So, this is the first Sunday of the month and already I've taken to cheating.  Cici and I are plodding our way through the things that we're told we're supposed to do, like blogging. In person I can be a chatter, even when I'm writing I can go on and on.  But I do believe it's that element of doing something I'm supposed to do that forces me into the position of finding it difficult. 

Excuse or not, I'm giving you a short, short excerpt of my newest work, Secrets Of The Orient.                                     

             Secrets of the Orient

Exhaustion weighed on Dai Han’s shoulders until he felt as bent and ancient as his grandfather. He was the first son, the one to whom the mantle of the numerous family businesses would be passed. There was but one slight problem. No one had ever inquired if that was what he wished to do with his life. Perhaps he should have told them instead of thinking his life choices would have made his intentions clear.

It had not mattered that he’d spent seven years with a group of warriors so elite that he dared not mention what they did, not even to his family. The most he could tell them was he belonged to The Brotherhood. That they understood.

One day he woke he woke and without warning the feeling of wanting more settled around his heart. He wanted more, a woman to love, children, and his family that he had left. He was lonely. To his surprise, living without his family had proven to be much harder than he’d imagined

But to leave The Brotherhood was unheard of.  Dai Han tried every method he’d been taught to remove the unwanted feelings that were ravaging his mind, leaving him at a loss for finding the peace and solace he’d so much enjoyed for seven years.

After a time he couldn’t rid himself of the ache in his heart. It grew until it permeated his soul. To the disbelief of The Brotherhood he’d left. Nevertheless, he’d done the things necessary to leave in good standing. He would always be welcomed back. His brothers would be there for him should he have need of them. And if called upon he would return.

 Living a more peopled life wasn’t as easy as he’d imagined. He still craved excitement and his body demanded a physical job, so he’d applied to the police department, went to the academy and worked his way up in record time to being a detective. Still one thing eluded him. He’d not found a woman to love, none had spoken to that secret place inside himself.

His adored grandfather, mother and siblings had been happy to have him home. As for his father, who knew how he felt about his return. The most he’d done since Dai Han had left the Brotherhood was nod.

Dai Han would admit the weekly dinners with his family served to feed a deeper need in his soul. It was not something he’d been able to do until he’d left The Brotherhood to work in the police department. Though his family’s constant questioning about where he’d been and what he’d done for seven years was an issue he’d wished they’d drop. It was something he couldn’t and would never talk to them about, even if it were allowed. He barely mentioned the two years he’d served as lead detective for the police department.

Somehow it was understood by the ones he served that if his family called, it was Dai Han’s obligation to leave, no questions asked. It was because of that understanding that his career with the police department ended without even an exit interview or a simple, “Do you want to leave?” If anyone had thought to ask, his answer would have been a resounding no. He had enjoyed the things he’d chosen to do with his life. But it seemed none of them were as important as being an obedient son. Family loyalty had been bred into him from the time of his birth. Though he’d questioned his father about the power in his reach he’d not received an answer, only a smile and a half shrug. Then came his father’s question. “If others can see your importance in this family, why can’t you?”