BY FORCES UNSEEN

These are seven short works of fiction: the longest 54 pages, the shortest 15. 99 SYCAMORE CIRCLE is the story of a young widow with four children who buys a house everyone considers haunted. The building, in fact, has acquired a personality of its own. Originally antagonistic, the house grows to love this family and ultimately protects the children from a sexual predator. BENJI'S WISH is about a child for whom the woods is a frequent refuge from his abusive parents. One day, he follows a long-abandoned road that leads to a magic spring. The spring grants him a wish. The story centers on how this eleven-year-old boy uses his unexpected gift. THE MAN WHO LOVED TREES concerns a reclusive old man who is a true child of nature. When the people of a nearby town kill him, NATURE responds. APRIL AND JUNE is the story of two very different by devoted sisters. When June is murdered, the killer, the son of the town's wealthiest man, bribes his way out of trouble. When he attempts to kill April as well, June reaches from beyond the grave to save her - in a most unusual manner. THE APARTMENT is about Dan St. John, a young man forced to leave his home by his hateful mother. After a difficult search, he finally locates a decent apartment. But after he moves in, he notices that other residents start disappearing. In time, he discovers that the building has a serious bug problem - the flesh-eating kind. Being in debt to a loanshark is about the worst thing that can happen to a gambler. Jens De Bekker has that problem and more in THE GAMBLER. He discovers that even worse things can happen when he employs the dark powers of a South Seas idol to eliminate his debt. THE CAVE is the story of a wealthy, but bored and unfulfilled man, Mike Dodge, who seeks excitement through dangerous pursuits like cave exploration. Trapped in an unexplored cavern by the collapse of the entrance, he pushes himself to explore the rest of the cave. To his great relief, he discovers another way out. When he finally walks into the sunlight once again, he is shocked to find that he is no longer in the present, but in the North America of 17,000 years ago.