Time needs to slow down! How can it be Wedneday again? *sigh* Anyway, it is and that means new words based on a #1LineWed prompt.  I’ve noticed a trend the past few weeks. First, there was “banner.” Then there was “spangled.” And today’s theme? **THE STAR**. Hrmm. Me thinks there might be something to this. :roll” This snippet is hot off the keyboard so ignore the typos and it’s fairly self-explanatory. This scene happens a bit deeper in the book, as the Hard Target team on the ground herds this group of orphans across the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine, trying to get them to safety in Moldava. Our hero and heroine are still getting to know each other.
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The light fall of snow stopped about the time they halted and made camp. By the time a shelter had been built for the kids and they’d been fed, the clouds overhead had cleared. Kin leaned against a fallen log. He dozed off yet still aware, as soldiers in light combat sleep were, of any movement around him. He didn’t open his eyes as a body settled beside him. He knew who it was from the fragrance of blooming heather. He lifted an arm so she could snuggle against him. She did so, immediately. Kin managed to not smile.

“Are you asleep?”

He considered snoring as a response but didn’t. “Not now, lass.”

“I’m sorry.” She pushed away but he tightened his arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t be.”

“Well, still. I didn’t mean to wake you. I know how hard you guys are working to keep us safe. Sleep is a luxury.”

“Aye. It can be.”
She nestled her head on his shoulder and looked up into the dark sky. Raising a hand, she pointed. “See

that?”

He followed the position of her finger. The star she indicated was the brightest in the myriad lights scattered across the blackness of space.

“Yes.”

“That’s the star we followed. Petro told the children that it would lead them to a place where there was food and warmth and people who would love and take care of them.”

“All of them are orphans?”

Meg nodded. “Sadly, yes. Some were placed in the orphanage due to their disabilities. Don’t get me wrong. I think their parents were just too poor to be able to get them the care they needed. And until the war started, they were taken care of.”

“And the others?”

“Some were rescued from a hospital that the Russians bombed. The doctors and nurses were overwhelmed so Petro and I ended up with those who weren’t quite so sick.”

“Their parents?”

“A few died there in the hospital during the bombing. Others were killed out on the street in other incidents.”

She felt his muscles tensed and she patted his chest. “Yes. The Russian leadership is made up of nothing but butchers. But at the same time, there was a group of Russian soldiers who gave us fresh water and a little food, even though they had almost no rations themselves. I don’t think many of them knew what they were getting into. And I don’t believe the majority of the Russian people have any clue about what’s actually going on.”

Kin remained silent, mulling that over for a few minutes. “Aye. When ya live in a totalitarian state that controls everything you see and hear and where any who might disagree get disappeared…” He let the thought trail off.

“Yeah,” Meg agreed softly.

“How did you end up here?”

She huffed out a quickly swallowed laugh. “I went to see a man about a dog.”
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And I wonder what kind of dog she’s talking about? Anyway, the words are still coming slow but they are coming. Forward progress is always a good thing and I’m hopeful that this book will be ready for release by the end of April. 🤞🏼 Writers, do you have any starry words to share? And readers, whose your favorite movie/TV star? Ha! Thought I’d throw a curve ball here. LOL