Well, hi there, folks. For those of y'all who may have been missing the timeline.....I truly am sorry. I was not only busy trying to keep up with college, but there was other stuff I was trying to take care of.....and I had a little bit of bad luck along the way(including the fact that the original document for this story somehow managed to get corrupted. 😟)
That said, though, I haven't forgotten about the TL at all, and here's a neat little holiday themed story for y'all!
Special Post #1-An Alternate Universe Christmas.
Arapahoe County, Colorado
Dec. 25, 2021
It was a genuinely happy and jolly Christmas in this old Lincolnian mansionette lying around the picturesque slopes of the Rocky Mountains just outside of Aurora, and 31-year-old Althea Mitchell, or “Allie”, as she was known to all of her friends and family, was really enjoying the party her old friend Marissa Trevelyan had thrown tonight. It was really cold outside with temperatures dropping well below freezing, but she was used to the chilly weather, having lived in this very same area her whole life, and besides, the house was well-heated anyway. The pretty 5'11” brunette was wearing a lovely light blue dress and pretty white slippers, and was currently standing next to a large table with many different dishes; plov, kurutob, injera, sushi, Mexican-style barbecue and even Colorado-style pasties, just to name a few. Althea took a bit of the kurutob, one of the pasties, and some of the barbecue and some root beer, but just as she was finishing getting her plate, someone said “Allie?”.
She turned around and saw a woman waving at her nearby; she had a distinct appearance and was about as tall as Althea herself. She smiled, almost immediately recognizing the woman next to her. “Oh, Shahnoza!”, said Althea, and the two women embraced. She and Shahnoza Kalontarova had met in college, and although the Tajikistani-American lady was just over a decade older than Althea, the two had become friends fast during their time together, which continued after their studies had ended. “I've missed being around you, Noziya.”, said Althea, “It's been so long since we've really been together.” “Oh, I know, right, Allie?”, Shahnoza replied. “But I've just been so busy taking care of my kids and checking in on my mom, though, so I just haven't had the time to actually hang out with any of my friends.” She sighed. “Aw, it's okay, Noziya, I've had a few moments like that, too.”, Althea said reassuringly. “I'm just glad we're finally gonna have a chance to actually chill together for the first time in a while, you know?”, she added. “Anyway, now that I know you're here, I thought I'd introduce you to a few of my other friends who're also here tonight. Did you meet Marissa already, by the way?”
“Oh, the tall dark-haired lady with the greenish-blue eyes and dark blue dress?”, said Shahnoza. “Yes, she's very nice, indeed. Her last name is Cornish, I believe?”, she added. “Oh yeah, and her family's been here a long time, too.”, Althea replied. “Ah, that is interesting.”, Shahnoza said in return.
“Anyway,”, said Althea, “if you wanna meet those folks I was talking about, just follow me and I'll show you the way”, she said, grinning. “Sure, I'd love to meet everybody. Maybe get to know some folks a little, too.”, Shahnoza replied. “Alright then, let's go”, said an enthusiastic Althea, and she led Shahnoza over to a table where about twenty people were sitting.
“Oh, hey guys, guess what?”, said Althea. “I know a few of you guys may know her already, but for those of you who don't know, this is my college friend Shahnoza Kalontarova. Why not say hi, Shahnoza?”
“Hello, everybody! You can just call me Noziya for short. I've known Allie for a number of years now and we went to college together. It's nice to meet you all.”, Shahnoza said happily, eager to introduce herself. “H-hi there.”, Alisher Iskanderov, a geeky-looking, thin and tallish Uzbeki-American man with glasses, replied sheepishly. “Hiya, Miss Noziya. Name's Winston, how are you?” said Winston Scott-Price, a Jamaican/Trinidadian-American man with dreadlocks. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Kalontarova.”, James Matchett, a shorter and slightly stocky African-American man with glasses, said with a friendly smile on his face. “Hi, Noziya. My name's Alyssa! Allie told me about you some time back; nice to finally meet you in person!”, Alyssa Yamaguchi, a cheery Japanese-American lady with pigtails remarked. “Oh, me too. Glad y'all could join us tonight.”, said Corrina Martinez, a Mexican-American woman with short dark hair and wearing a white T-shirt with the words “Adventure Nation” emblazoned on it.
Shahnoza grinned widely. “Hey, mind if I sit down here?”, pointing to an empty chair next to where Althea had sat. “Sure, not a problem, it's all yours.”, said Alyssa from a few chairs down. “OK, thanks Alyssa.”, Shahnoza replied.
“Anyway, why not tell us a bit about yourself, Noziya?”, said Althea.
“Sure!”, said Shahnoza. “Anyway, I grew up in a nice little town not that far from Tijuana, Baja California.....”
So yeah, that's basically it, but I hope you enjoyed it, nonetheless.
(P.S., I also had some footnotes here, too! But I'll have to wait until tomorrow to add those details in, though.)
