22.02.2026

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The summer was just kicking off and the heat was turning up. The apartment building I lived in, which was normally packed with college students, was all but deserted. Cassie and Emily had both gone home for the summer. Cassie would come and visit but for the most part, I was on my own this summer. It wasn't a week before I started to just leave my apartment door open hoping that someone, anyone would else would be in the building.
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19.02.2026

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I am Anna, a 24-year-old suburban librarian. I have blue eyes and one of those innocent faces, with an easy smile. My hair is long and red; I usually curl and then pile it up for a professional look at work. The rest of the time I love to feel it on my back and shoulders. I have to dress conservatively for the job, low heels naturally, with a skirt and silk blouse -- nothing too showy.
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19.02.2026

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“Okay guys. It’s time to finish what you’re doing and start tidying up.” I called to the six young guys in my decorating class. “Conner, I’m going to the staff room to get changed, so you’re in charge. No messing around, you lot! I need to be out of here in 30 minutes.”
I’m a part-time leader for a Community Programme. The kids (usually 18 to 20 year olds) come to us for six months at a time to learn basic skills like joinery, brick laying, mechanics, or, in my case decorating.
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18.02.2026

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It was barely half-past-five and as the sun went down the mercury was falling even faster. The media had been reporting on it all day. The temperature was expected to hit a record low tonight, even for this northern clime, possibly as low as forty degrees below zero. Everyone was warned to stay off the streets and there was a scramble to help the homeless to shelter.
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12.02.2026

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When my father died, I blamed my mother. Not for his death – the car accident that killed him was due to bad weather and a teenage driver – but for all of the unhappiness that settled on our home and stayed there after he was gone. My mother locked herself away in darkness, and tried to keep me there, too.
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09.02.2026

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Naked forms, barely visible, played in the shadows around Darkling Prince. He strode through the town, and laughed at the mortals cowering inside. Halloween, Samhain, whatever they called it in this time, in this place, was when evil spirits roamed the worlds.
Darkling roamed, as evil as he needed to be. Far off in the fields, a bonfire raged. Hm, time for some fun, then.
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09.02.2026

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Tonight is the first time in three months that I have attended the monthly Saturday night mixer that has been a tradition in Portland for almost ten years. The initial group of about fifty people from fraternity affiliations, support of the football team and college groups of all kinds formed right after graduation from the University of Oregon. Over time we've added OSU and PSU members to heckle. We've also have dates and spouses that still come after relationships broke up.
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09.02.2026

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I've always been a gadget guy. As a kid I was the one who took all his toys apart and put them back together. I built a bike with two frames and a long chain so I could ride around taller than the other kids. When I was old enough I bought two junk cars and made one good car from them. Building stuff and fixing stuff so it was better than when it was new has always been fun for me.
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08.02.2026

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The straps on Gary's backpack were really starting to hurt his shoulders. He'd been walking mostly since he got off the bus 2 hours ago. The dark, cool night air and the long walk were taking their toll on his resolve to find the two girls from the bar where the bus had stopped a few days ago, but he was too far into it now to stop.
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08.02.2026

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Parents of children who play travel sports make tremendous sacrifices for their child's love of the game, but they also reap immense rewards. The most obvious sacrifice is the amount of time and money that is spent traveling; you could go months at a time without an unscheduled weekend day, and many of your weekends are spent in hotels. But with all the time away from home, you are usually in the company of your children's teammates and families, which leads to the formation of close relationships that can last a lifetime.
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