jOvian veiL: Middle of the Mist

By Kurtis Rinas

'jOvian veiL - Middle of the mist' recounts the chilling tale of a dream had by the author.
For as long as Brandon can remember there have been rumours of the world's rarest flower, the Middlemist red, growing on a nearby island close to his sleepy coastal town. His grandmother, Norma, has always wanted to see it in full bloom but has never made a point of crossing it off her bucket list.
Brandon seizes the opportunity to fulfill one of her wishes and escorts her, along with his father Nick, on a fun daytrip to see if they can make some lasting memories. The trio embarks on a journey to the remote rocky outcropping on a misty day, full of hope and enthusiasm, but everything isn't as it seems on this island. The group uncovers more than they expected and are forced to fight for their survival in the middle of the mist.
'jOvian veiL' started out as multifaceted project that allowed the reader to immerse themselves in the storytelling of a Science Fiction Novella (Series) but also experience the story from the author’s musical perspective (Hard Rock Album). Each chapter of the book has an associated track that corresponds to a mood, feeling or setting in the book (both written and played by the author).
‘jOvian veiL' has since expanded the concept of this project to allow for a divergence from the original Novella Series, to allow the author to explore and recount more tales that may not follow the original series. ‘jOvian veiL – Middle of the Mist’ is the first short story (and single) that uses the same multifaceted approach but is completely separate from the series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kurtis Rinas
• Release date: May 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781775122241

Kurtis Rinas

Kurtis Rinas is the author of the 'jOvian veiL' science fiction novella series and is also a multi-instrumentalist in the 'jOvian veiL' band.

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jOvian veiL - Middle of the Mist

Published by Kurtis A. Rinas at Smashwords in 2019

Copyright Kurtis A. Rinas 2019

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Ver. 2019-05-04

Table of Contents

Middle of the Mist

About jOvian veiL

Acknowledgements

Middle of the Mist

The early morning mist lingered in the air like a thick blanket hung out to dry. Norma shielded her head from the cool damp air with the hood of her jacket as the sound of a boat motor hummed in the background. She was advanced in age and had only recently begun to make a point of knocking off items on her bucket list, the most recent being to get a chance to look at a Middlemist red in bloom, the rarest flower in the world. She didn’t have the financial means to travel across the country to see one in person, but rumour had it that a little rock island just outside the harbour of her small coastal town grew one every now and then. There was no good explanation as to why they would suddenly appear since the conditions weren’t ideal for growing anything, and there was likely no seed source. Some stories had it that a boat from South America, loaded with exotic flower seeds from the Orient had sunk off the coast in a horrendous crash, and that the ancient seeds would sporadically wash ashore after the sunken cargo hold started to deteriorate. No boat wreckage from that time era had ever been found though, but the rumours remained nonetheless. Others believed that the flowers were a hoax; transplanted there by some of the locals in an effort to create a viral-sensation to boost local tourism. Despite the outlandish tall tales, and the near absolute certainty that there was nothing to see, Norma had mentioned her wish to her grandson, Brandon, and before she knew it, they were headed to the remote outcropping.

Brandon slowly navigated his small fishing boat from of the marina and out into the open water of the harbour. Visibility was poor so they moved ahead at a slow pace.

Are you comfortable back there, Grandma? Brandon asked as he turned around slightly to get a better look at how she was doing.

Ohh… I’m doing alright. Norma replied without a very convincing tone.

Ok you let me know if it gets too cold for ya, I brought extra blankets just in case. It's not a great day for boating so it’ll probably take us a little longer than usual to get there.

Well, good thing I brought my heavy jacket then she replied as she chuckled.

Nick was Brandon’s father, and he had come along for the ride as well; he too had always wanted to see the Middlemist red, but he was much more passionate about looking for birds, and was curious to see if he could spot any new species on the rocky outcropping. Though with the visibility being as poor as it was, he wasn’t sure that would happen. But it didn’t matter; he enjoyed hanging out with his son and was glad to get out for a ride.

Brandon took his right hand off the throttle and picked up the thermos with the tea his youngest daughter had made for him before they left. She had wanted to join them as well, but she had dance class later in the day so she wasn't able to join.

"On days like this, I’m really