Small conflicts
Hello,
Back with small examples. This week's online writing course was about conflicts. We had to write something with an example of a small one. That gave me an idea. For those who read The Legacy: Fate, you might recognize the protagonist in this short story, although in a much younger version. I hope you'll enjoy.
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The scent of the flowers that grew on the ocean nearby revived painful memories. Five years ago on this day, my father had left on a mission, never to come back again. Before he had flown away from the docks by the water, he had made me promise to practice changing the shape of objects with my mind on that same device I held tightly in my arms. Hot tears made their way down my cheeks.
"Big boys don't cry," I told myself while wiping them off with the back of my sleeves.
Only navigators and their family could live here and today, they had declared my father officially dead, so we had to leave. Mother was waiting for me back at the boarding site. I had stayed behind to say goodbye to a wild bird that had adopted me as his friend. Since we're not allowed to keep any kind of animals in our houses, I didn't know if I would ever see him again. He had been my companion and my only true friend for as long as I could remember.
"Come on Buzz; get out of the house before you get me in trouble."
Buzz let out a loud quack and wobbled out on his three legs.
"Hey, Zhendar!" A voice behind me called.
My breath cut short. Had someone seen Buzz? Blinded by my tears and the two suns, which hung low on the horizon, I squinted to see who was there.
"You know you're not allowed to have that thing in your house," Zack told me.
Zack was the same age as I was, twelve, but he outgrew me in height as well as in weight.
"He wasn't inside," I lied, petting my friend.
"So you say, but I saw it. You know they'll expel you from navigator school next trimester once they learned you broke the rule."
My throat constricted. That school meant the world to me. I had hoped to become a pilot and maybe with some luck, find my father on a foreign planet among the stars.
"They don't have to know," I squeaked as I felt my eyes prickled with the tears that threatened to come back.
"So you want me to lie?"
"I'm not asking you to lie. I'm just asking you not to tell anyone."
"And why would I do that? Unless…"
"Unless what?" I asked and watched him through stubborn strands of hair.
His eyes darted to the gadget in my hand; the only item I had left that had belonged to my father. Unable to hold back the tears any longer and not wanting him to see me cry, I turned around and dashed toward the docks.
"I'll give you a week to decide!" He yelled.
His voice still echoed in my head long after I set foot in the shuttle.
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Have a great week end!
-GG
Back with small examples. This week's online writing course was about conflicts. We had to write something with an example of a small one. That gave me an idea. For those who read The Legacy: Fate, you might recognize the protagonist in this short story, although in a much younger version. I hope you'll enjoy.
++++
The scent of the flowers that grew on the ocean nearby revived painful memories. Five years ago on this day, my father had left on a mission, never to come back again. Before he had flown away from the docks by the water, he had made me promise to practice changing the shape of objects with my mind on that same device I held tightly in my arms. Hot tears made their way down my cheeks.
"Big boys don't cry," I told myself while wiping them off with the back of my sleeves.
Only navigators and their family could live here and today, they had declared my father officially dead, so we had to leave. Mother was waiting for me back at the boarding site. I had stayed behind to say goodbye to a wild bird that had adopted me as his friend. Since we're not allowed to keep any kind of animals in our houses, I didn't know if I would ever see him again. He had been my companion and my only true friend for as long as I could remember.
"Come on Buzz; get out of the house before you get me in trouble."
Buzz let out a loud quack and wobbled out on his three legs.
"Hey, Zhendar!" A voice behind me called.
My breath cut short. Had someone seen Buzz? Blinded by my tears and the two suns, which hung low on the horizon, I squinted to see who was there.
"You know you're not allowed to have that thing in your house," Zack told me.
Zack was the same age as I was, twelve, but he outgrew me in height as well as in weight.
"He wasn't inside," I lied, petting my friend.
"So you say, but I saw it. You know they'll expel you from navigator school next trimester once they learned you broke the rule."
My throat constricted. That school meant the world to me. I had hoped to become a pilot and maybe with some luck, find my father on a foreign planet among the stars.
"They don't have to know," I squeaked as I felt my eyes prickled with the tears that threatened to come back.
"So you want me to lie?"
"I'm not asking you to lie. I'm just asking you not to tell anyone."
"And why would I do that? Unless…"
"Unless what?" I asked and watched him through stubborn strands of hair.
His eyes darted to the gadget in my hand; the only item I had left that had belonged to my father. Unable to hold back the tears any longer and not wanting him to see me cry, I turned around and dashed toward the docks.
"I'll give you a week to decide!" He yelled.
His voice still echoed in my head long after I set foot in the shuttle.
++++
Have a great week end!
-GG
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by
Victoria
(new)
Mar 25, 2014 07:30AM
Oh, what a tender dive into his mind as a child...This makes him seem even more real.
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I had written many side-stories before I started the class. Some I added throughout the books others were just for my own benefit. As you said, it helps understanding the character(s), which in turn helps predict their reactions. The ones I wrote in the class made great free reads at the end of the books. I wished I had done it with Fate but they are only found at the end of Destiny.
