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tie-in stories

The Mirror Girls: Gaia at Seven

The following is a bit story about characters from the world of Birthmarked.

As Gaia’s father and his customer, a bride, stepped out on the porch, Gaia climbed down the loft ladder to gaze at the creamy yellow dress on the tailor’s dummy, admiring the flow of the gauzy fabric and the tiny, delicate embroidery on the bodice.  She knew better than to touch it, but she leaned near enough to smell the trace of lavender that clung to it.

Through the sunny window, her father’s voice dropped… Continue reading

Porch Meeting: Bonnie at Fifteen

The following is a bit story about characters from the world of Birthmarked.

The field laborers were collecting their lunch buckets and heading home when Bonnie Orion came up out of the unlake.  She slowed to watch how the late afternoon light washed the men and women in anonymous orange, aging them into indistinguishable silhouettes, until the road fed up against the first houses of Wharfton, and with the changing angle of light, they transformed into unique, tired individuals.

She wasn’t particularly surprised when Theo Rupp veered out… Continue reading

The Potters’ Daughter: Emily at Twelve

This is a bit story about characters from the world of Birthmarked.  I wrote this “new beginnings” story in honor of Eve’s Fan Garden, which is celebrating its one year anniversary this week.  I’m also joining their live chat on Thursday, January 20, at 8:30 EST if you’d like to drop by.  Happy Birthday, Eve’s Fan Garden!

As Emily braced her palm against the pottery wheel and started it spinning, her foot picked up the rhythm of pressure on the treadle to keep it going. … Continue reading

Detention: Leon at Twelve

The following is a bit story about a character from the world of Birthmarked.

Rita tapped on the schoolroom window and Leon looked up.  She waved to beckon him out, frowning.  “Come on,” she was saying clearly.

He shook his head, but a moment later she poked her head in the doorway.  Leon was alone at his desk in the back, rewriting the words he’d spelled wrong that morning: Attached, barrel, embarrass, necessary, thorough, tomorrow, wrong.

“You’ll miss the race,” Rita said.

“I can’t come. Not until… Continue reading

Advanced Boy with Matches

The following is a bit story about a character from the world of Birthmarked.

Pyrho had never been outside the wall, nor wanted to go, but when one of the older kids at school told him he was advanced, this from a kid who had access to sensitive school files and tended to know such things with disturbing accuracy, he decided, before he talked to his father about it, that he had best go and see for himself what it was like outside the wall.  His father, still upset… Continue reading

Twins of the Dead Forest (Continued)

(This is a continuation of the fairy tale started here on November 1st.)

Years passed, and the farmer, who had learned a cruel lesson, made a point of reaching out to her neighbors and fellow farmers.  She begged them all not to tell Artemis about her lost twin, and in time, many of them even forgot Salma had ever been born.  All learned to love and care for young Artemis, who grew into a strong, smart, peaceful girl with flowing blond hair and sharp aim with her bow.… Continue reading