The Best of Both Lives: Chapter 4 - Suspicious Minds

Greg and Liam felt a little uncertain about John and the way he has been behaving. They felt that something wasn’t quite right with him. That morning, was being a quiet one; Greg was silently reading the paper, not talking at all about last night; Liam was standing by the device, looking at it intently, while reading a book he hoped it would help with the research.

John came into the room and noticed the shift in the air. It was not like the way it was before, everything changed; everyone was silent and did not talk. John walked over to where Liam was and looked at the device. The more they both looked at it, silently, the more it felt awkward for the both of them.
“I’m going to go and make some coffee,” John said glumly and walked out of the room. Liam looked at Greg; they both exchanged looks and nodded towards the front door.
“John, Liam and I are heading to the university earlier; we have a few things we need to do.” Greg said.
“Yeah that’s fine. I’ll chat to you guys later,” John replied although he felt upset knowing full well that the guys actually didn’t have anything to do at the university; they were avoiding him and they were sending him a clear message of that.

John decided that he had to do something. He absolutely needed to figure out what was happening to him and fast. He walked to the table, where they had spread the documents with the embedded writing, and he started looking at it once again, as if he would be passing an UV lamp over it. The embedded writing, that couldn’t be visible to the naked eye, was in front of him.
“John, the time has come, we need you to return,” he read.
“What the...” He said out loud, although there was no one around to hear him.
John, instinctively, grabbed the device and entered a code. Suddenly a whooshed sound was heard, followed by a very bright light. When John opened his eyes, he was no longer in their apartment.
“Welcome home.” A smiling face greeted him.
John was feeling a little bit confused and disorientated, but at the same time, the surroundings seemed somewhat familiar. “Taylor?” Her name escaped his lips.
“That’s right!” The woman’ smile broadened. “It worked.”
How did he know her name? A chill ran through his body, opening up a flood of emotions, and in a blink of an eye, he remembered everything.  “Elizabeth!”
“The kids made contact with her.” Taylor reported.

*** 

Taylor handed John the reports they had gathered during his absence. She looked up at him feeling concerned.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take a break? I mean you just travelled through time, and we practically used the most advanced technology we have to wipe your memory and even though you managed to break down that barrier instantly.”
“No I’m fine; I had a bit of an headache for a moment but as soon as I remembered Elizabeth and the kids, the pain went away; I seem to have no pain at all now. I’m just worried about them and all I can think about right now is how to save them.” John said feeling completely determined and looking intently at the reports. Taylor smiled, impressed at the strong bond between John and his family. This extraordinary individual has just gotten even more extraordinary. “Elizabeth’s firewall seems to be quite exhausting for the kids. I fear they might soon find themselves too mentally drained and as a result they won’t be able to hold their position for much longer; we need to get a move on. The Sarusans have no idea that I’m back, do they?”
“No, I think now will be our best chance to get to their planet and rescue Elizabeth and the twins.” Taylor responded.
“Excellent, send the incognito alert to Lizzie and James letting them know that we’re on our way. Make certain that it’s discreet and that no one else has any knowledge of it; this is absolutely vital to our plans.” John instructed Taylor and the team, he wanted to make sure that the twins would get the alert.
They waited patiently for a response. Two minutes later, an alert message arrived. It was from James:
PLEASE HURRY NOT MUCH TIME, ENEMY IS VERY ALERT!
This was the answer they were waiting for; they needed to know if they were still alive and still able to make contact. John and the rest of the team immediately started with the preparations that would take them to Sarusa.
John entered the office that was both his and Elizabeth. He set his eyes on the few holograms on the left that portrayed several moments spent with his family. “Happy memories,” he thought.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Taylor said entering the room.
“No, come in.” John motioned for her to a seat opposite to him. “I was actually going to call you.”
“I’m guessing you want to discuss our next strategy.”
John nodded. “I want you to assemble a team and I would like you to lead them on a small trip back to Earth.”
“What’s the mission?”
“I want you to bring my Earthling friends here. They might be able to help us infiltrate Sarusa.”

***

A few hours later, Liam and Greg were still trying to figure out how exactly they had moved to that strange world once again. The only thing they knew so far was that John had disappeared, as well as the device they were studying. So how in the world could they have gotten back to that place again?
They were looking around at their surroundings when someone entered the room they were in.
“How are you feeling?” The woman asked.
“Fi... Fine.” Liam stuttered.
“You know our language?” Greg said a little bit astonished.
Taylor nodded. “Would you please follow me?”
They did as asked and after walking by a few hallways, they entered in, what seemed to be, a conference room. Taylor left them there.
“Well, if they were going to hurt us, they would have done it by now, right?” Liam asked a little bit apprehensive.
“No one is going to hurt you.” They heard someone say, someone that sounded like,
“John!” They both said at the same time.
John entered the room and once he did that, the scenario around them completely changed. It seemed like if they were inside a fish tank, like if they were the fishes and they were seeing other people walking around them from inside the tank.  “This will give us some privacy.”
“You think?” Greg said.
“I forgot you guys aren’t used to this. I mean, well, we’re inside a cloaked room, we can see what’s happening outside, but they can’t see us.” The scenario changed once more. They seemed to be on a beach now; nothing but sea and sand in front of them.
“How do you do that?” Liam asked.
“I’m projecting my thoughts into the room.” John laughed. “You will understand everything in a bit, if you will just let me explain it to you.”
“Would you like to drink something?” A young lady asked, coming apparently from nowhere.
“Wow!” Greg was beaming.
They didn’t have to say anything and suddenly, and once again out of nowhere, their favourite drinks were being served.
John laughed at their expressions that had a mix of confusion but of amazement as well.  He then turned serious, memories of Elizabeth and his kids flashing into his mind.
“These are Elizabeth, Lizzie and James.” A hologram with their images could now be seen in front of them.
“Who are they?” Greg took a sip of his drink.
“My wife and kids,” Liam almost choked on his drink, after hearing John’s revelation.
“They are being held on another planet and I need your help to save them.”
John paused for a few moments to allow his friends to digest what he just had told them.
“How’s that possible? Who are you after all?” Liam asked suspiciously.
“Well, it’s bit of a long story, so what about if I just start from the beginning?” John smiled.
The scenery around them changed once again. In front of them was the Universe, like if they were seeing it from inside a space ship, or then like if they were adrift in space.
“Wow, this is cool!” Greg was all excited.
“I’m glad you like it.” John said. “Here is Sarusa.” He pointed to a planet. “Sarusa, many millennia ago, was my Ancestors’ home planet.”
“Okay.” Liam said crossing his arms in front of him. “Greg, can you believe this?” He was sounding incredulous.
“We’re here on... where are we exactly?” Greg asked.
“You’re in Sittlan.” John said pointing at another planet. “But if you allow me to explain.”
“Explain? We’ve been kidnapped from our own planet.” Liam was feeling restless.
“Liam, let us hear what John has to say first, before jumping to hasty conclusions, okay?” Greg tried to calm Liam down.
Liam and Greg fell quiet, the scenery around them changed to the calmer view of the beach. They knew right away, it was John projecting his thoughts again of the time they spent together at the beach.
“Okay, so as you are aware Sarusa used to be my Ancestors’ home planet, now due to many conflictions with the Sarusans it’s become difficult to work with them, so my Ancestors departed from Sarusa and settled on this uninhabited planet that is now Sittlan. We’ve tried to make peace with them many times but each time they refused to listen to what we have to say.” John watched his friends; he can tell this was overwhelming for them. “Why don’t we take a little break?” John suggested.
“No. I want to hear what you have to say.” Liam said, he felt that he was being punched with multiple revelations and he needed to face them right now whether he liked it or not. Liam could notice that John definitely knew this was overwhelming for them. However, he did not want to give him the benefit of the doubt just yet.
John stared at Liam, this wasn’t going to be easy that much he knew, but he needed to be honest with them no matter what.
“Very well I’ll continue,” John said and continued with the story. “Sittlan is a planet that has many high tech features and facilities, it’s how I was able to develop myself and be able to do what you see before you.” The scenery around them changed, this time it was of a planet with many civilians going about their day. It looked like Earth but people were hovering, and there was a lot of communication with transmitters and holograms everywhere. “As you can see, Sittlan is just like your planet Earth, we’re pretty much the same with a few alterations here and there.” Greg looked fascinated by this new found lifestyle.
“Wow!” Greg said excitedly, he was not expecting half of the things that were happening, but it looked incredible and beyond their imagination.
“My Ancestors developed this planet in what it became today and I’m still working on developing and improving it more with the help of my team.” The scenery changed again to a more basic and simple room, much like the flat they were sharing back on Earth. “However,” John fell quiet; he started to remember Elizabeth and his kids. “My wife, Elizabeth, has been kidnapped by the Governor of Sarusa.” Both Liam and Greg gasped in shock at the revelation, “They’ve wiped out her memories of me and our kids, Lizzie and James. We’ve tried many things to bring them back but nothing worked. Right now, my kids are trying to break into her firewall; but I actually don’t know how long they will be able to last before being discovered. My mission was to find people on Earth that would be able to help me. That’s why I went to Earth.”
“But how did you come to the conclusion that it was us?” Liam questioned.
“That’s because when I was sent there I was programmed to collide with two beings that would have the most extraordinary minds of that world. You two happened to fit in that equation and that’s why I was able to find you.” John said feeling really helpless and hopeful at the same time. “I know it’s kind of farfetched, but that device we found was created using some of our best technology here. You two, although not being able to understand it fully, were able to understand most of its functions in just a few moments. I just need you to believe-“
“No way!” Liam said, feeling a little hurt and used, “how can we? John, you don’t seem to understand something, we were your friends, yet you kidnapped us from our own homes and brought us here, and then you want us to help you?”
“Look, I’m sorry for the harsh measures I took but it was necessary.” John tried to explain.
“No John, it wasn’t. We were your friends you don’t do that to friends.” Liam repeated.
“That’s true,” Greg said, “I mean, how do we even know if you’re telling the truth? You basically did exactly what this governor person did to your wife.” John fell silent. What they were saying was true and it hurt him a lot. But he needed to get them on board.
“Greg, I would never lie to you.”
“If this is true, why haven’t you told us anything about it before? You should have been able to, you had many chances, and I mean we practically hung out every day working on so many projects.” Liam said feeling hurt. John took another pause.
“Ok,” he said after a moment, “how about this. I will let you go, but before you go, I will like for you both to watch something. It’s going to show you if I’m lying or not. After this I want you to decide on your own.”

***

John showed them the footage of everything up until this point. It was like John was a camera and everything was recorded, right from how he met Elizabeth, and his happy life with her and their kids, to the point of her being kidnapped; of John being sent to Earth and how his memories were erased so he wouldn’t be traced.
Liam and Greg both looked at the footage, still feeling doubtful.
“I’ll leave things with you guys here and I’ll send you back to Earth. After one week on Earth time, I will bring you back here. You can tell me your decisions then. How is that?” John asked. Both the guys nodded.

End of chapter 4

The Best of Both Lives: Chapter 3 - Who are you?

Once they arrived back at their apartments, they felt exhausted. John however didn’t feel the same. He in fact felt more energetic and felt like he could do anything. His main concern was the device and how it worked. He wanted to test things out but knew there were other things to take care of first. One of which was telling the guys about his experience on that strange new world.

The Best Of Both Lives: Chapter 2 - Strange Worlds

John sat down on the foot of the bed while Liam stood up and Greg sat on the floor near the window. They all stared at the small device in front of them. It was strange looking, and definitely not something they came across before. John took a closer look, while being weary of not touching the device. 

The Best of Both Lives - Chapter 1: A New Discovery

Chapter 1: A New Discovery

It was a quiet Sunday, and John was feeling rather tired from a long hard day of doing… absolutely nothing. It's exhausting not doing anything, especially for John who tends to over work himself. Speaking of work, John was forced to go on holiday with his colleagues, well, his research team from the University; they all had been working on multiple devices and technical products, in hopes of one day creating a device, that would take them to any place they would like to go. His mind was swirling with ideas for his next project, but he was told not to pick one tool or he would be suspended; So he was trying his best to relax and enjoy the summer breeze coming from his bedroom window.

New Story Update!

Hey Everyone! :D

It's been awhile but I haven't been slacking around...much. As mentioned in my previous blog, I have been working with another writer on a new story. We finally managed to finish a chapter! Hooray!! :D So I will be sharing it with you in my next post, just after writing this one. :)

Exciting Update!

Hey Everyone! :D

I know it's been a while since I've written anything, but I actually bring you some good news! :D

I am currently in works of working with another co-writer and together we are working on a story. Of course I would be sharing more details when near the time. At the moment we are both just passing ideas and trying to find out exactly what we want in the story, we would then go with the flow of the story.

Writing Tips and Inspiration

Hey Everyone!

Here is a link to my other blog including some great inspiration on writing I hope it's useful!

Click me!

Note: There is a art tutorial, before the writing if you want to read it go right ahead! :) If not then just skip it and head right to the bottom! :D

Have a love holiday and a great New Year!

Tarana xoxox
Also if you do check out hte website I mentioned, be sure to let them know that Tarana or TaranaBstar sent you there! Thank you! :D

Online on Cowrite.Net

Hey Everyone! :D

So I'm trying out the writing website I told you about and currently online right now. If there is anyone who feels like writing with me come join me on: https://cowrite.net/x?sid=SmF5Qps

This will link you to the story I am currently working on! Come #cowrite with me if you want to and tell others to join as well :D The more the merrier :)

Take Care Tarana

Writing Opportunities for All

Hey Everyone! :D

Just a quick message to you all. If you're like me and love writing, you should check out this online co-writing game. It's really fun, where you have 50 seconds to write a sentence and the one voted the highest will be selected and added to the story. You can continue it with the next sentence and so on.

Here is one that I just done, it was my first ever one and I have a lot of fun!! :D

https://cowrite.net/x?sid=qbWZHT3

It was a lot of fun and be sure to talk to me if you see me online. Also follow me on twitter @TaranaBstar to get more understanding and links to the writing world :D

take care and think positive

Tarana xoxox

The Lost Truth - Chapter 7: The Griffiness (By Daydreamer)

The griffin hopped up onto Anna's lap, and rubbed against her. "I meant exactly what I said. I'm YOUR griffin. Only you can hear me, see me, raise me. Before you came here, I was just a strange egg in a grocery store's supply closet that no one paid attention to."

Anna was still really freaked out, but she kept the griffin on her lap. "So, if they can't see you, what do they see?"

The griffin curled up as much as one is able to and almost purred, "They either see a baby eagle or a lion cub. It depends on what I'm doing."

Anna stroked the creature gently while she asked it more questions. Apparently, it was part of her history. "Let me see that paper," it said, and Anna took the parchment out of her pocket and unfolded it.

The griffin got up and walked over to it, batting the corners with its tiny paws. Anna cleared her throat and the griffin stopped and began to read, like it was looking for something specific. "Aha!" it yelled. "I found it! The part after the Spanish section is all in griffin. It reads:

"...a mythical creature he has heard of in a family legend. It had the head of an eagle, and the body of a lion. The warrior searched far and wide, but could never find one. The legend said that someone in his family would discover one. They would be the Griffiness.

"That's all it says here in my language. I hoped that helped." Anna smiled at the griffin, admiration in her eyes.

"That helped very much. Thank you, uh, what should I call you?"

The Lost Truth - Chapter 8: The link with the Griffin

"You have the honour of naming me because you're The Griffiness," said the griffin while purring and snuggling on Anna's lap. Anna looked at the griffin, its golden like fur was really bright and contrasting and looked inimitable and emitted a superlative creature. Anna thought long and hard for a good name, she noticed that the griffin was a male too. In her instinct she can just tell its gender. Then her face lit up,
"I got it!" She said with excitement and the griffin jumped off from her lap to join in the excitement, "your name from now on will be Gild." The griffin looked up at Anna and its eyes swirled in a sort of whirlpool from its bright blue to a lime green and back to its blue eyes. Anna felt a little scared from what she saw but was more intrigued. "What's going on?" She asked feeling a little hesitant.
"Gild...I like that name," Gild smiled up at Anna, "what does it mean?"
"It means covered in gold, just like your fur is," Anna said with a smile.
"It's a great name," Gild said raising its chest up high to show its golden fur all over his body.

"Erm...Gild, what was that thing happening to your eyes before?" Anna asked feeling curious.
"Oh that was just me accepting my new name. The more time we spend I'll be going through many changes and obtain new abilities and most of all grow a connection and bond with my owner." Anna took in everything Gild said and made a look as though she was trying to understand. Gild laughed and said, "you don't have to worry you will understand slowly. Also just so you know Anna, you and me have just made a link as owner and familiar. My eyes swirled and combined together two colours which represented you and me." Gild explained. Anna nodded in understanding.
"Ok I understand, well we should get out of this storage place and head on over to my place that way you could explain it to me more better." But how to get out without being noticed would be the question?

Typical Virtual World - chapter 4

The dinner was delicious, after their meal Trina said her goodbye to Laila and started walking off to her home. While she was wondering the streets, she started to think about the game they were playing. It sort of draws you to the game, the different functions, options and the colours and the sorts of things you can do create. Trina never knew she would be a gamer of any sort, but somehow this game really perked her interest a little so she decided to make an account for herself when she went home.

As she arrived home, the house was silent. No one was home, so it seemed like a lonely night, until there was a little crashing noise coming from the kitchen which startled Trina. She rushed over to her kitchen and noticed a smashed glass on the floor near the counter; beside it was her mum leaning against the countertop with shaking hands.
"Mum!" Trina shrieked in panic and rushed over to her mum, "what are you doing mum? You know you shouldn't be out of bed." Trina started to help her mum over to the living room next to the kitchen and sat her on the sofa. "Mum, what were you trying to do?"
"I was just trying to get a glass of water dear, it's not so bad, it's not like I was trying to make my own meal or something." Her mother replied with a nonchalant attitude,
"Mum, you know you aren't supposed to get out of bed or do anything on your own without some help. I know you mean well but please try not push yourself. Your arthritis is quite severe, it's not going to help your condition if you think it will just go away."
"Yes, yes dear, I'll behave. Can you help to my bed?" Trina smiled and nodded.

Once she put her mum to bed she went over to her room and dived in to her bed swimming in the comfort of her snuggly blanket and fluffy pillow. As she lie on her bed, her mind started to wonder about her mum's health, about her school and then it drifted back to the game. It just made Trina want to make an account and explore the game a little more. Trina jumped off her bed and went over to her desk where her laptop was. She opened it up and before doing anything else she went and checked her emails like she always does, she had four new emails. The first three was from her subscripctions on health, beauty, and crafts but the last one was from Laila. Trina was curious to know what it was so she opened the email and started to read it's content:

Hey Trina!
Oh my gosh! You have to try out the game girl! It's just so awesome, you will love it so much! I actually think you will like a lot more than me. It's sort of addictive too and I'm already sucked into it >.< You have to join me girl. Also when you do sign up look for my name it's: LingeringLaila
I think this game is really interesting and I think it's pretty cool and release a lot of stress from us from our...erm...you know...homework..
So anyways let me know when you join because I really want you to join and it will be fun.
Take care
Laila xoxo

After reading the email, Trina smiled to herself thinking that Laila understands and knows Trina too well; because Laila realises that Trina would be intrigued by this sort of thing and she would actually have a go and most certainly would make an account too.

The Lost Truth - Chapter 6: Three Marvellous Months Begins

"Welcome to Super Grocer, how can I help?" Anna said with a smile. It has been two weeks now that Anna is working at the supermarket and she was surprised at herself for picking up the ropes so easily. Dianne was a very good teacher, she thought, and also very straight forward. She was harsh when she needed to be and lenient when she wants to be. Dianne was a very good teacher, she thought, and also very straight forward. She was harsh when she needed to be and lenient when she wants to be.
"Gosh, Ann ya don't need to beam at them that much," Dianne said by teasing Anna. Anna smiled at her the same way she did to the customer and said,
"Hey D! How's this?" She started gleaming and Dianne rolls her eyes,
"Whatever," she smiled and walked off towards the storage room. The closeness that both the girls shared in the last two weeks was surprising to Anna. She didn't realise that they were going to get attached.

Near the end of her shift, Anna went to over to the storage room to sort out a few things,
"D! I'll be in the storage room if you need me!" She yelled over to Dianne who gave a little wave as she was busy calculating at the front desk. Anna felt really happy today, nothing new happened but everything was simple and calm, there was no harassing customers, no crisis in the shop and with the other staff, a really normal day. Until Anna heard a little rustling sound near the corner where the mustard, jam and other jars were stored. Anna walked towards the corner out of curiousity. Another rustling noise. Anna flinched a little but moved towards the source of the noise. There was a small cream coloured cloth on the floor that was moving around a lot. Anna hesitated a little before removing the cloth. There before her was a small curled up ball, of what looks to be an animal. It started to uncurl itself and looked up at Anna with its big bright blue eyes. Anna gasped in surprise and took a step back. The animals fur was so bright and golden that it looked very delicate. Anna saw the little animal look up at her it was so adorable and slowly started walking towards her. Anna softened at the look of it and said,
"What are you?" In an astonished and amazed way.
"I'm your griffin," surprisingly the animal responded. Anna was startled as she wasn't expecting an answer...from an animal at least.
"You can talk?!" Anna couldn't hide her surprise from her voice any longer. The griffin looked up at her and nodded it's head. "Wait, hold on a minute," Anna said after gathering her thoughts of the amazed creature in front of her, "what do you mean by MY griffin?"

Typical Virtual World - Chapter 3

Both Laila and Trina looked at the screen thinking what this pop-up was. The friendly looking man on the screen was doing a celebration dance to congratulate Laila on being the 10,000th user. Both of them had no idea what they were getting themselves into it was something that will just draw you nearer to the game.

"Check the gift," Trina said, "I mean that is what you would do when they give you a gift." Laila nodded in agreement and scrolled over towards the small looking bag on the bottom left of her screen. There was a glowing light on the bag indicating that there was something inside and a big finger was pointing at it with a speech bubble above saying "You have a new gift, click here to check it out!" It was so eye catching that it would just make you do just that - Click on it!

Once Laila clicked the bag the friendly looking man appeared again wearing some very casual clothes with a very big speech bubble covering the whole screen:

Welcome to your inventory, here is where you can see all the items you own from clothes, jewellery to accessories, items and so much more! Here's some pointers to note about the inventory and how it works:

• To look at your clothes please click the tab that has a picture of a top:

~ This will open up several categories that again are assorted for you so you don't have to worry about losing anything!

~ There will be tabs on each sections such as: Tops, Bottoms, dresses and so on

•To look at your accessories please click the one with the sunglasses and necklace

~ This will contain your jewelleries and shoes as well as other accessories

•Click on the icon that has a lamp and sword this will take you to your Items section

~ You will be able to see the tabs for all the items you contain such as weapons, enchantments, Boost Supports, Boost supports for creature and so on in this section.

~ You will be accessing this section a lot throughout your journey.

• Click the house looking picture to enter you own home and you will be able to access everything related to your home there.

~ There will be a separate menu for this

~ This will be another way to enter your home

•Please click the gift icon to check out your gifts!

~ here you will be able to see all the sorts of gifts that were given to you and gifts that you have given to others.

If you would like more guidance please click the ? Next to your inventory on the bottom left.

"Wow! That's a lot of information," Laila said taking one glance at the speech. She read through the instructions and guidelines and continued with the game. The gift tab was flashing showing that Laila received a gift. She clicked on the tab and there was an image of a blue present wrapped in a lighter share blue ribbon. Laila clicked on the present and out burst a glowing gold bracelet. The intricate design on the bracelet looked amazing and very rare.

"Wow!" Trina said, "that looks amazing!"

"Yeah! It really does I wonder what it does," Laila said curiously as she clicked on the item. Laila's avatar out the bracelet on and there was a jingle noise as a gold aura took over her avatar. A popup appeared and it said how the bracelet was a very very very rare item and worth a lot. It allows the user to be 100% protected from any damages and it was a powerful attacking tool too as well as provides feeds and enhantments to at creatures owned by the avatar.

Laila and Trina was so intrigued by the game that they didn't realise that Laila's mum came into the room.

"What's going on here?" Laila's mum asked, both the girls jumped in surprise.

"Oh mum, we were just playing a game that's all,"

"Oh that is nice. Well dinner is ready so don't be on that for too long and come on down," both the girls stomach grumbled.

"We'll come now!" They both said, and Laila closed the game and went running down with Trina for dinner.

The Lost Truth - Chapter 5: Supermarket Troubles (By Daydreamer)

On her way out the door, Anna still had misty eyes as her family waved from the windows. She walked down the driveway, having no knowledge of how to work a car, and followed the sidewalk to a little town. Her wallet felt heavy in her pocket as she walked by several shops and boutiques. She'd never remembered shopping, and she wanted to dearly.

But it would have to wait. She'd have to catch the bus to go to the airport and book a flight to Mexico, her first major destination. Ma and Pa had given her an old, but still usable passport and some money to buy a plane ticket and a little bit of food.

Food. The word ran through Anna's mind like it was trying to win a marathon. The last time Anna had eaten was last night, the horrible, microwavable mac-n-mush. Her stomach began to roar, and led Anna into the nearest grocery store.

She was amazed at how many people actually shopped at the little place. On the outside, it didn't seem like there were that many cars. But yet, here she was, in a supermarket full of hungry shoppers. Anna hid behind a rack watching people as they bobbed back and forth between the aisles. After a while, she grabbed a basket and pulled food off of the shelves.

Peanut butter, bread, water bottles, apples, granola bars, and Pop Tarts all made their way into the basket. Once she thought she had enough food for about a week, she went and stood behind the people in lines. Getting tired of waiting, Anna pulled out the money from her pocket and began to count it.

"Um, excuse me Miss, but do you think you could help me? My shirt got stuck in the handle of the basket," a voice said from behind her.

Anna cheerily replied, "Sure! I'd be glad to help!" As she turned around to help the man, she felt the money slip out of her hand. The man behind her ran off with another as they shouted in jubilee.

Finally, it was her turn at the cash register, but Anna was beginning to tear up. "Hey, hon? What's wrong?" the cashier lady asked. Anna explained what had happened, including the amnesia, and the woman frowned. "Well, I can't just give you a plane ticket or free food, but I can give you a job. It'll take you a while to save up enough money, maybe about three months, but it's better than havin' nothin'. Come along. I've got to show you the ropes around here."

The woman first called another worker to fill in for her before she lead Anna to the back room. "My name is Dianne. I'm gonna be your boss I guess. Welcome to the Super Grocer family, Anna! We're sure glad to have ya."

Book cover for The Lost Truth!

Hey everyone!!! :D

Here's the book cover that was created by Daydreamer!! I fell in love with it! :D It's just soo beautiful and really suits the story!! :D

It made it feel so official and I can imagine it a published work by the both of us!! :D *Fan girling scream* (ok moment over now I'm cool again lol). I really love it a lot and I think you done a great job with it Daydreamer!! :D I like it a lot!!

Here's a link to their blog where you can see other book covers!! :D

Daydreamer's book covers

I just love them so much! :D Very talented work ;)

Quick Update

Hey everyone! :)

Just wanted to make a quick announcement. As you know I am working on 3 different stories (2 collabs and 1 of my own) well I have a few things I need to mention about each one:

The Lost Truth: (Collab)

~ Ok so my collab work with this story is going really well! :) I'm enjoying it and having a lot of creative ideas from it too! :D I like how the story is leading so far and I hope you all enjoy it too ^^

~ The announcement for this is the there will be a weekly release of this chapter :) As I feel that it will be too much preassure for both of us. I personally wish that I could do more but I think this is more reasonable and also given my health and other situation I think this would be the best thing at the moment.

The Lost Truth - Chapter 4: The Beginning of a Journey

The next morning Anna was wide awake! She couldn't sleep a wink last night after what she was told. How was it possible? Maybe she had known about it before her amnesia? No, it couldn't be, because then she would have started searching since two years ago. Or did she already start but lost her memories along the way? There were too many questions that was waiting to be answered but Anna couldn't bring the courage to face her parents she just couldn't do it, not yet anyway.

For the first, time in a long time, Anna didn't dream. Of course who would be able to sleep after hearing that? You've been adopted since birth and two years ago you lose your memory and you don't even know if you had any knowledge, what so ever, about the whole situation. Anna was feeling a little numb in the head from the thinking but decided that despite these factors she will still be able to put some of the puzzles together.

After her regular load of laundry and the cleaning up of the house she noticed the abnormal silence in the house. She went into the living room and saw how everyone was in the room sitting silently on the sofa. Her mum was in tears, almost, and it looked like she didn't get enough sleep either. Her dad was silently looking at the ground not saying a word. His expressionless face and posture could not be mistaken for anything but a deep and sorrowful sadness. Looking at her parents face, Anna was about to cry until she saw Harley and Tyler looking at her with longing eyes.
"You're leaving us?" Said Tyler, it was surprising because Tyler didn't seem the type to be so attached to Anna. Conner, who was sitting beside him, looked up at Anna with a gentle and caring smile. He was the only one who was so calm and relaxed of the whole situation; or was that just her imagination?
"Take care of yourself little sis and make sure to write to us when you can." He said with an unsteady voice. Oh gosh, if Conner was about to fall apart then Anna had no choice but to cry, she thought to herself. She didn't hold back, she wailed so loud that the rest of the family joined in. Harley, who was crying but confused and said after a moment,
"Why do you have to go sis?" He didn't have any idea and the rest of the family didn't mention anything. Just that she needed to go on a little adventure on her own.
"Don't worry I'll be back soon Har," Anna said and then turned to the rest of her family and said, "I will never forget any of you, you're all so dear to me and hold a special place in my heart." She turned away from her family.

She ran upstairs to pack up her things to take with her. It's finally here, the journey to search for her real parents and her identity. She packed the essentials and then on her dressing table was the creased paper Harley helped put together. It was the only lead she had and she needed it.

After one last check around her room, and a numerous amount of memorable pictures (on her phone) and objects in her suite case. She was ready to set off to find the lost truth.

Check this out! :)

Hey everyone :)

Ok so the collab writer I'm working with, Daydreamer, has made their own blog and I think that it's really good! :) please show some support by checking it out! I really like it and if you like my writing then you will definitely like Daydreamers' work it's amazing so here's the link:

You MUST click me

Also I would like to say thank you!! :D I've hit over 1000 views today so yay!! :D So happy about it thanks a lot!! :D take care Tarana xoxox

The Lost Truth - Chapter 3: Midnight Puzzle (by daydreamer)

Midnight fell upon the house when Anna pulled out the crumpled parchment out from her pocket. Both Ma and Pa had returned hours ago, and her brothers were sound asleep. She didn't know what the parchment scraps were for, as they were in pieces, like a little kid tore them apart.

Silently, Anna crept down the occasionally creaky stairway into the kitchen. She snatched the roll of Scotch tape from their pencil/junk drawer. Anna then tiptoed over to the lamp in the living room and turned the knob. The sharp clicking sound made Anna wince. She desperately hoped that no one noticed it and suspected anything. Luckily, Pa didn't come running down the stairs with a Tyler's Nerf gun or baseball bat. Unluckily, Harley stumbled his way downstairs.

His face had markings on it from the way he was sleeping, and his blonde hair was sticking up all over. He rubbed his eyes, then made his way to Anna, still half-asleep. "What're you doing?" he groaned. "It's midnight."

"I know, Har, but I need quiet to put the thing I..." Anna paused, thinking of a cover up that was enough to satisfy a seven year old, "...broke yesterday."

Harley's whole body perked up like a dog's does when you offer it a treat. "What'd you break? Was it mine? I hope it wasn't mine. I hope it was Tyler's. He deserves it for turning off Spongebob."

Anna couldn't help but laugh. Little kid reasoning was extremely simple and funny. "No, it's not yours. It's mine... I think. It's a piece of paper that I... accidentally ripped... along with the dumb letter I got a while ago."

"Oh." Harley just stood there as he watched his sister try and make the pieces into a rectangle again. "Is it like a puzzle?"

Anna looked up at her little brother, wanting him to go back to bed, but also wanting him to stay. She liked his company. "Um, yeah, I guess so. Do you wanna help?" Harley's head nodded so much, Anna wouldn't have been surprised if his head snapped off.

He scooted himself onto the sofa next to her, and began to make the border of the paper. "It's easiest if you do it this way," he instructed, and Anna handed him all of the pieces with the smoother edges. She sat open-mouthed as Harley took scrap by scrap of the parchment and put it into place. There was no way she'd be able to do it as fast as Harley's flying hands could.

After about an hour, the parchment was finished and taped. Harley was conked out on the couch, and Anna was trying to decipher the strange letters on the page. It looked like the Greek symbols that she had seen while reading a book about Athens, but it looked like Egyptian hieroglyphics. A part of it was in Spanish, and she tried to decode it as best as she could. "El emperador azteca vive en el palacio con su hija, le princesa, y su hijo, un guerrero. El guerrero pelea en la guerra con el enemigos. El guerrero no quiere pelear. Quiere buscar..."

Anna knew from her "Spanish teacher" (online) that the paragraph meant, "The Aztec emperor lives in the palace with his daughter, the princess, and his son, a warrior. The warrior fights in the war against the enemies. The warrior does not want to fight. He wants to find..."

Anna leapt up from her seat. "FIND WHAT?" she yelled, waking up Harley. Ma, Pa and Tyler all ran downstairs. Once Ma saw the parchment that Anna held in her hand, she broke down in tears.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Harley asked.

"Just go to bed, Harley. You too Tyler. Your father and I need to talk with your sister." The boys sleepily nodded and lumbered back upstairs to their room, where they were no doubt listening through the air vent. "How did you find that?" Ma asked in shock.

"I found a key, so I thought it opened your top drawer, and it did, and inside was the paper, and I had a feeling like it was meant for me, so I brought it down here, Harley woke up, and he wanted to help me put it together, so we did, and then I read the part I could understand and it doesn't make sense!" Anna rambled. She ran to Ma and wrapped her arms around her waist. Tears were flowing all over now, even Pa was sobbing.

Eventually, Anna backed away and recomposed herself. "Do you know what it means?" she asked her parents. They both shook their heads.

Pa finally spoke up. "We're not your real parents. We just adopted you. You appeared on our doorstep in a baby carrier and that note. We couldn't read it because little baby you had ripped it up. We never had time to put it back together, but we kept the scraps. All we knew was that they were important. They're about where you came from, your history."

The three of them stood in silence for a while, too scared to say anything else. In their quietness, they all had accepted that things were going to change. Anna was going to grow up and leave, and Ma and Pa would have to wave good-bye to their amnesiac daughter as she goes off into the world on her own.