Auto-SummaryA new writer shares their raw, unfiltered short story draft, "Master Peace," focusing on Anna's abrupt awakening and the judgment she faces from elderly men discussing Viagra. Anna's indifference towards their behavior leads to a confrontation, leaving her emotionally vulnerable. The story delves into Anna's confusion about her identity and her sudden return after five years, revealing a complex family dynamic. Despite the harsh reactions, she finds solace in her newborn son's love, symbolized by the name "Phoenix." The post highlights the raw emotions and challenges of self-discovery, inviting readers to engage with the full piece.
I have had this idea for a short story for awhile now but never began writing it until recently, as i always felt i lacked the necessary life experience to produce anything of significance. I slightly still feel this way but i have felt like writing the past month or so and here is a piece .
It is called Master Peace, and here is a rough draft of ch.1, tell me what ya think..
Chapter One: Conception Who fucking cares!? Anna's silent thought came as lightning and thundered so loud a grimace cracked through. Her left eye squinted... Her right eyebrow raised. Her neck stiffened and her chin tucked. Her mouth gaped and her lips contorted.
A group of elderly men were sitting at a table nearby loudly discussing without hibition, their love of Viagra. "Hot damn, I tell you what...does the trick dandy! The misses tapped out after the third time and I was still goin!" Laughed one of the old men, so hard his wrinkles smiled. He had a cane leaned against his chair and snow-white hair. A group of young girls, seven or eight, colored in books behind them.
"Unbelievable," She muttered as she faced, full grimace, the group of aged and rowdy men, her mind and body one. "Seriously, who fucking cares?" The men glared. Stunned. Old. "You guys are practically shouting! There are children literally right behind you! Watch your mouths!" She sneered loudly. The men returned grimace. Their reddened faces, hot with fresh shame, contrasted brightly against their melanin-less hair. "Oh they don't know! We were ju--" "Its disgusting." Interrupted Anna, deaf to all excuse. They were right and she knew it. The young girls did not know anything about what the men were discussing, nor did they care. The children were competing to see who could color "the best", none were paying attention. Not one of the children even glanced in the direction of the verbal scuffle. Lost amongst themselves, they were worlds away from any adults around them.
Anna did not want to know anything about what the men were discussing, nor did she care. Frankly, she had had enough over-hearing the old pervs, over and over again! It was to much. As she grew wearily aware of her inability to leave the increasingly crowded area, it was to late. She had erupted. The explosion worked. After a brief stare-down, the old men broke eye-contact.
They glanced around the room, nervously with wide-eyes, before glaring at a group of elderly women across the way. The ladies were distracted. Their shared recipe's and rumoring went uninterrupted during the lashing. The men, pleased upon this realization, mumbled amongst themselves quietly and scurried out of the exit. As the door closed behind them, she faintly hears "Whore!" and old-men cackling. The emboldened Anna sunk back just a bit and their laughter faded with her indifference. The cruel remark hit her hard, the weight of the blow bringing down her self-prescribed wall of uncaring leaving her saddened and confused. She figured these people would be happy to see her, after-all, she was thought for dead...missing five years. I'm even, she thought, bringing new life into this world!
Anna was discovered midday a week ago, unconscious, near the hospital of the small town she went missing in, naked and eight months pregnant. It was as if someone had just dropped her off, she appeared so suddenly. When she awoke in the hospital she was amazed to find she was pregnant, she was distraught and in shock that such a long time had passed. She still thought she was fifteen.
The last thing she remembered was chasing a light in the sky, she remembered it as if it were yesterday. "I remember...we thought it was so cool! It was so far, all of a sudden it was right above us, like this rotating disc...and there's this flash..I don't remember anything else..its..well its sort of like a dream now." Her family did not buy it. Anna's parents had passed away in a car accident a few years after her disappearance and her Aunt Linda was the one who received the phone call and news of the newfound Anna. "So your telling me she just showed up...and she's eight months pregnant? You sure its her? We had a funeral and everything.." she asked the identifying doctor. "Guess whatever boyfriend she run off with ain't around," she said before he could respond. The blunt and offended attitude surprised even him, a bluntman himself. "She can stay with us I guess but we ain't gonna be held responsible for that baby!"
Her aunt and uncle took her in and hurriedly organized a baby shower, a week after she was found. It was more like a family reunion, as dozens and dozens of people showed up. Perhaps a hundred even buzzed about, yet Anna felt alone. The rumors persisted all around her. The disapproving looks and smug attitudes. The pervy old men.
Nothing was right. Had things changed this much? Had things changed at all? She was a ghost at her own party. Spooking old folk and listening to people talk about her. Like she wasn't there at all. She felt invisible.
She built and maintained a wall of indifference in response to the apathy of her family. It worked zenfully until her emotions, once protected by a veil of not care, layed bare as the old mans cruel remark pierced the barrier clean to the feels. Her sadness is profound. Her water broke with the first tear shed, as a pain followed, her consciousness wavered. And although the world faded around her, she no longer felt like a ghost. Everywhere she looked someone met her eyes with theirs, concerned...caring. She fainted feeling warm.
She awoke to her son by her side, and her heart flooded with love. She had no memory of the labor. A nurse standing nearby noticed her awakening and observed silently. Dozed on pain killers and high on love, Anna uttered "Phoenix," before flat-lining, dying instantly.
Edited by hTx (09/18/17 12:50 AM)
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