Episode 12: The Dark Side

"You can't bear all the brunt of responsibility..." She could practically feel his gentle, sunny gaze, but she couldn't really smile back or say anything reassuring as she would like. Except...hope that he'll look at her a bit longer like that. Seeing that didn't really help at all, he folded his legs toward him and …

Episode 9: Prelude to Bloody Salt

(A Portrait of Abram Soussiere, titled as "Moore in powdered wig"       Nothing seemed to change much after Octavia's evening with the Hulders, except Gale noticed that Michaela was acting strange. When he asked Theodore, he cocked his head to a side and asked, "I'm not sure, Gale. What's different?" For example, she …

Episode 8: Octavia aka Octave

Stroking Theodore's back, Gale smiled and said, "Theo's condition was a mild bowl problem. He has quite a sensitive stomach." Michaela nodded, neither openly expressing outright relief or worry. Gale's eyes blinked at her eyes that remain pinned on her son, wondering if he has to teach her how to move her eyebrows. He taught …

Episode 7: Yellow Blindness (includes comic)

One fine morning, Michaela knocked on her curious benefactor's private study room and  entered to see him already awake, in a groggy state of mind, sitting hunched over his bookstand on his wide desk. His shoulders looked painfully hunched, and the back of his head reminded her of a scare crow's nest. In his quivering …

Episode 6: Not used to

As the Hulder Herbology stood slightly apart from Mr. Derby's neighborhood, Gale and Michaela bade farewell to the kindly Saucers. Pipa wanted to cling more closely to Michaela's arms that were holding the plushy doll-like bunny rabbit with beautiful beige facial markings. Theodore's pink nose sniffled a little as Pipa gently laid her pinky finger …

Episode 5: Arrested And Ambushed

*Alert: Author's Note: I took liberty by this fictional, albeit hopeful, detail about the British Slavery Abolition Act happening in 1690ish. In reality, it happened in 1833. It makes me sad to think that it didn't happen earlier. Thank you as always for reading this little story. ============================================================================ Gale reached out his hand, signaling Michaela to …

Episode 4: Betrayal

The village men took off their hats and the women bobbed curtsies in deference. The young girls threw flowers that were supposed to be for the June festival. Everybody except the stars of the parade looked rather glum. Then Gale, thanks to his unusual height, detected someone in the parade who looked so distressed and …

Prologue

In a house that looked more like a cabin in the woods than a cottage in the small town, Gale was about to close the windows of his small pharmacy that overlooked the carriage paved cobbled street. He flipped over the open sign to his "Hulder Herbology." His neighbors were also closing their shops and …