TWO NOVELLAS by Allan Ishmael Young THE HEAD ROCK CHALLENGE Lord, how I hate these people, kept running through his mind. Life seems to smite him at every turn. His personal as well as his professional life, are constantly full of insurmountable problems. His inherent dislike of family members and potential friends slowly turns to hate. When eventually he comes to believe that he has found ways to conquer his difficulties, he makes his flight from the area in his own way. THE CROSSROADS STORE This place has become my own personal Eden, he thought. He would tell you right up front that he is a sterile engineer. He's not an engineer that works on sterile projects, and he is not a super clean man. It means he cannot father children, can't get anybody pregnant. When the mumps "fell on him," as the old folks say, it settled in his testicles. It became both a blessing and a curse, starting with his first visit to "The Crossroads Store" when he met her.