Pieces of a Rainbow

By Maria Savva

'Pieces of a Rainbow' is a collection of seven short stories, each one based on a different colour of the rainbow. You will find a full spectrum of emotions within the stories. Some are sad, some uplifting. There are not always happy endings, but the tales reflect the real world, and the forces of nature at work in our lives; sometimes beyond our control. The stories are diverse in style, and the characters, although fictional, are true-to-life. There is something for everyone in this inspired collection. Excerpt from 'Forever Blue': '...Some people are lucky; they just carry on going, keeping up with the current, riding the waves. Others find a ship they can sail in forever; but some are left to drift alone, battling against the waves, and hoping they can get to the shore in one piece.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maria Savva
• Release date: Dec 10, 2011

Maria Savva

Maria Savva is Associate Professor and Director of the International Studies Program at the City University of New York’s LaGuardia campus. She has published widely on the intercultural development of international educators, with additional research interests in cross-cultural identity formation and the internationalisation of higher education. She holds an MA in Comparative and International Education from Columbia University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from UCL, Institute of Education. Prior to joining academia, Maria taught in both primary and secondary schools in the United States and abroad. She is a New York State certified teacher and also holds Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England.

Book preview

PIECES OF A RAINBOW

by MARIA SAVVA

Copyright © Maria Savva 2009

Smashwords Edition:

All rights reserved: No part of this ebook may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

The moral rights of Maria Savva as author have been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental

Cover design by Maria Savva

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank the following people for their help with this collection:

Thanks to Carol Perry, for reading the first draft, and for valuable comments. Thanks for being honest about ‘not being sure’ about the first ‘green’ story I drafted. Thanks to you, I wrote a completely different one, and I’m much happier with it!

Thanks to my sister, Andrea, for helpful suggestions about the ‘red’ story, and help with the final draft, and comments about the different cover designs.

Thanks to Julie Elizabeth Powell, Catherine Rose, Cindy Bauer, and Quinn Bufogle, for encouragement and kind comments.

Thanks to Sarah-Jane Webbe, for not being happy with the original ‘red’ ending. Your comments motivated me to write a better ending!

Thanks to Jerry Travis for valuable tips during the editing process.

Thanks to all the friends I have made on Goodreads, BookArmy, Nextcat and MySpace, for support (too many names to mention!)

Last but not least: thanks to everyone who has read ‘Coincidences’ and ‘A Time to Tell’, and anyone who has given me encouragement over the years.

For Evita and Brenna

with love

This ebook contains bonus material! At the end, you will find excerpts from both The Dream and Fusion, by Maria Savva.

Pieces of a Rainbow—A collection of short stories

CONTENTS:

Seeing Red

Fire

Sign of The Times

Envy

Forever Blue

Mystic Purple

Rainbow’s End

Some rain must fall, before a rainbow can appear...

SEEING RED

As a child, Savannah had loved the view of the sky at sunset; the deep reds and oranges blending and drifting as far as the eye could see. She had kept a scrapbook, cutting out beautiful pictures of the sunrise and sunset from magazines. So many photographers captured the scene in countries far and wide. She used to want to be a photographer, but Justin told her it was only a dream and that she had no chance of being successful.

Savannah turned away from the window; away from the sunset. She made a promise to herself that she would try to travel at least once this year. She missed the feeling of adventure and being far from everything that held memories, or anything that could cause pain. When she was travelling, it was like she had a blank canvas on which to build her dreams. As she walked along cobbled roads, in countries where she was unknown, no one could judge her for what had gone before. She could create a new identity and be who she wanted to be.

Savannah walked over to her bed and sat down. She thought of Justin, and couldn’t help the smile that played on her lips. She couldn’t wait to see him again. It had been such a long time since they’d seen each other; nearly four years. So much would have changed. She wondered if he still loved her. Then she thought of Jack, and her forehead creased into a frown.

* * *

Savannah and Justin first met at the age of 11, at secondary school. He had helped her with her maths homework and then they spent hours together, just chatting about pop bands and what they wanted to do when they left school. They became best friends. When her mother died from cancer, when Savannah was only 14, Justin had been there to help her through. She was an only child, and her parents had divorced a few years before. Savannah had been living with her mother. She didn’t get on with her father’s new wife, so she didn’t want to stay with them after her mother’s death. After some family discussions, she had been sent to live with her uncle and aunt and her cousins, Amy and Jenna. Savannah didn’t have much in common with her cousins. They were clever. Amy wanted to be a politician, and Jenna wanted to be a vet. They laughed at Savannah when she said she would love to be a photographer or one day write a novel.

Savannah withdrew into herself. She was no longer the bubbly teenager, who liked dressing up in bright pinks and electric blues, dyeing her hair all the colours of the rainbow. Now she was a moody girl who would always dress in black. Her mousy-brown hair was left to hang and grow, as if she’d forgotten all about it and never looked in a mirror.

Savannah would overhear her aunt and uncle talking about her, always referring to the ‘change’ in her behaviour. They said it was because she was mourning her mother’s death, and that she should be given time. They never tried to ask her what was wrong; they never tried to help her. Everything was just conveniently swept under the carpet.

Justin was like a safe harbour that she could cling to, and she felt sure that he would always help. But as with all teenagers, Justin too was beginning to change.

In the beginning he had been quite studious, a bit quiet, but always a good friend; a bit of a dreamer, just like her. In those days Justin never made fun of Savannah’s dreams to become a writer or a photographer. He would read the short stories she’d written, and say they were good. He wanted to be a musician. He grew his hair and become friendly with one of the older boys who had started a band at school. They played a few gigs in the school hall. Savannah was never happier in those days, than when she was spending time with Justin. He seemed to be the only one who understood her.

Everything changed one day when Justin turned up at Savannah’s house with a new friend. They were 15 years old, and up until then it had always been Justin and Savannah; no one else. Savannah had preferred it that way. She hated meeting new people. They always asked too many questions, especially about her mum and dad.

Justin introduced Jane as his girlfriend. She was pretty. He had met her when he was in town with his cousin. Jane was clever too, like Amy and Jenna. She wanted to be a lawyer when she left school.

Savannah made her excuses about why she couldn’t go out with them, and then she locked herself in her bedroom. She cried. She had never thought of Justin as more than just a friend—her best friend; but now she was jealous. She didn’t like the idea of him seeing this other girl.

In a few months time, Justin was almost unrecognisable. He had changed. He cut his hair and started wearing smart clothes. But it wasn’t just a physical change; his views on life seemed to have changed as well. He now said he wanted to be a lawyer and would be going to the same university as Jane. He began to say that Savannah should think hard about her studies instead of wasting time trying to write her short stories. He told her that the stories were not that great. He stopped playing in his band.

Savannah lost touch with him for two years after that. She started working at a supermarket when she left school, and began to slowly forge relationships with her co-workers. None of them could be called ‘friends’ though. She felt very lonely, and would spend all her spare time reading novels. The stories took her far away to a different world where she would get to know the characters, as if they were her friends, and she was never disappointed by them.

She used her first year’s savings, from her wages, to travel to Paris. She had never been abroad before and always wanted to visit Paris. It was portrayed as such a romantic city in the books she had read. She began to dream that she might fall in love in Paris and never return to London. She had studied French at school and it was one of the subjects that she did well in, along with English literature and drama.

She spent a relaxing two weeks in Paris. She liked walking through the narrow streets, taking ‘arty’ photographs. She dared to dream that one day the pictures might be displayed in an exhibition somewhere, when she became a ‘real’ photographer. She spent hours sitting at tables outside quaint little cafés, enjoying the scenery and listening to the conversations around her, feeling proud when she understood what some of the native speakers were saying. She ate croissants for breakfast, and took a trip to the banks of the River Seine, where she sat watching people pass by; some walking, some on roller skates, some on bicycles. Her hotel had a