Aditus

For the umpteenth time I looked at the clock on my nightstand: only three minutes later than last time. It was fucking 5:13 am and I was wide awake. Why couldn’t I sleep? I should feel relieved, elated even. I did what Ruth said: I told someone – if only my laptop Zach – the whole mess. Why did I still feel like shit, even after I'd finished the fucking final chapter of the fucking journal? Actually, I felt more like shit than I had before. I needed to stop thinking ‘fucking’ and ‘shit’ every

Johnny Cash like made me grin, but the actual song was hilarious. I pictured Donovan singing it and the audience catching on, no wonder he won. Great idea Bill.

A lovely story, Wayne. When the world crashes around us, don't we wish for such an ending? As long as there's hope...I'm so glad it ended well for Mike.Thanks for sharing.

I liked the characters, especially their conversations/banter. Why the bio weapon was developed and how it was spread was plausible. As a non American I got a little lost in the description of their travel route. Do I really need this information? I was tempted to grab a map. A little more emotions, for example to explain the development of their relationship or what they thought of the horrors they must have encountered during their journey, would have helped to feel/connect with the MC's. But maybe that's just me, I love to read/write this stuff. I'd love to read an expanded version of this story. I really like the setting and the idea. Well done.

I won't even start to speculate: 'What now with the girl friend gone?' It's always interesting how some people come out with their 'opinions' when they think the coast is clear. And to think Rob would listen to them or possibly agree. Anyway, I can see there is much potential in this new development.

Okay. Let's see: With cats it's just like us, we don't have the same personalities either. Every Other gets guardians of some kind, and Max loves cats. Which answers the next questions, every animal could become a guardian. Well, I guess it was sheer luck he already had a cat door - or kismet? An Other is the other half of a warlock *snicker*, something like a mate, but never a magic person, that's why they're called Other. And no, they don't care about gender as Lox explained to Toto: He first thought his Other was the woman living on the first floor. And yes, here in Germany we have something called Advent Calender: starting with December the first, every day we open little presents until Christmas Eve. This makes it easier to wait for Santa. I'm glad you love it. Thanks, Irri!

That he is, LOL.Thank you very much for your kind words, Ron.

Yes, yes you were right! LOLI'm glad you like the end product. Thanks, Cole.

While I wrote this I actually thought you would say exactly this about the cut vs potted Christmas tree. lol Technically you're right of course, still some people prefer not to throw away their tree, but plant it in their garden. This will lead to their very own tree farm though, if they do that every year.As a child I hated Anderson's stories, too sad for my taste. My cats stole my macadamia nut cookie today. Thanks for your review, Tim.

You're welcome! Maine Coon are very large cats, the perfect guardians. I read somewhere write what you know, although I do not entirely agree, I know about talking to myself. I do that a lot. Thank you Carlos!

The Land Rover reminded me of my 1979 VW Bus. *sigh* When they go the way of all cars, they take a piece of us with them, at least those with names. Thanks for this story, Sasha. I can't say I enjoyed it but I loved reading it. It made me feel alive.

I enjoyed the story and loved reading more about those two. I guess not only love is blind but the eyes of the overworked too. I'm glad they worked it out.

I love this sentence, it sums up everything that happened nicely. How you correlated the the preparation of meat, and the neurological reaction of anger to the anthology theme was really great and unusual. The little view into a better future for Marc was the icing on the cake. Irri is right, this is one of your best stories.

What a nice surprise! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the blog yesterday. Thank you to everyone involved, it looks really good. And tonight I can finally start with A...or R?

I'm glad you liked Toto and Plato as I took my own cats as role models. And although it was more important they found love, I prefer to believe in the same out come as you.Thank you for your nice comment, Gene!

I'm glad you enjoyed the story, Damy! 'power - lost or gained - in not whats important here' Yes that's exactly what I wanted to convey with not writing about the result of the bonding. Thank you!

Surprise! LOL Thank you Gary! What a lovely review! That was exactly what I wanted to do: surprise the reader with an unexpected turn. Yay!

Thanks avidreader! I hope you being intrigued won at the end.

When I write a story for the anthologies, I sometimes try to do things a bit different, test things out. After the introduction of the characters and their general situation, this time I wanted to set mere spotlights on conversations and events that helped their relationship to progress. So you're right it looks a little like a sketch of a story, but was meant to emphasize on the events.Thanks, Puppilull.

November 24th Max sat in his car, watching white flurries gliding down the windshield, melting into drops of water, only to freeze again on the cold metal. The lights of the streetlamps blurred as the snow came down harder and harder. He didn’t want to go outside, but when the cold crept up his legs, the dying snowflakes rapidly lost their fascination in favor of the promise of warmth at his apartment. That and Aristoteles and Plato are probably wondering where the heck their can opener is. S

Every night since the first day of December, Max's cat Aristoteles comes home with a blue, velvet pouch around his neck. Who is the person behind this special advent calendar and what will happen on Christmas Eve?

I am impressed. I'm not saying you're right, nor am I saying you're wrong. This just is a very well-grounded, thought out analysis. And I totally agree with you on the last sentence.Thank you so much, Tim.

Only turning tables isn't Jonah's thing. Flight or fight can only be answered on one way: Flight.Thank you and I try.

Yes, Jonah has every reason to run away. It was indeed a horrible thing to say. Time to move on. Thanks, Dave.

Thank you Cole! Now that he has relived all this, it's time to move, I guess.