When I turned twenty-five, I stared down the face of thirty. Fear was palpable. I slid down my last half of my twenties in a haze, landing at my dreaded age with arms full of a newborn. I always heard, if you blink, it would become ten years later. I’ve blinked, and I now stare down forty, standing in the middle of my thirties. The fear has not waned. I stand here with two children now, one in school and the other giving sass. I force my eyes wide to let the air dry them out, petrified to blink again.

another 100 word challenge from velvetverbosity's site.

I posted a call for help to find a last name Monday night and the response was overwhelming! My Twitter feed blew up and comments kept coming from my facebook accounts and in email. I was giddy with all the replies.

As the result, I've decided to go with Jackson Mallory. (As my friend Jordan Drew put it, the word 'mal' is Latin for bad, or evil. I like that. It goes well. ;) )

Other suggestions have been written down and saved for later;especially one for Quinn from Lindsay Jackson on Twitter. I really liked that name and want to use it somewhere. It might actually be a main character's first name. I haven't decided where he goes yet.

Thanks again for all the replies, You guys are great!

There's a man in my head. His name is Jackson.
Jackson, or Jack, is a young man in his twenties. He's showing me a glimpse of his life from the late 1890's. I already know a lot about Jack, but he's not telling me his last name.

That's where you come in, reader.
What's Jackson's last name?

::Editing for questions: The story is set in the UK, but he's a wanderer. His past is a bit unknown ;) 

Is my first 100 word challenge entry interesting enough to continue? I may try to do another hundred word entry  (either with or without VelvetVerbosity's official challenge,) because it was really neat to write. Very compact. It felt like a puzzle. I love puzzles.

I wonder if I could make it into a serial.... a hundred words at a time...

Would you care enough for it to come see, or shall I do it just for me?

@VelvetVerbosity on twitter has stared at me pointedly to take part in her 100 word challenge. I thought I might give it a shot. Here's the result.

She tucked a stray strand of inky black hair behind her ear as she stared out the café window into the snow drifts. The flakes fell silently like a blanket being laid over a sleeping infant. Taking a deep breath, she took a sip of the bitter brew she held; the hazelnut flavoring tickling her nose. Her hands shook slightly as she glanced to see blood caking under her fingernails. Putting the cup down, she picked up a nearby napkin to try and clean them. She kicked the body lying at her feet. He should’ve known she preferred black coffee.