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    A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops
    A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops
    A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops

    By Sonya C. Dodd

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A fourth collection of short stories by Sonya C. Dodd, exploring a wide range of genres and themes: from a ghostly cat to the repercussions of a love affair, every page contains a new adventure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSonya C. Dodd
    Release dateMay 22, 2017
    ISBN9781370240500
    A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops
    Author

    Sonya C. Dodd

    Sonya C. Dodd lives in Norfolk, England with her two sons, Hugo and Branwell.Whilst an English teacher, Sonya also writes as well as looking after her two children.Sonya currently has fifteen novels available in a range of genres. She has written a number of short stories and is currently completing her twentieth novel.

    Read more from Sonya C. Dodd

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      Book preview

      A Kaleidoscope of Teardrops - Sonya C. Dodd

      A

      Kaleidoscope

      of

      Teardrops

      by

      Sonya C. Dodd

      Published by Sonya C. Dodd at Smashwords

      Copyright Sonya C. Dodd 2017

      Other titles available by

      Sonya C. Dodd:

      A Whisper in the Wind

      Harbour of Dreams

      Siren Call

      Echo of a Siren

      Affirmation of the Sirens

      Brass Buttons

      Dear Mother

      2000 words: A collection of short stories

      Black Tuesday

      Don’t Tell Me You’re Sorry

      The Root of All Evil

      With Hindsight

      Who’s Real?

      No Man is an Island

      Woodland Child

      For further details, please check out my website: sonyacdodd.co

      Introduction by the author

      As always, my stories deal with people and how they react to what happens to them.

      In this collection, there is a theme amongst many of the tales too: love.

      However, don’t expect soft, fluffy love stories with happy endings. I know, like a lot of people that love can give some pretty heady highs as well as many ominous lows. By writing this anthology I guess I was trying to deal with some of my own demons and lay them to rest.

      I expect others will find some of them familiar too, but I hope some people may find them just as useful in closing a door upon the past, as I did when I wrote them.

      The Blue Banana

      It is the brightness and the blue which grab your attention first, or that’s what Sam remembers noticing. The sunlight is so strong it’s impossible to see the shape of the orb suspended in the perfectly clear sky. Matched by the crystal, azure ocean, blue meets blue in a melodic harmony.

      Impossible to linger on the burning, clean, yellow sand with bare feet, the water gently laps against your feet, soothing and cooling. A vast, open ocean lies before you; white yachts and smaller boats bob peacefully on the surface.

      The air is fresh and salty; it embraces you and rays from the sun stroke your bare shoulders.

      Behind you, the sole interruption to the long line of palm trees appears to be a ramshackle shed, positioned as though dropped from a great height and a different world. Laughter and muted conversation travel on a light breeze, drawing you towards this Aladdin’s cave.

      However, closer inspection reveals a singular truth. This wooden structure may give the appearance of neglect, yet the reality is of its being worn through love and popularity. Perhaps the wooden slats are a little dog-eared; surrounding foliage appears to grip the building in a deadly embrace and the, once devotedly, painted lettering upon the sign is illegible to the uninitiated.

      Nonetheless, those who know The Blue Banana need no sign and require little pomp. They don’t come to view the décor or admire the setting, no, it is the atmosphere and camaraderie they know they will find there which draws them in, in such vast numbers and with reliable regularity.

      With its shutters thrown open to the ocean view, the queen’s nest lying inside the hive swarms with eager customers. This bar holds no secrets, nor gimmicks; since the day it opened, somewhere obscure back in the sixties, pride and joy of its young owners: Mateo and Luciana, it has been a magnet to tourists and locals alike.

      Maybe it is its simplicity, which welcomes each guest, that people like. Regardless of colour or race, all are made welcome and return recurrently once the spell is struck.

      By the time Mateo passed away, he’d lived to see their dream realised and a son: Alejandro, happily installed behind the bar of his second home. Along with his mother and two other staff, Alejandro contentedly continued in his father’s footsteps.

      Having no desire to leave his home and strike out for himself into the wider world, Alejandro was over the moon when Sam walked into the bar one busy day at the height of the tourist season.

      Her long, blonde hair, next to her pale, freckled skin and white T-shirt gave him the impression he was looking at an angel. She was a glow-worm lighting her corner of the bar as she waited patiently to be served, ignoring the bustling customers around her.

      In his broken English, Alejandro had sought to serve her, eager to make the acquaintance of this heavenly creature. A simple smile from her had left him tongue-tied and feeling foolish as she’d held his gaze with her clear, blue eyes.

      On the rare occasion they were now apart, Alejandro often replayed their first meeting in his head, still incredulous to the effect she had so quickly had on him.

      Spending so much time at The Blue Banana, he’d always kidded himself as being immune to the charms of his female customers. They enjoyed his flirtatious banter; those who were temporary visitors to the island admired his Hispanic, good looks: wavy, black hair, swept back from his face, the muscles freely displayed on his arms and his deep brown eyes. Occasionally, Alejandro had permitted himself to take a liaison further than mere conversation but he hadn’t been openly looking for love, happy in his work and feeling blessed with the life he’d been given, Alejandro had known no desire for anything more. That was, until Sam walked into his bar.

      At twenty-four, with a rucksack on her back, Sam was a long way from her home in London. Having saved hard after finishing university, patience and perseverance had finally been rewarded when she stepped onto the aeroplane at Heathrow and left everything which was grey and familiar far behind her.

      It had been tough watching friends disappear on their travels and enjoying gap years, followed by listening to their tales of the exciting and the exotic. Eventually it was her turn and with great ceremony, Sam had embarked on her own, solo voyage of discovery.

      Eager to see the world and experience new, wonderful cultures, she had been determined to immerse herself in everything which was unfamiliar.

      Taking her by surprise, she’d never expected to immerse herself so deeply in another country that she ended up falling in love with the owner of The Blue Banana and ending her travels quite abruptly.

      Of course, life could have been a lot worse. Many young women, Sam was sure, dreamt of waking each morning to the sound of the ocean and simply having to decide which bikini to don for the day ahead.

      Meeting Alejandro, unexpectedly, and seeming to fall in love with each other at first sight hadn’t appeared rash, just part of the magic and romance of living life out of a backpack.

      The Blue Banana had quickly weaved its charm around Sam; she had embraced the life Alejandro had so readily shared with her. Together they worked in the bar; swam naked, under the moonlight, in the balmy ocean; and lay in each other’s arms, falling asleep to the sound of the flow and ebb of the tides.

      It was perfect.

      Yet, perfection can’t exist, can it? Maybe, for Alejandro it did, but for Sam, what she had, just wasn’t enough. To begin with it was easy to forget other dreams and goals. Who wouldn’t when faced with a life in paradise?

      Alejandro had more than he had ever wished for: a beautiful home, the best job in the world in the most picturesque location and all that was complimented by a gorgeous girlfriend who had strolled into his life.

      Most of that was appreciated by Sam; she was glad Alejandro was content. He made her laugh each day; poured compliments over her like confetti; and was everything she’d ever hoped to find in a man.

      Despite this, Sam was unsettled. She’d intended to see the world and only reached the Dominican Republic. Whilst Alejandro respected her decisions and ideas regarding the bar, his mother was not quite so accommodating.

      Luciana was a formidable woman. Any customer who appeared to want to linger beyond closing time, soon abandoned their bar stool and scurried home with just a glance from her. Wearing her floral, loose skirts long, her large bosom was suppressed beneath the familiar Blue Banana T-shirt worn by all staff, and her mass of afro hair was hidden by a colourful scarf wrapped around her head. Able to switch easily between resident bouncer and welcoming hostess, Luciana’s only sadness was that Mateo had been taken too early from her. Yet, watching her son walking confidently in his footsteps, helped to ease the soreness of her loss.

      Being blessed with just one child, Luciana thanked her lucky stars at how good Alejandro had always been. It had been a relief that he had seemed to enjoy spending so much time in the bar with his parents as a small child; he had readily accepted taking over the management when the time had come. Pride welled inside her every morning she saw him preparing the place for another day’s amusements. The Blue Banana offered: welcome, company, solace and counsel, in whatever measure was required. Their reputation and success had grown from strength to strength; the life blood of the bar ran through both their bodies.

      Then Sam had turned up.

      Suddenly Luciana had found herself ousted as the most important woman in her

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