Stannie

This story is about the Sinterklaas celebration. It's the Dutch version of Santa Clause. Actually, the name "Santa Claus" is derived from the word Sinterklaas (if an American or British person were to pronounce Sinterklaas it would sound like Santa Clause). The word Sinterklaas comes from Saint Nicholas, or Sint Nicolaas in Dutch. We celebrate this the 5th of December, that's why I uploaded this story today. To give you some more context (if you're interested in that) I'll list some links at

This story is about Mike. His mother volunteered him to help out during the Sinterklaas parade in the Netherlands. It's not really something he would do normally, but he has no choice. In the end, however, it was surely worth his time.

Hey Canuk, Thank you for the comment! You're right, this chapter is kind of the filler chapter, in the sense that we're getting to know more people while we're slowly approaching some more action. I wasn't too sure whether this chapter really needed to be uploaded at all, but I wanted you guys to meet Trenton, he's worth your time, believe me ;) I'm glad you liked it!

The food is wonderful once again. This time we're having apples, toast with honey and bacon, olives and white cheese. I know the combination isn't the best, but keep in mind, we're in the middle of nowhere! If this is what Casey manages to produce with the few ingredients at hand, it makes me wonder how good of a cook she is at home. I surely want to visit her after we get rescued! I'm sitting next to Kai and my mother. Milan is with his family across from the campfire, but I know he'd rathe

Pieces of metal attached to long sticks, as improvised axes and spears. It almost looks medieval. With a nagging gut feeling I look at the pile of weapons. I hate violence. I hate feeling insecure. Elisah had been very clear, we weren't supposed to leave the camp alone, and if you left with someone else, at least one of you had to carry a weapon. And you always had to ask for permission if you wanted to leave. I think it's a little over the top, but then again, I haven't seen the native people o

We leave the camp behind and follow the beach until we find a quiet spot, just far enough away from the others so they can’t bother us, but close enough to still see them. I didn’t bring my piece of wood, I want to keep that sculpture separate, which means we have to find another piece. Or rather, two pieces, so Milan could make his own. “So…” Milan nervously hops from one leg to another. “I guess we need wood?” I laugh. “I guess that’s a good idea.” “Should we find a piece in the fo

Oh my god! I'm kissing him right now. God! Who could have seen this coming? Joshua put his arms around me, our stomachs and feet are touching, and of course the part in between… uhm… as well. But, to be honest, I don't even want to think about doing anything more with him, you know? It feels like that would destroy the magic of this moment. We break the kiss for a few seconds. I realise I have to catch my breath a little. "This is a much better place to do this than kissing in the alley," Jo

Ah yes, that makes sense. Didn't think of that. Thanks for the comment!

“Joshua? Adam? Are you guys awake?” It startles me. I must have dozed off again, enjoying the closeness. Joshua moves slowly. “Yes mom, we’re awake.” “I’m almost done making breakfast. The French couple helped me. Will you guys join us?” “Yes of course, mom,” he moves around to look at me. I think about turning away fast, I don’t want to face him now. This is so awkward! Why did I even start it. Joshua watches me, smiles quickly and turns away again, ready to get out of bed. He stops

I change clothes fast too, but I bet it wasn’t such a sexy show as he managed to pull off. I was very clunky, I was cold, and wanted it to be over as fast as possible. And, I knew he wouldn’t be interested in seeing it anyway, so why even bother. No slow and smooth drying of my legs, just my shorts over the wetness. Needless to say some wet spots are clearly visible on them now. “Are we going for the walk now?” “Yes, I know a very nice place. You’ll like it.” “Let’s go then,” I follo

Kai really has unlimited powers of concentration. When I was his age, I wouldn’t be able to spend that much time doing the same thing. But he really focuses on it and probably wouldn’t even have stopped if I tell him to go eat some lunch. It’s very cute to observe, his tongue a little outside of his mouth as he carefully cuts away all the bark from the long stick we found. It’s afternoon when Paul drops by. “Hey guys. What are you doing?” “Making a fishing rod.” Kai has an enormous smile

It’s still an hour before we arrive in Wolgast, and Kevin and I have talked about almost everything already. Finally we decide silence isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m scrolling through Couchsurf profiles while our destination is slowly getting closer. There are remarkably less couchsurfers here than in a big city like Hamburg, but still I find twenty-nine. Let’s hope at least one of them replies positively. I guess I can always stay at Kevin’s, but I’m not so sure about that. For some reaso

It’s late when Milan and I are sitting on the same stone we sat on yesterday while watching the disappearing sun. We just had the funeral of Kai’s granddad. It was very weird, I can say that much. Almost all of us believe we will get rescued soon, but it is warm out here and leaving the body unburied would be… weird. And smelly, of course. So, everyone knew he had to be buried, and yet that feels so definite. It seems as if we’re admitting and committing to being stuck out here. I think Milan is

Yes, as I said, I never really consciously labeled him being either a sociopath or autistic, I just never thought abou it. Your explanation does make sense, so I'll look into it. Him leaving everyone is with second thought, however, and him trading his friends with others who fit his needs better, will be dwelled on in the future chapters. I'm not very knowledgable when talking about someone being a sociopath, but as I look at it now he purposedly took the role of one because he simply didn't want to deal with life. But, I tend to tell myself "let your characters live their own life", so we'll see what'll happen. I am very curious what you'll think about Adam in the second book! Finally, I can tell you I had this Freudian view in mind when writing the story and the lack of a fatherly figure in his life is a thought-out concept. Cya in furute chapters! Stannie

Yes, well, it could be that or the role his brother plays in his life. Adam doesn't have a father and his mother is working a lot, so a huge part of his life it was his brother whp was the one watching over him. But I like the way you think, I never considered it that way, but I surely will now.

Daniel drops me off at a gas station and it only takes me twenty minutes to find another ride. It’s a dude who looks a little bit shady, but I don’t necessarily feel unsafe. He drives a pickup truck and I guess he’s middle eastern. I’m uncertain as to whether I want to be with him in a car, but he says he’s going to Hamburg, so it would be great to tag along. I don’t want him to see my doubt,, so I get into the car. This time I make sure to leave my bag outside until I’m in the car myself. I als

Yes, but I don't want cliffhangers to become cliché and this isn't a cliffhanger that will be resolved anytime soon. I just want every chapter to be worth reading for at least oen thing, and as this chapter isn't tackling any really interesting topic, apart from the survival strategy, a real introduction to some of the other characters and the introduction of Tom, I decided to show you guys a little bit of the future I hope that didn't overdo it.

“Ryan, would you be so kind as to help this old woman move this log?” “Of course, Margareth.” I give her one of my famous smiles. I drag the log towards an empty spot next to another log. We’re making a circle of logs around the remains of the fire from last night. All the logs are big enough to sit on comfortably, so they will be our chairs for now. I wonder if we’re going to keep them here to have some kind of meeting area to chat with others, or if we’re going to put them on the fire toni

OMG, it's the real Parker Owens? I love A to Z! Thank you so much for your reply! It took me a long time to write this poem, as it was a controversial topic of course. I didn't do anything with the poem for a few years, but found it a few days ago by accident and I thought it was a poem (and story behind it) worth sharing.

I tried to imagine, our space having no end. But, unfortunately, it’s not how it’s meant. My brain is still not able, to think about a border. Just the fact things end, is cause of my sleep disorder. That’s why I believed, in the magic world of endlessness. But that would be as lonely, as a world of friendlessness. Although I won’t admit it, it’s the end of things that scares me most. But I do know that endlessness, is

You can never really predict what happens next.... suuuure. Thanks for the comment!

“What are you smiling about?” I look at my uncle, then at the rest of my family, finally back at the screen of my phone. I’m chatting with a boy. My boyfriend! He literally just asked if I wanted to call him my boyfriend. Of course I’m smiling! “Oh, nothing, I just saw a funny picture.” “You have been awfully happy these days, Adam.” He had that sincere tone in his voice. “It’s nice to see you this content. I don’t know who she is, but I like her already.” I like that remark, but ha

I'm glad you're loving it! I think I'm going to alternate between uploading a chapter for this story and for "Running from Life" (part 2 of the series "The Anonymous Blogger"), so you'll have to wait a few days for the update.

I'm writing right now! I'm really into it again and I really want to continue with this story too. I hope you like it so far! Thanks for the comment.

Yes. I really didn't know how to continue this story (or any story of my stories in general). Then I read "the catcher in the rye" again, and it lifted my writer's block immediately! I decided to change my style, and as the story just started I thought I could do that. Isn't it annoying? Doesn't it feel too different from the first chapters?