Virtute et Labore

(the seventh chapter of Shell Games)   The new vagabond’s mind rippled outward like a vast, quickly growing web of consciousness catching flies of transcendence, as she flitted in the direction of Albany.  Molly Connors was a living, breathing paradox, she realized: alone yet with all things.  Another earlier paradox had zapped into her brain…

Off on the New York Waltz

(the sixth chapter of Shell Games) No one noticed Molly Connors was gone for twelve hours.   Her mother came to the realization of her daughter’s disappearance only when the evening meal was taking longer than usual. “Is there twice as much food tonight, or just half as much me?”  had been her first thought, drawing…

The Lucky and the Sublime

(the fifth chapter of Shell Games)   The great town seal of Blandis depicts a man on his knees, his hands raised joyously toward a mountain with the sun’s rays shining from behind the tall peak.  The year this occurred, 1734, is emblazoned at the bottom.  All in all, it’s a very impressive work of…