June 1st, 2014 - 14th Contest!

[Grace, Head Moderator]

For our fourteenth contest, we're going to start with a simple one, since it's been a while. Take a look at this:



Write a story that takes place during an eclipse.

Rules:

1. It must be at least 500 words (anything less will be deleted and disqualified from the contest) but no more than 1,500 (anything more will be deleted and disqualified from the contest). NO EXCEPTIONS.

2. No commenting on others' stories. Only writing entries will be accepted in this thread. If you want comments on your stories, post them in the Critique folder. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, this is where to go: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...

3. No sex scenes.

4. Keep cussing to a minimum (it's ok if a word slips out here or there, but please keep it PG-13)

5. Have fun and DO YOUR BEST! And vote for the winner!

Entries are due by Monday, June 14th. Voting will begin that day.

[Emily]

The Lunar Eclipse
Word count: 557

September 6, 1979

Walking through The Old Book Store today, I thought of you. I thought of how you once spent over an hour in that shop, just searching for the oldest, dustiest, most tattered book you could find, and purchased it. Just because it was called The Old Book Store, you somehow felt that you needed to get the oldest book you could out of it, just to make it live up to its name.

And you know what? I remember exactly what book it was. It had a simple title; one that you’d remember because of its simplicity. The Lunar Eclipse. That’s it. Just The Lunar Eclipse. An informational, non-fiction, leather bound, extremely aged book that you found in the back corner of the store, under a pile of astronomy textbooks.

You know what’s funny? I’m typing this to you, the sound of the keys clacking on the typewriter seeming disruptive in the still humid air, as I sit on the edge of the pier where we read that book together. I still have it, you know. It’s laying flat beside me, the diagram of a lunar eclipse beckoning my mind to take a turn towards the thought of that day. The day that seemed so long ago. The day that we saw an actual lunar eclipse, a few days after you bought that book just for the sake of buying an old book from The Old Book Store, even though they sold perfectly brand new ones, too.

I read a quote when I was browsing through the books in that store, and it reminded me of you and your love for astronomy. It was “I think I’ll miss you forever, like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky”. And it’s true. I do miss you forever, like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky. But it is night as I write this, and the stars are beaming so bright, and I can almost feel them missing the sun. Maybe you are those stars tonight and I am the sun that you miss so much. At least I hope I am. I don’t know if I can be as radiant as the sun when you are gone.

Right now is the moment that ties all of this together, my love. This is the part that is supposed to mean something. A lunar eclipse is about to take place tonight, and I've been waiting for it on the edge of this pier for hours. I cannot miss it. Because it is you. Even if I already miss you.

Oh, I think it is happening now. I’m sorry that I cannot continue typing to you as it occurs, for my own eyes must bear the beautiful eclipse that can only be described as you.

And it was. It was you. And it was more beautiful than I could have hoped to witness. More than the picture of the lunar eclipses in your old book beside me. You would have loved to see it with me. But it is better that you are the one to show it to me. So thank you. The sun shall see the stars when the time is right, so as we wait for that moment, I will be here soaking these memories of you in rays of light.