"Kin" by Delta. "I don't usually break promises. Not even ones I make to myself. Especially not ones I make to myself. Funny how hard, and how easy, it is to overcome that private taboo." These words from the beginning of Delta's story state the narrator's ambivalence as she returned to the scene where she had known a former loved. But to me they instantly evoked a different reaction. As I read these words, I recalled an e-mail message from Delta - I think it was in November of last year - in which she told me that she was withdrawing from the erotic story circuit. She had to get on with other tasks in her life. Anonymous relationships that we develop on this newsgroup are strange and wonderful. I was sad; but I sent her a cheerful note of some kind. I don't know why she's back; but I'm glad she is. I hope she continues writing stories like this.

Delta made my Top 100 list for 1995 four times - including the number 2 story. The present story, I think, is the best she has ever written. This is partly because I like romantic, sentimental stories; but it's mostly because the story is so well written. There is no wasted verbiage; the action tells the story and conveys the emotions very effectively.

I don't know why this story has to be hidden away on a.s.s. I don't know why it can't be on magazine racks in the supermarkets or in the anthologies that my students read. There is almost no explicit sex in this story, but I had a really good feeling inside me all the while I read it - maybe that's why it's not in those anthologies.

The story is about a guy and a girl who take a First Aid course together and like each other but do not make love with each other. That may sound pretty lame; but take my word for it - Delta tells the story better than I do.