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General

It was a supernatural kind of day. The weak sun sprinkled the pavement with light and a subtle, modest kind of joy. The wind sighed satisfactorily, as it swept airily through the London streets. Crisp, crimson leaves fluttered around me, the dusty, grey sky was in perfect contrast. They looked tangible, the leaves. As I reached out from my sitting position, a leaf gently brushed the palm of my hand. On the outside, I smiled. On the inside, I laughed. I lifted my hand and groped wildly in the air. That seemed to "scare off" any leaves that came my way. I breathed in patiently and then loosely turned my hand up to face the sky. The infinite sky. Soon enough a leaf floated into my hand. It spiraled, swiftly at first, and then it stalled for a short moment, before falling into my hand. Falling into place, once again. It glowed in my hand, vibrantly, but as soon as my hand closed around, it crumbled into little fragments. The leaf was as aging as the day. 



I stood up and brushed myself down, although there was nothing to brush off. No debris, no nothing. So, I guess it was instinctual that I brushed my self down. "Instinct is good", I thought, as I wandered away from the chipped wooden bench, and through the park. Instinct also told me, that the human race is immensely concerned with renaming things. A lake often becomes a beach. A housekeeper becomes a butler. Or, in this case, a pathetic patch of weedy grass and a swing set, becomes a park. 



My coat whipped fiercely against my shins as my relaxed stroll accelerated into a brisk walk. I don't know why I was walking with such pronounced velocity, but I was, and I was not about to stop. All of my energy built up and burned, propelling me ahead. I went faster. I was running. No, sprinting. I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. I didn't stop. For a bit.



It's about three streets down when I became conscious of my shortness of breath. One moment, I was running like I was meant to. Fast, sparingly, unhaltingly. But I was not as young as I used to be, and soon the cogs that kept me going stopped. Qualities like stubbornness and strength faded away, and I was left with an empty body, exhilarated. I grabbed my sides and pumped forced breaths through my open mouth. I wanted to keep going, but I couldn't. The streets were empty. My head thumped. I knew exactly what I had done. I knew I had pushed myself over the limit, for some excitement, for some attention, for some intensity. For something, for anything. I stood, hands on knees, bent over heaving so loudly I barely noticed the woman. When I did, she took a respectful step back. She had short kinky blond hair, looks just like Kelly McGillis, you know which one I'm talking about. The top gun chick, with the gorgeous hair and toothy grin. 



"Hi." 

"What's your worst fear?" I looked at her to check if she was joking. She wasn't. She stared right back. Weirdo. 

"Ummm..." I straightened up. "Spiders." She looked at me and smiled. God, I could already tell she did that a lot. Smiling, I mean.

"No. It's not." She raised her eyebrows and half laughed. "You know that spiders aren't an issue for you. You don't mind them ." I frowned. She was right, but... how and why? Why was she bothering me?

"Frankly, that is none of your business." I cleared my throat insecurely. She just shrugged and smiled. This infuriated me even more. "You're a stranger. What are you trying to do here?" She ignored the question. 

"You lied to me. Don't you think that's a bad start to build a friendship on?" 

"You're not my friend." 

"I could be."

"You're a stranger!" 

"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." The conversation lulled. I just shook my head. 

"Maybe you are the enemy." 

She laughed. "Yeah, ok." I could tell she didn't take it seriously. She didn't take me seriously. 


Damn, I remember wanting to be more annoyed. I remember thinking I should've been cursing the living daylights out of her that very moment, but for once I didn't seem to care. I was in awe of her. I don't know why, but she was interesting. No matter how hard I tried to be pissed off... I just couldn't. 


I recall thinking: Maybe I didn't need to control this. We would see. "Que sera, Que sera." She added, as though reading my thoughts. I just decided to shrug. It was time to play it cool. "So your biggest fear?"

"Mmmmhh?" 

"Come on." She rolled her eyes. "Cat's got your tongue?" 

"Oh." I shrugged. "Maybe... Control? That I will lose control? That things won't go right?"

"Maybe?" She grimaced. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe means maybe, lady." 

She nodded. "Okay. But "maybe" doesn't wash with me." 

"Right." I looked down at my feet. "Yeah. I don't know how to answer that." 

"Perhaps... You don't have fear?" 

I gazed down the street for a moment, then turned my attention to her. "Yes," I answered with a note of finality. "Yes, I do." There was silence. I looked up, she was smiling with a touch of melancholy, but in an adventurous sort of way.

"I knew there was something about you..." She reached out as if to grab that "something". I cocked my head to the side and gave her a funny grin. She looked at me. None of us spoke.  

"Can I buy you a coffee?" 

I nodded slowly. "Sure." 


That night I sat down at my desk. I hadn't as much as touched it for years. No doubt about that. It was strewn with papers. Ripped papers, because I never saw the point in scrunching up paper into a ball. It was pointless, a bigger stress reliever would've been just to fricken rip that crap into pieces. Ripped papers, in other people's worlds, signified ripped papers. In my world, they signified failed attempts, and those, I had a lot of. And so, as I sat down to my paper-cluttered desk, I took out a sheaf of paper and began to write. Words scattered my pages, which then when pieced together, blossomed into a chapter. And then a book.


A final note to the reader, and writers of your own stories: Sometimes life gives you characters, you've just got to write them down. Fast!


June 19, 2020 20:37

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34 comments

Lexi Moreno
06:33 Jul 10, 2020

I lost the stories meaning, but I still enjoyed it, because of how you wrote it!

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E. Jude
06:38 Jul 10, 2020

Yeah, I was confused and not really in my usual writing mode while I was writing this, I also think it's my worst work., but whatever, I guess that happens to everyone

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17:48 Jul 09, 2020

Love the advice at the end! I totally agree

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Forrest Gump
21:08 Jul 05, 2020

The story was nice and mystical, with a touch of humor! Loved it!

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E. Jude
21:30 Jul 05, 2020

Tanks

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Leya Newi
14:39 Jun 30, 2020

This story was so fluid and liquidy... kinda how my mind moves when I'm trying to think of or loosely plot out a story. Great advice by the way, to take what life gives you.

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E. Jude
16:36 Jun 30, 2020

Awww... Thanks!!!!!

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07:15 Jun 27, 2020

Great story Elsa! Loved it! I enjoyed reading your story!😊 Keep writing and have a great day Elsa!❤️️

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E. Jude
07:19 Jun 27, 2020

Thanks, Harshini💙💙

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08:24 Jun 27, 2020

You're welcome Elsa!😊

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Anja Z
09:20 Jun 26, 2020

Great story ,, the words you use is so beautiful , I felt at one with the characters well done. :D

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E. Jude
07:18 Jun 27, 2020

Thank you for commenting!!

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Roshna Rusiniya
03:09 Jun 24, 2020

Well written Elsa. I agree with the line, ‘ sometimes life gives you characters and you have just got to write them down’. Good job!

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E. Jude
05:00 Jun 24, 2020

Thank you

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Roshna Rusiniya
07:36 Jun 24, 2020

You are welcome. If you have time, please have a look at my story too. Thank you!

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Kate Alexandra
23:47 Jun 21, 2020

This story was very well thought out, you have such a great writing style! I really like the way you described the characters, their thoughts and actions are very detailed and human

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E. Jude
07:21 Jun 22, 2020

Thanks for your kind words!!

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Batool Hussain
11:48 Jun 21, 2020

Great! An amazing story, once again:) Mind checking my recent story out? Thanks.

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E. Jude
14:15 Jun 21, 2020

Thanks, Batool. What do u mean "once again". Did you check my other story?? I must have missed that, sorry! --About your story, I'd love to! XElsa

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Batool Hussain
14:19 Jun 21, 2020

Yes, I think you definitely missed out on my comment on your outstanding story 'Regrets, I've had a few!" :)

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E. Jude
14:28 Jun 21, 2020

Ah, I'll look for it, this evening, when I get the time😉

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Batool Hussain
14:30 Jun 21, 2020

:) And don't forget to check out my recent story, please ;D

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E. Jude
14:41 Jun 21, 2020

I won't forget

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Jubilee Forbess
04:12 Jun 21, 2020

Hearts to you, Elsa!

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E. Jude
05:21 Jun 21, 2020

Thanks.❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤

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Tvisha Yerra
17:02 Jun 20, 2020

I don't really get the last part, but the actual story was pretty funny! :)

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E. Jude
17:57 Jun 20, 2020

Thanks! So, the last part was kind of complicated. Up until this day, the character has been a tense person. She has a fear of not being able to control her life and everything in it. The woman with the curly hair wants to know her fear. She is an obvious charmer, and she tries to convince our character, that she is fearless. Most people would just nod and play along, but our character is in control, so she resists. The two women find each other intriguing, and so the story ends with a blossoming friendship. The story is called "losing cont...

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Tvisha Yerra
20:50 Jun 20, 2020

I love how deeply you put yourself into this story. Thanks for the clarification!

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K. M. Carpenter
14:08 Aug 01, 2020

The descriptions are spot on. From the leaves in the beginning, to the stranger, to the desk, I can not only clearly visualize everything, but it draws me into the story as well. Fantastic!

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E. Jude
14:26 Aug 01, 2020

Thanks, K. m. Carpenter. This is my least favorite work

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K. M. Carpenter
15:21 Aug 01, 2020

Personally, I thought it was very well done. Please keep writing.

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E. Jude
15:58 Aug 01, 2020

Thanks again😜

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Tolu Odel
17:26 Jul 30, 2020

Hey Elsa! Great story, I really like how descriptive everything is.

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E. Jude
14:27 Aug 01, 2020

Thanks Tolu

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