Writing thread! Read or post your stories here!

So, I was talking to QuecksilverEyes and accidentally came up with a cool thread idea, so here it is.

How it works

1) Write a short description of your story / piece of writing

2) Copy and paste your story into the box

3) Put

Spoiler

At the beginning of the story

4) Put [/SPOILER ] at the end (With no spaces)



For example:-

Goodbye, Old Friend

A very short piece I wrote for my English A-level.

Spoiler

Goodbye, Old Friend

It was no surprise to me that I had once again come to rest upon the harsh pavement before the old church, it’s gravelly sharpness digging into my hands as they rested, palms down, against the cold ground.
And in the darkness, I simply sat and stared up at the stone arches, once elaborate and smooth, now worn away by the cruelty of time. The metal arch over the rusted gates lingered above me, black with rust, its paint peeling away in crusty flakes. It all looked so decrepit now. Even the great glass windows were faded, brown where the sun had discoloured the aged paint, the glass filmy and ethereal in patches where it had been worn down, and caged by black mesh, in an attempt to protect them from vandalism. The grass grew too long, unkempt and uneven in the dismal light of the flickering streetlamp. If I didn’t know better, it would not be reckless of me to assume that this place had long since been abandoned and left to rot. But I did know better, and that only made the tragedy of its disfigurement all the worse. Tomorrow, the gates would open for the Sunday sermon, and one door would be opened half way to allow people entrance. Then, the sermon would draw to a close, and those heavy wooden doors would seal once again, like a coffin lid, until the following week. The gates would soon follow, the distinct screeching of rusty hinges signalling the return of the emptiness within. If the doors were a coffin lid, then the gates were the door to the crypt. When I was younger, when I would come and sat beneath the arch before the eternally closed gates, as I did now, I could imagine the church on a flickering monochrome screen at a half hour past bedtime, in some horror film that Miss Laylah would say I was too young to watch. And in my child’s eyes, as the church loomed before me, I could see a dark figure lurking in the window of the church, always fading into shadow the moment I saw it, like a ghost in the movies, or some kind of hideous aberration disfigured by the faults of its creator.
The gates were still closed now, as I sat before them, and despite the years that separated that frightened little girl from the person that I was now, in that moment, as I looked up at the church window, I swore I saw the dark figure waving at me from behind the tarnished glass, grinning sadistically.
‘Welcome home, Zachriel’
I cast aside the thought. I was no longer the child that had left this town, weak and afraid. I returned my gaze to that spectre of what once had been, the church.
It seemed ironic, really, that in the end, we both shared the same fate.

At one time, the church would have been magnificent, with its high arching ceiling and dazzling glass murals spilling beams of coloured light onto the tiled floor when the sun filtered through the stained glass windows. I closed my eyes, and I could hear the chatter of the children who clung tightly to the hands of their parents, who, with a hand on each shoulder, reminded the child to behave, for they were entering a house of God. And within the sunlit hall was the Priest, clad in his robe and collar, his bald head reflecting the warm light of the sun as he greeted the churchgoers with a cheerful smile, a rosy nose and his arms raised in welcome. He would sneeze, hayfever, you see, and readjust the spectacles that sat upon his nose as he turned to climb the steps to the pulpit, which was dressed with a vivid red to signify the coming of easter, and the spillage of the blood of Christ on this palm Sunday. The vicar himself wore a red amice about his broad shoulders to match the fabric that spilled from the top of the pulpit, and as the last of the bustling churchgoers were seated and fell into silence, with his roaring voice, filled with hope and power, he would call upon the organist to play the first hymn, and the church would be filled with warmth and light as liquid voices would reverberate throughout the building. The doors would never close in my mind. Those rusted gates stood proud and strong in the valley of my imagination, with a large wax candle burning in the lantern that hung from the metal arch. Those gates were not rusted, and they did not screech when opened, for they had never known what it was to be closed.
A drop of rain landed upon my head, snapping me back to reality, and once again, I sat in the darkness before the ruined church.
I took one last look at the old church, eyes grazing over each mark on that weathered old door, each chip in the stone of that tired old wall, and turned away for the final time.
“Goodbye, old friend”

Ambriel

There are some bonds that cannot be broken by death.

Spoiler

“Go away, Amy!”
She slumped onto her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest, folding her arms and pouting furiously.
“I know you’re there! It’s your fault I’m a freak! Just go away!”
I sat down next to her on the bed, and once again wished I could put my arm around her to let her know I was here.
“Ambriel! Go away! I hate you!!!” she sobbed loudly. The sound of it tore my heart in two. I should have left her alone.

She never asked for me to die. She never asked for me to beg that I be left on Earth, with her. All she wanted was to go to school, play with her friends, and forget that she ever had a sister. I’d never tell her how much that hurt, though. I’d caused her enough trouble already. Not that I regretted what I did, not even for a second. If I wouldn’t have ran into the road, if I hadn’t pushed her away, then she would be the one who died. I’m her big sister, I have to protect her.

I remember it so vividly. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to remember anything else. School had just finished, and my twin sister Angie and I were crossing the road on the way home. We wore matching green checked dresses, and our hair was in matching pigtails, though mine were messy and falling out. I never really knew how Angie kept her hair so neat all day when there were fields to run through and mud-castles to make. I remember holding my mother’s hand, and Angie holding mine. Even though she was born only two minutes after me, she was considerably shorter than I was. I remember that. She smiled up at me, and we giggled as we swapped hair-bows. Mum always hated it when we mixed all of our things up. We were her “silly little angels”, and we were happy. I remember what happened next. I will never forget. She was right, it was all my fault, just not in the way she thought. I let go of her hand for just a second while I pulled up my muddy knee-socks, and when I looked back up, she was gone. Mum had turned around to talk to one of the other mums while they waited for the green man to signal that it was safe to cross, and she couldn’t see Angie making her way across the road, just as a red car flung itself around the corner. I remember everything. And it hurts. I wrenched my hand away from my mother’s, and I’ll never forget the way she tried to hold onto me as I ran into the road after Angie. I could hear my mum screaming behind me, desperately running to catch up with me, but all I could think about was Angie. I had to get to her. I was her big sister, I had to protect her.
The next few seconds happened in slow motion. I pushed Angie towards the pavement, turning my head just in time to see the screaming face of the man behind the car windscreen, desperately applying the brakes. But it was too late. He was trying to save a dead girl. I caught a glimpse of my mother from the corner of my eye, her arm outstretched to me, still a few feet away. And then, the sun was too bright, and the screams of the people around me were too loud. There was just pain. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to open my eyes. It hurt to scream. I screamed a lot. My ribs hurt, it felt like something was cutting me open from the inside out, but I smiled. Because I saw her. My sister was alive. I saved her. I was her big sister, and I protected her. My mum knelt down beside me. She was talking, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She was asking me to stay with her, but I didn’t understand - where else would I go? I felt someone squeezing my hand, and I realised Angie had grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to safety as the car had hit me. She didn’t let go. Not even when the car ran straight through me, merely a foot away from her. Even now, covered in blood and broken and screaming, she held onto my hand. And she smiled, even through her tears, because she knew I needed her to. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. In the chaos around me, I wouldn’t have heart. She held my hand because she wasn’t ever going to let me go. And I died knowing that my sister loved me. The last thing I saw was my sister signing in our secret sign language. She signed “thank you.”

She kept holding my hand until the ambulance came to take me away, even though I was unable to feel it. I never wanted to leave her like that. I never wanted her to have to stand by a corpse that looked just like her. I couldn’t bare the thought of her sitting on a church pew as her other half’s body in its too-small coffin was carried past her.

She never let go. Not until the paramedics dragged her away from my lifeless body. So how could I let go when Death came to take me? I begged to stay. And Death offered me a deal. I was able to stay with her, but she could never see me. And that’s how I ended up here.
She knows I’m here, but she can’t see me. No-one does. Mum and Dad are afraid of me. When Angie told them she was talking to me for the first time, they looked so scared. I didn’t understand. It’s just me, I’m still the same, I’m just dead now. We learned to hide my presence from them, but sometimes, like today, Angie would let something slip, and they’d call the doctor to talk to her. They think she’s crazy, and it’s all my fault.
They even tried to send me away. They had a man come to house to perform some sort of ritual. It didn’t work, though. I don’t really know why, I wanted to leave. I don’t want people to think Angie’s crazy because of me.

Through it all, here I am. My name is Ambriel, and I am Angie’s big sister, and I will protect her for the rest of her life.

Without the stars, the sky would surely die.

Surreal fantasy about how love created all.

Spoiler

Before the days of the meat-men, like you and I, there lived upon this earth many species of strange and ethereal creatures.

It was not uncommon, on a warm summer’s night, that one should meet a sun-wolf. These creatures were far from the wolves you and I know of today, for these wolves were emblazoned with the crest of the fire-beings, and their fur was not of strands of hair, but of burning tendrils of flame. These fiery beasts often found companionship in the sky-men, who were not so different from you and I, in shape, but their skin was fashioned from the fine silk of the very air we breathe. Upon the meeting of two such creatures, both sky-man and sun-wolf would transcend their Earth-bound fellows, and make the light of the nearest star so much brighter. This, as you may have read, is how our world came to be lit by the sun. With each wolf that found its match, the sun would grow slightly brighter. There is some speculation as to how this came to be, but that is another tale for another day.

Then, there were the cloud-beings- dragon-like creatures fashioned from the delicate white fog of the very clouds beneath which you sit, which shifted shape with the change of their mood, and grew heavy and pendulous with precipitation when saddened. These creatures found they were best paired with the sky-men, but often found their happiness with the water-nymphs, the mountain-lynx, and sometimes, were the circumstances just right, they would find comfort in the arms of the metal giants.

The creatures of this Earth coexisted in this way for many a year, until slowly but surely, the meat-men emerged from the Earth’s crust.
The Earth, they said, had been created when matter itself fell in love with the nothingness. But their love was not to be, for when they touched, the nothingness crumbled, and matter was spread across the universe, far and wide. They say that even now, the universe expands and grows, because despite everything, matter is still reaching out to the nothingness, wanting nothing more than the grasp of its lover’s hand.
When matter and the nothingness first met, there came a tribe of creatures known as the timeshifters, large black birds, slightly reminiscent of a raven or a crow, but by far larger in size, who bore the image of time itself within their eyes.
They flew around the barren space, and where they came into contact with matter, they created the planets. Some times, if you open your eyes very quickly, you may catch a glimpse of one flying past, though you must make haste in doing so, as the timeshifters fly so quickly, they cause time itself to move along.

Upon the Earth came creatures of light, and of darkness, or fire, and of ice. And when they looked into the eyes of their soulmates, they joined together as one to form everything in our universe. You see, everything you take for granted, the sun, the trees, even the ground beneath your feet, was formed when these beings found one another.

And this was how the world carried on, for millions of years, creating animals, plants, and even the sea. Of course, it was well known that a fire-being could never bond with a denizen of ice, nor could a cloud-being join with a groundling.
The only species that seemed unaffected by this was the sky-men. They were known to bond with any species they so chose, which made them stand out very much so from the rest of the species. You see, the more open a person is to others, the far more beautiful they become. Which is why, without contest, the sky is so indefinitely beauteous. Everchanging, yet ever perfect, even in tones of grey and rain.
Unlike the other species, for every sky-man that joined with another to become part of the universe, another emerged. Even when the last ice-stag left this Earth, the sky-men remained. But they were alone, for all of the other species had become one with the universe, their tasks complete. The sun was full and bright, the mountains were capped with ice and the water filled with new and exotic life, yet something was wrong with the sky. It was incomplete.

And then, they came, emerging from the water like once-dormant Gods awoken from a deep slumber. They were the star-creatures, and they were beautiful. The sky people were afraid. They had heard stories of these creatures before, but never had they expected that they were real. Yet here they were.
And one by one, the sky-men met with the star creatures, and the Earth grew emptier and emptier.
Though the Earth was filled with life, and the meat-men roamed the world happily and freely, for Judin, a sky-man, it seemed empty. He had spoken to many star-creatures, yet he refused to meet their eye, lest he see the eyes of his soulmate staring back, and be taken away from his home on Earth forever. There came a day when there were only two sky-men left on Earth.
Her name was Erin, and she was an old friend of his. He would never forget the smile dancing on her face as she locked eyes with her star-creature, and the two dissolved into the night sky.

Then, he was alone. He would often look up at the sky and wonder what could possibly be missing from it’s beautiful surface. He had taken to speaking to a star-creature named Tharonus, and they spent many nights in the light of the moon, just glad of each other’s company. Still, Judin refused to look into his eyes. He had grown so accustomed to life on this rock that he could not bear the thought of leaving it all behind, even if it meant spending the remainder of his life as the last of his species. At least Tharonus was there beside him.

They often spoke of their absent kin. They had watched as the sun, moon and sky had been formed by their pairings, and yet remained puzzled as to why the sky had not changed, even with the joining of so many sky-men with the star-creatures.

“Perhaps there truly is nothing awaiting us”, Tharonus suggested one dry summer’s eve, many years after the two had been left alone on this Earth. They were many decades older now, yet still youthful in appearance. Time had so little effect on the creatures of old. It is odd to think that such good friends could exist, having never seen each other’s faces.
“Perhaps not. I do not know if I speak for you, also, when I say that I am perfectly happy here”
“You do. I am in total agreement. I am in want of nothing more than this beautiful world, the life within it, and the company of the last sky-man”
“May I ask you a question?” Judin asked.
“Of course.”
“For all the time that I have known you, and for all that we have spoken, I haven’t the faintest idea what you look like, my friend. Does that not strike you as odd?”
Judin saw Tharonus’ shoulders shrug beside him. “It is true, I suppose, that we have never quite dared to look one another in the eye, for fear that we would join our kin in the next life.”
“Why do we fear such a thing, Tharonus, when only the gaze of a soulmate could cause such a thing to happen?”
Tharonus nodded silently, for he knew the answer all too well, yet he feared that while Judin was the most important person in all of existence to him, that Judin did not feel the same way about him. By not meeting his gaze, Tharonus saved himself the pain of realising that Judin was not his sky-man, and he was not Judin’s star-creature, rather that they were merely remnants of their great races, left behind, unpaired, determined to forever roam a plane which no longer belonged to them. By refusing to meet his eyes, he refused to admit that they were not soulmates. It hurt less this way.
“I do not know, Judin” He replied, cringing at the sound of the hoarseness of his own voice.
“I believe I do, Tharonus. I believe I have always known. We have lived for an awfully long time, my dear star-creature,I fear I may not have much longer left to bask in the light of this new world. And if you’re willing, I would very much like to see the face of my most cherished friend before I lose the light of this life forever.”
Tharonus closed his eyes and bowed his head. “And should we be soulmates?”
Judin smiled and placed his hand on Tharonus’ shoulder, admiring the odd orbs of light that shone in the inky blue contours of his skin. “Then we shall spend the rest of eternity making up for the mistakes of our youths.” Judin stared off into the distance, taking in the beautiful sunset. How he would miss that orange sky and the pink clouds above. How he would miss this world, with it’s fascinating creatures and it’s men of meat, who built such odd structures.
Tharonus took a deep breath and looked up at Judin, for the first time, unashamedly taking him in, the smile in his eyes, the curve of his smile as he gazed out onto the sunset. Surely any moment, he would turn and shatter the illusion Tharomus had fought so hard to hold on to. It mattered not, for in that moment, Tharomus was able to look at his love without fear. He fought to remember every detail. This was the last time he could ever pretend he had a soulmate.

Judin smiled at the sunset, feeling Tharonus’ gaze grazing over his every detail. Yet, he was too afraid to turn to face him, no longer for fear that he would meet the eyes of his soulmate, but for fear that he would not. Bracing himself, he turned to Tharonus.

And with the last of the burning light slowly sinking below the hills, he gazed into the eyes of the star-creature, and he saw a million sunsets within them. And so it was that the stars met the sky, and finally, the world was complete.

My writing is not amazing, but you get the gist.

I think that if this takes off, it could be a really great place to read stories written by your fellow ECers

 

Aww Thank you so much! I expected there'd be a few grammatical errors because I didn't proofread any of them but the first one, so sorry about that