Time for the Lost

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by Chess Desalls


  After sniffling and rubbing away the itch with my handkerchief, my hand brushes across the locket I wear attached to a chain around my neck. I smooth a thumb across the outside of it. It is round and silver, and the size of a pocket watch. My parents gave it to me earlier in the year for my fifteenth birthday. When I press the knob at its side, the front panel springs open, causing warmth to spread across my cheeks. Mother inserted a photograph—a portrait of me—inside the back frame. I haven’t found anyone special enough whose photograph I might use to replace it yet.

  Snapping the locket shut, I look up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Father walks into the room with Mother on his arm.

  “Shirlyn.” Mother clucks her tongue at me. “Why are you on the floor, dear? Sit with us where it’s more comfortable. To think of all that time I spent remodeling this room with the latest fashion in furniture.”

  Father winks behind his eyeglasses. “For now,” he says. “Your mother will redecorate as appropriate well before we enter the nineteen-forties.”

  Mother sighs as she extends her hand, which I grudgingly accept. I look around the room as I rise, paying close attention to Mother’s improvements should she ask my opinion on the subject later. The sofas are deep-seated with rounded armrests, all covered in fabric better suited for hanging across the windows. Their matching cushions are flat and square. None of it looks comfortable.

  I politely sit at the edge of one of the sofas and look up at Mother. Her blond hair is pinned up in the back and waved at the edges so it resembles a curly bob. Fur lines the collar of her dress. She smiles at me, her warm, spiced hazel eyes glowing.

  I tug at my jumper and smooth out my skirt, feeling underdressed compared to Mother. Yet, even with our differences in clothing, I am her doppelganger. For me, looking at her is like looking at a mirror into the future. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Surely it’s quite strange for her to look at me as well, a living reminder of times past.

  “Well now,” Father says. He swats back an untidy lock of brown hair. “I expect you’re wondering why there are no gifts for us underneath the tree.”

  His words make my lips pucker. I avoid looking at the tree and try not to appear guilty. Surely I’ve returned all the packages to the right places. Father winks again and turns. Instead of heading for the Christmas tree, he stops in front of a cabinet situated to the right of the fireplace. He opens both drawers. I crane my neck as he pulls at something.

  Finally, he turns back around. His lips are set in a hopeful grin, and his arms are filled with bolts of fabric that are worn and ancient. “Happy Christmas, my dears.”

  My nose begins to twitch all over again. For our gifts this year, Father appears to be offering Mother and me a pile of old blankets.

  Read other books by Chess Desalls

  Text copyright © 2016 by Czidor Lore, LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover design by DAMONZA.COM

  First Edition: 2016

  TIME FOR THE LOST is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed are used in a fictitious manner and are the products of the author’s imaginings. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events are purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Books by Chess Desalls

  Dedication

  Time for the Lost

  Prologue

  PART I - VALCAS HALL

  1 - Confessing

  2 - Searching

  3 - Loving

  4 - Finding

  5 - Remembering

  6 - Fighting

  7 - Keeping

  8 - Porting

  9 - Reuniting

  10 - Falling

  11 - Backtracking

  12 - Reading

  13 - Suffering

  14 - Fearing

  15 - Grieving

  16 - Saving

  17 - Freeing

  18 - Dealing

  19 - Losing

  20 - Healing

  21 - Turning

  22 - Burning

  PART II- CALLA WINSTON

  23 - The Recovery

  24 - The Invitation

  25 - The Gala

  26 - The Rival

  27 - The Switch

  28 - The Betrayal

  29 - The Overwrite

  30 - The Tome

  31 - The Twist

  32 - The Secret

  33 - The Experiment

  34 - The Awakening

  35 - The Homecoming

  36 - The Call

  37 - The Gift

  Epilogue

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Want to read more by Chess Desalls?

  Copyright Notice

 

 

 


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