The story is a waking dream, in which the main protagonist, Thomas (Tom) Herman will be carried away in a whirlpool of events that will reveal his true identity...

The arrival Then the heat hit him like an inescapable steamy landslide. Thick, heavy and sweltering. He had to gasp. 'Oh my! Oh my!' he exclaimed, choking, as it dawned on him that this would be his world from then on. The smell of hot humid air, as if he were stepping into a sauna bath, suffocated him. He could feel the film of moisture spreading over his back snake-like, soaking his shirt, enfolding his body. Feeling dizzy after eighteen hours in the cold air-conditioned atmosphere of the cabin he walked out of the plane into that shockingly new reality. That peculiar smell wouldn't leave thenceforth. In time he would get used to it. He had to steady himself. The first people he saw were soldiers, armed to the teeth and edgy in the gangway, swarming all over the airport in fact. It was just a few days after the assassination. The opposition leader back from his political exile shot point blank on the tarmac. Martial law, unrest, arrests and curfew. Not the best of times to come. But then he hadn't really had a choice. Or had he? Anyway there was no turning back now. The in-flight film: Apocalypse Now, didn't help to cheer him up....

Contents 1. The arrival 2. The old fort, Tom meets Ishmael 3. At the harbor 4. At the pawnshop 5. Upstream in the mangal 6. Mangal 7. Tom meets his father 8. They sail out to Palawasi. 9. The attack 10. The blast 11. The storm 12 Muddy waters 13. Tom's musings 14. Free-diving 15. Jun's story 16. Yellow Sony walkman 17. Dream of sperm whales 18. The rescue 19. Jun leaves on the Ymob Kid 20. Maya 21. The blue hole 22. Blind cigarette vendor 23. They are married 24 Mohal Bohal 25. About the author ...

Christine Metcalf's quiet life as a doctor's wife is not so quiet lately. Since her husband threw himself into his career, after learning he couldn't father children, Christine has been left alone. Christine buys a motorcycle, and begins to look at her neighbor Tom in a new way. Just as Christine begins to connect with Tom, a sudden revelation raises important questions. Will Christine be able to see Tom? Will their relationship survive? Don't forget "The Boy Next Door: Intrigue" (Book 2), and "The Boy Next Door: Resolution" (Book 3). If you'd like all three books at once, see "The Boy Next Door."...

It was hot that late-August evening, the kind of hot that makes you wonder if you really could fry an egg on the sidewalk. I decided to check on my motorcycle, the one thing I can count on lately, and maybe go for a ride. I walked into the garage and, sure enough, there it was, just beckoning to me. Sleek, black, and decidedly not girly. Some, like Sandy, my checkout lady at Kroger’s, “just ain’t sure,” but frankly I wasn’t sure what they weren’t sure of. As I wheeled the three-wheeled motorcycle out of the garage, I smelled new mown grass. That’s one of the things about the dog days that I actually enjoy – that smell. As I look up, I spot Tom, the next door neighbor’s son and one other thing that I enjoyed about the dog days, or any other day, for that matter. His back glistened as he pushed the mower up a small hill. I paused to watch. There wasn’t much pleasure in my life lately. Glen, my husband, has thrown himself into his medical career, volunteering for extra rounds at the hospital. Things had been this way since they – well, he, actually – decided to try to have a family. I always wanted a family, but I just...

CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3

Female spouse of one’s brother is called `sister-in-law`; similarly the sister of one’s spouse is sister-in-law. Again, the wife of one’s brother-in-law is also called sister-in-law, subject however to the condition that the said brother-in-law is not the husband of one’s own sister. Thus, in Indian society, we find a vast variety of sister-in-law. However, one factor of commonality is often found in the cases where at both ends of this relationship, we have females. The say that this factor provides sauce to our family life, by swift maneuvers of their inimical or endearing postures towards each other. The author has picked up every variety of this relationship from the middle-class stratum of Indian society, while sketching his story for this fictional narration. However, in a given situation, we feel like addressing or being addressed as `MUY DEAR SISTER-IN-LAW`. To take the story forward, the author has tried his best to strew certain suchlike expressions coming forth sporadically, uttered by one or the other character, irrespective of his/her sex....

Perched in his wheelchair, at the moment on 30th June, 2007, this erstwhile lover of Maya Dua is expecting Vibha Ratra ..... Of course, this infirm oldie his first ever acquaintance with Vibha Ratra took place, when his family ... Our mother, though surprised to be getting acquainted by her son to Mrs Wilson as the bride's mother, chose to maintain silence about her knowledge of that lady's `swarthy` reputation in the residential vicinity, during their adolescence. Instead of consoling his father in a socially approved manner, the arrogant son had yelled out at the top of his voice, "Papa, you have had enough of her during the past 45 years. In case, you still need a woman's company, there is no dearth of this lot to provide warmth to your body. The following day, while exiting from the faculty meet, Vibha marked that Dr Rawat looked eager to join her, while she was proceeding towards the group of some junior teachers of her department, already waiting for their head of the department. Really, it's an agonizing account," Madhukar ejaculated following a long sigh. After a short while, he resumes, "You can bank upon, this humble fr...

Mumbai in the early 1970. Juhu-Vile Parle Scheme was the nerve center of film activities, since people related to cinema - producers, actors and actresses, other artists and technicians lived here. Walking in the morning through the streets of Juhu, you will come across light boys holding reflectors, actors and actresses in the act of shooting a take, camera, generator van, director sitting on a chair under a garden umbrella...... People greet each other with the words ‘where’s shooting today?’ That was the time when technology had not invaded the film industry, and the film makers still paid heed to the artistic values. I was living in Juhu, and it is in this atmosphere that I had come across the characters of this novel....

The leading lady Sunanda glanced once again through the photos strewn on the table. The figure of the new girl is indeed remarkable, and the snaps in bikini were excellent. Her young body is better than mine, Sunanda thought. My bosom is heavier and firmer, but the other parts of the body have grown out of proportion. Yoga and other exercises didn’t help much to stall the onslaught of aging. This girl’s face is also cherubic, a trait leading lady should possess. Is director Chainani showing me a veiled threat, just to bargain on my price, or even telling in his own style, in too many words, that I will be marginalized? Merged in thought she didn’t realize that Chainani was standing just behind her, and she startled when he touched her shoulder. He asked. ‘Why did you startle?’ She only shook her shoulder. Her glass of dry martini was empty. ‘Shall I fix Scotch for you?’ Chainani asked....

Genre: Paranormal romance and fantasy adventure *** BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w-eZwPJbA *** Never marry a stranger...even if he is a drop-dead gorgeous immortal king. Never pretend to be a princess. And most importantly...never slip on an ancient wedding ring you know nothing about. Sarah Larker returns to a cave where her sister disappeared ten years earlier. She walks through a portal and is mistaken for a runaway princess on the run by a dangerous immortal king in medieval times. Her plan is bold as well as daring—become this princess, wed the king, and slip on an ancient wedding ring that will unlock the portal back home. Then find her sister and run as fast as she can out of Dodge. But taking on the identity of Princess Gloria comes along with dangerous consequences; and slipping on the ruby ring comes with an even higher price....

Chapter 1 A soft growl echoed in the darkness. Sarah snatched the thermal imaging camera from the row of equipment by the fire. Turning in a slow circle, she scanned the dark trees beyond. Nothing moved. Just as she was taking a few tentative steps through the ferns and thick brush, a branch snapped, making her jump. Another growl pierced the silence. She clutched her chest, as if that might calm her racing heart. Five years as a Bigfoot researcher, and she was still not used to the occasional howl. Then again, no animal she had ever encountered before had made such an ominous and menacing sound. She stopped for a moment and listened, her heart thumping hard in her eardrums. “Show yourself!” Her voice echoed from the trees with a courage she couldn’t feel. A shiver slid down her spine as she pulled her radio off her belt. “Base camp to Adam. Computer screen’s flashing like crazy. Something broke the perimeter line.” The radio crackled and a voice answered. “Adam to base camp. What zone?” “Zone 3. All cameras up and running, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I’m getting sounds over here—some movement too. I’m gonna...

“There are certain moments in an individual's life that makes them pause for a while and fall in a deep lost thought of sorting through their memories and picking out what they can assert as the “best day of their lives”. As same as everybody else, I too had quite a few good ones that I can decently share with people that I know of but the most memorable thought that I will never forget is during the time that I was in the company of a woman. Now, I know that most of you will instantly make adequate assumptions in knowing how this story ends and I guess you already know how it does, but the interesting part of it was that I never planned that it would ever happen to me on that day. It all started on a rainy October morning. I just woke up from bed still feeling a bit edgy from drinking with a few friends the night before and was glad that it was a Saturday...”...

"She began to smile as though the room was lit bright by her radiance and overtook the darkness that occupied the whole place! By now our hands were touching each other and intimately caressing, I on my part was slowly running the back of my hand to where a portion of the skin of her arm was showing. Lightly touching it with gentle strokes as though I was trying to feel its silky texture and was longing for more. I could see that she was not annoyed nor intimidated by my pleasurable advances but I had to find out for sure if what I was anticipating was sure to come naturally. I started to snug up nearer to where she was sitting and eventually touching her knees with mine. I was already feeling the adrenaline pumping in my heart as if it was slowly taking over my whole body in deciding what I should do next. At this point I was already caressing the hair on her shoulder as I playfully twirled my fingers on her locks..." ...

Introduction........................................................................Page 3 Chapter I: “Sad Memories of a Lost Love on a Rainy Day”......Page 4 Chapter II: “Rainy Afternoon Party”......................................Page 6 Chapter III: “Sandra”...........................................................Page 9 Chapter IV: “Lost on Introductions”.....................................Page 11 Chapter V: “Porch Talk”.......................................................Page 13 Chapter VI: “Life According to Sandra”................................Page 15 Chapter VII: “Kitchen Floor Drama”......................................Page 17 Chapter VIII: “Sharing the Night Together”...........................Page 20 Chapter IX: “Orange was the Dress She Wore”.....................Page 23 Chapter X: “Man Down”.......................................................Page 27 Chapter XI: “Different Strokes”............................................Page 30 Chapter XII: “Girl Down”......................................................Page 33 Chapter XIII: “Through the Gates of Paradise”...............

This moderately sized novel opens before the reader, with an episode that took place during the very first halt, by a group of very intimate three unwed oldies, all retired college teachers of Delhi University. They were on a pleasure trip from Delhi to Kosani, a tourist resort situated in the Kumayun Hills a range of the Himalayas in the North of India. After having driven over a hundred kilometers relating to this journey, they had halted for refreshment at a place, where one of them is accosted by the owner of the roadside `Dhaba` (an indigenous restaurant). It triggers the person accosted to recall his boyhood days. Again, at their destination, the other one is accosted by an ex-girlfriend of his, in the distant past. The `trio` who are given to such type of tours, happen to meet two other ladies almost at the same time, while staying in a very beautiful zone of Goa. Here, each of these women have had been connected with either of the two other Professors, who hasn’t yet met any such female pupil of his, during the various other tours, undertaken by them the `trio` till then. These chance meetings brings forth during the...

Three chronic bachelors, on their way to Kosani (Kumayun Hills), have just completed their breakfast at a roadside modern `Dhaba` and the cashier for this solid group of three looks towards his companions, as if to seek their consent to signal the `boy` to bring the bill. So, in a broader sense, we used to be treating each other as `neighbour`, during those days. He is younger to me by a couple of years, but his physique and mannerism suggested his equaling me in age. Of course, he always remained conscious of my superiority, because at that point of time, I already had schooling for seven years, whereas he was thoroughly illiterate. …………………. Kundan happened to be the only `writer` available, had a brisk business almost for a fortnight. "I think that it was here that I actually began to earn for months at a run. One day, my earnings went to as high as Five Rupees and 14 Annas, I decided to place it before my mother, instead of handing it over to my father, as usual. …………. "Well, Khanna Ji, how long you had to work with this medico, before resuming your interrupted schooling?" This question was asked by Mr Nepali. "Of...

Having lost her mother, and virtually rendered `orphan`, in the absence of `father`, a little girl Named Bhoomika, by dint of sheer circumstances, happens to reach a virgin teacher. Here, the `blessed opportunity for education` awaits her, as she is inspired and guided by this benevolent lady towards higher education. Once, she was offered a part-time job of `a reader for a blind class-fellow` of hers at Khadi Degree College, Guwahati: and she gladly accepted it. Of course, some nascent opportunities came to her, even in Delhi, when she was staying in a Working Women’s Hostel, while doing some odd jobs to support self, economically. But the travails of life also came her way; and she coped up with every sort of situation, by way of `fine-tuning` the responses from her brain and heart, every time, with an objective to attaining a quality decision from within. Having once been requested by very senior colleague to stay with one spinster Professor, during her illness, she served the lady so dutifully that the Professor persistently requested her to live with her till the young girl is married off. Having attained some extraordinary ...

"In fact, I had never spoken to her even a single word, though she continued to send me signals for initiating a dialogue with her. I had to go to fetch my daily quota of water from the water-tap, provided at the back of her tenement, for all the four segments, in the vicinity. Almost every time, we had to place our buckets or utensils, in a queue, while waiting for our turn. Being shy of passing through the front lane, while approaching the water-tap, I preferred to walk along the back of the segment, in our front. God knows, how she could spot me from such a long distance that I had come out of my room, with buckets in my hands. Quite often, I marked her busy in looking towards me with furtive glances, while waiting for her turn, as she would deliberately waste her time, simply to ignore the fact of my arrival there and would thus make room for me to place my buckets before hers.” .......... It pains him to recall his last meeting with that `unfortunate girl`, who was destined to spend a spinster's life and breathe her last, while resting her head at Bihari's knee, who kept caressing her forehead, in the presence of her trusted ...

This story whirls around plot that opens up when two ex-classmates happen to meet inadvertently, one on his official duty, while the other on past-time, enjoying holiday touring alone. Their next meeting, brings a female class fellow of theirs at the hill-station to make them enjoy one another’s company. This re-union continues to grow further during the years that follow. The author portrays just an account of certain events taking shape in the social sectors of these persons, making, breaking or remaking a marriage based on the choice of the persons involved into matrimony....

Hemant's intention in going to the H.P.T.D.C. hotel was, at the moment, influenced by the desire to meet Mr. Manmeet Malhotra, the manager. He also wanted thereby to express his gratitude to Mr. Malhotra who had arranged accommodation for him last night. Hemant was already under obligation of Mr Malhotra for his kind and affectionate treatment of Hemant when three years ago Hemant happened to meet him at the H.P.T.D.C. hotel at Manali where Manmeet Malhotra was working as an Astt Manager, those days. They were seeing each other after almost a decade since their graduation as students of S.R.C.C., Delhi. …………………….. "Well, how is `Bhabhiji`?" Hemant asked. For a few moments Manmeet held up his tongue tightly and only stared at Hemant with a smile on his face. Hemant thought that he had made a mistake. Perhaps, Triplem is still a bachelor like him. "But when I met him in Manali, he had told me that he had got married only three months before.” But Manmeet was quick enough to read the signs of perplexity in his friend's face and lost no time in explaining his position. ……………. He was not interested in knowing more about Ma...

This novel is based on the plot that describes the life of a young lady having worked as Assistant Professor at the University level. These days, she is engaged by a Trust, interested in promoting `mental illumination through peace of mind and self-confidence. She is going places to deliver lectures, keep in mind the aims of the organization as well as the composition of the audiences. In fact, since her infancy she is on the move from one part of India to another, even having no idea of the identity of the couple who parented her. Having been reared up by a domestic maid, she was obliged to inherit this type of job to earn for her livelihood. The onset of puberty in the proximity of unrelated men was to be withstood with caution and care for her chastity. These tours of lectureing around, once makes her find a known lady in her audience in Delhi. This incident opens her the way to meet many people in this big city and take her to the person who fathered her. Here, she also gets the truthful information about her mother. ...

Dear Madhu Ji, On my way back home I recapitulated, as my routine exercise, the discussions at the Coffee House. Can you recall the reaction of Mr Malik to Lal's outburst against the final outcome of Dhananjay Chakrovarty's legal battle to ward off the Capital punishment pronounced on him for rape and murder of a minor girl, when he himself was just 21 years? ……………..." I suppose Mr. Malik came out with some amusing retort, which made almost the entire group at the table giggle and I could not make out anything but only observe Mr. Malik move towards the toilets. Respected Sir, I clearly heard your `Guruji`, I mean Mr Malik, murmur aloud, “Is there any punishment available to your civilized society to punish an errant woman who voluntarily and actively seduces and commits rape on an innocent, uninitiated and in the prime of his youth?” “Do you mean a rape amongst a Lesbian fraternity?” Mr. Lal Singh speaks out smilingly. Mr. Malik simply hung his head down and spoke in his normal pitch, “I mean, on a companion belonging to the opposite sex.” Having uttered these words Guruji peacefully got up and moved in a gentle pace towards pu...

Morgan Gable first falls for Daniel Connolly, a popular Irish tenor, when she hears him sing. Starstruck, she is consumed by thoughts of love with the handsome troubadour. Real life intrudes and Morgan must put aside her own dreams for awhile. Five years later, she and her troubadour meet again, AND fate hands her the chance to make her every wish come true. Daniel entices her into a marriage of convenience. Can she save him from the treacherous political legacy of his late wife? Set in 1871, the story sweeps from the tragedy of the Chicago Fire to the streets of New York and finally to the wild, dangerous coast of Ireland. Is Daniel merely using Morgan for his own deceptions? Or is she right to listen with her heart? www.DesertBreezePublishing.com...

Female spouse of one’s brother is called `sister-in-law`; similarly the sister of one’s spouse is sister-in-law. Again, the wife of one’s brother-in-law is also called sister-in-law, subject however to the condition that the said brother-in-law is not the husband of one’s own sister. Thus, in Indian society, we find a vast variety of sister-in-law. However, one factor of commonality is often found in the cases where at both ends of this relationship, we have females. The say that this factor provides sauce to our family life, by swift maneuvers of their inimical or endearing postures towards each other. The author has picked up every variety of this relationship from the middle-class stratum of Indian society, while sketching his story for this fictional narration. However, in a given situation, we feel like addressing or being addressed as `MUY DEAR SISTER-IN-LAW`. To take the story forward, the author has tried his best to strew certain suchlike expressions coming forth sporadically, uttered by one or the other character ,irrespective of his/her sex. ...

Perched in his wheelchair, at the moment on 30th June, 2007, this erstwhile lover of Maya -law. Of course, this infirm oldie his first ever acquaintance with Vibha Ratra took place, when his family ... Our mother, though surprised to be getting acquainted by her son to Mrs Wilson as the bride's mother, chose to maintain silence about her knowledge of that lady's `swarthy` reputation in the residential vicinity, during their adolescence. Instead of consoling his father in a socially approved manner, the arrogant son had yelled out at the top of his voice, "Papa, you have had enough of her during the past 45 years. In case, you still need a woman's company, there is no dearth of this lot to provide warmth to your body. The following day, while exiting from the faculty meet, Vibha marked that Dr Rawat looked eager to join her, while she was proceeding towards the group of some junior teachers of her department, already waiting for their head of the department. Really, it's an agonizing account," Madhukar ejaculated following a long sigh. After a short while, he resumes, "You can bank upon, this humble friend for all support, wheneve...

A stunning, yet heartfelt work of creative nonfiction about a love affair on a Mach speed roller coaster, a firsthand look at the passionate ups and the horrifying downs of two lovers born for each other. “At the End of the Dance” tells the story of the marriage between Cory and Julie set against the backdrop of staggering excess, deviant sex, lung cancer and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The 100% true story written with humor and startling authenticity written by a husband widowed at far too young of an age....

The Deathbed I had never called 911 before in my life. I didn’t want to do it. My wife didn’t want me to dial the number either. She didn’t want to go to the hospital, but knew that she had better. She didn’t look good, and she was in a lot of pain. “Did you take some morphine?” I asked her. “Yeah, but it’s not helping.” ...

The Deathbed 5 Love is Like Oxygen 12 The Five Year Plan 16 Diving 18 Awkward Moments 19 My First Letter to Julie 21 Cabo First 22 Q's 25 How it All Started 26 Bobbing for Apples 27 Sense of Relief 29 Dub's 30 Absinthe & Ecstasy 31 Absinthe & Ecstasy Letter 33 Charlie Brown 35 Say It 36 Another Letter 37 Just a Little Badass 38 A Conniving Bastard 39 You Me Learning to be Us 40 Christmas 40 The Clock Strikes Down 42 Brain Drain 43 Moaning my Name 44 Manic 46 The Edge of the Pool 89 Domesticated 91 Don't Give the Girl Jager Shirt 93 Dead Mice 93 Million Dollars/Someone Forgot 95 Victory is Mine 97 The Peace Accord 98 Gunpowder Adrenaline 99 Jac My World 101 Ugly is Ugly 102 Egg Sandwiches and Chinese Food 103 Problems Letter 105 Maiya and Julie 106 At Home in Cloth Walls 107 Two Hours Gone 108 Settling into our Marriage 109 Six Shooter 110 Do as I say… 111 Money Laundering Degree 112 Lehman Going Down 113 Paranormal House 114 Two Truths 115 Broadsided 116 Cornfield Camping 118 Lehman Evacuation Kit 122 Ground Zero 122 My Muse 123 Copper Pipes and Crack Houses 128 The Dog Rescuer 12...

Description Two bank employees, one married male and the other unmarried female happened to mark affinity for self in the other. This unmarried person was the boss of the other one. In view of the mutual affinity, this boss visited the other’s residence for delivering in person the `invite` on the occasion of her marriage with an NRI doctor. In a couple of years, the marriage of both these persons reached the stage of irretrievable breakdown, as both were feeling suffocated with the behaviour and attitude of their spouses. By the by, they happen to divulge to each other the emotional injuries suffered at the hands of their respective callous spouses. However, they happen to be neighbours by virtue of the flat allotted to them by their bank under the self-financing scheme for its employees envisaged to reach them a surprise bonanza in a unique `no profit, no lost` basis. The events at the inlaws family in the case of both of thembrought them physically closer, with the blessings of their parents. Thus, they happen to be `a circumstantially evolved couple`. ...

Excerpts: “It appears to me that almost every religion tends to circumscribe the reasoning potentials of its followers. The self-styled custodian of the religious beliefs would not take it upon himself as a duty to seek the explanations of the `deviating folk`, unless an explosive situation emerges,” Nidhi expresses her opinion in the presence of the lone listener … She says, “Even at this moment, some kuchcha structure is visible. A notice board is also clearly visible from here. I think, let’s move towards that hut, to check, if that hermit is still using that hutment even after a period of fifty five years has gone by.” He looks undecided, but his wife almost drags him towards that sign-board. It reads the same contents. The door seems to have been bolted from inside. They move away awfully, lest they disturb the hermit’s peace. …. Nidhi often happens to recall her days when she had once heard from Anirudh that Smriti’s father is a doctor in a government dispensary and has been living an ostentatious type of life. It had resulted in his daughter always complaining of the total absence of modern amenities for leading `a...

Nancy the 20 year old typesetter falls in love with a locomotive engine driver. They belong to two different religions. She is an easy-go-lucky girl, flirts with any handsome boy, but there ends it. However her love for the engine driver Rajan gets serious. He was transferred to far away Coimbatore, and she is crestfallen. He tries to ward off the transfer, and then a surprise awaits Nancy in the morning next day....

The train has already started and Nancy somehow jumped onto it. She asked a fellow passenger, which train it is. ‘Venad Express.’ He said. ‘God, this train goes to Thiruvananthapuram, just the opposite way.’ She jumped from the train. You cannot call it normal alighting. It was a fall, head down on to the ground, and in slow motion she imagined the next moments; stretcher, ambulance and glamorous journey to the hospital. Her imagination was all scattered when she landed in two strong hands. She opened her eyes to see the face of the man. It was that engine driver. ‘Oh, it is you?’ she asked slightly disappointed. ‘Were you expecting film heroes Mammootti or Mohanlal?’...

Having lost her mother, and virtually rendered `orphan`, in the absence of `father`, a little girl Named Bhoomika, by dint of sheer circumstances, happens to reach a virgin teacher. Here, the `blessed opportunity for education` awaits her, as she is inspired and guided by this benevolent lady towards higher education. Once, she was offered a part-time job of `a reader for a blind class-fellow` of hers at Khadi Degree College, Guhahati: and she gladly accepted it. Of course, some nascent opportunities came to her, even in Delhi, when she was staying in a Working Women’s Hostel, while doing some odd jobs to support self, economically. But the travails of life also came her way; and she coped up with every sort of situation, by way of `fine-tuning` the responses from her brain and heart, every time, with an objective to attaining a quality decision from within. Having once been requested by very senior colleague to stay with one spinster Professor, during her illness, she served the lady so dutifully that the Professor persistently requested her to live with her till the young girl is married off. Having attained some extraordinary ...

"In fact, I had never spoken to her even a single word, though she continued to send me signals for initiating a dialogue with her. I had to go to fetch my daily quota of water from the water-tap, provided at the back of her tenement, for all the four segments, in the vicinity. Almost every time, we had to place our buckets or utensils, in a queue, while waiting for our turn. Being shy of passing through the front lane, while approaching the water-tap, I preferred to walk along the back of the segment, in our front. God knows, how she could spot me from such a long distance that I had come out of my room, with buckets in my hands. Quite often, I marked her busy in looking towards me with furtive glances, while waiting for her turn, as she would deliberately waste her time, simply to ignore the fact of my arrival there and would thus make room for me to place my buckets before hers.” .......... It pains him to recall his last meeting with that `unfortunate girl`, who was destined to spend a spinster's life and breathe her last, while resting her head at Bihari's knee, who kept caressing her forehead, in the presence of her trusted ...

This is volume 5 of 5. -- An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)...

Fiction, Romance

Anne is off to Redmond College! She will spend the next four years

Fiction, Romance, Teen/Young adult

The Lady of the Camellias (French: La Dame aux camélias) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, that was subsequently adapted for the stage. The Lady of the Camellias premiered at the Theatre de Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. An instant success, Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Valéry. In the English-speaking world, The Lady of the Camellias became known as Camille and sixteen versions have been performed at Broadway theatres alone. The lady of the camellias is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real life lover of author Dumas, fils. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Fiction, Romance

Emily Brontë's only novel, published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them. Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights met with mixed reviews by critics when it first appeared, with many horrified by the stark depictions of mental and physical cruelty. Though Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was originally considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior....

Romance, Tragedy, Literature