mayday

There is hardly anything more vexing than numbers which tell us nothing... 😉

I have a good feeling about this. Matt and Andy are trying to build their friendship on equal terms. I am relieved that they can be honest with each other, especially about sensitive topics. Now they need time together so that they get to know each other. I am impressed with the way Matt deals with his mother's problems. Sure, she could do with therapy, but without her being ready and willing, it would be useless. If anything, though, is to come of this week, Andy must return to Scotland - I am merely guessing - with Matt then missing him and missing him and Windy Isle more and more. But I am trying to trust the process... Not easy. Thanks so much for the three chapters this week, Tim!

Really well told, this story is. I feel with both guys. I am not - however - impressed with Tim's father and wondering if he will attend the show at all.

I have just reread the last line: "He watched the waves rolling in. Seabirds flew overhead, swooping and squawking. Matthew drew in a deep breath and smiled." It reminds me of the other moments when he is looking at the wild garden in North Africa, at the stars in the boat and on Windy Island when standing on the cliffs with Andy. It is the first time that he smiles - so a good omen.

I am an absolute fan of Maeve's. She is exactly what Andy and Matt both of them need, although in very different ways. I, too, am wondering, how Matt will feel when he and Andy meet again and how he will sort through his feelings. I have so many questions, but I know we will find out more soon. I like best your line: The women have spoken. It is great to exchange reflections and thoughts.

Wow! Thank you for pointing out what the music may mean!

Beautiful version indeed. I knew only others with a whole orchestra before. Thanks for sharing!

I don't know much about the meaning of dreams, but the explanation given to Matt sounds convincing to me. I am so glad that Maeve got through to Andy. When a writer cannot write although he wants to he has issues to resolve. And I was so relieved about that telephone call, both that it happened and how it went. I know it is unfair to compare the two women in their response to Matt's revelation. But this was so typical. The one calm, professional and understanding and helping with sage advice, the other jumping to the "worst" conclusion possible and exploding. Gwen still has no idea about what her son had to endure. Thank god Matt at least stayed reasonable and relatively calm. To me he seems more grown-up than his mother. I am also relieved by the trust Matt has developed in Andy. And that he can phone his doctor any time. Let's hope he does not need to in the coming week. I also hope that they will be able to enjoy the time together. I guess bringing "Stolen Lives" as a present for Gwen would not be suitable, but I am sure she would profit from reading it. It might her help understand her son better. Maybe she will one day in the future, should Andy and Matt end up together. Better late than never. Great chapter. And much more hopeful than the one before. Thanks, Tim.

Yeah, you are absolutely right. She is trying and she is not perfect - unlike us, of course🤪

I have read the story, but not the comments. Absolutely the making of something longer! Yes!

I am absolutely shocked at those parents. What hypocrites! What cruelty! What self-righteousness!

Gwen - I get the feeling she knows next to nothing of what her son went through while he was enslaved. I guess she might be more understanding if she did. At least Matt has shared with her how deeply he is wounded in his soul that he is getting suicidal. That worked as a wake-up call to her. I am sure that Matt does not want to share his experiences with her, but she should know more in order to be able to be more understanding. Her outburst at the breakfast table shows that she is has no idea. I guess when his father was around she saw no need to be a better parent. Now she has to learn how to be one. Not easy. I guess Windy Island has become a sort of dream land for Matt. We will have to wait and see. I am glad Matt is seeking help at last. Let's hope that she will be able to help him. And it is good that it is a woman. "It's men who have done this to him", Maeve explains to Andy. So I guess this might be good. Only four more chapters... we have known that since chapter 11, but I feel like a child: more, more, more!

Great story! Well written. I loved reading every line of it.

Oh dear, it seemed too good to be true. Now with such a father in the mix, this could go wrong in so many different ways. I expected some critical remarks, but not such language and his father's terrible attitude. Poor Tim. Now I know why he is carefully avoiding coming out. His father won't be the only one to be hostile and contemptuous.

I do not know how many times I have read this and the other chapters. Matt's emotional state does not surprise me in the least. He is desperate for a place where he belongs and a person who really cares for him. What a tragedy his father dying must have been for him if that left him so adrift and alone, falling in with the wrongest people he could find??? It is true, why should he return to Windy Island? He has no place there, there is no job for him, nothing to give him a sense of fulfillment. And yes, any relationship between Andy and Matt would be unbalanced at the moment, which might turn out to be more demanding to deal with than is good for both of them. There have been time lapses in Matt's story before, we might get another one. Maybe he gets into counseling of some sort. I hope Gwen can help him and will do it. I wonder what her history is when she is so fixated on earning money although her husband left her provided for. I am glad that Matt happened to meet such a caring and friendly person as Yusuf in Turkey, whose words helped him see the truth: That this country is not a good place for him and that he needs a safe environment and to heal. Matt has been learning to deal with being free, to take decisions. He is not yet ready to face his experiences at the hands of others. No wonder. But I do hope for him and everyone concerned for him that he will be soon. Thanks for making us feel with him, hard as it is.

Great story - I had no idea what to expect behind a high wall, but what you described and how you described it enchanted me. Blue's story as well. As always, communication might have helped in this family, Blue might have known then that his dads would love him no matter what. Even if Koa is rather pushy and seems to have very clear ideas about his son's future. Lovely ending, too.

Funny and well written. These guys must be great friends. I would not mind a continuation.

Great story! Funny, a joy to read. Thank you, secret author No. 1

Quite a few crucial coincidences here. But I like the story so far.

When I called Maeve and Andy Matt's friends, I did not think about a long and deep friendship one can absolutely rely on but more like: the only people who have helped him and whom he trusts to a certain point (i.e. more than others). I do not want them to have power over him. Actually, now that I think about it, I do not want anybody ever to have power over him. But you are right, Andy and Maeve may well have been more in his thoughts than he realizes. And on the plane he remembers them, too: I knew she’d be upset. She’s a nice woman. [...] Andrew surprised me the most. He came with me to London and waited while the Embassy got me documents. He helped me with the bank and money, then returned with me again and saw me onto the plane. He hugged me so hard. He told me to stay in touch like he's a friend. To me this looks like cautious distance from Matt's side and a lot of feeling on Andy's and Matt not knowing what to make of it. I have no idea how this will pan out, but I know that I will have to "trust the process" like Kbois puts it.

Yes, I had expected something like this to happen. With Ahmet gone from Matt's life - he is untouchable now for Matt, whose religious upbringing will have given him respect for marriage vows and commitments to one's family, Matt will have no choice but follow Ahmet's wise advice, to find love and life for himself now. I guess he will feel totally alone, adrift, until he remembers his only friends from the last years: Maeve and Andy. Thanks for not giving us more drama or melodrama, which would have only diffused the essence: That Matt has to come to grips with his past and build a future for himself. Difficult enough. I fear for Matt, as long as he is alone in a strange environment. Yes, he has incredible strengths within him, they have astounded me throughout every ordeal he had to get through, but still, he must be wounded and - even though he has become an exceptionally good judge of character, I simply long for him to be safe and loved... Thank you, Tim, for another crucial episode in Matt's tale. I, too, was surprised when I read about 11 hours flying time from London to Istanbul in my first reading, but then I reckoned that this was a minor mistake, because in order to get there, he must first take a boat to Stornoway, get to the airport, fly to Edinburgh or Glasgow, from there to London and simply from arrival at Heathrow till take-off will be three hours at least. So 11 hours travel time on that day sounds quite realistic to me.

Beautiful! Like a wisp, so light and feathery

If this is to be a story about how to turn bad things into something good, it sure is convincing!

But who is to decide? Remember what happened in Spain during the Franco era or in Nazi-Germany, when the government or a church run hospital decided which mother would be allowed to raise her children. Or in Canada, where First Nation girls were operated on without their knowledge so they wouldn't be able to get pregnant. Ideas like yours are too easy to be abused. Sometimes I can't help but believe that lives are held cheap in the US, too cheap in my opinion.

This is full of drama and threats abound. Your story is getting more and more intense.