BendtedWreath

Green Lightning was wild.

Also, I hope you both get some rest, @Cia. Thanks for all the hard work, too!

This is why I love Secret Author season so much. So many of of you got me good!!

@Cia you've been having a really rough month. I hope the next couple of months are better over there.

No one said the discussion posts couldn't go with the theme, too. @Cane23is still on brand. 😂

Which are the top 3 for you?

Hidden layers laid out with some introspection.

I am hiding the truth from everyone I know. I have a secret life that I’m keeping. - Uh-oh. Of course, the truth came out when the fire department showed up. It’s astounding that our first instinct was to deny it, even at such a young age. It was the only time I was ever grounded for two weeks. - Haha! It only takes dialing 911 without there being a real emergency ONE TIME. You can go online and read all sorts of forums where people spill their guts to strangers. - Like us? Who am I? - Written stories?

There is definitely a truth revealed here. But buckle up, as it's a very skillfully portrayed, bumpy ride.

That poor, elderly cat deserved better is all I have to say. 😂 I started the story sympathizing with Kyle and then being dismayed.

But, @Gary L, what if the cat's just a red herring? 🤣

This one definitely has many layers of truths being revealed.

I’m the unbeaten jigsaw king at the Sunshine Senior Center. - What a title. Arden fumbled with the laces of his sneakers. “These are brand new. Do you think I want them ruined by sand?” - Hahaha! Not the new kicks! “Why are there so many flies?” - Uh-oh! This reminds me of those articles of random people walking around playing Pokémon Go on their phones and stumbling across all kinds of crime scenes in real time. “Extraterrestrial beings — like aliens? We’re not alone, and I’m holding the evidence in my hand?” - Wild.

Quite a few twists in this dynamic writing style.

I couldn't stop reading to pick out moments to comment on, so all I'll say is, this story really sucks you in. The MC had one two many male figures in his life trying to hide their own truths.

A beautiful rendition of how the burdens one carries for a lifetime can still be untethered.

I made some peanut butter fudge. - I can't remember the last time I ate peanut butter fudge. I had learned two things on this gut-wrenching trip. I had an uncle I never knew about, and something terrible had happened to him. - Yeah, I remember when someone told me about what happened to my uncle. Very touchy subject. “He died because Uncle Harold shot him.” - Damn. Phineas stood at the end of the bed, smiling. - 😭 This was so heartfelt.

An excellent read.

As soon as he slid open the patio door, he saw Bruce’s body sprawled on the ground, broken leaves, thorny branches, and rose petals all over him. - How sad. His husband’s eighty-five-year run had come to a sudden end -- peacefully, in the place that he loved the most, doing what he loved. - Not the worst way to go, to be honest. Kirby sat up front with Bruce’s daughter Septima - That explains the name of the roses. Sad to see some things never change, including younger generations always seeking for the easy way out. But, a very interesting story, indeed.

Brilliant! Action-packed, humorous, and just enough of a taste of the "otherwere" to want more.

A bunch of out-of-town hooligans, that's who. - Of course. Then they charged, and all hell broke loose. - I can imagine. Instead, along with all childish pretense of being a hero, I turned and fled. - No, that's your self preservation talking. At school, the athletics coach thinks I'm an excellent runner; if he'd only seen me then, he'd have put me in for the Olympics. - Attaboy! "So Bill, me droog, 'e must still be 'ere."/I'm not religious, but I started praying. - Totally valid. "What? You really think us fifteen are gonna be stopped by you, a lanky, goth, streak of piss, do-gooder?" - Wait, goth? The raven and crows?? then looked forlornly at my sodden sneakers which had been new on that morning - Oh, no! Not the new kicks! Before he died, my Dad, my real Dad not my bloody stepfather, had given me a well thumbed copy of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.' Fleetingly, I wondered if this was my own personal wardrobe moment. - Just go with it, kid. The beating of wings filled the air, along with the joyful chattering and cawing of the flock as, with another thunderclap, we entered the otherwhere. - Let's go! This is another story I wish we had more of.

There's a little bit of everything in this one. You'll end up feeling something, that's for sure.

As in, his ex./As in, took a one-way Lyft to the afterlife six months ago. - Damn. RyIP: That last guy you talked to? Had me rolling in my grave. - Hahaha apid firing tabs closed and clearing his browser history like it was a CIA cover up. - Hahaha "This is why I can’t have nice things," Jamie muttered, looking wildly around his bedroom like the IKEA lamp might offer to throw hands in his defense./Or at least provide emotional support./Maybe a protection spell? - Got a container of salt? Should we make a salt circle around the phone? This was obviously stress related. - I'd have scheduled a therapy appointment so fast. Jamie messaged a guy with the handle NoahFromLA./He had nice arms and the emotional depth of a saltine. - Hahaha RyIP: You wore that same shirt on our first date. - Ouch. The song?“Somebody That I Used to Know” - Hahaha! “Yeah, I don’t really believe in mental health stuff,” Noah said. “Like, if you’re sad, just go for a run.” - I just let out the deepest sigh. God, I miss you./I miss us./He choked back the tide of memories rising in his throat. “I miss you, too,” he finally admitted. “Every day, Riley. I think about you all day, every day.” - 😭 Then, in what could only be described as a truly gay ending, Jamie’s fingers curled, slowly, achingly, around Riley’s. - I haven't needed this amount of tissues since @CassieQ's Save Tonight

She quickly surmised his relationship with Martin Perkins - Hello, Martin. It was she who comforted him when the telegram came, telling him Martin had been killed in action. - Oh, no! Goodbye, Martin. In addition to the Royal Family, six members of the housekeeping staff also passed away. - Whoa. And in closing he announced his engagement to Robert Trent Jr. and would marry before the coronation, date to be determined. - And, hello, Bobby. I felt this would have been better as a chaptered story with each section its own chapter, but it was still a good read.

I'm sorry for your loss. I bet she had an amazing garden.