Ok, people I am so excited about these stories. They are going to be so random they will be somewhat of a parody, but not this first one. Also, they are mostly dialogue.

(Percy and his mother are eating breakfast. As Sally watches her son chow down his blueberry pancakes, her heart is heavy, and she sighs as she decides it's time to tell him.)

Sally: Percy, dear.

Percy: Ya, mom?

Sally: I- I have to tell you something.

Percy: Go ahead. Shoot.

Sally: (stroking Percy's face.) You know I love you, right?

(Percy nods slowly.)

Well, we've been meaning to tell you this, but it just never came up.

Percy: What is it mom?

Sally: (tears welling in her eyes.) That's just it, sweetie. I'm not your mother. Well, of course I am, and always will be, but, not biologically.

Percy: What about dad?

Sally: (a little relieved that the worst is over.) Well, he is definitely your father. You couldn't be anyone's son but his.

Percy: (really letting it sink in; crying slightly.) Who is my real mom? Why didn't she want me?

Sally: She was very adventurous, Percy. She traveled around the world to scuba dive and see exotic fish, and that's what caught your father's interest.

Percy: She couldn't take care of me?

Sally: That's one way to put it.

Percy: Huh?

Sally: (Getting distant.) She was just too busy I guess.

Percy: (Urgent) I want to meet her. Can I see her? Through like an Iris Message or something?

Sally: (Panicked) I don't think that's such a good idea, Percy.

Percy: (Giving Sally a face that she just couldn't say no to.) Please?

Sally. (Sighing.) Alright. We'll go visit your mother, Katherine.

(A few days later, Sally and Percy fly on a plane to Chandler, Arizona. Katherine was born here. She finally settled down after her global travels. They spend the night at a hotel, and the next morning they set out to find Percy's mother.)

(In the car.)

Percy: (Hardly sitting still.) Are we almost there?

Sally: (Crying) Almost, Percy.

(It begins to rain. They keep driving until finally the car stops.)

Sally: We're here.

Percy: (Confused.) She can't possibly live-

(It finally sinks in.)

Sally: Would you like to visit your mother Percy?

Percy: (Taking a deep breath.) Ok.

(Percy and his mother walk along the wide sidewalk, until they stop at a small, ordinary stone with no flowers. The rain continues to pour down, and the drops ran across the letters that read: Katherine Martin 1963- 1999. That's all it says.)

Percy: (Voice trembling) But, how?

Sally: She was audacious, as I told you. One day, she was researching a marvelous coral reef, but she didn't check the amount of oxygen in her tank. They were sure she had plenty, but she took a long time to look at that reef, and she drowned. It was too deep for her to swim back up to the surface in time.

Percy: But, you've been my mom since I was a baby.

Sally: She gave you up for adoption as soon as you were born. She wanted a good home for you, Percy, and she didn't think she could provide it.

Percy: Oh.

Sally: I'm sorry you never got to meet your mother.

Percy: Are you kidding me? She's the best mom in the world.

(Sally smiles tearfully and they hug in that small cemetery with the rain falling heavily.)

When someone dies, it affects unexpected people. People that the deceased didn't even know. It opens the people's eyes to things that happen every day that they didn't realize before. They touch our lives and open our hearts to live and be the best we can be. I never knew you, but thank you Courtney. This story is for you.