A wall of motion, sound, heat and light hit Maia as she opened the door. The change from the snow and wind outside sent her stumbling backwards a few steps, Maia grabbed the doorframe with her right hand to steady herself. A number of people seated near the door had looked up when the door opened, bringing with it a sudden drop in temperature, “Maia,” a large burly man, said, rising from his chair, he stepped toward Maia still standing in the doorway, his hair and beard long and grizzly like a dark lion mane.
Several more people looked toward the door at the sound of her name, two more men and one of the women nearest the door rose and moved towards her. Maia smiled, stepping into the warmth and light. She slung the cloak from her shoulders, the burly man took it from her and moved to close the inn door.
“Welcome home Maia,” said the woman as she moved in and hugged Maia round the shoulders, a large moonstone shone bright in the candlelight from a clasp in her golden hair.
“Chloe,” Maia said as she returned the hug.
The hug was broken suddenly as the burly man returned, swinging Maia into a fierce bear hug that lifted her off her feet. “Girl, you’ve been away too long.”
Maia laughed as she hugged him fiercely in return, “Caleb, it is good to see you, all of you,” she said, sweeping her hand in a motion that included the entire room.
Cries of “Maia” and “welcome home” filled the air as the group around Maia increased as more people wandered over to join in the growing group near the door. They laughed with Maia as Caleb swung her around in a mock dance step and stood her firmly on the ground once more. A tall slender woman had joined Chloe, her hair was also long and golden, hanging in waves down her back. “Mother,” Maia moved towards the woman with a smile.
“Welcome home child,” Cerise smiled and kissed Maia on the cheek. Maia smiled in return, “mother,” she said.
“Come girl, sit, you must be tired,” Caleb took Maia’s hand and pulled her through the group of well wishes to a nearby table. Maia sank gratefully into a chair.
A plate piled high with lamb, mashed potato and green beans and liberally covered with thick gravy was placed on the table, Maia looked up and smiled at the large man that stood at the end of the table, smiling down at her.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
well, updates. yes i did say that i would do that didn't i, at some point when i had the chance. what is it i hear you say, that you do that keeps you away from your blog?
well, the thing is, not a whole heap, i am just lazy to be fair. ah well, i get there eventually.
well, what have i been doing, mostly working, studying, christmas parties and the like.
but there a few things that really stick out, which include.
Tori Amos, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ruby Moon.
Tori Amos, my god i don't even know where to start. i've loved tori amos for about 12 years now and i've never been to a concert. what an amazing woman. it's not even as simple as saying that she is a fabulous singer or song writer or performer, although she is absolutely all those things. she also has an amazing presence, is beautiful and crazy. the combination is not anything that i will be able to adequately describe. she comes out on stage wearing an almost shapeless black dress, short at the front and long at the back, with shiny rainbow leggings and boots and a neckpiece that is almost like something you would have seen in movies about cleopatra. she has the stage set up so that there is a baby grand piano and a synthesiser facing the wings, with a piano stool between the two. so she sits on the stool and in every song she'll play a mixture of both keyboard and piano oftentimes playing both at once, straddling the stool with one had on each instrument and singing into a mike, there is one over each instrument. it was amazing. her voice is so beautiful and distinctive and her playing so lovely. all in all a pretty incredible night.
about 5 days later and it was Kate Miller-Heidke. also fantastic. although i do have to say, in my opinion, not in the same calibre as as tori. but none the less it was an excellent concert. kate is pretty quirky too, very funny, takes the piss out of australian culture, pop music and herself. she is a very talented writer and fun singer.
and last but not least, ruby moon. ruby moon was actually a play rather than the name of a singer. it was fantastic as well. written by matt cameron, an australian playwrite. this is a play that shows the life of two grieving parents a few months after their young daughter went missing. they don't know what happened to her, not knowing that if she's alive or dead, they can't move on. its not for the faint hearted. but fantastic. i loved it.
so thats me.
merry christmas
well, the thing is, not a whole heap, i am just lazy to be fair. ah well, i get there eventually.
well, what have i been doing, mostly working, studying, christmas parties and the like.
but there a few things that really stick out, which include.
Tori Amos, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ruby Moon.
Tori Amos, my god i don't even know where to start. i've loved tori amos for about 12 years now and i've never been to a concert. what an amazing woman. it's not even as simple as saying that she is a fabulous singer or song writer or performer, although she is absolutely all those things. she also has an amazing presence, is beautiful and crazy. the combination is not anything that i will be able to adequately describe. she comes out on stage wearing an almost shapeless black dress, short at the front and long at the back, with shiny rainbow leggings and boots and a neckpiece that is almost like something you would have seen in movies about cleopatra. she has the stage set up so that there is a baby grand piano and a synthesiser facing the wings, with a piano stool between the two. so she sits on the stool and in every song she'll play a mixture of both keyboard and piano oftentimes playing both at once, straddling the stool with one had on each instrument and singing into a mike, there is one over each instrument. it was amazing. her voice is so beautiful and distinctive and her playing so lovely. all in all a pretty incredible night.
about 5 days later and it was Kate Miller-Heidke. also fantastic. although i do have to say, in my opinion, not in the same calibre as as tori. but none the less it was an excellent concert. kate is pretty quirky too, very funny, takes the piss out of australian culture, pop music and herself. she is a very talented writer and fun singer.
and last but not least, ruby moon. ruby moon was actually a play rather than the name of a singer. it was fantastic as well. written by matt cameron, an australian playwrite. this is a play that shows the life of two grieving parents a few months after their young daughter went missing. they don't know what happened to her, not knowing that if she's alive or dead, they can't move on. its not for the faint hearted. but fantastic. i loved it.
so thats me.
merry christmas
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A village, a snow storm and a girl
Well, it has been a while since i last posted. I have been a busy beaver. I will write a post about this very soon, but first I wanted to post some more of my writing.
The snow fell in eddies and flurries as the wind came and went. The trees moved violently with every gust, tossing the snow that had just managed to settle in the stillness that occurred between every gust. The snow that had begun falling barely an hour ago was already building small drifts in the dips and hollows surrounding the trees and under tree roots. Small forest animals fled with the sudden snow, seeking shelter under bushes and in the holes made in the bowels of trees.
The woman hastened through the trees, her hood up, concealing her face from the flying snow. Her brown cloak was wet in patches where the snow had been flung, despite her hood, her face was wet, water streaming in rivers down her cheeks and down her neck, pooling where her cloak was tied at her throat. She shivered almost uncontrollably as she walked, with one numb hand she held her cloak closed at her waist, while the bottom of the cloak was thrown about her legs with each gust of wind, the other hand clutched at her hood.
Maia had been determined to reach the village by nightfall, so she hurried as quickly as she could between the trees. She had been walking through the forest since day break and although she knew she should be close, the sudden snow storm made her anxious. Though night fall might be a few hours off yet, if this storm settled in, as it was threatening to do, she could be in serious danger. So she hurried, as the wind pulled and tugged at her cloak and the snow melted into her hood.
The snow was beginning to settle over the path ahead of her, when Maia noticed the trees were thinning. Grimly she clutched at her hood and quickened her pace. The snow had formed a layer over the scrub of the forest path when she came to the end of the trees and looked down a slope onto a small village. The houses were small, round, mudbrick houses, they squatted in a semi circle around an empty space, dark in the gloom. Maia knew that the empty space was the village green where festivals, markets, weddings and anything else that the people decided should be celebrated were held. On the other side of the village green two larger buildings stood, fronting onto the village green, one was dark, the windows shuttered against the storm. The other was alive with light spilling from its many windows.
The snow fell in eddies and flurries as the wind came and went. The trees moved violently with every gust, tossing the snow that had just managed to settle in the stillness that occurred between every gust. The snow that had begun falling barely an hour ago was already building small drifts in the dips and hollows surrounding the trees and under tree roots. Small forest animals fled with the sudden snow, seeking shelter under bushes and in the holes made in the bowels of trees.
The woman hastened through the trees, her hood up, concealing her face from the flying snow. Her brown cloak was wet in patches where the snow had been flung, despite her hood, her face was wet, water streaming in rivers down her cheeks and down her neck, pooling where her cloak was tied at her throat. She shivered almost uncontrollably as she walked, with one numb hand she held her cloak closed at her waist, while the bottom of the cloak was thrown about her legs with each gust of wind, the other hand clutched at her hood.
Maia had been determined to reach the village by nightfall, so she hurried as quickly as she could between the trees. She had been walking through the forest since day break and although she knew she should be close, the sudden snow storm made her anxious. Though night fall might be a few hours off yet, if this storm settled in, as it was threatening to do, she could be in serious danger. So she hurried, as the wind pulled and tugged at her cloak and the snow melted into her hood.
The snow was beginning to settle over the path ahead of her, when Maia noticed the trees were thinning. Grimly she clutched at her hood and quickened her pace. The snow had formed a layer over the scrub of the forest path when she came to the end of the trees and looked down a slope onto a small village. The houses were small, round, mudbrick houses, they squatted in a semi circle around an empty space, dark in the gloom. Maia knew that the empty space was the village green where festivals, markets, weddings and anything else that the people decided should be celebrated were held. On the other side of the village green two larger buildings stood, fronting onto the village green, one was dark, the windows shuttered against the storm. The other was alive with light spilling from its many windows.
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