Window Ledge

"I'll accept the hospital's offer. I leave for Italvia in two weeks." Vanessa Jahn stood by the window, pregnancy report in hand. On the other end of the call, Rob Lambert, the hospital director, sounded thrown. "Wait—what? After all this time? I've been trying to get you on board for years." She let out a humorless laugh. "Guess it finally felt like time for a change. Anyway, I've got a lot to wrap up before I go. We'll catch up later." She hung up. The ache in her heart lingered as she glanced back down at the report.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Those beautiful love stories happened in our youth.The boy in the next classroom wore white sneakers today. The ponytail of the smiling pretty girl swayed when she walked. The boy next door passed by the window after playing basketball...This is a story about youngsters having a crush, meeting their first love, and falling in passionate love.“Please Confess Your Love to Me”Maverick Xenos was my senior at the university.Before I knew him, he looked unapproachable to me. He even spoke with an air of mesmerizing aloofness.Then I found that this man was not what he seemed at all. I was fooled by his facade before ending up as his girlfriend.“I Got Three Boyfriends After My Amnesia”I lost my memory after a car accident, and then three men appeared who claimed to be my boyfriends.I looked at the reserved brainiac who was organizing my notes, the rebellious campus star who was peeling an apple for me, and the pure-hearted pretty boy who was giving me a massage.I was deep in thought.Couldn't I just live with the three of them?“Copper Heart”I spent nearly 1,000 dollars asking a policeman for his WhatsApp number.But he sternly refused. He even asked me if I was flirting with him to get back at my ex-boyfriend.He got me!Worse, my ex-boyfriend came to borrow money again.Before I could answer, the policeman stretched his wrists...

Broken, Alpha Arthur thought he could never have another chance at truly looking at someone as he once did to his wife, so he gets himself a fiancée so his kid can grow up with a mother. But his well thought out plan goes out the window when he meets a pair of stormy grey eyes that belong to his new mate, Quinzel Khaleel O'Conner.

“Shit, she is escaping," said the one with the blue eyes, who cursed out, and grabbed the rope. Taking the vase from the table beside the window, I throw it over his head. “Get your fucking hands off,” I snapped, and I jumped out the window with the rope as my guide, and he followed. “Great, today is not just my day," I murmured as I landed on the- In a world of crimes, spies, a forbidden romance. I’m Sophie Rust, an 18 years old. College student. If I may brag a little, I would define myself as someone who is clever, stubborn, fun-loving, and adventurous. I’ve always known my parents were more than what they seemed, but never in my wildest dream did I imagine they were secret spy agents working for an underground Secret Service. Their secret world was full of danger and emotional roller coasters—a life I secretly craved. However, everything changed when I met Alexander Kova, a ruthless Russian gangster leader with a vendetta against my family. And love took an unexpected turn. Tragedy struck, at the High-Ranking official estate, leaving me as the sole survivor among the children of other spies Terrified and homeless, the Kovas, our enemies, turned into our protectors, offering me a blanket of safety. But that safety turned to nothing when a clash between the Kovas and a New York gangster family erupted, turning me into something formidable, a being with powers unimaginable. I never knew I could be the person that I have become. In this realm of power, secrets, and vengeance, our unlikely romance faces its ultimate test. As Alexander unleashes mayhem to claim what he believes is rightfully his, will their love survive the relentless storm, or will it crumble in the battle for power?

When I hear my boyfriend, Terence Bowen, is trapped in a house fire, I immediately rush back to save him. However, after dragging him out with all my strength, I realize it's just a dummy. Laughter erupts from the house next door. "Ariana Brock is such a fool! She fell for it again!" Through a half-open window, I spot Terence lounging on the couch, casually scrolling through his phone. He looks completely fine. "That's the 47th prank we've pulled on her. Three more to go and we're done." "Serves her right. She shouldn't have stolen Bethany Howard's scholarship. Bethany is the one Terence actually cares about. That's why he decided to fake a relationship with Ariana to get revenge 50 times over. Too bad the game will end soon." I bend over, gasping for air. All this time, the relationship I've worked so hard to protect is nothing but a game to them.

Sandra was kidnapped by a small gang, that's what she thought. The man behind the kidnapping is a mafia boss. She was kidnapped by mistake in place of someone else. When she was represented in front Victor, the mafia boss, she didn't cower over in fear instead showed some attitude. Victor, who is a ruthless, cold mafia boss, when saw a petite young woman putting terms with him, found it interesting. ************************** "Who is she?" While looking at her from the window of my office. "Sorry Boss, we couldn't find anything about her." Ian replied "It's more than half a year and you are still clueless...hmm?" "Sorry……" "She is really something............. but that makes me more interested in her." I smiled.

Antton Baltimore, manages to intimidate you just by looking you in the eyes, just by whispering to you he can make your body come alive, that is what Serena Hernandez felt every time she saw her new neighbor, from her balcony, she watches him every afternoon and as if he wanted to provoke her, he undresses in front of the window leaving her in the best moment of her sight, but Dalton is a strange boy who did not even have social networks and Serena being too curious one afternoon she followed him when he went to the forest with a boy from her class at dusk, She found it strange and while following him she realized that there was something strange because the fear she felt in her body was screaming at her to run away and that she should return home but she continued following him without imagining that it would be a mistake because she would discover that her neighbor is not who he appears to be and that he is a being that she thought was fantasy, a vampire, one that will lead her to know her darkest desires, will Serena be able to get away from the addiction that Antton causes in her body just by touching her?

This isn't a love story, but almost a love story. Irina and Eric share a world through dreams and time travel. They have a strong mutual understanding about the feelings they have for each other, at the same time understanding that they cannot be together. Eric: I open my eyes and find myself standing alone in an empty room. The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark. Eric is a ghost who always appears in Irina's dream. Irina: I open the door to the bedroom. There is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light is coming from. The yellow orange light passes through the open window. I see Eric standing right there on the spot captured by the yellow light. ‘You came back.’ I said. He stood there looking me in the eye. I almost died. Irina is a time traveler who may or may not change his fate. They alternatively tell a bitter sweet story. Love doesn't always mean together, sometimes it is deeper apart. Eric: I stand alone in the rain looking at the dark sky where all I can see is water, for it is both the rain and my tears flowing to my face. Irina: And suddenly it is no longer my reflection I see inside the mirror. What I see now is a figure of a man. I draw closer to see him clearly. But the closer I walk towards him, the farther I become from him. I couldn't get close.

Azania Kunene and Lincoln Zion are childhood sweethearts, bound at birth. Born on the same day, two years apart, their shared birthday was nothing more than one of the few things that sealed their bond. All that is soon thrown out the window, however, after a deadly accident that saw Lincoln flee th