The Other Side of Life

By Daphne Williams Robinson

The Other Side of Life is a fantasy about what can happen when the forces of nature intersect our lives. People caught up in storms, earthquakes, floods, and the like have a story to tell, none so mystical as what it might be like to travel through space and especially through time.
William (Bill) and Henry (Hank) are two high school students who have that experience: first, when they meet Winston, a visitor from the nineteenth century, and later when all of them are transported from their twenty-first century lives to the nineteenth century, a land caught up fighting in the Civil War.
Are they forever trapped in nineteenth-century America? What effect will the customs of the nineteenth century have on them if they are ever fortunate enough to be transported back to the twenty-first century?
This story helps determine the direction of our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546236177

Daphne Williams Robinson

My DNA is in a sense a predictor of my interest in writing and telling stories. My mother loved to read and my father, while not a fictional reader followed the news and business and political writings, We were poor and did not have story books as I remember. My strongest memory is of making up stories for my brothers and I when I was about kindergarten age. I remember them asking me to repeat stories which I was unable to do because they had been the products of my imagination. An avid reader, I was one of the public librarys most faithful customers. In college I discovered my skills at combining my interest in music with my interest in reading. I was one of the prime authors of some of the skits and musical parodies we used for campus entertainment. In my work with physically handicapped children these same skills helped me to make endless exercise programs more interesting. Once I retired, I fulfilled a promise to myself and purchased a computer with some of my retirement funds. I took advantage of my retirement to increase the time available to develop my story telling skills. A well known author friend, Mrs. Sharon Draper who has received many awards once said to me, Writing is like an itch you have to scratch. I am a spiritual person and I thank God for the gifts He has given me: A curious mind and an active imagination.

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© 2018 Daphne Williams Robinson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  05/14/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-3618-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-3616-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-3617-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018904228

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Summary

Part One   Life Can Be A Strange Mystery

Chapter 1   Strange Visions

Chapter 2   A Different Kind Of Life

Part Two   A Different Side Of Life

Chapter 3   Dramatic Life Changes

Chapter 4   Different Life Experiences

Chapter 5   The Nineteenth Century

Part Three   A City United

Chapter 6   The Centuries Conjoined Efforts

Chapter 7   The Twenty First Century

Glossary

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to family and friends who support my thirst for writing. As an African American woman, I recognize that there are many tales and stories, fictional and non-fictional to be told about my people.

Truth, fiction, and fantasy are vehicles that can be used to tell a story.

SUMMARY

The Other Side of Life is a fantasy about what can happen when the forces of nature intersect our lives. People caught up in storms, earthquakes, floods, and the like have a story to tell. None so mystical as what it might be like to travel through space and especially through time.

William (Bill) and Henry (Hank) are two high school students who have that experience; first when they meet Winston, a visitor from the 19th century, and later when they are transported from the 21st century to the 19th century… a land caught up fighting the Civil War.

Are they forever trapped in 19th Century America? What effect will the customs of the 19th century have on them if they are ever fortunate enough to be transported back to the 21st Century?

PART ONE

LIFE CAN BE

A STRANGE

MYSTERY

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CHAPTER 1

STRANGE VISIONS

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I’m just an ordinary guy….. or so I thought I was, until one day my life turned upside down and more or less inside out. In the twinkling of an eye I was going to find out the meaning of the phrase topsy turvy world. I would embark on an experience unlike any other that I’d ever had.

I was standing on the street corner, eyeing the girls instead of making my way home. I soon found out how radically my life was about to change. Mom and Dad were often disgusted with me. They said that I was a bit lazy at home… that I constantly tried to talk my way out of responsibilities.

Their biggest concern, was as they said; ‘too often my hormones were in charge of my brain.’ Heck, what don’t they understand? I’m not much different from any other fifteen year old guy.

I admit that I should have headed home once I finished studying at the library. School had just begun following our summer break. The teachers were piling on assignments as if there were no tomorrow. I had stopped at the county library to research materials for a school history project. I soon learned, that I should have made a beeline for home when I finished instead of hanging around.

I stood there on the corner even after I could see that most everybody else was gone including the girls. I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed that the winds were picking up and the sky was getting dark… almost black. I should have paid attention. The weatherman had predicted some really bad weather….. a possible tornado.

Suddenly I took note. I was shocked to see that the winds were blowing like some ferocious animal attacking a victim. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed that the street had long emptied of the people who had been there when I first came out of the library. The noise was deafening. I immediately looked for a place to hide. I sought safety in an office building across the street. Luckily the outer doors were unlocked. I darted inside, still