A Short Story

Since I haven’t posted any assignments up yet (and this IS a Webfolio after all) here is a short story I created for my Creative Writing class.

Hidden Within the Cracks  

He waited patiently as she held the small box within her palms. Her slender fingers pulled the piece of ribbon at the top, smoothly untying the bow he had so perfectly made.

 “I hope you like it, I searched everywhere for it” he said.

She looked at him and smiled, then tore the delicate wrapping paper with her manicured nails. He focused on her face, waiting for a reward. From within the little cardboard box she lifted out a small decorative candle.

“I love it!” she said while leaning over him to wrap her arms around his neck.  As she withdrew, she gave him a light kiss on his cheek.

“Good! I’m glad!” he said. He got up from the couch and pulled the bottom of his shirt to smooth it out. 

“I’ll go finish up the dinner before everyone arrives” he said.

She nodded and watched him scurry off into the kitchen. She looked down once again to the gift in her hands. The ceramic candle holder was molded into a classic bird bath appearance, while the pale blue candle inside served as the water within.  The engravings on the bird bath were intricate and were clearly designed by a skilled crafter. As she lifted the candle closer to her eyes, she noticed tiny cracks within the object. 

Growing on the bird bath sprouted numerous pale pink roses with their leaves caressing the stone.  They formed on every angle of the bath. Some had brown stems spread and latched onto the bath from which the roses emerged, while others appeared to have formed on the stone by themselves.

Among the roses stood two blue birds from where they stoically stood in mid motion at the top of the bath. On the opposite side lurked an additional blue bird at the base of the candle holder.  She fiddled with the candle in her hands, feeling its cold rugged surface.

She released a breath of stale air from between her glistened lips and placed the candle on top of the black marble fireplace. She could hear his rustling from the kitchen as he tried to find the right utensil.   

As she glanced back to her gift, tears started to bubble up and trickle down her blushed cheeks. Her heart ignited and began transforming into ash.

She wiped the tears away in annoyance as she ran into the bathroom. Pressing the door shut, she twisted the lock in the doorknob and rested her weight on the vanity.

She focused into the eyes of the stranger staring back at her through the mirror. “Who am I?” she thought. She tore off a piece of toilet paper and slowly began to wipe the makeup from the girl’s face. First she started by peeling away the clinging false lashes from her eyelids then smudged away her smoky eyes. She tossed the used napkin in the toilet and grabbed a fresh piece. 

Next she dabbed her red silken lips until they were naked and finished the extraction by splashing water over her face, melting the powder off.

She stared once again to the reflection in the mirror, this time an old familiar face stared wearily back. She seemed older than the last time they had met, but the girl was still recognizable by the same basic features of her former self.

It felt as though she had been this girl in another, dream-like life, but she knew it wasn’t so. No, it was much more recent than she would have liked to admit. “How did this happen?” she thought.

She felt her knotted muscles relax as she observed her old friend. “When did life become so complicated?” she thought.

Knock! Knock! “Are you okay in there?”

A sharp pinch of panic ran though her chest. “Yeah I’m fine, I’ll be right out” she said.

“Alright, well dinner is almost ready; everyone will be here in a couple minutes.”

She inhaled a deep breath while the girl watched her solemnly. She picked up her brush and started to reapply her makeup. She was slow and concise, re-masking the girl within.

She walked out of the bathroom and into the voices coming from the kitchen. Her birthday guests have arrived. She smoothed out her hair and pulled up her jeans, out of the corner of her eye she could see the candle on the fireplace mantle. She could see the birds mocking her as she entered the kitchen. “Hello, I’m so glad you guys came!” she said.  

~End~

My inspiration for this story began by an exercise that I had to do in class. Our assignment was to take a field trip to a nearby Goodwill store and find an object that interested us. We then had to create a story by incorporating our object by using it as a metaphor for a state (mental of physical) of a relationship between two characters.

As I looked through the aisles of dusty antiques, this candle really stood out for me. It reminded me of a mixture of something from a medieval time period/ fairy-tale setting. Both of which I am very drawn to; I love books and movies that are set in time periods before the industrial revolution, as well as the limitless possibilities that fairy tales allow. I couldn’t have found anything better to get my imagination flowing.

 

To create the final product of this short story, I worked off of this little exercise by adding a middle and an end.  However, I haven’t handed it in yet, so let me know what you think and if you have any opinions to better shape my story please let me know!