Through The Soul's Window

By Gary Anderson

Through The Soul's Window is a collection of 12 short stories dealing with people whose actions are driven by their emotions and how they react to them. Some react well, others do not. Some end happily, others do not.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we all tend to be driven by emotions, try as we might to avoid it.

DETAILS: 12 Stories / 40 Pages / 16,336 words

Contains some adult themes and mild adult language

01. Playing God: What do you do when you witness someone do something so horrific that goes against everything you believe in. And what if that person is someone that you envisioned making a life with? How does that affect you going forward, and what does your reaction say about you?

02. My Biggest Fear: A scorned lover drowns their sorrow in alcohol soaked memories, as they lament the one that got away, due to a lack of commitment.

03. The Flame: A tragic event births something even more tragic, one that will eventually come full circle.

04. Anniversary: A car crash wipes out the hopes and dreams of a newlywed couple, sending the lone survivor on a year-long spiral of depression and suicidal thoughts. Then he is presented with a potential second chance at the life that he thought he would have.

05. Unconventional Plans: A man seeks solace from the pain and anguish and guilt that he feels after a tragic accident, and finds perhaps the answers to his problems.

06. Ghost Story: Grant Joche, a prospective buyer inspects a fantastic loft in downtown Charlottesville Virginia, and listens to the real estate agent admit to the horrific events that took place in the building, which has caused many to shy away from renting.

07. My Encounter With Morris: Julian is a recovering addict who immediately upon drying out, packs everything up and moves away from everyone and thing he knows in an attempt to get a fresh start....to the worst possible place.

08. Circle Of Life: Four kids are at the end of their night of trick-or-treating when one of them is dared to go to the house of a mysterious resident. There have been stories about what happened to Gerald, and his mental makeup, however no one really knows for sure. What young Dylan finds up there is not at all what he expected.

09. A Hero's Guilt: What should have been a routine flight for a rookie US Marshal, the shooting of a armed man running for the cockpit door turns this supposed-to-be routine flight into a life changing situation for more than one person.

10. The Forgotten Letter: Clearing out the attic after his mother passes away, he finds a letter from the father that he barely knew -- but despised. This was a letter he had never seen though, and it was addressed to him. The shocking contents will change him forever.

11. Vegas Baby: They say "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". She can only wish that were true, as the memories of what happened in Vegas, and her actions that led to them, are going to be burned into her mind forever.

12. Time Out: Roman and Margaret meet up in a bar, and once the introductions and pleasantries are exchanged, the games of seduction and flirtations begin, leading both up to a line that, at least one of them, is not sure they are ready to cross.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Anderson
• Release date: Mar 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465874122

Gary Anderson

Born and raised in Roanoke Virginia, now reside in Spokane Washington.

Book preview

Through The Soul’s Window

Gary Anderson [Author] (@QuoVadimus2012)

Miami Kaos [Illustrator] (@RealMiamiKaos1)

Published by Gary Anderson at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Gary Anderson

Table of Contents

AcknowLEdgements

01. Playing God

02. My Biggest Fear

03. The Flame

04. Anniversary

05. Unconventional Plans

06. Ghost Story

07. My Encounter With Morris

08. Circle Of Life

09. A Hero's Guilt

10. The Forgotten Letter

11. Vegas Baby

12. Time Out

Acknowledgements

Over the years there have been many people who have spurred me on to continue writing, when I often would not have the faith in myself or the confidence in my writing. It’s always nice to have someone in your corner that can provide you that extra reinforcement that gives you that kick that you need to keep going, despite any misgivings or setbacks.

I wanted to take the time to acknowledge some of those in my life that I truly thank for the support and words of encouragement that they have shown me over the years. The following names are in no specific order of importance, as they have all served as vital to my getting to this point that I am confident enough to self-publish some of my short stories, whether it’s encouragement, suggestions, or helping me proof and edit these stories.

Andy Brown, Carrie Brown, Matt Calvin, Antonia Marrero, Bonnie Murinko, Shirley Murinko, Andra Phelps, Nancy Sykes, Angela Tabor, Derek Trautman, Ira Watson, Nancy Wissink and of course my parents Alice & Gary Anderson.

Finally I would like to give an especially enthusiastic thank you to the great Miami Kaos, a graphic designer who blessed me with the amazing art that accompanies this collection, and also designed the banner for my website "Searching For Chet Baker". Not in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would have a cover by Miami Kaos for my story collection, as this is a man who is in high demand by major musicians and companies alike.

And yet he believed in my writing and my chasing my dream of putting out my work that he volunteered his assistance and contribution to this project. And for that I say, that while I can never properly come up with the words to express how much I value you as a friend and how much I appreciate what you have done, I hope the few words that I am able to say will illustrate just that.

Gary W. Anderson

Playing God

She said that killing her baby was like playing God, the ultimate rush. She didn't seem the least bit disturbed by what she had done. No pesky morals getting in the way, no bell going off inside her head saying, Hey! You just killed your baby! none of that.

If anything she seemed kind of proud of it, euphoric even. She asked me if I had ever done it, and I said no. When pressed to give an explanation of why, I told her simply, I could never have a child. That seemed to satisfy her. I guess in her mind, you had to create the child in order to develop some satisfaction from un-creating it.

She had no idea how sickened I was from just listening to her.

While I had known she was pregnant, I had no idea she was that far along. I’ve always been amazed at how well some women can hide their pregnancies.

She'd given birth to the child in her apartment, and I had happened to stop by to see if she wanted to go to a movie that night. That's when I found her lying in the middle of the floor, holding her dead child in her arms, cooing to it.

When the police came to take her away, she insisted that the child had not suffered. She had nurtured it for several days before she had drowned it, and said that the child never wanted for anything. I resisted the urge to suggest possibly childhood. She pointed out that the water was quite warm and very pleasing to the touch.

The police officers looked at each other in amazement. They say that you hear everything in that job, but I'm pretty sure they had never had someone insist that she'd acted humanely by having warm water in which she submerged her only child.

The trial didn't take long. It captured surprisingly little attention from the nation. There were terrorists hogging the front page, what did another crazy mother who drowned her kid matter? Sadly, it seemed that every other week another woman drowned her children.

When her lawyers proposed the idea of an insanity plea, she balked. She told them that she didn't want her daughter to grow up thinking that she