WakerofWinds
08-16-2007, 01:10 PM
I wrote this sometime earlier this year. Forgive any historical or grammatical mistakes. This was written right after I learned about the Black Death in school. It is an extremely short story :
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Philip coughed. His scraggly black hair fell into his eyes and beads of sweat covered his face. His eyes leaked out tears as another spasm of pain surged throughout his body. "Please," he said weakly, rapping on the window. His watchman, without a second though, shook his head no. Philip fell to the ground. He tore his shirt off, stuck on with blood and sweat. One of the many soars on his back let out some pus, which he felt seep onto the wooden floor. He started to close his eyes when something at the far end of the wooden cottage caught his attention. Light, coming from the wood? He willed his body to stand and he hobbled over to the beam of light. He moved aside the wood pile in front of the wall , revealing an even bigger beam of light, that shined from his feet to his waist and was as wide as a fingernail. He came right up to it and looked through it. Philip's eyes widened. He punched through the loose wood with a sudden burst of strength. It split open easily. "Freedom," he whispered.
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"Viiiiicky!" Elizabeth called her sister, "Come out and play with us!" Elizabeth got out of bed and glanced out the window. All of her friends were looking up at her. Some giggled and looked away when she spotted them. "Come on silly, rise and shine!" Elizabeth yelled again. Victoria smiled and grabbed her clothes from her night stand. She took off her nightgown and put on her morning gown. It was Saturday, which meant no classes with her father, who taught her things because the school wouldn't except her. So today, she would play with her friends. She made her way downstairs to see her parents already in the kitchen, eating breakfast. "Good morning mother, good morning father" she said. "Morning?" her father replied tiredly, "My goodness girl, the sun is high in the sky! 'Tis evening. Your laziness will be punished, if not in this life then in the next! Now here, take your breakfast and play outside," he said with a smile. As she headed out with a small muffin shoved in her mouth, her sister spotted her. "We're going to play a new game today," she said. Victoria nodded, swallowed the last bite of her muffin, and joined her friends. "We learned a new song from the big kids," a small girl told her. "What you gotta do is sing the song with us, then cover your eyes up and try to find us. Since you're here last, you find us!" Victoria went to their circle and joined hands with two girls that she recognized. The circle started to move, then spin faster and faster. Her friends began to sing: Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posie. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. As she closed her eyes, she realized she was no longer tightly gripping anyone's hands. What a lovely rhyme, she thought to herself. Hands out in front, she walked blindly trying to find someone. She heard footsteps and a muffled giggle and headed in that direction. After a while of following the footsteps, she felt tickling at her legs. Odd. I must be in a field.
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Philip quietly entered into the cool, autumn air. His nostrils breathed in fresh air, then something foul. What could that stench possibly be? "Oh," he said quietly while stifling a laugh, "that's just me." He didn't really know where he wanted to go. Wherever it was, he knew he'd die there. And he honestly didn't care. He had a full lifetime's worth of happy memories, though he was only in his early twenties. He had conceived a healthy son fairly*recently with his beautiful wife. He hoped his son wouldn't think ill of him. So young, his father gone. And his poor wife a widow. He walked on, realizing it was all in vain. He'd been enslaved only this year, and mixed in with people on his master's land who suffered the same God-given plague he was dying of at this moment. They didn't speak his language when he came with his wife to this country. They didn't understand he was not a peasant, but a wealthy traveling merchant.
***** He realized with a start that he was surrounded by wheat. And then he noticed a little head pop up in front of him. A hacking cough escaped his lips and for some reason the girl came nearer, hands over her eyes. "I heard you, and I got you now!" she sang out in a singsongy voice. She ran strait into his before he had time to move. And before he could cover his mouth, he coughed right on her. She uncovered her eyes and blinked up at him. He was quite a site, after all. "Oh! I-I-I'm sorry sir, I thought you were my friend!" Tears welled in his eyes. "Watch thy back, child. Watch where thou goes," he whispered. She backed up, confused, and ran out of the field. Philip crossed himself and brought his hands together. "Forgive me for my last sin, Father. An innocent girl... she does not diserve what I might've rought unto her" He then collapsed among the gently swaying wheat. His breathe left him and his heart stopped with one last slow, painful beat.
************************************************** ************************************************** ****------------------------------------------------------------------------**************
Victoria ran back to the courtyard to see the girls waiting for her."You lose," Elizabeth said, frowning. "You didn't get any of us." Victoria let out a moan and said in defeat, "Lizabeth, you go up now then." They joined hands and Victoria let out a small cough as they all sang.
"Ring around the rosie... a pocket full of posie... ashes... ashes.... we all fall down..."
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Philip coughed. His scraggly black hair fell into his eyes and beads of sweat covered his face. His eyes leaked out tears as another spasm of pain surged throughout his body. "Please," he said weakly, rapping on the window. His watchman, without a second though, shook his head no. Philip fell to the ground. He tore his shirt off, stuck on with blood and sweat. One of the many soars on his back let out some pus, which he felt seep onto the wooden floor. He started to close his eyes when something at the far end of the wooden cottage caught his attention. Light, coming from the wood? He willed his body to stand and he hobbled over to the beam of light. He moved aside the wood pile in front of the wall , revealing an even bigger beam of light, that shined from his feet to his waist and was as wide as a fingernail. He came right up to it and looked through it. Philip's eyes widened. He punched through the loose wood with a sudden burst of strength. It split open easily. "Freedom," he whispered.
************************************************** ************************************************** ****-------------------------------------------------------------------------**************
"Viiiiicky!" Elizabeth called her sister, "Come out and play with us!" Elizabeth got out of bed and glanced out the window. All of her friends were looking up at her. Some giggled and looked away when she spotted them. "Come on silly, rise and shine!" Elizabeth yelled again. Victoria smiled and grabbed her clothes from her night stand. She took off her nightgown and put on her morning gown. It was Saturday, which meant no classes with her father, who taught her things because the school wouldn't except her. So today, she would play with her friends. She made her way downstairs to see her parents already in the kitchen, eating breakfast. "Good morning mother, good morning father" she said. "Morning?" her father replied tiredly, "My goodness girl, the sun is high in the sky! 'Tis evening. Your laziness will be punished, if not in this life then in the next! Now here, take your breakfast and play outside," he said with a smile. As she headed out with a small muffin shoved in her mouth, her sister spotted her. "We're going to play a new game today," she said. Victoria nodded, swallowed the last bite of her muffin, and joined her friends. "We learned a new song from the big kids," a small girl told her. "What you gotta do is sing the song with us, then cover your eyes up and try to find us. Since you're here last, you find us!" Victoria went to their circle and joined hands with two girls that she recognized. The circle started to move, then spin faster and faster. Her friends began to sing: Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posie. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. As she closed her eyes, she realized she was no longer tightly gripping anyone's hands. What a lovely rhyme, she thought to herself. Hands out in front, she walked blindly trying to find someone. She heard footsteps and a muffled giggle and headed in that direction. After a while of following the footsteps, she felt tickling at her legs. Odd. I must be in a field.
************************************************** ************************************************** ****------------------------------------------------------------------------***************
Philip quietly entered into the cool, autumn air. His nostrils breathed in fresh air, then something foul. What could that stench possibly be? "Oh," he said quietly while stifling a laugh, "that's just me." He didn't really know where he wanted to go. Wherever it was, he knew he'd die there. And he honestly didn't care. He had a full lifetime's worth of happy memories, though he was only in his early twenties. He had conceived a healthy son fairly*recently with his beautiful wife. He hoped his son wouldn't think ill of him. So young, his father gone. And his poor wife a widow. He walked on, realizing it was all in vain. He'd been enslaved only this year, and mixed in with people on his master's land who suffered the same God-given plague he was dying of at this moment. They didn't speak his language when he came with his wife to this country. They didn't understand he was not a peasant, but a wealthy traveling merchant.
***** He realized with a start that he was surrounded by wheat. And then he noticed a little head pop up in front of him. A hacking cough escaped his lips and for some reason the girl came nearer, hands over her eyes. "I heard you, and I got you now!" she sang out in a singsongy voice. She ran strait into his before he had time to move. And before he could cover his mouth, he coughed right on her. She uncovered her eyes and blinked up at him. He was quite a site, after all. "Oh! I-I-I'm sorry sir, I thought you were my friend!" Tears welled in his eyes. "Watch thy back, child. Watch where thou goes," he whispered. She backed up, confused, and ran out of the field. Philip crossed himself and brought his hands together. "Forgive me for my last sin, Father. An innocent girl... she does not diserve what I might've rought unto her" He then collapsed among the gently swaying wheat. His breathe left him and his heart stopped with one last slow, painful beat.
************************************************** ************************************************** ****------------------------------------------------------------------------**************
Victoria ran back to the courtyard to see the girls waiting for her."You lose," Elizabeth said, frowning. "You didn't get any of us." Victoria let out a moan and said in defeat, "Lizabeth, you go up now then." They joined hands and Victoria let out a small cough as they all sang.
"Ring around the rosie... a pocket full of posie... ashes... ashes.... we all fall down..."