SHARING A NOVEL - THE BABY FARM

Hello everybody,

I want to continue sharing the Baby Farm with you, a novel by Louis Steyn.
The descriptive novel compelling yet with a hint of reality is sure to keep you intrigued.

THE BABY FARM CONTINUATION
He waited for the Angel of death to appear, as he did most mornings. The rising sun caught the sharp edges of the broken windows of the tall buildings opposite, and the whole façade was transformed into a crystal cathedral of liquid gold shimmering light as the figure stood on the edge of the roof.
Dressed completely in black, a great black cloak and a black hood covering his face, the figure stood silhouetted against the dove grey sky. He stretched his arms out as if to take flight, then seemed to step forward or stumble and plummeted to the earth like a wounded bird, a giant black bird. His legs moved awkwardly, his arms failed to and he fell like a stone. Then it was over.

This was the Baby Farm. Two levels of parking had been converted into living zones, a space just big enough for a bed for the mother and a mattress on the ground for the children. A small cupboard, table and chair. Bare walls, no pictures, no mirrors. A bleak space for child rearing, drab grey curtains covered the entrance. Grey the color of choice.

The boy reached his living zone out of breath, his mother sitting on the bed nursing her baby and the younger boy still asleep on the mattress. The mother who could barley read had named her two boys from the signs that were plastered all over the city. "For Sale" and "To Let", and shortened them to Force and Tol.

The children were hers for such a short time at the age of six she knew she would never see them again and it was just one year left for Force until that painful final separation came. The boys had different fathers yet they displayed a bond of unity, with little Tol and his amazing green eyes, growing up in the shadow of Force.


Girl, later changed her name to Luna discovered an old man in the far corner of the roof, w wrinkled red eye with short curly grey hair and yellow teeth. He grew tomatoes in tin cans, red ones, plump, and juicy. Yellow ones in clusters on stakes and he treated them like babies. They made a tall splash of color in a grey world. She was fascinated. She had never seen a tomato before, but she instinctively new they were for eating and she wanted one. She allowed Red Eye to fondle her in exchange for a tomato.


She found the tomatoes sufficient compensation and had never tasted anything so fresh and delicious before.


I have only shared excerpts from chapters and I know the novel itself will be a rewarding experience.

Regards
Laura

SIPHO AND THE GOLDEN NAILS - CHAPTER 7

Hello everybody,

Hoping you are all enjoying your weekend and wishing you a peaceful week ahead.

In South Africa the winter weather is well on its way and the nights are rather chilly. I love summer time. The warm days, the outdoors and the sunshine. Well we can't have it our way all the time, and I remain grateful that I can survive the cold weather conditions.


Chapter 7

RETURN TO EARTH
After spending more than two months on planet Anglur, the children were sad yet excited with the prospect of returning to Africa. Lindiwe and the girls, all packed and ready to leave, waited in the lounge for Zanu and his family. Sipho came in looking sullen with his head hung low and he greeted Lindiwe. She walked up to him and hugged him asking why he looked so sad. He held onto her and told her he wanted to stay, he did not want to return to the settlement. She tried to comfort him. Zanu and Randia entered the lounge. Zanu immediately noticed Sipho’s apprehensive mood and assured him all would be fine. Zanu ruffled his hair and led him toward the door.
"Zanu, where is Idranda, I want to say good-bye to her?" Sipho asked.
"She is staying with Maazen and I will send a message to her," Zanu replied.
Sipho realized that Zanu had Idranda moved from the house because he knew of her gift but, he decided not to pursue this for now. They left the mansion and climbed into the waiting autoglider and drove to the spaceport. On the way, they looked out of the autoglider’s windows for the last time, at the exquisite surroundings of this pleasant planet. They arrived at the departure building of the spaceport and without wasting any time, Zanu guided them to the waiting craft. Zerydo, already on board and seated when the children entered, was greeted by them, before they took their seats. They watched as Zanmorn, Olomos and the rest of the team boarded. Zanu, ensuring they were all comfortable, requested them to buckle up. Looking directly at Sipho, he told them, the ship would orbit earth for a short period before landing and that they should relax and enjoy the experience.

Zanu went into the cockpit and spoke to the engineers and after they told him they were ready to proceed, he went back and sat next to his wife Randia. Lift off proceeded without any glitches. They soon entered into space and proceeded toward earth. After traveling through the darkness, light appeared in the distance and they knew they were approaching earth. Zanu looked around and noticed Sipho was looking out of the window and appeared to be more comfortable. Zanu told the group they were traveling over Asia and would soon see Israel and then Africa. Eagerly the children tried to contain their excitement. Irma was impressed and said she would like to travel the world one day. Sipho asked if the earth’s radar systems could detect the spacecraft and Zanu confirmed they could not. Passing slowly over Israel, Zanu told Sipho to memorize as much as possible about the area he was observing.
The smooth slow passage of the spacecraft was enjoyable and then the spacecraft increased speed substantially and continued down Africa. They soon saw the never-ending hills where their settlement was hidden from the rest of the world. The hilltop opened and the craft descended and landed without any complications. After waiting awhile, Zanu rose and walked to the exit door. He waited for it to open and told the group they should prepare to leave the spacecraft. He walked down the ramp, and followed by all, was greeted by the ground staff and engineers, who were pleased to see them.
Zanu reassured the children who were excited and yet nervous, that all was safe. They went to their quarters, and unpacked, before meeting at the control center. Zanu told them to enjoy themselves and to play and rest, for soon there would be work to do. Without answering, the children left and went to the play-field to enjoy their freedom.


Well that's chapter 7 for now, I am really hoping to publish by the end of next month.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

All the best,
Your friend,
Laura

MOTHERS DAY

A big hello to all the mothers,

Mother of mine
Oh, how I love thee
Talking to you each day
Hearing your sweet replies
Every time I need to
Responding with joy, at the sheer honesty of your wisdom!


Happy Mother’s Day to all the loving moms in our lives.

What would we do without our mothers!

I do not have a human mom anymore, I have an angel mom now, and when the world celebrates mother's day, I do to.
Mother's are special they always have been and always will be. I can honestly say my mom was more than a mother she was my best friend, my inspiration and guidance into the unknown future.



Psalm 34
1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.




Blessings of grace, mercy and peace be with you always.
Your friend,
Laura

PUBLISHED ARTICLE

Hello Everybody,

A wonderful Saturday and I hope you are enjoying.

I love writing and recently wrote a few articles not expecting much but it happened. My article was published, I am excited and want to share with you.

Here is the link for my article.


http://guardianlv.com/2013/05/british-government-to-terminate-aid-to-south-africa/

Please read this and comment if you want to.

All the best
Regards
Your friend
Laura

Sharing a story - BABY FARM

Hello Everybody,

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

This week I am not sharing my story, about the lovable Sipho and the twins Emma and Irma. Yes I will share more soon. Update on the not yet published novel - almost there, just a few more weeks. I am still uncertain about the cover.

Now let me share something totally different this week.

Baby farm, yes we know what that means, we have heard of that in the news and especially about the Nigeria one. Awful thought and traumatic for the children, not something expected in a democratic country and definitely not expected from a decent human being!

The baby farm, a novel by my friend, Louis Steyn, incredible and spooky. The story focuses on three children, two brothers, Force and Cat and a girl named Luna. These three children make a pact to meet in Paris when they turn twenty-one, and that I am sure gave these unfortunate children a flicker of hope.
At the baby farm when the children turn six years old they leave, and depending on the color of their armbands, their fate is sealed. Luna and Force, being the same age received different color armbands. Luna knew the blue armband was for donors. A clever child, she created a diversion that ended in both of them having the same color, at least the same fate. Set off to finishing school for a month or so and then sold to ghastly people as sex slaves.
The story tells of their emotional suffering and dreadful torture and endurance to strive for freedom. Freedom at any cost, even murder.
A twist in the story that not even I would have imagined possible. This is a story I enjoyed, and I must say not for the fainthearted, and definitely not for children. Explicit and descriptive scenes throughout the story will keep you guessing until the end.

The opening chapters of the BABY FARM
Morning sky, grey and cold. Hazy mist covered the sleeping city like a shroud softening but not concealing. Slabs of building stood silent as gravestones, darkness lingering in the horizontals and verticals, hiding in the spaces between. Locked in a grid, waiting quietly for the new day.
Built brick by brick in haste and bravado, demolishing the old and the beautiful, making openings for windows, timer bridges spanning wild concrete pouring on the steel inside. History obliterated, the modern city arose out of the ancient dust of Africa. Built in brash confidence to outlast the pyramids only to be finally abandoned and buried at the double funerals of industry and commerce.
A new day in a dead city. Like empty shells thrown away, they stood and waited patiently as the people moved in. There like maggots in a corpse, they lived their squalid lives, without electricity, without water, without hope in a world gone mad.
A smudge of pale light, a lemon sky bitter and cold as juice banished the darkness of night. Birds in the dark trees that still lined the streets greeted the new day. Their bird sounds stranger discordant music on an empty stage. The people still asleep did not hear or care. Today was just another day same as yesterday, same as tomorrow.
Time continued, as always, supremely oblivious. Life and time intertwined.
In the dark heart of the city stood a building that had once been a bustling office tower. On the first floor, once a parking garage, a boy pushed a little wooden box closer to the tall windows and climbed up on it, his little toes curling over the edge, his face pressed up against the cold glass and he squinted through a tear in the yellowed newspaper that covered the lower half of the dusty window.


Well I have shared the first few chapters of this compelling novel and if you want to know more, then leave a comment or contact me and I will share.


The good news this week and celebrated around the world is the release of the women held captive for so many years. That is a story with a wonderful ending and I cannot imagine the joy of being free from a living nightmare. A candle for the brave women.



All the best,
Your friend,
Laura