The River Pearl: Stories from my Left Pocket

By Olivette Devaux

Karel's girlfriend's older brother loomed as the Great War's veteran. Count Otakar, scarred and proud. A man of imposing stature.

And, just like his sister Iveta, of...something else.

Enter the world where the suitor's suitability swims or sinks on the whim of a Czech river's magic. For this ancient river vets or rejects every new member of the family going back for generations.

This magical realism story takes place in Czechoslovakia in the time of the Roaring Twenties of the last century. In a world filled with technology, hidden magic still holds its sway. This story, first printed in the Heart's Kiss Magazine, also appears in the "Stories From My Left Pocket" collection by Olivette Devaux.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mugen Press
• Release date: Jun 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223005773

Olivette Devaux

A winner of numerous "Writers of the Future" Honorable Mentions and various genre awards, Olivette Devaux writes stories of all lengths and on a variety of topics. If you like urban fantasy, science fiction, crime fiction, and romance, you will find many a good read in her repertoire! Please pay careful attention to keywords, cover branding, and story summaries. All these will hint as to the genre, mood, and your emotional take-away.  Olivette gave up her vagabond ways to settle in Pittsburgh, where she shares a home with her family and her numerous imaginary friends.

Book preview

River Pearl

Stories From My Left Pocket

Olivette Devaux

Mugen Press

Copyright © 2017 by Olivette Devaux

first printing 2017 by Heart's Kiss Magazine, writing as Kate Pavelle

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

1.The River Pearl

Also By

About Olivette Devaux

The River Pearl

Olivette Devaux

The modern tarmac road rolled under the wheels of his motorcycle all the way from Prague to Tábor. Karel navigated the ancient cobblestones across Tábor’s city square toward the famous Hussite Inn, where he ate a quick lunch, stretched his legs, and consulted the map again. River Berounka was... this way. He’d turn east in the next town, and hoped he’d find a real road instead of the unpaved mess of country lanes he grew up with in the south of the Czech countryside.

He’d see Iveta soon. He would enjoy the way her pale cheeks framed by a waterfall of long, dark hair. Her changeable eyes, not quite blue and not quite green, eyes that seldom cooled with displeasure. Her smile was his sunshine, the raison d’etre of his efforts to please her, entertain her... to court her.

As much as he flushed with anticipation at the thought of Iveta’s laughter, his gut roiled at the thought of meeting Iveta’s brother. She thought he hung the moon, and spent every school break at the keep where she was born twenty-three years ago. Long summer holidays were, after all, the true benefit of teaching teenagers how to write, and how to read with a new level of intellectual