Books from my past wish-to-read list I still haven’t read and probably never will

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I Still Haven’t Read (Submitted by Dedra @ A Book Wanderer) but I'm going to tweak it slightly to Books from my past wtr (wish-to-read) list I still haven’t read and probably never will. Of course, just because I said I wouldn't read them doesn't mean I won't. As a moody reader, I might just suddenly change my mind. Here are some Books from my past wtr list I still haven’t read and probably never will (unless I change my mind). For more Top Ten Tuesdays, visit That Artsy Reader Girl here.

01 - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen > link
I should have liked reading this since I enjoyed most of Jane Austen's books but this one, I barely got half way when I got really bored so I gave up. I didn't really care much for Fanny and I think the guy (Edmond, I think) sort of settled for Fanny and not really chose her but that's from the movie but I think the ending is the same. Mansfield Park is unlike the other Austen's books (Pride and Prejudices, Persuasion, etc.) in that there was no delightful interactions between characters and the parts I read seem quite depressing. But I guess I'm sort of judging by the movie so maybe it's unfair? The few times I tried to read the book, I just find it boring. Maybe I shouldn't have seen the movie before I start on the book.

02 - The Witchland series by Susan Dennard > link
I had wanted to read the series and even brought the ebook of book 1 and 3 when it was on sale but now I think I'm never going to read them. I started on book 1 but I keep putting it down maybe out of boredom, maybe out of a sheer unenthusiastic feeling that I'll have to slough through this book and book 2 to get to book 3 which is the book I really want to read but I don't like skipping books when I read a series.

03 - Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden > link
This is said to be a Beauty & the Beast retelling (the first book anyway) so that's why I wanted to read it and I really thought I would like the series but somehow my brain keeps putting off reading the first book (The Bear and the Nightingale) which I brought an ebook of when it was on sale. I read a few pages and they sounded good, put it down but then when I tried to continue, I got bored. And now I just found out there are vampires in this series which I think makes me want to read it even less.

04 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott > link
I tried to read this several times but couldn't even get pass chapter 2. And the fact that I know what would happen to Beth because of the movie I saw, makes it less fun to read. But then I also think Jo made a bad choice so I think I'll just leave this alone.

05 - The Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Marillier > link
Daughter of the Forest (the first book) is exactly the kind of book I would like reading but there is a graphic rape scene that I know will disturb me enough to stop reading. This book and series is on my 'Maybe I'll read this when I thought I could get through without cringing at the rape scene' list. I think since it was told in first-person, it might be even harder to read.
    One of the reviews I read said, why are rape scenes so detailed and long while normal, consensual sex scenes are simply fade to black? Not that I care to read any sex scenes but I think the fact rape scenes are extended seemed a bit too much. Why do we need the gruesome details so vividly? Isn't it enough to know it happened? I find even half-attempt rape scenes a bit hard to read.

06 - Never Die (Mortal Techniques) by Rob J. Hayes > link
This was an impulse buy since it was on sale and I really sort of wanted to read something similar to this and also one of the youtuber was gushing about it. It had the shortest prologue I had ever read: Itami Cho woke to the screams of her own death. She remembered it all. That sounded really good and also even though it's part of a series, it's a standalone as you don't have to read the other books since it's only connected by the world. So maybe I'll read this one. Someday.

Are there any books you had considered reading but now changed your mind about?

My kindle experience so far

I had my kindle for a little over two and half years. I brought the Paperwhite, the second least expensive version and without the ads but I did brought it on sale so basically I paid full price because the discount barely covered the amount to remove the ads. I think it's ridiculous people have to pay to keep advertisement off a device they are already paying for. Overall, I like reading on the kindle for most of the time but as with most devices, they have their pros and cons. Here's what I like and dislike about my kindle so far. (I know I should probably capitalize kindle but I don't care.)

Some of my favorite book series

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a Freebie (Come up with your own topic!) I thought I list some of my favorite book series. I would say I love these series but not entirely as there might be a book or two in a series that I didn't love. (Go to the link to get more info about the books.) For more Top Ten Tuesdays, visit That Artsy Reader Girl here.

01 - East by Edith Pattou (2 books) > link
This is a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon which is sort of like Beauty & the Beast but with a bear. I read East (also published as North Child) first and I really love that book so I was not expecting a sequel but West was good but I did wish it had been more of the bear's story then Rose's (the main character). I honestly don't think the sequel is needed but since I enjoyed that, I can't complain.

One year blog anniversary

staycation therapy

According to my blog's archive, today, July 17, is my blog's one year anniversary. Occasions like these aren't that a big deal to me these days but I like to make a note of it in a blog post just to mark the day, I guess. So here's some messages to my blog (I don't have a nickname for my blog so I'll just call her PC for postcard):

01 - Dear PC, thank you for keeping me as your owner. Mostly, I'm just glad I haven't been blocked by you as I heard some bloggers can't get to their blog because they are somehow blocked for no reason. It's kind of you to not do that to me, so thank you.

02 - I'm sorry for not having a sidebar so you can show off badges and stuff but you might be glad of that because at least, there are no mess for you to clean up. And frankly, I don't like to clean up messes either.

03 - I'm slightly sorry for not posting more often as I sort of promise you that I would. I mean, I even had 12 drafts all set but none had made it even though I'm sure readers would like at least one of them but I had doubts. And I didn't want to post something and then revert to draft like I did a few posts.

04 - I'm glad you didn't go wonky on me when I try to alter your template. I know I should update you to a more up-to-date template but why change something when it's not broken? So maybe you'll have to be struck with this old template for a while as I see no reason to change.

05 - I'm a little sorry that I keep changing the header but that's the way I refresh you so you wouldn't look stale and I wouldn't feel stale looking you. I know I'm a pain when it comes to headers but at least,  I don't change it as often as my previous blogs.

06 - Thank you, PC, for allowing me to be so random in my blog content (probably not true since I do post the same old things) and being so random with my posting schedule. Sometimes I think having some type of structure for content or schedule for posting is just a stressful pressure to post and write content on time. I do try to post on the same days of the week at least but thank you for allowing me to do what I want even though I sometimes don't know what that is.

07 - Thank you for letting me keep this blog kind of a quiet, little paradise for people who just loves to blog about something even if they sometimes seems like nothing. Happy anniversary PC, my lovely blog.  I hope we'll be happy together for a couple more years. (At least, I think so today.) Happy anniversary!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: The above art is one that I completed today so I thought it would be nice to share something new. I don't do vacations but I do sort of take them when I'm at home so the title of this piece, staycation therapy, seems perfect and it also describes most of my summers and no, I do not own a unicorn float or a cat.

Book series I've only read one book of

I seem to have read a lot of first book in a series and quitting a lot of them. As I do not read book series out of order (most of the time anyway), I only have the first book to judge whether I want to continue reading the rest of the series or not. But is this fair judgement? The 'it gets better in later books' could work but still, why do readers have to hope the series will get better in later books? What if it takes three or five books to get better? For a standalone, maybe, but for a series, I don't think readers should waste time reading books they don't enjoy just to get to one that they do enjoy.
    Of course, I'm not saying I am unwilling to slough through a few books to get to the good stuff because I have and half of the time, it's worth it and the other, not so much. And just because I quit a series doesn't mean I won't pick them up at a later time. I could have a sudden interest and boom, I'm reading a series I have quit. I have a long list of series that I didn't finish but I'll list ten that I think are worth mentioning.
    Here are ten series that I have quit reading after the first book (only the first book cover is shown). Spoilers for #4 and #9.

01 - Nevermoor - The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend > link
I guess I have too high an expectation because I was disappointed by the magic (or the lack of as some of the magic didn't seem to be magic at all) and the lack of humor considering the premise sounded so much fun. There was a giant cat and even a vampire dwarf - why wasn't it fun? The way this was written bothered me a bit as it sometimes it seem like it could a fun adventure, sometimes a sophisticated story, and then there was a brief moment of horror (why would you compare something to 'entrails from a carcass'?) and toward the end, it seems like it was going to a darker storyline but it didn't. I don't know. All I know my brain refused to find any enjoyment when I tried to read the second book.

Some Blogging Musings

'thumbelina 3'

01 - I put back my blogroll (it used to be titled bookmarks) in the links below the header. I had removed it because it just seems like unnecessary sharing and also, I didn't really update it. But now I'm going to keep it up there even if it's more for my use but who knows, maybe you'll find a new blog to read from the list.
    My blogroll is very biased. All the blogs there I have an interest in but even if I had visited your blog and left hundreds of comments and it's not on my list, it doesn't mean anything. Sometimes I get too lazy to update the list but I did recently removed several blogs that had not been updated for several years. It sadden me that those bloggers no longer blogs but I guess that's the way things go. It's definitely easier to remove a link than to add since the list is quite long. It's a table html which is not easy to change.
    I notice lots of bloggers no longer have blogrolls which probably doesn't mean anything. I guess blogrolls are outdated or simply no longer useful as people use others methods to read blogs (ie, feeds or email subscriptions) and perhaps it's better but I don't know. I don't use feeds and I don't follow or subscribe to blogs anymore so my blogroll is my way to visiting blogs. So perhaps I don't always know when someone has updated their blog but I don't mind this. I'm just glad people are still updating their blogs. If you have a blogroll on your blog, let me know. I like to browse them and find new blogs. Update: I've renamed my blogroll back to Bookmarks.

02 - I've changed my blog's header. It's not much different than the previous but slightly changed. Instead of boots, pen, flowers, there is cupcake, typewriter and dandelions.

previous header

new header

I changed the tagline from Books & Ramblings to books, writings, ramblings. I was going to add art but I don't know since I've not posted a lot of art lately. Maybe I'll add that if I change the header again. It's a lot of work to make a new header especially if you're as indecisive as me. If you want to see the previous, previous header, go here to this post.

03 - I have noticed that more blogs are now using text only headers. This isn't a bad thing but I think text headers don't say as much as a header with an image. But I'm more of a visual person so perhaps I'm biased. But I do think a visual header is better and often, more memorable. But of course, it's a preference.

Have you anything you want to share today (blogging or just life in general)? Let us know in the comments.

Fiction: The Witches Next Door

The July prompts for Words for Wednesday are provided by Hilary Melton-Butcher and is hosted at Elephant's Child's blog here. This week's prompts are: sonorous, trenchant, cackling, hurley-burley, confined, semolina and/or nourished, grid, blue, atmosphere, notepad, porridge. I used all of them though using semolina is a bit difficult so that ended up as a name.

Fiction: The Witches Next Door
From next door, the sonorous cackling of the witches sent a chill down the spines of the members of The Ladies of the Gentle Ways Society. It was a time for relaxation and gentle thinking not a hurley-burley occasion where one would expect something to explode at any moment.
    The atmosphere had always been peaceful until the witches moved in next door. They never could confined the noise within their house but they never failed to have their meetings on the same days and even the same hours as The Ladies even when their leader, Mrs. Coppermind, changed their schedule many times.
    A scream of great vigor echoed. Semolina 'Lina' Bread nearly choked on her tea. Quickly, she put down her teacup and wiped her mouth. The other ladies, Mrs. Coppermind, Mrs. Honor, Mrs. Pickle, Mrs. Soso, Mrs. Jackpod, Mrs. Herbal and Mrs. Horseradish screwed up their faces but kept a tight grip on their teacups. Lina wondered what her mother would say about the stains on her blue tablecloth.
    The Ladies were enchantresses, a term Lina found a bit snobbish though witches wasn't any better as they hardly practiced any magic. Mrs. Coppermind always said, 'We ladies are here to practice the art of calm and peaceful thinking.' Though she had drawn a grid of where each lady should sit, how much tea and cake they should have and only magic relating to housekeeping and baking was allowed.
    Sometimes Lina wondered how many days of tea sipping and housework talks could she stand before she would freak out. Putting strawberry jam into their porridge was as daring as The Ladies would go. Lina nourished the thought of going next door and demanded they take her as a member but since no witches can belong to more than one societies, she could not do that. And as Lina inherited her place from her mother, she couldn't quit without being seen as dishonoring her mother.
    A loud boom rocked the ground and Lina sighed as she took a sip of her cold tea. The witches must be doing something grand or fun. Lina could only imagine.

What is your favorite movie adapted from a book?

This week's (July 1st - 7th) Book Blogger Hop question is: What is your favorite movie adapted from a book? (submitted by Cheryl @ I Heart Fictional People). Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer over here.

Answer: I cannot just pick one favorite so I'll list three. Coincidently, for all three, I read the book after I saw the movie. (click on the link for movie info):

01 - The Princess Bride > link
I like that they ended at the happy moment and didn't go on with the more tragic bits.

02 - Anne of Green Gables > link
All the actors are just right for their roles especially Megan Follows as Anne Shirley.

03 - Howl's Moving Castle > link
I do like the movie better than the book as the book wasn't as fun.

What is your favorite movie adapted from a book? Or if you can't just pick one, name a few.

June Books

June was a slow month and yet it went fast. The temperature here is rather high and I hate it but mostly because I have no air conditioner. Every summer, I just sweat it out. But I think I prefer to complain about the weather than the news since they keep reporting one miserable thing after another. I don't want to say I wasted June but I sort of did since I mostly resort to watching youtube and I might have read a few books and did some blogging. Here are some books I read in June:

01 - The Counterclockwise Heart by Brian Farrey > link
What's it about: a prince with a clock heart, a giant statue, magic users, something about murdering children to keep one's place at the palace
    Basically, it's written like two stories being told at once until they blend together at the end. With four and two half-ish perspectives, it's a bit scattered so I sort didn't think the two stories go together too well or perhaps it just seems like they shouldn't go together.
    Maybe if I care about the characters, which I barely do, perhaps I would have liked this more. Prince Alphonsus is kind of bland even with a clock for a heart and Esmee is unlikeable and doesn't seem to know how to be a child. And the bad guy, Guntram, seems like a misunderstood, perpetual child who throws a tantrums (like trying to kill Alphonsus) just because things aren't going his way. It's pretty easy to hate Guntram because they didn't give him any good qualities and I believe coming from a bad family does not justify the murdering of children.
    I really did expected some exciting answer as to why Alphonsus has a clock for a heart and why it starts to go backward but somehow the answer is rather bland. And why was the counting down of his clock is unrelated to him? Why have that element if it has nothing to do with him? I also thought Esmee would work together with Alphonsus to help each but in the end, they still seems to be living separate stories even though they make it sound like they have become friends at the end but I didn't that.
    Summary: This feels like two separate stories being told at once even if they do blend together at the end. I didn't like having so many perspectives and the way it was written seemed a bit scattered. I did finished it hoping it would get better but sadly, I thought it was a bit bland.

02 - Pet Potions Series (4 books) by Ami Diane > link
What's it about: potion making, murder, a house that moves things around, pets, friendship
       I think it's refreshing we have potion makers instead of witches though here potion making is not considered witchcraft even though what the potions can do is quite magical like being able to understand an animal or make someone grow an extra arm. The Potion Masters Society is shortened to PMS which had me chuckling. They also pretend to be a book club but everyone brings a different book to the meetings. There is a society call AWC (Anti-Witch Coalition) that thinks they are witches and had people spying on the potion masters.
    I don't know why everyone here seems rather immature especially the two main characters, Libby and her friend and fellow potion maker, Marge. They give each other the finger like a bad habit, and is often saying crude things to one another and yet, they are friends. Marge often plays pranks on her ex-husband and she had a lot confident about herself and she dresses in bright and often times quirky clothes. You can say she is a wild child even though she might be in her early fifties. She's definitely my favorite character. But immature as they are, I find Libby and Marge fun and enjoyable to be around. Each book has a murder and each case is solved with a lot of potion making and hi-jinks. Although I didn't think book three was as good as the other three books.
    The main, main plot is Libby trying to find out who murdered her mother and we do get an answer in book four but who is the main culprit behind it is yet to be revealed which I find frustrating because four books in, we should be told at least who it is. But they did introduced a new character whom I think is the main culprit but then again, perhaps the author is piling up love interests for Libby because it's another good looking guy though there is already a love interest of sorts of for Libby.
    Summary: I didn't like all the pop culture references and the jokes were a bit too crude but I really did enjoyed these four books a lot and I laughed out loud which rarely happens.

03 -  The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle > link
What's it about: new kid in town, monsters, friendship, pets
    This could have been fun but somehow it's not. The monsters are just creepy and the children are plain but I really like Linus and the way he talks like an old professor but Will and Ivy, the other two main characters, are just okay. There's no explanation for why Will can see the monsters and others cannot except Ivy who sees the monsters using a ring she inherited from her family. Linus, like the rest of the town, doesn't see the monsters at all.
    This book seems incomplete as with most book series, the larger plot is yet to be known but I do think the ending could have been better and they could have provided more info about what's really happening in the town.
    [Spoilers] Two things that sort spoils the book for me: (1) an annoying narrator and (2) vampire pets. As much as I'm not a fan of vampires, this was such a silly idea. There was a reason behind it but all is pointless because everything reverts back and the pets are no longer vampires. Then there's the narrator who is a monster or so he says. He keeps interrupting the story to go on a tangent about his own experience in whatever is going on in the story but he often veers off to other matters. Why do we need commentaries to the narration? Yes, in a way, it builds the character of the narrator but since we do not know what his relation is to the story, who the hell cares what he had gone through or what he thinks?
    The convenient ending is expected since most middle grade books (which I only recently found out) almost always have convenient plot but the villain, a witch, suddenly stopped and not kill any of the children seems a bit odd to me. I guess they didn't want to kill off any of the main characters but it just seems kind of stupid. I guess there is never any chance the children would get hurt but this ending is really lacking. [Spoiler Ends]
    Summary: I don't know if I'm reading the same book as others since all those reviews said 'the monsters have never been so much fun' and 'frightening and fun' - the monsters aren't fun, they are creepy and maybe frightening but not fun at all. And the villain, well, she seems even less fun and we only get to see her at the end but she doesn't do anything much. The only fun I can say about his book is when Linus (one of the main characters) talk in his professor-like speech. I guess if you're ten years old, you might get the fun but I didn't.

04 - The Lord of Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien > link
What's it about: rings, powers, wizards, kingdoms, kings & lords, wars, elves, dwarves, halfings (hobbits), friendship, good verses evil
    Summary: Technically, I started these three books in May and finished on the last day of June. The Lord of Rings was a good reading experience, a bit slow, but good but I think I have too short attention span to fully enjoy this book. (I still think of the three books as one because they just divided the book up in three and I think it's what makes it easier to digest). I wrote some reading logs and here are the links:  logs 1, logs 2, logs 3, logs 4, logs 5, logs 6.

How was your June? And how is your July so far?

The Lord of the Rings Reading Logs 6

I've finished reading The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings Part 3 by J.R.R. Tolkien. This concludes the last of the reading logs. The other logs: logs 1, logs 2, logs 3, logs 4, logs 5. Here are my final thoughts on the last part of The Return of the King and The Lord of the Rings with spoilers.

01 - So that's how the ring met its doom. I thought Frodo or even Sam would throw the ring into the Crack of Doom/Fire-mountain at the last moment before their strength gave out but I guess it's better that Gollum did that part though he did met his end. For someone who is suffering, perhaps it's better he ended his miserable existence. So technically, Gollum is the one that finished off the quest even if he did it accidentally.

02 - So Sauron is also called the dark lord. I had thought there is a third bad guy (aside from Saruman and Sauron) since they keep saying dark lord this, dark lord that and only once or twice Sauron. As far as I can remember, there was only one scene with him (supposedly the dark lord) and Gandalf and then he's not heard of again. After the ring is destroyed, he is gone so does that mean Sauron is dead? They didn't say how he was killed though or had I missed that bit?
    I do have a question: Isn't the dark lord the one who created the Fire-mountain and made it possible for the ring to be destroyed there or was Fire-mountain there before he came to Mordor? That Fire-mountain must be powerful or else it wouldn't have been able to destroy the ring.
    
03 - I thought there would be a final battle between good and evil but that didn't happen. There might have been some fighting when Aragorn and the Captains and all the soliders came to Mordor but basically, they didn't do much or rather, they didn't have to do much once the ring is destroyed. The bad guys just either disappear or flee which I thought is kind of a dull way to end that part of the story. I guess I would have prefer another battle so at least people aren't standing around while their enemies run off. And maybe I prefer that the bad guys get some sort of punishment (considering a lot of people died by their hands) instead of banishment but maybe it's better this way since there would be less deaths.

04 - It was good that Frodo had Sam with him or else Frodo would have probably gone mad. I think the burden of the ring made Frodo almost as hopeless and single-minded as Gollum so Sam is there to somewhat help Frodo in this aspect just a little. It's probably why you should never go on such journeys by yourself.

05 - Éowyn & Faramir seemed well matched. They had a lot in common. They both have father-like figures who are a little mad/power-hungry and they seemed to have the same sort of sensibility about wanting to fight instead of staying at home.

06 - Who says such things as a farewell? Celeborn said this to Aragorn: "Kinsman, farewell! May your doom be other than mine, and your treasure remain with you to the end!" (page 982) Should we take this the wrong way because it sounded like Celeborn is being a jerk. Aragorn just rode off without responding.

07 - I really like that Legolas and Gimli are traveling together to the places they spoke about going after the ring is destroyed. I really like this pair. They seems like fun traveling companions.

08 - Are we to pity Saruman and Wormtonuge when we see them in rags? I find that scene very odd. They not only didn't seem like they are repenting. Saruman seemed a bit snobbish about meeting Gandalf and company. I just can't pity them nor do I think they can be redeemed not when you think about all the people that died because of their doing.

09 - I didn't except a battle in the Shire when Frodo and company returned home. And I didn't except Saruman to appear in the Shire either. His attempt at stabbing Frodo seems a bit dumb but I suppose that's what's to expect from a guy who is such a sore loser that he refused to even admit defeat. And his nickname is Sharkey is kind of hilarious. Wormtongue killing Saruman seemed unsurprising to me but I guess this is what happens when you treat other people badly.

10 - So Sam married Rosie and he and his wife moved in with Frodo because he couldn't decide between Rosie and Frodo. Sam remained a very faithful servant because he continued to take very good care of Frodo. Isn't it nice but kind of weird when Sam thought of naming his first born Frodo though she was a girl? I'm thinking now Frodo is like Sam's father and he even named Sam as his heir so that probably make some sense. Why do we care what kind of relationship they have? Heck, Merry and Pippin aren't married and they live together so why do we speculate about relationships between people when really, we should just think of everyone as family who cares deeply for one another and that's that.

11 - I kind of understand why Frodo had to leave the Shire since he is no longer the same person who started the journey with the ring. But is Haven some type of heaven or perhaps those retreats for people who needs help, like those rehab centers and yet it seems like a permanent stay for Frodo and perhaps Gandalf is going there too.

12 - Sadly, there is only one scene with Treebeard. I really like that character and his people, the Ents. I had thought they would show up at the end to sort of help with some of the fighting but we just get a farewell scene. It's a shame they haven't found the Entwives.

13 - That's the end of The Lord of the Rings and I enjoyed reading it. Though I have to admit, I like to see more of Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas and a little less of Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, to even out the perspectives. But I think now this is a hobbits-oriented tale more than the other races. Éowyn remains the only woman in this book who actually did something worthy aside from Lady Galadriel who gave useful gifts to Sam and Frodo but really, women here are pretty much nonexistence.
    I still don't quite like the lyrics/poems/singing throughout the books. I sort of think of characters breaking into song like those musicals and maybe it's why I don't like them much. Everyone here seems to love to sing or listen to other people sing. Even Legolas sang a song.
    There is so many landscape details and history and back stories and I guess with my short attention span, I'm not made to read this type of book. Honestly, I would have quitted reading after a couple of chapters with book one if I had not taken breaks in between reading. And also, writing about it keeps me interested in the story. Overall, it's not a bad reading experience but it was pretty slow seeing it took two months to read three books that gathered together is a little over 1,000 pages.
    
14 - There are appendices at the end full of annals of the kings and rulers; tales of years which is a timeline and it tells you who came and left, who died and born and such; hobbits family trees; Shire calendar; writing and spelling; and there is an index but I only flipped through these. They are more like extra backgrounds and histories for people who are interested in the little details. And there was a map at the end of each book with enlargements. (My copy is the HarperCollins 2020 edition.)
    
Have you read The Lord of the Rings? If you did, did you enjoy it?

Fiction: The Girl & The Merboy

June's Words for Wednesday is hosted by Charlotte at Mother Owl Musings. June 29th's prompts are: humdrum, hapless, righteous, puny, importance, weak, troubled, quirky and the photo below. I used all the words except hapless and importance. For more Words for Wednesday, visit Charlotte at Mother Owl's Musings over here. 

(Note: This story is related to the St. Felicity Tales but you don't have to read that. But if you want to, start here or see all the post here.)

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Fiction: The Girl & the Merboy
Under the dull light of the moon, a girl wheeled her chair close to the shoreline. Gingerly, she pushed against the chair's arms and dropped onto the ground. The sand was cool under her fingers. For a moment she sat still, not caring the hem of her nightgown was soaking wet.
    Behind her, a few distances away, was the beach house where she was staying with her parents for the summer. On her right, the lighthouse was dark and silent. The water in front of her was calm while a cool breeze was gliding by.
    The girl took out a book and a pen from a backpack hanging on her chair. Turning to the second page, she scribbled down a few words but then scratched them out. She scribbled again and crossed them out. Frustrated, she pulled the page out, crumbled it and threw it into the water. Then she tossed the book and pen in as well. Leaning forward, she crawled toward into the water, closer and closer until she was half way in.
    The month before, when she woke up unable to move her legs, she had thought she would be a hero with a righteous heart ready to slay the demon in her way and even laugh at the puny attempts to strike her down. But she did not laugh. To pass the hard days of therapy and medication, she told tales to herself, ones with happy endings.
    Her parents kept her doctors away so she wouldn't talk to them. But the nurses gossiped as they changed beds and tubes. 'Such a pity for one so young.' 'Only a miracle can save her.'
    Their words troubled the girl. They echoed in her head every time she saw her parents. It wasn't just her legs they had to worry about. For a year now, she had been fighting a disease with an iron will that was slowly weakling. Each time she thought she was fully cured, she was brought back to the hospital.
    The cold water enveloped her. She looked up at the moon. Once when she was five, she told her father an invisible spirit was up there and taking care of the moon. Only those with true hearts could see it. Her father merely smiled and nodded.
    Above, the moon was clear and not a living soul in sight. Why had she thought of such childish things?
    In the water, she floated for a while and then she began to sank. Lower and lower until she saw only darkness. Then she was panicking. All she wanted was to breathe again. She tried to rise up but her arms were heavy and her chest was tightening.
    Then something wrapped around her waist. She tried to pry the hand away but a voice popped into her head. Hold still or I will hit you.
    Who was this voice telling her what to do? And how dare he thought to hit her?
    But the boy didn't want to hit her. He merely said what he knew would get her to obey him.
    At once, he pulled her up to the surface. She let out a deep breath and the boy towed her onto the sands. She sat up, coughed and drew in and let out deep breaths.
    The boy was half in the water and watching the girl. The light from the lighthouse came on and it fell on the girl and moved away. He estimated her age to be eleven or older, much like him.
    She met his unblinking brown-gold eyes. His skin shimmered a light blue. She did not had any desire to thank him. She would rather like to hit him but she was too worn out.
    The boy blinked. Live, whatever else you think you should do.
    She heard his words but his mouth never moved. What did he know? He was only a boy. Certainly, he was not much older than her.
    Without a word, the boy reached out and placed a hand on each of her legs. A small current ran from his fingers toward her. Thinking it might not be enough, he strengthened the current and as he did so, a shock from his hands shot out and he was thrown backward into the water. He surfaced again and swam a little closer to the shoreline.
    The girl was staring at her legs. It was glowing slightly but then it faded.
    You can walk, I can guarantee this. His lips tilted into a half grin.
    She didn't return the grin but stared at him wide-eyed.
    Then he swam out and dove his head into the water. A silver tail appeared and then was gone.
    "Birdy!" Someone was calling her but she kept her eyes on the water but it was calm as if nothing had happened.