This blog tour brings very special people together. People who would never normally meet. Continuing on our theme of delving deep into the psyche of our characters from the forthcoming Christmas anthology - A Season to Remember - today we will visit two women from very different worlds, very different times. There's Kitty from Dugong Point; and there's Andra from the spaceship Bluefire. What could these women ever have in common?
Captain Andra Veluthian stared at the screen. She reached forward and hit the button, zooming right in on the woman who sat in a chair high on the cliffs overlooking a beach.
Andra zoomed in as far as she could. A droplet of water, which she knew the Terrans called tears, fell out of the woman’s eyes and trickled down over her cheeks. Andra shook her head. Since she’d been with Nick, she seemed to have developed a capacity for emotional responses that was quite alien to her. Watching the woman’s sad countenance, she felt a growing melancholy within her own body.
“This can’t be happening.” She switched off the screen, and the woman disappeared. Annoyed with herself for showing such softness, she stomped off to the bridge, hoping that there was something more exciting to see than a Terran displaying that very human trait.
The bridge was deserted. A soft blue luminosity from the instrument panels caused an eerie glow. She looked out the main window and saw the magnificent sight of planet Earth, suspended gracefully in space. Her heart turned over. Damn! She couldn’t stop thinking about the sad old woman.She reached out and hit a button. The monitor jumped to life. With the turn of a few knobs, she zoomed back in. The woman still sat there, her face shiny from tears. Andra compressed her lips,
reached across, and pressed the sonar-linguistic button.
“Hello. What’s wrong?” Even to her own ears, she sounded comforting—a trait not natural to Gravlarians.
The woman jumped, then squinted, looking intently at the Bluefire which must look like a very bright star to someone down on Earth.
Andra swallowed hard to rid her throat of the lump that had formed. “Tell me about Billy?”
The old woman started to speak, but her words faded in Andra’s head, instead replaced by her own monologue. Since she and Nick had fallen in love, her whole perspective on Earthlings had changed. Once derided by Gravlarians for their strange, emotion-ruled lives, she now marvelled at how the Earthlings managed to infuse emotions into everything they did.
Even this little ritual they called Christmas brought out the very best in whole communities. They shared meals together, shared religious festivities, and the quaint little habit of sharing gifts was, well, delightful. Suddenly she felt so enriched by the Earthling’s emotional ways, that she wondered how her own race – the Gravlarians – had ever survived without the warmth of touch and love in their lives.
She blinked, noticing that the old lady was smiling. “I feel so very much better for having told you all about my Billy. Thank you.” Her smile broadened. “And Merry Christmas.”
Andra wiped a tear from her eye. “Merry Christmas to you too.”
Thank you to Susanne Bellamy, author of A Touch of Christmas, for contributing to this very special and exclusive micro-story of the meeting of two of our characters, Kitty and Andra.
On November 28th, you'll be able to download your free gift copy of A Season to Remember, and enjoy four stories full of romance, adventure, love, and Christmas. Stay tuned for the download link.
Ooh hoo..can't wait girls xxx
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