Short Story- The Artist

At one time, Steven Long was the toast of the Seattle art scene then his wife Bess died, and his once light and joyful works became dark and foreboding. Galleries no longer wanted to showcase his work and art critics ignored him.

Steven decided that a retreat might be a good idea. When Steven and Bess were newlyweds, they spent the first six months of their marriage building a cabin on Orcas Island. It was one of the happiest times of his life. Now Bess was gone and all he felt like doing was painting monsters.

Steven took his sailboat to the island. A cold wet drizzle followed him all the way. It had been years since he had been to the cottage and the interior was musty with decay. Steven was tired after the miserable voyage and fell asleep in an old recliner in front of a cold fireplace.

The next day, Sandy, an old friend and neighbor came to visit. "I thought that was your boat at the dock" Sandy said when Steven opened the door. Steven invited his old friend in. "I'm sorry it smells so bad in here. I am going to start cleaning it up today" "Can I help?" Sandy asked. Steven shrugged. "If you like. It's not a very pleasant job." Sandy smiled "I don't mind. It's good to spend time with an old friend" "Steven felt a little of his depression leave him. "Yes, It is." he agreed.

Sandy left later that evening, and the cottage smelled almost clean. In the morning, Steven set up a canvas and began mixing up the reds and blacks. A sudden beam of sunlight pierced through a kitchen window and Steven remembered Bess running on the beach when they were first married.  Bess would have hated the dark turn his art had taken. Steven put away the red and black and began mixing blue and yellow. For the first time in years, he felt at peace.


                                    Craig Zimmerman

Short Story- The Ghost of the Yukon Joy

Deena had been shocked to learn the week before that she had inherited her Uncle's house on Orcas Island. Deena had loved her Uncle Robert dearly, but she never imagined that he would leave her his home.

The old house stood on a bluff overlooking the Puget Sound. The house was over one hundred years old and it was said that a steamboat captain was the original owner.

For the time being, Deena would have to keep her job at the bank in Tacoma, but her long-term plan was to convert the  house to a bed and breakfast.

A month after her Uncle's funeral, Deena decided to clean up the old house. Deena accumulated an amazing collection of junk during her cleaning and planned for a garage sale.

During the sale, an older woman approached her and held out her hand. "I'm Laura, your next door neighbor." the woman smiled. Deena shook her hand "I'm Uncle Robert's niece" Laura
nodded."We met when you were a little girl." but I wasn't sure that you remembered."  Deena shook her head "I'm sorry I don't. I wish that we had visited the island more."  Laura looked at the house. "I knew Robert for more then thirty years, but I only saw him a few times a year.That's just the way he was."

Laura abruptly changed the subject. "Have you seen the ghost ship?" she asked Deena. "Ghost ship?" Deena asked. Laura smiled, "a hundred years ago, the steamship "Yukon Joy" went down in these waters.The legend goes that the ship appears to those who are doomed." Deena shivered. "Is that true?" Laura grew serious for a moment. "My father saw the ship when I was a little girl. not long after he was killed in an accident." Laura shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I brought that up. Just an old woman rambling about the past." Deena suddenly felt sorry for Laura. She was probably very lonely now that one of her friends had died.

"How about if we have lunch tomorrow?" Deena asked. The tragedy of the past left Laura's face. "That would be very nice. I better be going now." Deena watched the old woman walk to her distant home.

 Deena made several hundred dollars at the garage sale. She decided to place it in an envelope in her Uncle's desk before she took it to the bank on Monday. When Deena opened the main drawer, she found a book that she hadn't noticed before. The book was her Uncle's journal. Deena flipped through it and found that most of the entries were about weather and other mundane topics. The last entry was different:  As usual Uncle Robert recorded the weather and then this: " I saw the ship last night." Her Uncle died a few days  after that last entry.

Deena refused to believe in superstitious nonsense, but a feeling of dread would not leave her. To make things worse, a heavy rain began before she left on the ferry to go back home.

All that week, rain pelted the Puget Sound region and it was still storming when Deena returned to the island the next Saturday. Deena stayed indoors all day reading and went to bed early. The rain woke Deena and she got up and walked to the window overlooking the sound. A ship was making its way past the island. Deena looked closer. The ship was an old-fashioned steamer and it was transparent! Suddenly, Deena felt the house move and heard a cracking noise. A few moments later, the movement was more violent. Something was terribly wrong and Deena knew that she had to get out.

Deena just made it outside, when the heavily saturated foundation gave way and the house began to slide down the hill to the sound. Deena looked to the sound and watched the ghost steamer slowly fade away.

Short Story- The Siren Of The Sound

The following is a short story that I just wrote.: "Tim watched the Seabirds with envy. It was just two years ago that he had run on that beach. He could run for miles and not get tired.

Tim turned away from the window. He should never have come here at all. His parents thought it would help his "recovery" if he spent some time at the family's vacation home on Orcas Island.They even hired a physical therapist to work with him. The question was: how does one recover from a missing leg?

After Tim graduated from high school he was full of patriotic fervor and he joined the army. A year later a roadside bomb in Iraq took away whatever naive patriotism that he had left.

A light knock on the door downstairs brought Tim out of his dark thoughts. That would be his physical therapist Julie. Tim gathered his crutches for the trip downstairs. A slight mis-step and Tim crashed down the stairs.

Upon hearing the noise, Julie came in and helped him up. Tim was not seriously hurt, but he was angry. In the old days, he could run those stairs without thinking. "you were lucky"Julie told him. "yeah lucky" Tim repeated bitterly. "How about we skip the PT, and go into town and get something to eat" Julie suggested. Tim nodded. "I need to get out of here."

Dinner did little to brighten Tim's mood and he immediately went to bed when Julie took him home. Tim dreamed that he was watching the water as he often did, but this time it was different. A beautiful woman rose from the water and floated toward him. The woman touched his leg and he was healed. He had two legs again. It was all so real, but in the morning, he was still crippled.

 Tim told Julie about the dream. "It is not unusual for people with injuries like yours to have dreams like that." Julie said in her best clinical voice. That night, Tim dreamed of the woman again, but this time she spoke to him. "I can give you anything you wish." she whispered in his ear. Tim decided not to mention the dream to Julie. she might think that he was losing it.

The third night, the woman came to him again. This time the woman wanted Tim to follow him.Tim got out of bed and went outside. He did not feel the cold and continued to follow the woman to the shore. Tim began to wade into the surf, the freezing water did not bother him.

 Tim heard a voice behind him, he ignored it and continued to follow the beautiful woman deeper into the water. The voice on the shore became more urgent and Tim stopped for a moment. It was Julie yelling at him. What was she doing here? Tim looked toward the beautiful woman floating above the water and back at Julie.

Time began wading back toward shore. When he stepped on the beach, Julie hugged him and looked in his eyes with a serious look. "Suicide is not the answer, Tim." Tim looked out at the dark water, "I was not trying to commit suicide. She was going to heal me"

Short Story- A Good Secretary by Craig Zimmerman

From the deck of her new cottage on Orcas Island, Caroline looked at the deep blue water of the Puget Sound with wonder. She had been lucky to get the cottage for such a reasonable price. Of course sCaroline would still have to keep her tiny apartment in Seattle for work, but on the weekends the cottage would be home.

Unknown to Caroline, a creature with blood red eyes watched her and clicked its claws in anger.

On the following Monday, Caroline resumed her job as a legal secretary for a large Seattle law firm. While she was sitting at her desk, Tony Rubin, one of the firms newest attorneys came up behind her. "How about we take my boat up to your new cottage." he whispered in her ear. Caroline knew that Tony was a skirt-chaser, but it would be fun to go to the cottage by boat instead of the ferry so she agreed.

Tony turned out to be an expert sailor and his sailboat efficiently  cut through the water of the sound. Caroline lay on the deck in a red bikini. She had no interest in being Tony's next conquest, but the weekend might be fun and the office gossips would have plenty to talk about on Monday.

After several hours of sailing, Tony maneuvered his sailboat next to the small dock on the rocky beach below Caroline's cottage. The creature watched the sailboat arrive and hate filled it's crimson eyes.

After a terrific Salmon dinner, Tony made his move and Caroline had to set him straight. "Lets just be friends this weekend." she told him firmly. Tony looked a little hurt,but he agreed.For the rest of the evening,they played Scrabble and Caroline easily won. Around midnight, they retired to separate bedrooms.

Sometime in the night, Caroline awoke to the sound of splintering wood. She quickly put on a robe and ran into the living room. A huge crab was attacking Tony.Caroline grabbed a fireplace poker and hit the massive crab. Nothing happened. Tony was desperately trying to keep away from the deadly claws.Suddenly, Caroline had an idea and  she ran into the bathroom. Caroline returned with a can of disinfectant and sprayed some of the liquid in the creature's eyes. The huge crab immediately backed away from Tony and headed for the smashed door. Caroline sprayed the creature once more and the animal fled into the night. Later, they heard splashung noises as the crab went back into the sound.

Fortunately, Tony was not seriously hurt. "What the hell was that thing" he asked "It looked like a giant crab. I have heard of some species that large, but I didn't think we had any. It must have thought we were invading it's territory"

"When I graduated law school my father told me that an attorney is nothing without a good secretary. Tony said" Caroline smiled, "does this mean  I get a raise?"she asked innocently