Pencil in His Hand: A Mother's Journal of Poems, Thoughts, and Stories.

  Cynthia's Confessions A Novelette By Alison Lawrence *** Copyright owner:  Alison Lawrence 2023 Cynthia's Confessions is a fictional work and no resemblance to real people, living or dead is intended. Bible Quotation from: Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers Cover photo by: Debby Hudson. Unsplash. *** Dedication: To my aunts. *** Prologue 1938. Wynberg, Cape Town A brilliantly coloured chameleon swayed as he clung to the grapevine which grew in the untidy garden. A bed of tall hollyhocks and asters also vied for Cynthia's attention as she sat writing in the shade of the vine. The slender, dark-haired ten year old wrote conscientiously in the cheap exercise book which served as a diary. She wasn't afraid of the chameleon and decided to do a quick sketch of him once she'd finished writing. Quiet moments like these were a rare treat for Cynthia. Her mother had taken the other six children up the road to visit her sister. Cynthia had...

  The Shepherd's Love. A Short Love Story By Alison Lawrence *** “ Alef, it is too dangerous! You will do this for one sheep? What of the others? Something could happen to them whilst you are gone, and what will we do then?” Alef's gaze remained soft as he turned to his young wife. “All will be well, Zena. Papa will help keep watch over the flock. This little one is expecting, and it would be cruel not to go. The wolves will tear her apart if I don't find her quickly.” Zena fought both rage and tears as she rose from the rough table. Surely she meant more to Alef than a simple sheep!  As she carried the bowls towards the stone basin, she felt Alef's arms encircle her. “I love you, Zena. I will be back soon. I promise.” But Zena stiffened her back and stifled her usual loving response. Alef sighed and let her go. He'd seen the tears glimmering in her deep brown eyes, and he hated to leave. But he must. It was a shepherd's duty. The fondness he felt for his sheep ...

  AN INTEREST IN IRELAND (A mini sequel to "Whispers of Wales.) Here is the link to that story in case you haven't read it   Link *** James Mac Kay opened his laptop, ready to search one more time. He was sitting on the deck of his antique- cum- coffee shop prior to opening time.The waves crashed noisily beyond the railway line but James ignored them. His time was limited. Inspired by his girlfriend Ruby's success, he wanted to search the ships' lists once more. His great-grandfather, Henry Mac Kay, had been born in Belfast. He'd come over to South Africa from Ireland as a young man. James knew he had been a carpenter, just like Ruby's great-grandfather. What's more, James actually owned a book case made by his Irish ancestor. He quickly found the site he liked to use, and typed in the details. James had searched several times in the past with no results. But new records were constantly being added to the site and he hadn't checked in a while. He search...

  WHISPERS OF WALES A NOVELETTE BY ALISON LAWRENCE CHAPTER ONE Ruby merged with the traffic taking the city off ramp. It was a cloudless summer day in Cape Town; Table Mountain was devoid of its famous tablecloth. It felt good to be free on this early December day, with Mercy Me setting the tone with one of their upbeat songs. Ruby's fourth grade class had wished her a happy Christmas and she and they were on holiday until mid January. The traffic light ahead turned red and Ruby tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She thought of all the things she wanted to do in her off time; cleaning her apartment was on the list, along with shopping and going to the beach, but as far as she was concerned, she had begun with the most pressing item: paying a long -overdue visit to the city archives.                                        It took a few turns around the stately building before R...