Manuel Vieira Gomes
I would like to give thanks to my oldest sister Tunie. Although I’ve been writing stories since I was seven years old, it was Tunie who cheered me on to realize my dream of becoming an author. She passed away in November of 2011 but I still hear her encouragement in everything that I do. She will ever be in my thoughts, my heart and in my prayers. I would also like to give thanks to my daughter Natalia. When she was a little girl (and I was still in the Air Force), I would read a bedtime story to her every night that I was home. Like me, she had quite a library as a child and, also like me, had most of them memorized! So, after a while, she would say, 'Daddy, read me a bedtime story!' 'Ok' I would say and pull a book from her shelf, 'How about this one?' 'No, I already know that story' she would say. After going through this several times, she would say, 'tell me a NEW story!' So, turning to my own love of storytelling (and writing), I would make up new stories on the spot for her. Often times, I had no idea where the story was going or where it would lead - much like little Louie in this story! One night when I had a break from the usual TDY’s ('temporary duty' - going on a 'mission' somewhere in the world) and I was home to read my daughter a story - and she insisted on a new story, The Five Sisters came to me. At first, I thought of telling my daughter an old Chinese children’s story that I had read as a child called The Five Daoist Brothers, then I thought about my own five older sisters, and finally, the story of The Five Sisters was born! Like so many of the stories I told my daughter, I had no idea where this story was going. The Five Sisters, however, was a different story than the rest. I believe that there is some sort of magic in it - it told the story through me. I seemed to be listening to the story as much as my daughter! It must have been magic indeed because my daughter requested the story of The Five Sisters over and over aga
