Piata's view of the sky was so clear; Kain could count many more stars than he could while living in crowded Paseo, or even on Roron Peninsula, where the extremely muggy air obscured much of the view. Piata's river, really a man-made moat for