The In-Between Time

By Micki Mongogna-Alarcon

Shala is a beautiful mysterious girl. She had long black hair with brilliant green eyes that look like shiny emeralds. She learns to love and appreciate the man (Yantox) who found her and took on the father role for her. She has no idea who she really is or where she has come from. She tried to get answers from Yantox, but once she saw the horrendous pain that it caused him, she decided she would try to find out the answers on her own. Yantox finds how much he misses and actually loves Shala after a forced separation of one year. He even finds that because of her, he has a complete attitude change. He is unable to answer any questions regarding Shalas heritage as he has the same problem of not knowing who he is or where he is from. The forest around the village has a mysterious course that causes humans that tread there and remain after dusk, meet with disastrous consequences.

Shala is always trying to find the answers to her questions. She finds herself caught in the in between time where she remains herself, but the characters she meet see her very differently. She finds that her life continues to be confusing. A very special gift that she possesses will assist her by guiding her to safety. She finds that as she follows her adventures to find out who she is and where she belongs, makes her a much stronger person.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504983525

Micki Mongogna-Alarcon

Micki Lin Mongogna-Alarcon was born in Michigan in 1947 and was raised in Illinois. She spent her early adult life as a Naval Nurse stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station in Great Lakes, IL, during the Vietnam Conflict. Her children and grandchildren reside in Michigan where they were born. Micki now resides in Las Vegas, NV and is a Nurse Educator at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) where she obtained her Professorship. She is very passionate about teaching. She had a Masters of Art in Negotiation and Conflict Management and has just completed her Masters of Nursing Science in education. She is presently teaching Mental Health Nursing and Professional Topics online at CSN. She was awarded Strathmore Who’s Who honor of Profession of the Year 2013 in Nursing Education. She published her first book “Micki’s Menagerie” in October 2013. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and watching movies, especially science fiction and fantasy. This novel was started during jury duty in Los Angeles, CA, when she resided in Hollywood, CA in 1992. She continues to look forward to writing more and publishing her work. She is also contemplating working on her Doctor of Nursing degree in the near future.

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© 2016 Micki Mongogna-Alarcon. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/04/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8351-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8350-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8352-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016903680

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER I

S he felt the warmth in the room. As she opened her eyes, she saw the beautiful golden streams of sunlight shinning in her window. As the streams of golden light unleashed against her small bedroom walls, the result ended in giving the opinion of the room belonging to royalty. In this in-between time, she could almost believe that she was of royal blood until she was awakened by the loud thumping on her chamber door.

Get up right now you wench, before I come in and drag you out by your hair, the raspy gruff voice behind the door yelled. He was thumping on the door so hard that it was shaking on its hinges.

Did you hear me Shala? I told you to get up now! Get out here and fix my breakfast! he grumbled. I’m coming, I’m coming Shala cried. She had not even been afforded the opportunity of leisurely arising so she could enjoy this in-between time for just a little while longer before she had to face the realities of the day. She sat up on the side of her bed and looked out the window stretching her small lovely arms. She could hear the birds singing in their beautiful tones, calling in another day. As she listened to the birds singing she was again brought back to the in-between time that was always calling to her. But, as usual she was yanked back into reality. And as always, it was the sound of the gruff voice of Yantox that was the instrument that pulled her away from the in-between time. She looked down at her tiny feet as she placed them in the dull moccasins on the floor. As she stood up, there was a broken piece of a looking glass against the wall opposite her that showed her reflection. She remembered finding that piece of looking glass when she had been foraging through the discarded treasures of others. It had been the first time she had actually seen her reflection, which was the same reflection she saw this morning. As she looked into the looking glass, she saw a small face peering back at her. Long black hair streamed down the side of her face with brilliant green eyes looking like shiny emeralds staring back. Where had she come from?

This was an ever common question that she continually asked herself. She had broached the subject once with Yantox, which brought about the wildest behavior she had ever seen emitted from an individual. She knew that she must look like her mother, because Yantox had dark brown eyes and was a very large almost on the verge of being a giant type individual with tough skin that always reminded her of an alligator. He ranted and raved, throwing things around and ended up walloping her so hard she was thrown across the room landing in an unceremoniously manner on her rump in the corner of the room. She was almost sure that as he stormed out of the door she thought she saw a tear form in the corner of his eye. That was also the day that he didn’t return until long after she had retired. She could never quite be sure why this topic created such anguish in Yantox, but she knew that she must never ask him again. After all he may be a very distant and gruff individual, but in his own manner he was kind to her. He had really never laid a hand on her in anger except that one time, which she knew was her own fault, because if she had never asked, he never would have walloped her. She vowed to herself that day that she would find out about her origin, but never through Yantox. She didn’t know what part he played, but she just knew she couldn’t ever put him through such anguish again.

She focused again at the reflection in the looking glass again. She stood and reached for her tunic that was lying across the stool next to her cot. At her touch, she felt the roughness of the material. She could not stand the roughness of the tunic against her skin. It always gave her a terrible itchy rash until she found a long blouse of softer material that was left in that place she always went to of discarded treasures. This was one of the most beneficial finds she had come across. There were several tears and holes in it, but it was long enough for her to take off material at the bottom and still fit the length of her rough outer tunic. Once she had patched the holes and mended the tears, it protected her skin from getting any more rashes under her tunic. Every time she went forging in the Land of Discarded Treasures, she kept her eyes open, hoping to find more treasures like this one. She could use more of these blouses, as she knew that the materials wouldn’t last forever and since she had found this protection for her skin, she certainly would not want to go back to wearing only the rough tunic. But, she quickly remembered she didn’t have to worry about that right now. Once she was dressed, she grabbed her brush and began brushing her long black hair while looking at herself in the looking glass. The friction of the brush against her scalp gave her a most relaxing massage that it always drained any tension that she might feel. After spending about three minutes brushing her hair, she placed a raw hide tie in it to hold her hair back. She placed the brush back on the table and took the pitcher and poured water into the washing bowl. She splashed the water on her face. The cooling water woke her into total reality. She was awake and refreshed and ready to start another day. She could hear Yantox stumbling down the hall toward the kitchen, which was a signal to her that she needed to get started with her work. She tossed the used water out her window and replaced the bowl next to the pitcher. She took one last look at herself in the looking glass and turned toward the door. She reached for the handle turned the knob, opened the door, stepped into the hall and closed the door to her room behind her.

As she walked down the hall toward the kitchen, the aroma of brewing coffee reached her nostrils. It always amazed her that the aroma of brewing coffee was always much more delectable than the taste of the coffee. That first taste was always slightly bitter and took some more sips to get used to the taste. No matter how mean Yantox always sounded at her door, she always found him rustling around in the kitchen, the coffee already brewing and the beginnings of their breakfast. She would always start the morning in the kitchen by putting out the two mugs and bowls along with the spoons, the pitcher of milk, and a loaf of bread. She accepted the large stirring spoon that Yantox handed her, and she continued the stirring of the oatmeal that was to be their breakfast. It was the same thing every morning, so it didn’t take much thinking to complete the task of getting the breakfast on the table. She had tried one morning to change the breakfast menu and Yantox even tried as hard as he could to eat what she called her special breakfast. She had passed a farm they lived near one morning and asked the farmer if there was a task that he would allow her to do in order to get a dozen of his hen eggs. The project he gave her was to clean the stable in payment for those eggs. It had taken her half of the morning to accomplish the task, but once it had been completed she proudly carried the eggs home and placed them in the ice box to save in preparation for that special meal. She had wanted something else to go along with the eggs, so she traveled by foot to the village market. She marveled at all the delicacies she found as she went up and down the aisles.

Since she didn’t have money, she decided she would make a list of the things she would like and ask the market owner what she could do to be able to pay for the things she wanted. She mentally made a list as she went up and down the aisles. There was something called sausage ham which had a wonderful spicy aroma, she saw orange juice and jam. It was strawberry jam and she knew how sweet real strawberries were and when it was spread on the bread, she could just imagine how it would taste. Once she had her mental list, she found the owner and had talked him into letting her do a task in payment for the things she wanted. He took her back to the dusty messy stock room and told her he needed it cleaned and organized, but that he never seemed to have the time to accomplish the task. She had accepted the task cheerfully, just imagining the special breakfast she was planning the next day. She entered the store room and the dust just clung in the air. She opened the back door to let some fresh air into the room. She placed a cloth over her nose and mouth so that the dirt and dust wouldn’t suffocate her. If anyone had been walking around behind the market, they would have seen clouds of dust and dirt spewing from the back door. She remained diligent in the task. She kept focused on the prize. Once she swept the place out, she found a bucket, filled it with water, and began washing the room down. There were layers and layers of dirt on the windows that created the darkness within. Once all the dirt was washed away, the sun came shinning in the windows and brightened the room considerably. Once the cleaning of the floors, windows, and walls had been accomplished, she started on the shelves. She cleaned the shelves and began to organize the things she found in the room. When she had completed the project, she went to get the owner so he could inspect her handiwork. When he returned to the room with her, he gasped with amazement. He was so pleased with her task that he not only gave her everything on her mental list, but he gave her the choice of any other item in his market no matter the cost. She had told him that it wasn’t necessary to do that, but he continually insisted on it, because he was so pleased with her work. She thought about it and looked around and her eyes fell on a bolt of material at the back wall of the market. She placed her hands on it. It felt so soft