Preview of Valentine’s Day Short Story
Twenty authors have gotten together to give you a collection of free short stories featuring LGBTQ protagonists all released on Valentine’s Day!
Here’s a preview of mine: Lake of Promises!
The Lake of Promises is an unremarkable, remote location deep in the Mollarno forest beyond the city of O’er. The forest itself is the subject of many scary stories, but the Lake of Promises is different. Many have traveled to the lake on once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimages, drawn by the promise of meeting their soulmate. And those who didn’t meet the love of their life on their journey still experienced good fortune. However, the terrain is brutal, the mosquitos are no joke, and the area around the lake is home to one of the most deadly venomous snakes in the world.
Viteria wasn’t interested in a soulmate. Ze had graduated with top honors in zir undergraduate degree and in half the time of zir peers in graduate school. Most colleagues described zir as ‘passionate’ and ‘intense’ while zir parents typically went with ‘unabashedly queer’ and ‘lonely.’ These things were true, though being unabashedly queer hadn’t stopped zir from bashing in zir last partner’s nose when ze found out they’d been stealing money from zir.
Despite being junior faculty at the University of O’er’s College of Magic, obtaining a grant for zir research, and publishing three papers in top journals during zir first year as faculty, Viteria’s life felt empty. Every day was the same: wake up, go to work, go home to an empty apartment, scare zirself by leaving a jacket on the coat rack that always looked like a burglar, and go to bed.
The monotony wore zir down. Zir therapist suggested Spelled Hypnotherapy-Induced Change (SHIC), a new therapy where a magic psychiatrist readjusted the brain chemistry of a hypnotized patient. Viteria hoped it would help, but after a month of SHIC therapy, ze saw no difference except in zir bank account. On the day ze ended the therapy, ze broke down crying in zir home after realizing for the thousandth time that the damn coat rack wasn’t a burglar.
Enough was enough.
“What are you going to do?” zir mother asked when ze explained the situation. “I hope you aren’t planning to ruin your career.”
“Don’t say that,” zir father had argued. “Our baby girl — I mean, Viteria — knows better than to do anything that would jeopardize her — I mean, zir — future.”
“Just because I want some time off doesn’t mean I’m going to ruin my career,” ze replied with a grumble. “I have two weeks of vacation time.”
“No one takes their vacation time in academia,” zir mother said.
“It would look better to take a day off here and there, so you don’t look erratic,” zir dad added.
They didn’t understand, just as they hadn’t understood zir pronoun change, and ze didn’t have the patience to argue with them.
Being non-binary in academia was isolating, as ze was reminded of the next day. In the breakroom next door to Viteria’s office, ze heard faculty laughing, asking about each other’s children, and making plans to meet up. No one even made eye contact when they passed by zir office.
Ze tried to focus on the scholarship ze had spearheaded for students returning after one or more gap years. The scholarship committee vote had determined the winner: a transgender man named Henray Asante. It was zir responsibility to contact him, but ze was too stressed. It could wait. The deadline to notify the recipient was still a month away.
When the breakroom emptied, ze entered and started a cup of coffee, propping zir cane on the counter. As ze waited for the dripping coffee to stop, zir eyes passed over the bulletin board at the far wall. The department’s faculty had dressed it up with motifs of skeletons, bats, and ghosts for Samhain, but that’s not what grabbed zir attention.
At the center of the board, a lone piece of paper held a large picture of a beautiful lake surrounded by a serene forest. Large text said “RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!” in all caps. Ze grabbed zir cane and moved nearer to read the words beneath the image.
“Experience this once-in-a-lifetime journey! Limited spots available for 3-day excursion to internationally treasured vista.”
Viteria turned away when a low ping came from the coffee machine. Ze looked at the flier as ze dropped the cup in a holder. Ze glanced at it as ze snapped a top onto the cup. For the rest of the day, the advertisement lingered in zir mind.