I’m trying something new. Every day I’ll write for 10 minutes. I won’t limit what I write to any particular thing. It could be fiction, poetry, an essay, whatever. The goal is to write and then publish and share it. I need to get over my fear of publishing and I need to build a writing (and publishing) habit.

This is some freewriting I did today. Let me know if you like it and if I should continue the story.

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There’s a wealth of information to be had in the garbage. Norton knew this. She rummaged through the rubbish all the time. Recycling was even better. People just throw away so much paper and junk mail without even thinking about it. A pre-filled credit card application here can tell if you a person has good credit or bad credit depending on the type of card and what limit they’re offered. If they had a loan consolidation application, then maybe they’re living a little beyond their means. Norton could use that.

Priscilla Norton, who hated her first name went by just Norton, would find people with more dollars than sense and find a way to get a few those dollars for herself. Sometimes, she was a financial planner; others, a loan officer. Occasionally, through no fault of her own, she even helped her “clientele” out of the holes they’d dug for themselves. She was in between things at the moment and had no referrals. So she rummaged in the garbage of an upper-middle-class neighborhood.

It was while Norton was rummaging that she ran into an old acquaintance. His name was Luke. He liked to go by Skywalker on account of the name and his love of Star Wars. Aside from the blonde hair, he looked nothing like Mark Hamill though. And he was sweaty. Well, not always, but on this occasion, he was sweaty and out-of-breath.

“Norton,” he said, and looked around. “What are you doing here?”

Norton put the lid of the garbage bin down. “Looking for a late-night snack. What are you doing here? I didn’t figure you for a jogger.”

“I, uh, was looking for someone. You, in fact. Norton, you’ve gotta help me!”

Norton looked over Luke’s shoulder. There wasn’t anyone chasing him that she could see, but she didn’t buy his story either. “Alright. What do you need?”

“I need you to help me find a woman.”

Norton laughed. “Luke, did you happen to notice that I’m a woman?”

“No. I mean, yeah, but I’m looking for a different woman.”

“Have you heard of Tinder? I’ve heard it’s very easy to catfish someone on there. You’d do great.” Norton turned back to the rubbish and began pawing through it again.

“Catfish? No, it’s not like that.”

Norton kept pawing. “Then what is it like?”

“I need you to help me find my sister.”

“Didn’t know you had a sister.”

Luke sighed. “Me either, until a few minutes ago.”

“Mazel tov,” Norton said, closing the lid on a bin moving to another. “We should get coffee sometime: me, you, and your new sis.”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck and stared down at the pavement. “Well, I think that’s going to be a little difficult.”

“Yeah, why’s that?”

“She’s dead.”

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