Thứ Năm, 23 tháng 2, 2012

Su's fiction writing practice

Đề bài là viết 1 câu truyện ngắn 500 chữ maximum bắt đầu bằng câu : "The nurse left work at five o'clock"

“The nurse left work at five o’clock”
He wanted to continue typing, but his hands froze on the keyboard. He typed a line, deleted the whole thing and typed another. 

After thirty minutes, the blank page was more intimidating, maybe because there was still nothing but one line: The nurse left work at five o’clock. He stared at the screen, admiring the line’s beauty in many aspects. He didn’t know what to write. Fumbling in the dark, he tried to look for his other stories on the table full of coffee cups, candy wraps and books. 

A few heavy books fell down to the floor, making a big thump. But he didn’t care to pick them up or afraid that the apartment owner would wake up and yell at him, because he had got what he wanted.

“The nurse and the wolf”, “The horrible death of a nurse”, “Nurses are angels”… He muttered the titles as he flipped through the pile of stories. He even reread some of them, engrossed himself in the very fantasy he created.

“Beep, beep, beep” the alarm clock cruelly reminded him that it was 4.am already. Sometimes he just wanted to smash that annoying clock, hoping that when it turns to pieces, the time would stop going.

“F**k!” The man let out a groan and dropped his face onto the table. It was four hours until deadline, and he still hasn’t got a story to submit. He imagined himself lying to his son about how good mashed potatoes and canned beans are for his body, and that meat is the source of all diseases.

His mind was drifting in between the fragile boundary of reality and dream for a while before he could see Emily again. His wife was more beautiful than she ever was. He saw her on the beach with their son, splashing water at each other. He also saw her in the blue uniform, consisting of a dress, a pinafore apron and a cap. His right hand was holding a box of rice and stewed pork for her so she wouldn’t be hungry during her shift in the hospital ….

He shivered. A cold breeze woke him up, leaving a chill on his spine. He closed the window and took a look at his son, who was sleeping soundly and peacefully. Let out a deep sigh, he deleted the only line he had on the page. Every letter deleted was like a stab right at his heart. But finally, he has done it.

He wrote a new story, without the word “nurse” or anything associates to it.

1 nhận xét:

  1. Su, bố đã thấy sự thanh thoát của khả năng dùng từ của con trong bài viết này. Cố gắng lên, cố lên, con đã đi được khá xa rồi đó.

    Trả lờiXóa