Within the realm of creative writing, I bring a tapestry of stories and imagination to life. My passion for crafting narratives, exploring characters, and painting vivid worlds with words has been a driving force in my writing journey. Dive into this section to immerse yourself in my world of creative expression.
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.
A Fragile Thought
Alfred awoke. He was lying on a plush bed with a dark wooden frame. He pulled the thick covers aside, stepping onto the grey carpeting. The window had its curtains drawn, revealing a sunny sky through the branches of an old crab-apple tree which framed the view. “Where am I?” he thought, his heart pounded against his chest as his mind spun in circles. This view seemed familiar but he couldn’t recall from where. He tried to place his surroundings but they were just out of reach.
Alfred looked away from the window to find a chestnut dresser. Walking closer to the dresser, he noticed a picture of himself with a woman and two children sitting on their laps. Suddenly Alfred was flooded with memories. This wasn’t any old room, this was his room and he had planted the crab-apple tree in the backyard some time ago when he and Evelyn had first bought the house.
“What’s going on?” he thought, “What’s happening to me?” He slowly undressed out of his pajamas, replacing them with a pair of freshly cleaned trousers and a crisply ironed flannel shirt.
As Alfred opened his bedroom door he was greeted with the smell of fresh pancakes; the sounds of pans clanking filled the house. When he walked into the kitchen, Alfred saw his wife bustling around the room. She flipped a pancake and then hurried over to the sink and began washing the batter bowl. While her back was turned to the sink, Alfred snuck up from behind and gave her a long hug.
“Good morning, dear,” he said after kissing her cheek.
She smiled and said, “Morning, you slept in long today.”
Chuckling in response, Alfred took a seat at the kitchen table and picked up the newspaper. He looked at the date on the top of the page, “Wednesday already? Wasn’t yesterday Saturday?” he thought. He shrugged off the stab of fear and continued reading.
“Can you grab the cutlery, honey?” asked Evelyn.
Alfred put down his newspaper and walked in the middle of the kitchen. He froze, staring at the drawers—his mind went blank, and he suddenly couldn’t recall which one they were in.
“Where’d they go? They’re supposed to be right here,” he thought as he opened a drawer full of measuring cups, a peeler and a bottle opener.
His heart started hammering and he could feel his face beginning to heat up as he scanned the kitchen for clues of where they might be.
He saw Evelyn busy placing the pancakes on the table; he quickly opened each drawer starting from one end of the kitchen to the other.
“I’ll be right there,” he said.
His breathing quickened as each drawer he opened seemed to contain everything but the cutlery.
He felt his head begin to spin; Alfred opened the last drawer to find it filled with neatly organized silverware. He closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath, then grabbing the forks and knifes he brought them to the table.
“Sorry dear, I just grabbed a glass of water,” he said as he placed the cutlery down.
Looking at him with solemn eyes, Evelyn forced a smile then looked down at her plate and started cutting her pancakes.
While eating and talking, Alfred’s worries slowly faded away— being in Evelyn’s presence always put him at ease. Yet every time he dug up the courage to tell her what was happening, he continually surrendered to his fear of scaring her. He took the last bite of his pancake and swallowed the lump of sweetness down.
Later that day, Alfred clipped the leash onto Sheena’s collar as she waited patiently at the door.
“Want to go for a walk?” he said, patting the collie’s bushy body.
With ears perked up, she whined in response while dusting the floor with her tail.
As he opened the door, he took a deep breath of fresh air. It was warm with a slight breeze “Ahh,” he thought, “Perfect weather.”
They walked until they reached a nearby park. Alfred could hear the birds singing their daily melodies as squirrels chattered from the branches above.
“Sit,” he said, unhooking Sheena’s leash and allowing her to run free.
He watched as she loped around the park while occasionally stopping to sniff at the base of a tree. Listening to the breeze rustle throughout the leaves, Alfred instantly relaxed. He retreated to his favourite bench near the pond and sat down to enjoy the view.
Alfred admired the pond; he observed the frogs sitting on their lily pads while dragonflies zoomed over the lake’s surface. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off.
When he awoke, the sun was low and the birds had stopped singing.
“What time is it?” he thought.
He stood up and looked around. “Where’s….”an image of his dog appeared in his mind, but her name was on the tip of his tongue.
“What’s happening, why can’t I remember? It hasn’t been this bad before…or has it and I’ve just forgotten?” he thought. A nauseous feeling bubbled up from the pit of his stomach and his head began to ache.
He walked along the gravel path trying to think of a way to tell Evelyn what had happened. He was becoming less and less of himself with each passing day.
“What’s her darn name?” he thought.
A memory of he and Evelyn picking her out as a puppy flooded into his mind. “Sheena! that’s it!” he thought.
“Sheena come!”
He could hear his voice echo throughout the park; slicing through the silence.
Within seconds Sheena bounded out from the other side of the park and trotted up beside him with her tongue hanging out happily.
“Atta girl,” he said with a smile as he clicked the leash back onto her collar.
By the time Alfred returned home the sky was dark and he could he see the lights glowing from within his house. As he opened the door, he was welcomed by the aroma of tomato sauce. “Supper already?” he thought. When he walked into the kitchen he saw Evelyn standing with her arms on her hips.
“What took so long?” she said, “Where were you?”
“We got caught up in the park,” he said, “Sheena found another playmate.”
He hated lying to Evelyn. Evelyn stared at him with probing eyes then walking up to him, she gave him a long hug.
“Come help me finish the spaghetti,” she said.
When dinner was ready, Alfred grabbed the cutlery, proving to himself he remembered where they were. They ate while he listened to Evelyn talk about her day in the garden.
Before going to bed, they watched television together— Alfred set his feet up on the coffee table while Evelyn sat beside him with their fingers intertwined.
While watching, Alfred felt prickly bumps touching his arm, “Be right back,” he said getting up go to the linen closet.
Looking in the closet, he couldn’t remember which blanket was Evelyn’s favourite. “She’ll like this one,” he thought as he picked out the softest fabric. Returning with blanket in hand, Alfred sat down once more at Evelyn’s side and spread the blanket across them both.
“Here you go dear,” he said.
“Thanks” she said, snuggling closer to him as they continued watching the TV.
When the time came Evelyn pressed the red button on the remote— the screen went black.
“Time for bed,” she said while stretching out her arms.
Alfred groggily got up and departed to the bedroom.
As he and Evelyn settled into bedroom, Alfred replayed scenarios in his head of breaking the news to her. “What’ll she think of me? Will she pity me? Too stressful to deal with?” he thought as he pulled up his pajama pants.
Alfred could hear the buzz of Evelyn’s electric toothbrush from the bathroom as he looked at himself in her dresser mirror. “This is it,” he said to the old man staring back at him.
When Evelyn entered the bedroom, Alfred was already in bed reading his book. She crawled into bed beside him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
“G’night,” she said while rolling over in her usual sleeping position and turning off the light.
The beating in his chest began to increase and his lungs rapidly tightened with pressure. His throat became suddenly dry as he tried to speak, “No,” he thought, “Tomorrow will be better.”
“Good night,” he said, “I love you.”
He rolled over and fell into a deep slumber.
Alfred awoke. He was lying on a plush bed with a dark wooden frame. He pulled the thick covers aside, stepping onto the grey carpeting. The window had its curtains drawn, revealing a cloudy sky through the branches of an old crab-apple tree which framed the view.
His heart was pounding against his chest as his mind spun in circles. This place seemed alien to him. “Where am I?” he thought as his mind raced for answers.
Alfred looked away from the window to find a chestnut dresser. Walking closer to the dresser, he noticed a picture of himself with a woman and two children sitting on their laps. “Who are they?” he thought.
It's All in the Past
FADE IN
Two teenage boys hide behind a fence while watching a car
pull out of the driveway from the house next to them.
As the black 1969 Ferrari Dino GT drives past, they see a
brown haired man wearing aviators and an outback hat. His
arm is hanging out of the open window with a cigar between
his fingertips.
The car drives off and disappears down the suburban street.
JEREMY
Now’s our time, he should be out
for a while.
NICK
(Looking into the closed
window of the house)
What’s in there?
JEREMY
(Prying the window open with
a screwdriver he took out of
his back jean pocket)
Who knows, probably all of his
artifacts.
The window screeches open. Jeremy climbs in first
without hesitation while Nick guards the outside.
NICK
(Chuckling)
I hope he doesn’t have a dog in
there.
Jeremy disappears within the house for a few seconds before
poking his head outside the widow.
JEREMY
Clear!
Jeremy smiles while motioning for Nick to hurry up.
As Nick scrambles through the window and into the house he
looks around in disappointment.
NICK
(Disappointed)
What is this, I thought he’s a
world traveler;I don’t want any of
this crap.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
The boys stand in the middle of a dining room. There is a
generic wooden table with six matching chairs. The floor is
carpeted with grey and ends when it hits the egg shell white
of the walls.
There are no pictures hanging on the walls; no loose papers
anywhere in sight.
Everything is perfectly clean; sterile.
JEREMY
He has to keep his stuff somewhere,
maybe he hides it.
NICK
Or maybe he doesn’t really travel
at all.
The two boys look at each other
JEREMY
Well we’re already here, let’s just
look around and see what we can
find.
They look in his basement which has a bar with a TV and a
black leather couch.
They come back onto the main floor to find his bedroom. They
look through it and are not surprised to see another
perfectly clean room.
It consists of a queen sized bed, covered in garnet covers
and a dresser filled with dark denim and
various coloured flannel shirts.
They walk back into the living room.
NICK
(Bitter)
What a waste of time, there
is absolutely nothing interesting
about this guy...Lets get out of
here.
JEREMY
(Points to the staircase
leading upstairs )
Hold on lets check up here before
we go. Then we can say we searched
his entire house.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
NICK
(Annoyed, rolls his eyes)
Fine.
The two walk up the wooden staircase. The sun is shinning
through the window above the stairs.
When they reach the top of the stairs (which takes longer to
climb than they had expected) they see a single door.
Attached to the door is a sign that reads "Do Not Enter."
JEREMY
(Smiling)
Well Well lookey here. I think
we’ve finally found something.
NICK
What are you waiting for? Open it.
They stare at the mahogany door for a few moments before
Jeremy slowly grasps the doorknob and twists it open.
The door swings open, revealing a large dimly lit room. The
only source of light comes from a window at the far end of
the room. Rays of sunlight struggle to pierce through the
heavy curtain.
Nick walks towards the light and pulls the curtain aside.
Sunlight fills the room revealing shelves
of foreign artifacts.
The air is thick and full of dust, making it hard for them
to breath.
JEREMY
I knew it!
As Jeremy walks into the room, the door behind him slowly
swings shut but is unnoticed by the two boys looking though
the shelves.
NICK
(Holding an old stethoscope)
This is amazing! I wonder where he
got this.
The two of them sift through the room looking at items such
as maps, fossils, rare stones, and historic weapons.
JEREMY
(Pulling out his cell phone
from the back pocket of his
jeans to look at the time)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
Holy it’s already been an hour!
Lets start packing up and get out
of here before he comes back.
Nick and Jeremy take their backpacks off and frantically
start piling items inside.
Within a few minutes, both Nick and Jeremy are ready to
leave.
Nick twists open the doorknob and rushes out of the room.
Before Jeremy steps out, he takes one last look at the
emptied room.
He sees the empty spaces outlined by ringlets of dust where
the precious artifacts had been. The room no longer holds
it’s charm.
He turns and rushes to catch up to Nick.
He feels exhausted but doesn’t understand why. When he
reaches the window that they had entered, Nick is nowhere in
sight and the window is closed shut.
He suddenly hears a rustling in the other room. He stops and
crouches low to the ground; pressing himself against the
wall.
Jeremy feels his back ache but he ignores it. He peaks
around the corner to see an old man shuffling through the
kitchen.
Jeremy inhales deeply and slowly steps towards the back
door.
The rustling continues in the kitchen as he slips through
the exit.
The sun has almost set and the trees rustle from above.
The neighborhood seems slightly different; the trees
seem slightly larger and the houses slightly weathered.
Jeremy sighs in relief and heads towards his house.
The bag feels almost unbearably heavy as he walks past the
fence he hid behind earlier.
He feels extremely exhausted so he places the bag at his
feet.
Jeremy catches a glimpse of his hands. They are not his
hands; they are brittle and wrinkled with age.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
JEREMY
(Gasps in horror and
disbelief)
The wrinkled hands move towards his face to feel the thin
loose skin around his sunken eyes.
FADE TO BLACK