There they were, standing, facing each other. The distance between them was magnetized; seemingly pulling them together. Each step brought them closer and closer. When they finally met their bodies rushed with emotion and joy. They embraced for the first time in a year; their starving love had suffered under the weight of a foolish war.
2.
Each day, he went to work, and slaved in the hot mill. Wood chips filled his shirt and cut his skin and hands. Each grueling hour wore on his soul, another weight to his death chain. At home, his angry wife had her own problems; and didn't think much of his. Threats of divorce and loneliness forced him to sacrifice his true happiness to subservience and humiliation. A strong man brought to his knees by a hard life, and a bitter wife.
3.
The wind blew like a angry beast striking his face. As he looked into the sea he could see his reflection glaring back at him. He had left his helpless family on the shore; his life was now that of a single man. A fishing man. Seeing himself in the blue water made his stomach sick, and he turned his head in shame. He was a coward. He launched his hook into the sea and caught the buoy line. It came to him like his courage did not. Pulling it into the wheel, he coiled the slack as it came in. When the trap appeared he saw the crabs; trapped and helpless. He thought of his family.
1 comment:
Yeah! This is slick and slicker. I really like the three snapshots or sketches (vignettes is the fancy term--remember it 'cause we're doing them soon.)
The three certainly work together in a way the reader can follow and that rewards us very fully with a mini-short story, a character sketch, and a quick consideration of the sad realities many of us deal with.
And those helpless crabs! What a great image!
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