Starr: A Novella

By Lorraine L. Hayden

Dr. Starr Mathews is a highly driven woman, married to her career. Fiercely independent and only believes in the explainable. One morning, she wakes up on a beach, and her future is forever changed. And in this future, she has no choice but to confront her past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lorraine L. Hayden
• Release date: May 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215138403

Lorraine L. Hayden

Lorraine L. Hayden grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City. She now resides in Syracuse, New York. A mom of four adult sons, a teenage daughter and a French Bulldog named Lexie, she is grateful for the loving relationships in her life that have helped her to grow as a person. She is an avid reader of speculative fiction and dabbles in the world of writing and storytelling.

Book preview

Prologue

Six-year-old Starr Mathews lays in her bed, a thin blanket draped over her tiny body, trying to stay warm in the frigid December air. Though the windows in her small apartment were shut tight, a slight draft still managed to find its way in, making her shiver and her teeth chatter. Her mother, Nina, had been unable to pay the rent, and the landlord had shut off the heat.

In the room's darkness, Starr closed her eyes and tried to escape the chill in her bones. Images of faraway lands danced across her mind, and Starr knew she was dreaming. In her dream, Starr was flying over herself, looking down at the little girl in the bed beneath her. It felt like she was a bird, soaring through the night sky, out of reach of the cold and loneliness that gripped her during the day.

Starr had these dreams often, and they were always of different places—places she had never been but which felt familiar all the same. She dreamt of warm oceans and golden sand, forests full of exotic plants and creatures, and cities gleaming in the night sky like jewels. Starr felt a sense of freedom in these dreams that she couldn't find in her waking life.

When she awoke, she could still feel the warmth of the rivers and the tender embrace of the sun, as if she had been there. Her dreams were more than just fantasies; they were like a window into another world full of possibilities and adventure. As Starr lay there, tightly hugging Rosco, her stuffed bear, she suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over her. It was as if a warm breeze had swept through the room and settled on her skin.

Slowly opening one eye, Starr gasped as she realized something magical was happening. The world around her shimmered and glowed with an ethereal light that seemed to pulse with energy.

Panicking slightly at first, Starr couldn't believe what she was seeing. Had some kind of magic spell been cast on her? Was this just another part of yet another vivid dream?

But no – this wasn't any sort of illusion or trickery. As the sparkling lights swirled around the room like fireflies in a summer night sky, it dawned on Starr: She was experiencing something out-of-this-world!

Starr's eyes widened as she took in the sight outside as she looked towards the window of her room. In awe at every new discovery expanding before their eyes, she got up from bed curiously, reaching for everything coming into contact. She touched the walls, the bed, and even her stuffed bear, Rosco, but everything around her seemed to pulse with an energy she had never felt before. The cityscape she was familiar with was gone! Gone were the basketball court and park. Gone were the other apartment buildings and bodegas.

The world beyond looked completely different from what it usually did. The trees were taller and fuller, leaves a more vibrant green than ever before. A nearby pond sparkled like diamonds under the new light cast upon it – it wouldn't be long until fishes leaped up to make ripples on its surface.

Starr could only stare in wonder as a bird swooped down low over a cluster of flowers, causing them to explode into dazzling colors as if blooming for just this moment when they knew someone would be there watching. But then something strange happened – the bird turned, startled by hearing some kind of announcement. Suddenly bright lights everywhere in the neighborhood started turning off one by one, followed by illuminating streetlights glowing brighter from their usual hue. The sound increased, and Starr heard someone call out to the pigeon, Naxar!

The voice was familiar, a male voice; she heard it before. At that moment, a dark figure appeared before her, gently touching her cheek, and she fell asleep. He swooped her up and played her on top of her physical body. Her spirit and body became one again.

Naxar, she is not ready. When the time comes, they all will be called. the dark figure said.

Chapter 1

As I open my eyes, I see a star twinkle in the sky above a r ose hue d horizon. I am sure the sun had set over the azure ocean an hour or so before. The waves broke across the shoreline with rhythmic ferocity. I turn my body and like a rainbow of glittering crystals, the sand was hot from the day's heat, radiating its warmth back up to me as I lay there on my stomach, staring at the blank canvas of the beachfront. There are no landmarks, no signs of civilization in any direction. I know I have to get up and start walking, but for what and where I did not know.

I am determining how I got to this place. Was I on some Caribbean Island? A Pacific island paradise, perhaps? How in the world did I wind up here, on a beach? The last thing that comes to mind is me crawling into bed in