Morph, My Story

By Mark H. Jamieson

Morph, My Story, is a short story about a girl from Oklahoma. On a trip to the Florida Keys sponsored by Make a Wish, she gets the chance to swim with dolphins, both wild and captured. It's a week of new experiences for a girl that never saw the ocean before, and the start of a whole new life that nobody imagined (except for maybe her surprisingly wise grandma).

The story is told from the point of view of Kara, a teenager facing more challenges than the typical girl. A disease has hardened and deformed her skin making her the subject of unwanted stares when in public. As she competes against her increasingly inflexible exterior the simple act of smiling hurts. She lives her life within a very real shell and in the Florida Keys she gets the chance to break out in a fantastic way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark H. Jamieson
• Release date: May 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310176265

Mark H. Jamieson

Born and raised in Orlando, Florida. In my lifetime, a rocket trail in the eastern sky has gone from an event to celebrate to a common occurrence. I am encouraged by the rapid progression of technology, as the science fiction of my youth evolves into reality.

Book preview

Morph

My Story

By Mark H. Jamieson

Written by Mark H. Jamieson

First ePublished May 28, 2016

Copyright 2016

Cover Art by Mark H. Jamieson

Copyright 2016

Version morph 2016 5-May 28

ISBN 9781310176265 (e-published)

Young Adult>Science Fiction & Fantasy

Fantasy>Contemporary

[e-mail]

mhjlaw.com

Books by Mark H. Jamieson

Small Steps, a science fiction novel set in space in the near future

Ico Island, a children’s picture book

Prom Revolution, a science fiction novella taking place on Earth in the year 2116

The Janitor’s 13th Key, a science fiction short story at a boarding school

Morph, My Story, a short story set in the Florida Keys

Mark H. Jamieson's author page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/yesdogsdream

Thanks to Julia, Sandee, Kim, David and Melissa for their help in reading drafts of this story and providing comments that made it better.

Dedicated to my daughter who had the idea for the main character. I morphed it into this story, but know that she will write the true tale one day. Looking forward to it.

Day 1 - Saturday

My name is Kara. I grew up in Oklahoma, but my grandmother reminds me every day that none of our people belong in that state. So far from our true home, forced here over a hundred years ago. Never humble or shy, she lets people know what she thinks, and loves to get into debates with people. Never calls it an argument, no matter how loud she gets. Always classified by her as a cordial exchange of ideas – a debate. I proudly wear, as a reminder of her spunk, a necklace passed from generation to generation from when we lived near the sea. The strand consists of one hundred thirty-two round pieces of seashells. A number that I discovered when the string broke, and I had to reassemble it. I ran a new string through the center hole in each iridescent front and then out the dull gray back. So now I sit in this plane waiting for my chance to find my own shells on a beach, maybe at a place that one of my ancestors walked. I can find my own, and create a new necklace from broken bits to pass on to the next generation. I glance at my legs hopelessly dangling off the chair, reminding me of my condition. Why do I even think such things?

I hate planes; to be more specific it’s all the people staring at me - the girl-freak. Flying requires me to be in public, out in the open away from the sanctuary of my home and worst of all, away from my dog - Thor. Just thinking of him calls up visions of his dark brown eyes begging me for a treat. Thor understands me. He doesn’t judge me for what I can’t do or what I look like. He loves me for me. But instead of holding him, I’m surrounded by strangers seeing me for the first time. Instead of an accepting face, tilted stares, as everybody looks too long, an impulsive pull to confirm that I exist.

I wouldn’t mind flying without the people part. I actually love looking out the window, swimming through the sky. On this part of the flight only water below, nothing to mark progress except for clouds. Mom calls our plane from Miami to Key West a puddle jumper, maybe thirty people on board for the ride. It feels unbalanced, with only two seats on our side of the aisle and one seat on the other. I keep waiting for the pilot to say, Everybody on the right side, especially the bigger passengers, you know who you are, I need you to lean a bit towards the center, but she never does. There’s something strange about flying in a metal

Reviews for Morph, My Story

[Theodore Brown · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting story, and I'm definitely planning to read it again! I really liked the main character & the interactions between her and the dolphins; I don't know what it is, but the was something special about that.

The only reason this is 4 stars (instead of 5 stars) is because I feel like the important moment - the big moment that makes this a Fantasy book - was hard for me to visualize, but that could be a issue with me instead of the book. I'll update the review if I find that's the case. Either way, I really did enjoy the book, and there's a part of me that reckons it would be amazing if it were properly adapted to the screen