I hate everything today. Not the website. Just the universe in general, and all of its inhabitants in particular. "Wow, Kit," you're probably thinking, "that's a lot of hate. How do you have time for it all?" And you're right, of course. I don't. I hate that, too, not having time.

But mostly I hate the feeling of being trapped. Trapped in a job that doesn't pay enough and is unendingly frustrating. Trapped in a living situation that is free but was supposed to be temporary and is beginning to grate on everyone's nerves. Trapped in a serious artistic funk, having produced, for all practical purposes, nothing new in a very very long time.

But there's hope. Another story start that I'll probably never finish, but which, despite its brevity, I think is quite intriguing.

She had always had some unusual gifts. While most born in the month of Fire would be gifted at starting fires easily, her very presence instead seemed to dampen fires. And while her peers adept in the Mother's magic might ripen fruit in their very hand, she could only take ripe fruit and make it turn. She had always been an odd child, and no one was surprised to find that when she returned from her sojourn she had grown into an odd adult.