I write pretty often. It's generally poetry, and I've got lots backed up that I can post here (assuming this thread doesn't die like my other ones). There's also some prose. Expect lots of double-posts. I've got to warn you--I never write fantasy or sci-fi action stuff. It's much different, though I wouldn't be opposed to writing a bit of sci-fi, though it wouldn't be hard sci-fi. It's just not the sort of thing I'm too interested in anymore. So if you're expecting that than I apologize. And if you're expecting something magnificent. . . well, I like what I write, so I don't mind if you don't. A lot of the prose is reminiscent of whatever I happen to be reading at the time, so there's lots of influence from different authors. Most of the poetry is incredibly amateur and somewhat pathetic, but I really don't give a damn. I'm going to start off with a short-story I wrote a few months ago. Just barely over 1000 words, so it's not too long. Kate Warren, or A Dream Unrequited Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler For Tonya, Who is one of my best friends And who I love dearly. Thank you. Matthew fidgeted in his seat and looked around the small coffee shop nervously. For the last three months he and an old friend had been exchanging letters, and she would finally be in New York on some sort of business. Mrs. Kate Warren was an old flame from his younger days. The two had a short lived romantic relationship, but Matthew had loved her dearly for every second of it. Kate, however, was quick with her flames, and blew this one out as if it had been but a candle atop a birthday cake She was the sort of young lady every man in the school had adored, and because of this she was often trying them all out to see which ones worked best for her, almost as if they’d been a pair of shoes. Which is quite appropriate, as she’d stepped all over whichever boy she was currently trying. And yet they’d still loved her and her glimmering smile and body, though few had ever gotten the chance to really know it. Matthew was not one of these boys. Of course, from the moment the meeting had been set it had become a habit of his to fantasize about her walking into the cafe and being every bit as beautiful as she had been the day he’d left his hometown. He had pictured it a thousand times prior—she would walk through the door, and a dozen men’s heads would turn upon her shining eyes and warm smile. She would walk towards Matthew’s table with their gaze and their mouths agape. Mrs. Kate Warren would be the most stunning thing they’d ever seen, and would pierce their imagination as she’d long since pierced Matthew’s. This was of course silly, for two reasons. The first was that Kate had married since Matthew moved from home. She’d married Jacob Warren, who’s father had owned a local grocery store. It could only be assumed he owned it now, as Matthew didn’t like talking about the man long enough to ask. Too bitter was he that his obsession had been taken while he’d become a grown man without a partner. He was lucky enough to have his job keep him company, and even more lucky to have made a small fortune off of it. He lived quite well. It was also a silly notion because in his dreams the shop had been much more lavish, and housed as many people as Matthew wished to be the envy of. But much to his dismay and little to his surprise, his fantasy had not held up. Instead the shop contained five square tables on the inside, with many costumers simply leaving after their purchase. And of course Matthew would be the envy of few men, be the reason that few were actually in the shop, or that Kate Warren looked little like he’d remembered. When she walked in, he hardly recognized her. Instead the door opened to a women with simple, and perhaps even dirty hair. Her eyes looked dark and tired, sagging in only a way an unprepared mother’s could. Her saving grace was her smile, which was every bit as lovely as it was the day he’d first seen it. “Matthew,” her voice betrayed the smile, cracked and hoarse as a smokers. “It’s been so long.” He stood to embrace his old friend and was welcomed unsuspectingly by the well-hidden weight she had gained from child-bearing. Matthew smiled wanly back at her, trying to hide any pity out of fear of offending. “It really has, Katherine.” He offered her a seat and pulled a chair out for her. “May I get you something?” His kept his smile. “Some tea, please.” Matthew called for the waitress and ordered, then turned his attention back to Kate Warren. “How have you been? I’ve heard about the children, of course. Three! A handful, I imagine.” She nodded and smile. “Charles, Hannah, and Emily. Yes, they’re a handful. But a lovely bunch, really.” “Oh, then New York is a nice break from them?” She nodded. “And how’s Jacob?” “Fine.” She took a sip from the steaming tea the waitress had just put in front of her before putting some sugar into it and stirring. “Good, good. I’ve been doing well myself,” Matthew said, going over bits of what had happened to him over the years. He told her stories from college, and about his work, and she went over the town and stories about people they had known, until eventually the awkwardness subsided and the two friends were just that—friends. They talked for hours, laughing and joking until the waitress told them the shop would be closing soon. “Kate, how long will you be in?” Matthew’s smile had long since turned genuine. “One more night, and then I leave early for home.” She answered, smiling her warm, mature mother’s smile. “We’ll need to come back tomorrow!” He stood up and pushed his chair in, and walked behind Kate to pull her chair out. “I planned on it!” she laughed, thanking him for his chivalry and the tea. “It’s so good to see an old friend again.” They set a time, and Kate bid farewell before kissing Matthew’s cheek and leaving the cafe for her hotel. Matthew stood still, completely inert and without taking notice to the waitress cleaning tables behind him. He still felt the warmness of her lips against his cheek, but it was not that that had stalled him. Instead he was appalled at how little an affect it had had. Here had been the woman he thought he loved. Here had been Katherine Warren—the most divine, most appealing, most resplendently beautiful girl he had ever had the great pleasure of realizing. And her kiss, the kiss of a friend, but a kiss nonetheless, had no more affect on him than a friend’s would. It suddenly came to Matthew that perhaps that was not the Kate he had known from his adolescence, and that perhaps it never would be again. This was Kate Warren. A mother and a friend. The young Kate he’d forever fantasized about existed only in his heart and in his memories. In her place was a mature, grown woman. He breathed a sigh of relief. He never did have Kate Warren, and never could. But neither could any of the other men she’d seduced, and no longer could any others succumb to her. Finally Matthew stepped forward, free of the perpetual stupor Kate Warren had kept him in. Free of the chains unrequited love can sometimes hold. Matthew stepped freely out of the cafe.
Wow, I liked it a lot. (Yeah, I lingered and read through it haha.) I really like your writing style along with the way you captured the effect growing up has on people. Though I did find one typo: "His kept his smile" shouldn't it be "He kept his smile"? Anyway, great piece of work Bry!
