Her Catalyst

In Part 02, Sharlene is introduced to a journey of touching which is intended to take her from kissing to intimate touching through a series of small steps. At about the same time, she discusses starting a new company with her friends to convert a research project into something to help people with so-called 'mental disorders' then is surprised that her unexpected talent may help the company.A peek inside:"For someone who isn't interested in romance, I'm surprised you've read some.""I read some in the past. That doesn't mean I keep reading more. I didn't know what they were like until I did read some. One of the reasons I don't like romance novels is the same reason I don't like much of what is claimed to be meant by the term 'romance'. It's all so phony. Romance novels are more like fairy tales, he's Prince Charming and she's Sleeping Beauty and all of the attraction between the characters is external. To add to it, romance novels are overly predictable. The characters meet, fall madly in love, have a disagreement which is blown all out of proportion, reconcile their differences, and hop into bed.""Is that what they're like?"He nods his head as he answers, "For the most part. I've talked to some people who read them regularly and they said something similar."As she hands him a plate of food and a drink and takes her own to the table, she says, "I'm glad I haven't tried any.""I don't think you would like them."When they've finished eating, Sharlene asks, "I've overheard other women talk about going to a romantic dinner. What about that?""If it's a special dinner with someone they know who enjoys a fancy meal also, then there's no problem. If you quizzed some of those women, you might find that their idea of a romantic dinner is with a handsome stranger at an expensive restaurant with him footing the bill."He pauses then chuckles before he explains, "What makes it even more ridiculous is how often the woman will be wearing a fancy dress which is so tight she can hardly breathe, her chest fat will be shoved into unpleasant positions, her high heels hurt her feet, her skirt is so tight she can barely walk, she spent hours getting her hair and makeup just right, and her fancy dress is rather revealing which causes most of the men in the area to stare at her to the consternation of their own dates who have done the same thing. I probably misunderstand the whole thing, but I can't imagine how that can be 'romantic'.""Since you put it that way, I would have to agree with you. I've seen a few women either getting ready or coming back after a fancy dinner and it's about like you described it." She hesitates a little then asks, "George, what would you describe as a romantic setting?""That would depend on what you define as the goal of the romantic occasion."She looks at him in surprise then asks, "What do you mean by the goal of the romantic occasion?""Why do people want to go to a romantic dinner? What's the point? What do they hope to get from it?""I don't know. I thought it was just to have fun.""I guess it depends on what you mean by fun. Not only in romance novels, but for many 'regular' people, a romantic occasion is to get her in the mood, so that when they're in private, they rip each other's clothes off and have sex, to put it bluntly. Like I said, I probably don't understand it, but that's how it comes across.""Um, I don't know, George. It does seem to come across that way, but I wonder if that's what's really going on in their minds. Well, I'm not going to go out and start interviewing people. So, assuming that getting her in the mood for sex is the purpose of a romantic dinner, how would you set the stage?""Sharlene, you're heading this conversation in a dangerous direction.""Maybe I am." She grins then asks, "Can you answer my ... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 04, Sharlene legally starts the company she and her friends have been discussing. However, the success of the company may be totally on her shoulders. Not by running the company, but because her talent of recording strong and clean emotions so far appears to be unique. And many of those are generated by her experiences which she enjoys with her ongoing journey of touching.A peek inside:When she glances up a few minutes later, Angelisa notices that Reb is looking at Klara before she hesitantly steps closer. Since she's heard some of her story from other people, she can't imagine how Reb survived it. If there was anyone who was the prime victim of Hektor, at least as far as she knows, it was Reb. Angelisa tries to remember whether she's even heard what Reb's given name is."Excuse me?" They look up and see a young woman with a hard expression on her face hold out a large thick envelope to Klara while she says, "Here."Without taking the envelope, Klara asks, "Won't you sit down?"The young woman pauses then shrugs her shoulders and says, "I guess."When she sits down, Klara takes the envelope and asks, "What's your name?""Reb.""I suppose it's none of my business, but that's an unusual name. Is it a shortened version of another name?"She pauses for a moment, but since she senses nothing but honest interest, she shrugs her shoulders again and says, "My given name was Rebeka. When I was a young teen, my dad called me Rebel. After I left home, I went by Reb. I suppose it could be short for either of them.""What's in the envelope?""A copy of my diary. When I heard about this meeting, I made a copy of it, but I wasn't sure I wanted to give it to anyone. After Angelisa read her statement, I went to my dad's vehicle and got it."Since she's certain she's facing another victim, Klara is extra gentle as she says, "This will take some time for me to read. Can you give me a brief overview of what it contains which might be significant to what we talked about today?"After she hesitates for awhile, Rebeka barely nods her head, then relates the basic facts in a voice which is almost void of emotion, "It's not in there, but when I was young, my mother died. I was crushed. I suppose Dad tried his best, but nothing was right afterwards and I started to rebel against the unfairness of the world and started hanging out with the rougher kids. Hektor raped me. When I told Dad, he threw me out of the house. I had nowhere to go, so I 'joined' Hektor's gang to have food and shelter. Then I started writing. A lot of what Hektor and the gang did is in there with names, dates, and places. They teased me about being the gang's historian, but Hektor thought it was cool to have his exploits written down.""I'm so sorry. Do you have a place to stay?""Yeah. After Dad heard what happened," Rebeka glances at Sharlene, "he found me, said he was sorry he didn't believe me before, and invited me back home. We're not comfortable with each other, but I think he's sincere.""Thank you for coming forward and sharing with us. I can't say I understand what you went through, but I've talked to enough young ladies to know that it's often very hard. If you want to talk about what happened with someone who does understand, go talk to Paula at the Country Store on the other side of town.""Aunt Paula?"Klara nods her head as she answers, "Yes, Sharlene. Her story is very similar to Reb's. When she heard about what Hektor had done, she offered to talk to others if it would help because she had found someone to talk to and that helped her."Rebeka is surprised and asks, "Paula at the Country Store had been raped and kicked out of the house by her dad?""Yes, and she's willing to talk to anyone who wants to work through the pain. She's not a psychologist, but she's been there ... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 11, Sharlene is glad the Project trainers are willing to become company partners and jump right in to help while she still doubts her role as the leader. Although she has to 'cheat' a little to reach the initial goal of her journey of touching, she is thrilled to arrive and wants him to repeat the experience. Later, Angelisa shockingly asks him to help her meet a cultural requirement.A peek inside:"Possibly, except that I'm sure some people will try to make others feel more guilty about using Emotique to enjoy a little pleasure."Since she's quite puzzled as to why he would say that, Sharlene asks, "Huh? Why?""There are a lot of moralistic type people out there, particularly among the religious, who claim that any intimate pleasure outside of marriage is absolutely wrong, regardless of how little intimate pleasure there is inside of most marriages. I remember a character on a television show who claimed that marriage was a fine estate designed to eradicate any feelings of intimate desire or even interest. The setting and the character who was making the statement made it clear that the script writer intended the statement to be highly sarcastic, yet many people actually believe that.""That doesn't make any sense.""I know.""Before I ask you to try to explain it, let's get some food prepared.". . .She returns to the conversation, "It was my understanding that one of the purposes of marriage is to provide an environment for a couple to enjoy intimacy without having all of the worries of experiencing intimacy with a number of strangers.""That's true. And a follow-on is to provide a stable environment in which to raise any children which might result from the couple's intimacy.""That was the other purpose I thought of. What other purpose is there for marriage?""Some would claim companionship."She hesitates to say what she thinks is so obvious, "One would hope that two people have some sort of companionship before they get married otherwise it would be rather unpleasant. I certainly don't claim a perfect memory, but I don't remember hearing of any society or religion which required two people to be married in order to be companions or friends or anything along those lines.""I agree.""Yet in those societies or religions where there was a practice or ceremony such as marriage, intimacy and any resulting children were restricted to the bounds of marriage.""True.""So it would seem to me that the purpose of marriage is for intimacy and raising children."He nods his head and agrees, "That would seem to be the logical conclusion.""So, if a person isn't interested in intimacy or in having children, why would they bother to get married?""Societal expectations, family pressures, financial security, or to escape from a perceived worse situation.""Then if one person wants a 'proper' environment in which to experience intimacy and the other person wants something else out of marriage . . ." she's not sure how to finish the sentence."It's a recipe for unhappiness at the least. Even if both people are interested in intimacy to some degree, that can have some very different meanings, especially if one or both people were trying to impress the other person prior to marriage and tried to give them an appearance of something other than who they really were.""That's why you've made such a strong point of making sure I understood you were a boring old man."He nods his head as he responds, "I didn't think a relationship could develop between us, but I certainly wasn't going to have it develop under false pretenses. My lifestyle is that of a boring old man. You've given me reason to open up a few areas of my life, but I'm still not the type to wine, dine, and dance you off of your feet like a lot of oth... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 12, Sharlene carefully reviews the company's status with each of her partners and finds they're progressing much faster than was estimated. Since she greatly enjoys his touch which results in her high quality emotional recordings, her database of recordings is also growing faster than she expected. Then, a close family member dies which distresses her and she seeks comfort in his arms.A peek inside:Angelisa asks, "Great Aunt, do you go into all of this detail with each of the female children who are being presented as women within the culture?"Sohneetuh snorts in derision then says, "Of course not.""Then how come you're doing it with me?""Because you're interested in knowing, you always want to understand that there's a reasonable explanation behind our traditions, and someday the knowledge will be important to you. For you to be able to translate our language as fully as possible, you need to understand the culture which developed and uses the language as completely as you're capable. Not only that, but the more you understand about our roots, the more you'll be able to help others see the fallacies with the current status quo and maybe help a few people to see the value in our traditional beliefs and encourage them to embrace the traditions.""Thank you for explaining.""Believe me, it's truly my pleasure and privilege to teach such a willing student.""Mr. G said something similar when he was helping me learn to read." Angelisa pauses then asks, "Does it make that big of a difference?"Sohneetuh answers, "If you care about what you're teaching it does. Pretend you're going to teach somebody how to ride a horse. You had a choice of students, either Huleeoh or the chickens in the back yard. Which would you choose?""Huleeoh, of course.""And why is that?""He would desperately want to learn while the chickens wouldn't care or would be upset at having their eating interrupted.""That's the difference.""Oh. How do you keep yourself motivated to teach the young?""By remembering the few who do want to learn, like yourself, and looking for the next one who might want to learn if you can get them interested.""I'm not sure I would have the patience or willingness to keep sharing knowledge with the chickens while waiting for one to show an interest."Sohneetuh nods her head as she says, "It can be difficult until you do find the one, and then the enthusiasm of the one seems to make all of the wait worthwhile.""It seems like the more I learn, the more jobs will be available to me, but at the same time, more jobs seem inappropriate to who I am, or at least, who I think I am.""That could be, but why do you say that?"Angelisa briefly pauses before she answers, "When Sharlene asked me what kind of job I was interested in going to college for, I said a doctor, a nurse, or a teacher. Since then, I've found out that to become a doctor, I'll have to take a lot of science classes which is the subject I have to work the hardest at. I don't know what's required to be a nurse, but I'm guessing it would be a similar level of interaction with strangers as it is to be a waitress and that's hard for me to deal with. And if being a teacher is dealing with multitudes of chickens hoping to see something more than greed in their beady little eyes, . . . I don't know.""One option to teaching would be to work with the very young who are more likely to be inspired to find that learning is fun or at least interesting before they're indoctrinated by their peers that fun and learning are incompatible in the same sentence.""I suppose, but I don't have much experience with the very young.""Part of the reason for an education is to gain some experience, or at least to gain the background knowledge which will enable you to make u... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 16, Angelisa and Rebeka greatly appreciate their new furry friends. As Rebeka continues to heal from her previous abuse, she's unprepared for the positive responses she receives when she does her first drawing on commission then wins an art contest. Later, Angelisa feels betrayed by her culture's leaders and sneaks away from home to protect the document of their culture's ancient laws.A peek inside:Rebeka shakes her head as she tries to answer, "I . . . I don't know. When you're kissing me or Sharlene is hugging me or George is holding me, or any combination, I feel clean, whole, pure, like I'm being given a second chance or like the abuse never happened and I just want it to keep going. But if it kept going, I know I would barf my guts out and embarrass us all. Yet, I don't want to leave you or them. . . .". . ."I have to keep reminding myself . . . . They're supporting and encouraging me to be my own person, to make my own success, even as they seem to give me so much support I'm floating along on it. I also feel like I need to prove to my family and my culture that I can be more than a baby factory, that I can use my brain and be independent and be my own person and succeed in the wider world. . . . In that, we're very similar. You're reputation in town has closed any of the possible doors which might have been open in a small town. You're stuck. You also need to prove to your family, your neighbors, and the entire town that you're not a failure, that you can succeed, that you can be independent, that you are your own person who has value and talent, and that you can share goodness with those who are around you."We're luckier than most people who are stuck in a dead end because we have Sharlene and George who support us, encourage us, and show us that there's an elevator at the dead end which can lift us up to better opportunities. As much as I like the affection, the touching, the kissing, and the caressing, and believe me, it just keeps getting better to where it can be overwhelming, I have to keep reminding myself that I can't live there. I know I can't deny my desire for affection and intimacy, but I can delay the pleasure for awhile, then retreat into their arms as though I was their precious little girl to be recharged and re-encouraged to again face the world and strive to be all that I can be as a strong and independent woman.""I think I understand what you're saying." Rebeka hesitates then goes on, "I guess this awareness inside of me that affection and intimacy can be very beautiful is just too new to be able to understand. I was convinced I would never see or feel beauty or peace or belonging for the rest of my life and here I am surrounded by it and I feel like I'm willing to drown in it because it's so much the opposite of what I've experienced for so many years.""Willing to drown is a good description.""Will you still be my friend even though I'm all confused and don't know what I'm feeling or even what I really want?"Angelisa assures her, "Of course. For years, I was confused about who I was and had no goal other than to avoid what I didn't want. Now, I have an identity, even if it's shaky from time to time and I have a goal, even if it's bigger than I can possibly achieve, but I also have so much support and encouragement, that even the impossible goal seems achievable. Give yourself a little time to absorb the support and encouragement you're being given and you'll be able to find out who you are and who you want to be and then, watch out world, here comes Rebeka."She sadly chuckles then says, "You have stars in your eyes.""No, my special friend. I know you don't believe me, but you have so much potential within you as a person and through your art, it's unbelievable. Please don't argue with me, just believe, and if you can't believe, then hope, and if you can't hope, relax in our ... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 18, Rebeka's journey of touching provides a healing contrast to her previous abuse and encourages her to take potential risks. As more people see her drawings, their praise is overwhelming then she's shocked at how much is paid for her first Woman At Work drawing which sets a precedence. Angelisa is very excited with her own journey of touching especially as it nears her hoped for goal.A peek inside:He . . . tries to explain his concerns. "I may not be very clear, but give me a chance to try to express myself. First of all, you're a beautiful exciting woman who I very much care for and would consider it a great privilege to be allowed to make love to you, but there's more than my selfish nature to be considered. I don't think we've made a point of discussing it, but any time two people are intimate, there's the risk that one person will infect the other person with a disease. We've taken the precaution of testing each one of us and to the best the medical practitioners can determine, we do not have any sexually transmitted diseases."By the same token, any time a man and a woman engage in sexual intercourse, there's the risk that she'll become pregnant regardless of any precautions taken. Again, I've had a vasectomy and been tested and to the best the medical practitioners can determine, I'm incapable of fathering a child. So, from a physical and medical perspective, I could make love to you with minimal risk of inflicting you with a disease or pregnancy. Considering the legal element, since we are both unmarried consenting adults, we can legally make love."That still leaves the social and emotional elements which can be the biggest factors. I recognize that most people only think about the fun involved, but I want you to consider all of the factors. I think it's quite clear you've enjoyed your journey of touching up to this point which strongly suggests that you will enjoy making love. From what I understand about your culture, for a man to make love to you the first time bestows upon you the status of an adult woman which is in contrast to the wider society where, for some people, the first time a woman makes love she doesn't gain anything, but she does lose her virginity."So, culturally speaking, you're already 'programmed' to view making love the first time as something positive as well as fulfilling a cultural duty. However, even in your culture, it's expected that when a girl becomes a woman by having a man make love to her, it will be associated with her being married and, they hope, pregnant. Because of that, it's quite possible that even though you become a woman by your culture's definition, they may not believe you when you don't show the expected evidence. Also, if it happened to come out that I was the one who helped you perform your cultural duty, it could be difficult for you both within your own culture and within the wider society."Those are some of the bigger things for you to consider and that I've tried to consider and have struggled with. As much as I understand the logic of providing you with as safe of an environment as we can for you to experience and hopefully enjoy intimate pleasure, I still think you should have your own intimate partner to help you safely enjoy making love the first time, but I don't have a clue of somebody who I would be inclined to recommend. Frankly, I wouldn't even recommend myself. . . . I'm also concerned that if you find our intimate relationship enjoyable enough, you may ignore or simply not see the possibility of someone else who could be a loving intimate partner for you. I don't want to push you away or disappoint you or outright refuse you after leading you so far along your journey, but for your sake, I think you ought to consider these factors and any others I might have overlooked. . . . I know I wasn't very organized or clear, but, please, think about it a little more before you agree to do ... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are

In Part 23, Angelisa is excited to talk language theory with a university professor then demonstrates her language learning abilities to other professors. Rebeka is forced to acknowledge the quality of her drawings when she draws the same subject as many other students. Although they expected college to provide them with new experiences, they are totally unprepared for what comes their way.A peek inside:Rebeka almost chokes on her drink as she hears that. While she's trying to regain her breathing, Angelisa asks for her, "Why would people ask that after what men did to her? It took her long enough to just be able to hug a safe old teddy bear like George. . . . When I was young, I made a vow that I wouldn't let a man touch me who wasn't as gentle and as caring as my Papa was. That really upset Mama because she knew there wasn't anyone else in the culture who could hold a candle to Papa. I know Sharlene made a big deal out of not wanting to start a relationship with any man until she felt she could totally trust him and be comfortable with him.""Good for you, Angelisa, but very few women make those sorts of conscious decisions and fewer yet stick to them when they're feeling a little lonely and some pretty boy gives them some attention."Rebeka is able to rejoin the conversation and says, "Even to encourage those sorts of logical decisions isn't enough because I've seen girls with stars in their eyes claim they totally trusted a man when everyone else knew he was a slime ball."Sharlene suggests, "Some of the better emoters have posted on the Emotique online site some of their own suggestions of what qualities to look for in an intimate partner. They may not be applicable to the situations of other people, but it might give them some ideas to think about.""That might be helpful for some people, but as I've thought back over my own life and the bad decisions I made, I'm inclined to tell young women to forget about finding a man and to do what they need to do to take care of themselves. Maybe it was important years ago for a woman to find a man to take care of her, but with many more jobs open to women and the Emotique recordings to help with the, um, more personal sides of a relationship, there's not as much reason for a woman to submit herself to a man and the risks that involves.""Well said, Rebeka."Paula exclaims, "George!""What? I'm glad you're happy with Paul and I'm thrilled Sharlene wants to be in a relationship with me, but does she need me as a man to take care of her? No. She could be quite successful on her own and as safe as she insists she is with me, she would be safer without me, particularly at the start of our relationship when she didn't know me. Yes, all relationships have risks, but why should the woman bear the brunt of those risks?"If a man is abusive, few women are able to adequately defend themselves. If the woman relies on the man to support her and he leaves her for whatever reason, what happens to her? If she ends up pregnant and he isn't interested in raising kids, she's stuck. Rebeka is right, encourage the young women to take care of themselves and when they can confidently stand on their own two feet, if she happens to develop a friendship with a man and they mutually agree to form more of a relationship, then more power to them."Paula admits, "Okay, that may be the ideal, but how many will be able to reach it?"George agrees, "Maybe not many, but without a goal, how many will even start out on a reasonable path? Nobody can stop people from making their own mistakes or even from suffering from the mistakes and illnesses of others, but the idea of encouraging young women to take care of themselves may reach a few who can encourage others and, hopefully, over time, more women will be able to lead safer lives. Maybe at the same time, some young men will learn to treat women wit... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 24, Rebeka's transition to the follow-on journey of touching is also healing as she replaces abusive experiences with pleasurable ones. Angelisa isn't comfortable being the boss to build her culture's library then she has to calm her panicked mother. Rebeka struggles to accept the positive responses to her drawings then is shocked to be slanderously assaulted by the college newspaper.A peek inside:As they finish their drinks, Rebeka hesitates then gets up and as the others help her clear the table, she asks them to stay and she soon returns with a sketch pad. She hesitates some more before she asks, "Do you remember on last fourth-day how I was so upset after school and cuddled in George's arms for a long time?" The others simply nod their heads.She hesitates even longer before she explains, "After I told him how I was feeling, he pointed out how much I had changed since you guys first met me and he encouraged me to recognize the difference, not only that it was something I could be proud of, but that I was no longer that same person who identified herself as 'abused'. He pointed out that although people I knew then would recognize me now from my external appearance, if they could have seen who I was on the inside then, they wouldn't recognize me as the same person if they could see who I am on the inside now. That encouraged me to think about how to picture a person's personality. I know there are lots of personalities out there which I have no awareness of, but I thought I could express a couple and would like to know if what I drew makes sense."After she sees and hears their expressions of assent, Rebeka opens her sketch pad to a drawing and shows it to them. Sharlene can only briefly look at the drawing before she turns away and buries her face in his shoulder. When she doesn't feel him move, she asks, "How can you look at that?"He simply says, "That's how I used to feel."Angelisa quietly agrees, "Yeah."Sharlene shudders at remembering the feeling which washed over her during her brief look at the drawing. It takes her several moments before she can ask, "How could you survive feeling that . . ." she searches for the right word, but all she can think of is, ". . . hopeless?"He explains, "It builds one day at a time and you don't notice it becoming so bad. Even when you can't imagine getting out of bed or that there's any reason to do so, somehow you do get up and do what has to be done regardless of the feelings of despair or utter hopelessness which you feel. Sometimes 'duty' is the only thing to keep a person even minimally functioning when suicide isn't easily available. Hell, sometimes the effort to commit suicide would take more thought and energy than a person can dredge up, so, for another day, you go through the motions even as it hurts almost beyond description to see the people around you living life. That's why you're so precious to me, love, you respect and accept me as the person I am and continue to do so day after day. You treat me as someone who has worth and value and you make me feel like I belong, like I'm someone important to you, and you have never treated me as your inferior or demanded that I change to meet your standards."Angelisa turns, "And that's how you treated me, George, even when you had no respect or belief in yourself and saw no hope in life. How you could give me hope when you had none of your own, I'll never know."Rebeka sets the drawing aside and adds to the group hug as she says, "That's how you've all treated me and because of that, the drawing I showed you isn't the end of the story. Please, let me show you the next one."They reluctantly loosen the hug and when Rebeka shows them the next drawing, Sharlene struggles to not hug the drawing to herself because it seems to shout hope and joy and peace. It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

In Part 25, Rebeka finds it hard to accept that she has an online site to display her drawings, but a gallery? Angelisa goes on an archeology field trip, but is disappointed. Later research reveals a clue which leads to another clue on another trip. A low technology search used on a third trip leads to a hunt for treasure.A peek inside:When it's her turn, the prosecuting attorney asks the defendant, "From your own testimony, you admit that you struck my client, so why didn't you plead guilty?""I didn't hit her, I patted her fanny.""I'm not referring to how hard you hit her, the law regarding assault and battery concerns itself with one person striking another person without their consent. The force of how hard one person hits another person is taken into consideration when the punishment is determined, but the mere fact that you hit my client without her consent, regardless of hard you did so, makes you guilty of assault and battery." She lets him think about that before she asks, "Next question, did my client know you were going to hit her?""No.""So, not only did she not give you permission to hit her, she didn't even know you were going to hit her so she could either avoid being hit or defend herself from being hit.""She nearly killed me.""She was merely trying to defend herself. If she didn't know you were going to hit her in the first place how could she know you weren't going to hit her again or multiple times after that? . . . My client's actions after you hit her . . . she acted within her rights of defending herself from further attack . . . Now that we've rather clearly determined that you are indeed guilty of assault and battery, let's consider the motivation. Why did you 'pat her fanny' to use your own terminology?"As he realizes where this is going, the defense attorney speaks up, "Objection! The prosecutor is trying to lead my client past what he is charged with."The judge barely pauses before he rules, "Denied. Criminal law concerns itself with the motivation as well as the criminal act itself. Continue, counselor.""Thank you, your honor." She turns back to the defendant, "Back to the question, why did you 'pat her fanny'?"He hesitates before he answers, "Why does any man pat a woman's fanny?""I don't know since I'm not a man. Please, enlighten the court."When he hesitates longer, the judge reminds him, "You were asked a question and you're under oath to tell the truth."The defendant sighs, hesitates, then responds, "A man pats a woman's fanny when he's expressing his approval of her beauty.""You mean you can't go up to a beautiful woman, introduce yourself, and tell her she's beautiful. Instead, you come up behind her and hit her?""That's not what I said.""I'm sorry, sir, but that is what you said, at least in regards to my client. You admitted you hit her and that you did it from behind when she was unaware. Now, can you please answer the question, why did you hit my client?"The defendant hesitates before he answers, "I thought she was attractive.""Just to be clear about what you mean by attractive, did you think she was attractive like a flower, or like a picture of a sunset over the ocean, or in a sexual manner."His voice is barely above a whisper when he finally answers, "The last one.""So, to summarize, you thought my client was sexually attractive so you went over to her and without her consent or even awareness, you hit her. You didn't hit her arm or her leg or her head or her back, but you hit her on the buttocks which is about as close as you could get to her sexual organs from where you were standing. Since you didn't bother to make her aware of your presence, much less your attentions yet you touched her so intimately, it seems to me rather clear what your real intent was."... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.

Her Catalyst is a story of hope and love in an alternate timeline. Background contains various events and conversations which influenced some of the characters and set the stage for how they respond to the situations recorded in Her Catalyst.A peek inside:"I could use a bit of a break.""Okay." He sits down across from her and asks, "So, how's school going?""It's getting better in the sense that I'm learning more and getting better grades. However, it's not fun when I have to interact with the other students who aren't interested in learning."Mr. G nods his head as he says, "Yeah, that can be difficult. Either you conform to some group and become like a puppet to the strongest personality in the group, or you try to be an individual and are considered to be an outcast by all of the groups. They think you're not good enough to be in their group, while they accuse you of acting like you're too good for them, yet the truth is, you just want to be left alone.""That's it exactly."He glances at her book and paper and asks, "Geometry? How do you like it?""It's interesting. It's taking me awhile to learn the formulas, but it helps me to understand how containers of very different shapes can hold the same amount of material.""I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. I suppose that working in a kitchen with the various ingredients might raise the question of whether one container really does hold the same amount as another container.""Yeah. It's funny how the shape of a container can give the impression that there's more product than another container. Excuse me for a moment." Angelisa gets up, is soon back with his food, says, "Here you go. Enjoy," and sits back down."Oh, thank you. I can move to a different table so you don't have to watch me eat.""Mr. G, I watch people eat all day long."He thinks for a moment then says, "Oh, yeah. Sorry."She just grins at him as he slowly smiles then she tells him, "Besides, I don't often get to talk to someone who is so willing to listen.""I'm all ears," he picks up a fork full of food, "and mouth."Angelisa chuckles and talks more about her other classes while she enjoys his encouraging words and thoughtful questions. A couple of times she gets up to refill his drink and then to get a takeout box for his leftovers."Thank you for listening to me, Mr. G, I really appreciate it.""It was my pleasure. I always like to hear how you're progressing. I continue to be amazed at your effort and determination to get an education and at how well you've succeeded."She assures him, "If it wasn't for you being interested enough in helping me and to take the time to figure out why I couldn't read standard then encouraging me as I struggled, I would have dropped out of school a long time ago.""I was glad to do what little I could, but you're the one who realized you had a problem, had enough courage to admit it, and then made the effort day after day to fix the problem.""Why is it that we go back and forth on who deserves the credit for helping me to learn to read and be able to get an education?"Mr. G tries to look at her sternly as he tells her, "Probably because a certain young lady refuses to listen to the wisdom of an ancient one."She just laughs and enjoys his answering smile."I probably ought to be going and not interrupt you any longer.""You weren't interrupting me. I enjoyed the opportunity to have someone listen to me and talk with me."He stands up as he says, "Angelisa, you have every right to be proud of yourself, and I'm proud of what you've accomplished. Thank you for being willing to tell me how you're succeeding. Keep up your hope and your future will be bright with opportunities."Angelisa stands up and struggles not to... It has been said that the best things in life are free and so are this writer's stories. Hope you enjoy them.