Saturday 23 December 2017

To Wish Upon a Star by Paula R C Readman



Paula lives in Essex, with husband, Russell, and a cat who adopted them called ‘Willow’. In 2010, she had her first success when English Heritage published her story in Whitby Abbey- Pure Inspiration, since then she has won two writing competitions, including having a story selected as the overall winner by best-selling crime writer, Mark Billingham, and had several other short stories published too.



Find out more about Paula and her writing on her Amazon Author page and on her blog: http://paulareadman1wordpress.com
  
 

As the inky purple sky began to lighten, luminous arcs of brilliant blue and yellow flashed diagonally towards the horizon. In the distance against the retreating darkness, the mountain tops shimmered with a halo of silvery gold light as day forcefully regained its place once more.

Estella, with a heavy heart, stepped away from the reinforced glass window. Maybe she had been too hasty waiting all night, but she felt she couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity to win her heart’s desire, if the legend was true.

Swinging the weighty protective curtain aside, it caught her delicate lace robe, pulling it from her porcelain shoulders. As the curtain fell back into place, it blocked out the growing heat from the morning light. She wondered if the forces would be stronger tonight as it was the beginning of the Belili Festival.

The festival celebrated the return of the first spring moon as it rose over the planet of Beltane. With its return came the first meteor shower of the season so she was reassured that she would certainly get her wish granted. 

As she crossed the stone-tiled floor, the only sound that echoed within the viewing tower in the granite castle that she called home was her bare feet as she headed for the stairs. Shivering slightly, Estella pulled her robe back up and tightened the belt again. She wasn’t aware of the cold as she descended into the living quarters buried deep underground.

Reaching the corridor that led to the bedrooms, she paused briefly before the solid fireproof door. Her hesitation took her by surprise for a second, but as the tension dispersed and she relaxed, her mind began processing the key numbers she needed to enter.

“Remember,” she said reassuring herself as she tapped on the keypad. “This is still all relatively new to you.” 

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1 comments:

Gail Aldwin said...

You are a star, Paula!

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