Excerpt: Ties of Destiny

Once upon a time. . .

No, wait, that isn’t really a good start for this story. I mean, this story isn’t one of those fairy tales where the destitute and down-on-her-luck girl meets a handsome young man who turns out to be a prince and whisks her away to his castle where they live happily ever after. No, this is a story about real life and the tragedies that strike somewhat ordinary people. I say ‘somewhat ordinary people’ because a good portion of the people in this story are gifted with abilities. Some of them use their abilities for good, and some, well, you’ll see.

I guess I should start by giving you a little bit of background before just plunging you into the events. I could start by introducing myself so that I’m not just some random person who’s communicating to you through words on a page. Honestly, I’m not even sure how I’m managing that, but, well, as I said before, you’ll see.

My name is Desmond Molloy. Desmond Jones Molloy, if you’re my mother and I’ve gotten into trouble for something. I am named after a Beatles song; my parents are HUGE Beatles fans, and they named my twin brother Jude and me after their favorite songs. Jude is, of course, named after ‘Hey Jude,’ and his middle name, Krishna, comes from one song or another, I don’t remember exactly which one. He really hates his middle name, but can you blame him? He hates ‘Hey Jude’ too, especially since it’s become so popular because of that Across the Universe movie. Me? I think it’s a great song, and not just because I can get on Jude’s nerves when I play or sing it. Hey, I’m the younger twin and it’s my job to harass my brother. It’s in my job description. No, seriously, my job description is ‘Freelance Graphics Designer and Twin Annoyer.’ It’s a really great gig, pays pretty well too.