Mia Darien: Good Things

Scott frantically sought some query he could make that was neither insulting nor condescending.

He was met with a friendly laugh.

“Weddings. I plan weddings,” she said, covering her mouth and trying not to giggle.

“Oh. Right. Right. Got ya.”

“What’s your name then?” she asked.

“Scott. I’m called Scott.”

“Scott…” The blush left her cheeks.

“Are you alright, Amanda? Now you’ve gone pale. You…you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Have I? I mean… Do I?” The blush returned to her cheeks.

“Not anymore,” he said and reached for her hand.

Amanda’s mouth opened in recognition of his palm’s texture. Words deserted her in awareness of the pressure of his fingers.

The city’s night life kicked into full effect around them.

Nyx lay on her back in the sand. The cold sea lapped near her but didn’t touch her bare toes. Her hands were beside her ears. Her fingers moved, making lazy paths in the sand. Meanwhile above her, tendrils of inky smoke curved in front of the pure, full moon.

The sea rolled against the jagged rocks on either side of the smooth beach.

Beside her, the crimson-adorned Aphrodite lounged, parallel to the surf. She lay on her side, the silky curve of her hip a beacon of womanhood on the otherwise murky beach. Pitch-cloaked Nyx was near invisible, save for her dusky feet and hands.

“You could have had him, you know. Forced his hand. I’ve no doubt you could have bent him to your will,” Aphrodite said to Nyx, her smooth elbow pressing in the sand. Nyx’s shadows caressed the shining, moonlit flesh exposed above Aphrodite’s red gown.

“That would make me no better than the stupidest of men. Those false mortals who bully and devise plans to achieve one-sided, unnatural happiness,” Nyx replied.

Aphrodite was silent for a few moments, lost in thought. No longer able to keep them to herself she said, “I know what you would ask of me, Nyx, but I cannot make the Sea God love you in the way you want. What you ask is obsession. It borders too close to violence. I can make men and gods love and I can summon the lustiest of urges, but I cannot enforce madness. If you want a cult again, I’m sure you could encourage some group of mortals. You can do what you want, Nyx. But I cannot create this…this mad devotion dressed as love you want.”

“I know,” Nyx whispered, still twirling her fingers in the sand, toying with light’s access, and making shadows in the sky.

“Then why did you bother? Such a great deed. How do I repay you? You did not have to. You did not have to care. You could have even dragged him to Hades, finished the work of your insane daughters.”

“You forget how old I am, dear beauty. But you obviously see the depths of my needs. It pains me to admit you are correct. Perhaps love is…not possible for me.” There was a pause. Silence interspersed with waves.

Then, the Night Goddess finally said, “But kindness is. That I can do.”

And with that, Nyx disappeared into her realm, dragging the inky sky behind her to meet the dawn, Hemera, in an ancient, friendly greeting.

As stated in the Foreword, all of the money that would go to the authors will be given to the Random Acts Organization. This charity holds a mission that is close to our hearts, and we hope that it will be close to yours as well once you know more. With the blessing of their fundraising department, we have presented you with these ten stories that we hope you enjoyed.

Below is information taken from their website (www.randomacts.org) so you can know more about the.

Random Acts is a non-profit organization that is aiming to conquer the world, one random act of kindness at a time. We’re dedicated to funding and inspiring acts of kindness around the world.

Look around; there are simple ways to demonstrate kindness on a daily basis. A stranger needs help carrying their groceries. A homebound neighbor could use some cheering up. These opportunities crop up every day and most of us are so busy that we miss them. All you have to do is pay attention and offer kindness whenever, wherever you can.

On December 3, 2009, Misha Collins, the angel Castiel on The CW’s Supernatural , used Twitter to ask his followers (affectionately known as his “minions”) to come up with ideas for a “minion stimulus” project. The goal was to obtain US government stimulus money (funding to aid endeavors to stop an economic recession) for non-profit initiatives.

The pursuit of government funding was soon abandoned in favor of morphing into a privately organized charity, formerly known as MinionStimulus. After visiting the fledgling website, Misha appointed Lisa Walker as the Director of Charitable Affairs and provided her with some initial direction. Together, Misha and Lisa began marshaling the forces of good at their disposal.

Since that auspicious beginning, our organization has gone through several changes, including our name. We’ve come a long way and now have non-profit status through our parent organization, The Art Department, Inc. In late 2011, Lisa stepped down, and we welcomed Cinde Monsam as our new Director.

With Misha and Cinde’s direction and leadership, and the daily attention of an extraordinary administrative team, we have an organization poised to conquer the world, one random act of kindness at a time.

At Random Acts, it’s our mission to conquer the world one random act of kindness at a time. We are here to inspire acts of kindness around the world both big and small. We provide a vast network of caring people with the encouragement and support they need to change lives for the better.

Every individual can be a catalyst for positive change in the world and in their own life.

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Each person can make a positive impact within their social network and community.

Kindness breeds kindness.

Being kind is fun!

Diantha Jones loves writing fantasy books filled with adventure, romance, and magic. She’s the author of the Oracle of Delphi series, the Mythos series, and the Djinn Order series (as A. Star). When she isn’t writing or working, she is reading or being hypnotized by Netflix. She is a serious night-owl and while everyone else is grinning in the warmth and sunlight, she’s hoping for gloominess and rain. Yeah, she’s weird like that.

You can find her at her website, on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Angela B. Chrysler is a writer, logician, philosopher, and die-hard nerd who studies theology, historical linguistics, music composition, and medieval European history in New York with a dry sense of humor and an unusual sense of sarcasm. She lives in a garden with her family and cats.

In 2014, Ms. Chrysler founded Brain to Books: the marketing promotional engine and online Encyclopedia for authors. A passionate gardener and incurable cat lover, Ms. Chrysler spends her days drinking coffee and writing beside a volume of Edgar Allan Poe who strongly influences her style to this day. When Ms. Chrysler is not writing, she enables her addictions to all things nerdy, and reads everything she can get her hands on no matter the genre. Occasionally, she finds time to mother her three children and debate with her life-long friend who she eventually married. Her writing is often compared to Tad Williams. Her influences are Edgar Allan Poe, The Phantom of the Opera , and Frankenstein .