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-->A.R.<--Fan · Diagnosed Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 192 Location: Indiana

Okay,
As I have expressed in other forums, I aspire to be a book/screenplay writer. This is a piece that I thought of as I was going to sleep one night. It was a screenplay, but I changed it to book form. This is written with Alan Rickman in mind, him, of course, playing the part of Joseph.
If you find it to be complete rubish, or you love it and would like to see more, please let me know! Remember though, it is coming from the mind of a 14 year old. And it is my first piece. Without further ado, here is:
The Winding Road
Trees coated with magnificent colors danced past the window on the warm October day. The landscape was mountainous, not a spot of land not coved with trees apart from the road. Emily saw it, but she was not thinking of the road. Her mind was enthralled with other things. Joseph was glad to have the road to focus on. His mind was not the place he wanted to spend his time these days.
"How much further?" Emily asked, breaking the long silence.
"Sorry?" Joseph asked, startled by the sudden noise of her voice.
"I asked how much further," she said patiently.
"Not long, about thirty miles."
Silence followed for a few moments. Joseph shifted slightly in his seat behind the wheel.
"I do think that you'll find that you'll like it. It's not as bad a place as you think," Joseph said, with a glance at his daughter from the corner of his eye.
Emily sat quietly, deeply breathing, taking her time to respond.
"Of all the places, why there again?"
"Well, like I've told you before," Joseph awnsered,"it is where my grandfather lived. When I was young, I would spend my summers there. I even finished high school where you'll be going." He placed his elbow on the window sill to rest his head in his hand.
"Do you still know anyone there?" she asked quietly.
"Surely not. Anyone I knew would probably be dead or gone."
Once again, the piercing silence sank upon them. Joseph heaved a heavy sigh and straightened his posture and placed his hands on the steering wheel.
"It will be good for us, you know. A fresh start...," his voice broke and he stopped talking.
Emily looked over at her father with a sadness in her eyes.
"I don't blame you, Dad," she said. Joseph looked over at his daughter. He smiled faintly, holding back a tear to be strong, for Emily. He put right hand out in between their seats. She took his hand and squeezed it, returning the smile, but hers was just as faint.
_________________
"I'm a lot less serious than people think,
it's probably because the way my face is put together."--Alan Rickman
Thanks to Madame Torision for the avatar.

journalista · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:01 am Post subject:

You're 14?? Are you kidding me??

I'm a freelance journalist, and professionally work as a business writer, and let me tell you, you are very talented! PLEASE continue with the story! Lovely job.

Very Happy

Steph
_________________
I want to swim in both directions at once. Desire success, court failure. ~ Alan Rickman

lpsmith · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:26 am Post subject:

That is an excellent start!! please continue.
Lorraine
_________________
We could hear the sounds of the celestial spheres if only we strained to listen

-->A.R.<--Fan · Diagnosed Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 192 Location: Indiana

Oh my gosh, thank you guys so so much! I'm glad you like it. I will most definitely write more!

Thanks again!
-Meredith
_________________
"I'm a lot less serious than people think,
it's probably because the way my face is put together."--Alan Rickman
Thanks to Madame Torision for the avatar.

sam · Diagnosed Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 161 Location: England

that was really great! keep going!
_________________

Thank you to Centurienne for signature!

KatScratch · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject:

That was really good. It kept my interest. I'm very empressed, especially your age. Keep it going girl, you got some tallent there. Keep working with it!
_________________
"Good Lord, the little stoner's got a point." Metatron~Dogma

-->A.R.<--Fan · Diagnosed Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 192 Location: Indiana

Chapter 2

Gravel crunched under the heavy tires of the car as it arrived from the long, silent drive. Joseph, anxious to see the building that housed his best childhood memories, turned off the engine and unfastened his seat belt. With a smile at his daughter, he popped open the door and stepped onto the gravel. The smell that lingered in the air rushed in the memories. He walked around to the front of the car to get a better view of the house. Two soft thuds and the crunching of gravel announced the arrival of Emily and Riley beside him.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"This is where your grandfather lived?" she asked in return.
"Yes, he helped build it himself. Do you like it?" he asked agian.
"Well, yes, but you can't judge a book by it's cover...," she answered .
They exchanged a smile.
Joseph wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulders."Come on," he said."Would you like a look around?"
"Well, you didn't think I'd want to stay out here, did you?" she playfully answered. With a small laugh, Joseph led his daughter inside, Riley joyfully trotting beside them.

*************************************************************************

The door creaked with old age as Joseph pushed it open. Emily peered in curiously. Joseph entered first, grinning. He began to walk through the room off to the right of the entryway. Emily nervously followed, neither bothering to close the door behind them.
"Wonderful. Ha ha, every detail as I remember it!" he said, mostly to himself, as he spun around the room, absorbing every single detail from the floor to the ceiling.
"There, in that corner was the checkerboard, where he taught me to play. I only beat him once, in all my years...And that's where the television was, not that we used it much. The fireplace," he strolled over and kneeled down before it,"where he used to make me tea. He was always a bit old-fashioned." Joseph reminiscently carried on.
Emily was glad to see her father so filled with joy. It had been a while since a smile had remained on his face this long. She couldn't help but grin.
"I'm sorry, Em,-," he began.
"No, don't be,"she cut him off,"it's ok."
"Go ahead, look around, I'll just be...somewhere," he told her as began to be dragged away by his memories.
"Alright, I'll just be around," she told him, even though she knew he wasn't really listening.
She turned and realized the door was left open. She crossed the hall and closed it. Riley had followed them inside and he was now sniffing the air of the entryway curiously. Deciding to stray from her father, she chose to proceed to the second floor on the staircase to the left. There was another archway to the left, but she decided to leave Joe and Riley to tackle the first floor.
Surprisingly, Emily did not hear the boards creak beneath her feet. Only once, on the seventh step, did they make the slightest noise. With a new paint job, the house would look as if it had just been built. When she reached the top step, a long hallway running left and right awaited her. Three doors were on the opposite side of the hallway, two rooms facing the front yard. Emily chose the nearest door on the other side of the hallway to open first.
A rusty bathroom with mold and dust clinging to every surface was what Emily did not find. Instead, she found a bright room with yellow and cream striped walls and a glimmering tile floor. The elongated bathroom had just enough space for her liking. She decided to move on to other rooms, seeing as her room was much more important than the bathroom. She intended to spend more time in it.
Emily exited the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her. She turned right and entered in the other room on the bathroom's side of the hall. She descended three narrow steps into a white room. The floor was made of cloudy glass tiles and the ceiling was made out of the same tiles as the floor. Large windows revealed the landscape of the back yard. It was a sunroom. It was to her liking. Moving on, she went across the hall. This room was large, so Emily guessed it was the master bedroom. It also had a bathroom, but seeing as how the room was going to be her father's, it was of no intrest to her, so she returned to the hall.
She went to the other end of the hallway. Two rooms remaining. The one with the double doors looked promising. She entered and instantly knew which room was to be her favorite. All of the walls were covered with rich mahogany bookshelves. There was an enormous bay window with a padded seat below it across the room. This room would be perfect to house the books she and her parents had collected over the years.
"Do you like it? I thought this would be your favorite room of them all," Joseph said, grinning from the doorway.
"Oh!" Emily jumped, startled by her father."Yes. The wood is gorgeous. How long did you say the house had been here?"
"Fifty years. He liked to read. Everytime he ran out of room, he would add more shelves. Did you see your bedroom?"
"No."
"It's just across the hall. I just got the call from the moving vans, they'll be here in around five minutes. Held up by traffic," Joseph informed her.
"Alright. I'll just have a look at the room and then I'll be down ."
"Ok." He remained in the doorway, observing her as she stared out the bay window. Then he backed out and she heard his footsteps on the stairs. Emily opened the door of her room. There were lots of windows. She would be able to see the sunset. Her mother loved the sunsets.
She heard the distant rumble of the moving vans. The empty feeling began to seep into her body again. The only escape was to busy her mind. She walked down the stairs, joining her father on the sunny veranda.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry it has taken me so long to post this second chapter. I was debating on whether or not I wanted to bore you with this story once more.
I actually think this chapter was very boring, seeing as how it was only about the house's features. Let me know if you want more, I've written a few more chapters.
_________________
"I'm a lot less serious than people think,
it's probably because the way my face is put together."--Alan Rickman
Thanks to Madame Torision for the avatar.

lpsmith · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:18 pm Post subject:

I dont think it was boring at all, good descriptive writing sets the scene!

Lorraine
_________________
We could hear the sounds of the celestial spheres if only we strained to listen

journalista · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject:

Awesome! I loved it. It really sets the stage and makes me want to know more about these people. EXCELLENT!!! Very Happy

(More, please!)
_________________
I want to swim in both directions at once. Desire success, court failure. ~ Alan Rickman

-->A.R.<--Fan · Diagnosed Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 192 Location: Indiana

Chapter 3

Unloading the furniture was uneventful, other than when Emily almost cost her father one of his toes. By the time they had moved all of the furniture inside, it was almost sundown. The movers had helped Joseph and Emily move all of the furniture into the correct rooms. Riley managed to stay out of the way. Emily had mostly just transfered boxes of their belongings from the truck to the house. Joseph said that tomorrow he and Emily would pick their paint from the store before postioning their furniture. Until then, the furniture was placed in the center of the rooms, guarded by a fortress of boxes.
Emiy was worn. The car ride and the moving of the boxes had her physically exhausted. Yawning, Emily strolled into the kithcen to find her father unpacking a small box. He was pulling a picture frame from the depths of the cardboard and newspaper when he saw her enter.
"You look tired."
"I am," she replied mid-yawn.
"You can go to bed, if you want. I already pulled some sheets from a box and made your bed."
"Okay. I'll get up at seven tomorrow, okay?" she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the stairs.
"Em?" Joseph called after her.
"Yeah?" she said, leaning back through the doorway.
"I..I love you," he told her softly.
"I love you, too," she said in return, smiling faintly. then she turned and walked swiftly to the stairs. Joseph could hear the soft padding of her feet on the stairs. He looked down at the counter, then to the picture still half wrapped in newspaper. He slowly pulled the rest off the small frame. Laura and Emily's faces, frozen in time, playfully smiled up at him from the bed of green grass on which they sat. Joseph slowy sank onto the stool beside him. Tears clouded his vision so that Laura and Emily became a blur of colors. His face sank into his hands, catching his tears.

************************************************************************

Emily reached her room, tears rising to her eyes. She was so tired. Sleep would come easily. She stumbled onto her bed. Joseph had placed her warmest comforter on her bed. Her mother had made it for her Christmas present. Tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, Emily pulled the blanket and sheets over herself and readjusted her pillow.
Riley padded over to her bed from the doorway and stared into her eyes for a moment. He laid his head against her hand on the bed and nuzzled her gently. He then laid down slowly on the rug beside her bed and sighed deeply.
Emily's eyes drifted closed. She left her new bedroom and Riley behind and entered her realm of dreams.

************************************************************************

A cold breeze wafted beneath Emily's sheets, waking her from her slumber. Her eyes opened to the buttery gold sunshine pouring in from her windows. A smile spread on her face. Yawning, she reached to wipe the sleep from her eyes, but only to find her dried tears. She slowly pulled the covers off, not wanting to leave the comforting warmth. Stretching, she walked to the door, opened it, and proceeded to her bathroom. She turned on the faucet and pulled the water into her hands. She plunged her face into the bitterly cold water. The towel was rough on her tender face.
After showering and brushing her teeth, Emily went back to her room and opened her suitcase. She pulled from it a tee shirt, a pair of jeans, and footies. She dressed quickly, realizing her growing hunger. Not bothering to close her bedroom door, she made her way to the stairs. Pausing, she listened quietly for any sound of her father. She heard no noise, from up or downstairs. She then continued her quest for food to the kitchen. A delightful aroma greeted her in the archway to the kitchen.
Suddenly, Joesph popped up from behind the island, bearing an open bag of flour. Startled, Emily squealed, frightening Joseph in the process. He shouted in response, jumped, and caused a shower of flour to rain down upon him. Emily began to laugh at her father's ridiculous appearence as soon as the cloud of white cleared.
"Think it's funny, do you? Well, I wonder how funny it would be if you had to clean it up," he mumbled, brushing flour from his sweater. This just sent Emily into another fit of giggles. He looked from his sweater to Emily, a grumpy look settling upon his face. He walked around the island to the mirror to see what could possibly be so funny. What he saw made him chuckle a bit as well. He strolled around to the sink as Emily sat upon a stool.
"Well, for your breakfast, I have made blueberry muffins, pancakes, and bacon," he informed her as he wiped flour from his face with the hand towel.
"Sorry," she said smiling at the counter.
"It's alright," he responded, smiling as well,"just eat up. Another long day ahead of us. More like a long week."

***************************************************************************************

Together, they ate their breakfast quietly with the occasional clinking of silverware. Joseph read the morning paper while Emily gazed out the window. Afterward, Emily place the dishes in the sink. Joseph and Emily climbed into their truck to go to the local Lowe's. Today was the day to paint their new house.
Emily and Joseph entered the sliding doors into the high ceilinged, cement floored Lowe's shocked to see so many people there at 9 on a Saturday morning. They turned to their left and began walking toward the paint section at the other end of the store. Emily's eyes lingered on the fans and glimmering lights overhead in the light department and she fell behind her father. Realizing he was a few paces ahead of her, she began to walk faster. Emily was so focused on catching up to her father that she failed to notice a boy who was exiting an aisle with his arms full. They collided, sending the items in the boy's arms scattering to the floor.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, bending down to help him pick them back up. "Sorry. I, uh, wasn't paying attention."
"Yeah, I noticed," he replied, bending down also. He pulled a few things closer to him and looked over at Emily. "I'm Dan," he said to Emily, reaching his hand out to her.
"Emily," she replied, taking his hand. Arms filled with paint brushes and home improvement books and hand in hand, Dan and Emily got back to their feet. Emily released Dan's hand and returned his things back to his arms.
"Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before," he asked curiously, examining the features of Emily's face.
"As a matter of fact, I am. My dad and I just moved here yesterday" she replied.
Joseph, just realizing Emily was no longer at his side, turned and yelled for her to come.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around then, Emily," Dan said.
"I suppose," Emily said as she turned and walked to catch up with her father. Dan watched her walk away for a moment before continuing to the checkout line.

****************************************************************************

After the paint selecting, which took a good 3 hours, Joseph offered to take Emily out to lunch, which she kindly accepted. Even though she had no appetite, she had said yes anyway because she figured that Joseph would enjoy the company.
Joseph was indeed glad that she had instantly accepted his proposal for lunch. He thought she would have had enough of him for the day, and was pleasently happy to be proven wrong.
"So..., who was the boy in the store earlier?" he casually dropped into conversation, following his words with a bite of roast beef sandwich.
"I really have no idea. He said he was from around here. I think he said his name was...Dan," she answered after a swig from her soda. She thoughtfully glanced over to the small television screen which was hanging on the wall. Pictures from above a car accident flashed across the small plasma, forcing her eyes painfully away from the screen to blankly stare through the window instead. Joseph noticed this.
"Hmm, so you think you'll be going to school with him?" he poorly attempted to change the course her mind was traveling.
She continued to stare blankly for a moment before responding,"Yeah, most likely. He seemed about my age."
"Well, at least you won't have to walk into the school not knowing anyone anymore."
"I guess.."
They finished their meal and left the restaurant without many more words, this time with their course headed for their home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing much to say about this chapter..For those of you who don't have one in your area, Lowe's is a large hardware store that has paint, wood, appliances..well, you get the idea.

More?
_________________
"I'm a lot less serious than people think,
it's probably because the way my face is put together."--Alan Rickman
Thanks to Madame Torision for the avatar.

journalista · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:09 am Post subject:

Of course more!!

I really like it! Very Happy

_________________
I want to swim in both directions at once. Desire success, court failure. ~ Alan Rickman

DeeARF13 · On Medication Joined: 09 Dec 2007 Posts: 445 Location: USA

Good stuff ! Keep going....As I read I can actually picture the story in my head .... good job!! Very Happy

_________________
Dee

Mis pies querran marchar hacia donde tu duermes
Pero seguire vivo....Alan Rickman (Truly,Madly,Deeply)

*Icon thanks to madamtorsion Rickman-online*

njf61 · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:39 pm Post subject:

very good, I love your descriptions! I can see everything as I'm reading (great for someone like me with no imagination! probably why I've never tried to write anything Crying or Very sad

)
Nora

-->A.R.<--Fan · Diagnosed Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 192 Location: Indiana

Chapter4

Emily yawned as she pulled her eyes away from her book, noticing the light from the bay

window growing dimmer. She extracted her phone from her pocket. 6:42 p.m. She closed her eyes,

counting back the hours since she last ate on her fingers. Six hours. Her stomach rumbled at the

thought.
Checking the page number, she closed her book and laid it down on the bench. She

threw her legs over the side and stood, the wooden floor cool beneath her bare feet. She crossed

the empty room to the doors and walked through the open doorway. She began to shout for Joe

but decided against it. Not knowing how far her voice would carry in the spacious house, she

decided to search for him instead.
She wandered down the hall to his room. The door was open so she entered slightly, only

enough to see the the entire room and his bathroom. He wasn't there. She tilted her head slightly,

thinking. She straighted, realizing that, of course, he must be in his office.
She turned, and with her stomach rumbling again, she headed towards the stairs. She took

two stairs at a time and quickly reached the bottom. She hopped into the dining room and reached

for the handle of the office door, swinging the door open just wide enough to slide her head into the

room. Once again, no Joe. Only Riley was there, and he was asleep in the light pouring through the

office window.
Surprised once again, she removed her head from the room and reclosed the door softly

so she wouldn't wake Riley. She strode over across the entry into the living room. No Joe. Beginning

to become frustrated, she practically ran into the kitchen. Again, no Joe. She released a small sigh

of anger and frustration, pulling her hands to her hips.
Realization crossed over her. Nothing rules had been set that he had to be in the house.

The cold had never prevented Joe from being in the outdoors before. She walked around the island

and checked the lock on the backdoor; It was unlocked.
Smiling at her foolishness, she opened the door to a warm breeze and the soft sunlight. For

October, the air was quite warm and the grass was gently cool against her feet. Seeing no need for

the shoes now, she began her search through the backyard. She looked around. A thick ring of trees

silhouetted their backyard. Flowers dotted the ground and there were gardens with crops dried and

somewhat shrivled, past the harvest season.
When her eyes reached the center of the back yard, they fell upon a towering oak tree,

gently swaying in the soft breeze. The leaves were a pale gold, and a few were lifted by the breeze

until they drifted to rest on the ground. Emily crossed her arms and walked forward toward the hulking

tree. There was a thick branch just low enough for climbing.
Reaching the tree, she averted her eyes to stare up the trunk into the safety of the tree's

colorful canopy. Emily faintly smiled to herself. "Of course," she mumbled softly. She knew that, like

herself and her mother, Joe possesed a passion for reading. There, about 7 feet up the tree, he sat

nestled in the curve of the branches with his back resting against the trunk of the tree with a book

open upon his lap.
"Joe!"
"What?" he gasped quietly, startled by the sudden sound. He slid, but held fast to a nearby

branch so he wouldn't fall. He looked around, and then back to the ground, his eyes falling on

Emily. "I could've fallen!" he shouted back down to her.
She tried to supress her laughter, looking down at the grass then back to Joe,"I couldn't

resist. Do you know when we'll be eating, I'm starting to get hungry."
"Come here," he called down.
"What, up there?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yes, up here. Come up, I know you can, I'm more than 3 times your age and I made it."
She turned her eyes back to the bottom branch. Sighing, she gave into Joe's request and

firmly grasped the branch, swinging her legs around it and pulling herself onto it. "How he made it

with a book, I'll never know..." she grunted under her breath.
Eventually, she made it to a branch slightly lower than his, but up by his side nonetheless.
"Now, what is it that we must do that cannot be done on the ground?" she said, breathing

slightly heavier.
"I wanted to read you something," he said, glancing at her with the shadow of a smile on

his face.
Emily caught his eyes and stared into them for a moment. There was a hint of sadness

behind them, but somehow, there was also happiness. "Okay," she said with a small smile.
"It's a short poem titled Brown Penny," he informed her, looking back to the book and

opening it. He flipped a few pages and quietly cleared his throat.
"I whispered, 'I am too young,'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair."

Emily glanced over to her father as he read the verses of the poem, his voice only loud

enough to reach her ears. His face was creased with slight concentration and his shining eyes were

slowly sliding over the words on the page. She then looked up, past the swaying leaves, settling

them on the horizon, where the golden sun was slowly sinking down into the swirls of colors.

"O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon."

He finished and softly closed the book, looking throught the gold leaves into the sunset.
"William Butler Yeats," she said, her eyes still upon the sunset.
He furrowed his brow, looked at Emily and said,"How did you--"
"Mom read it to me once," she told him dreamily, as if in a trance.
"Oh." After a moment of gazing into the sunlight, he lifted his left arm and shook his sleeve

down, looking at his watch. "Hungry?" he asked, looking from his watch to his daughter.
"Yes, actually, that's why I came looking for you," she said, breaking from her trance and

looking at Joe.
"Well, I was thinking that since we ate out for lunch, we could run to the grocery and get

some food that I could whip up for dinner. Does that sound okay? We also need to stock this house

with some food that isn't stale."
Giggling slightly, she replied,"Yeah, I think that would be alright."
With dinner decided, they began their climb back down the oak tree and back into the

house, with the sunset at their back and dinner with a side of troubles on their minds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, not too much interesting going on in this chapter, but in the next, another new character! I'll post again soon, got some editing to do..
_________________
"I'm a lot less serious than people think,
it's probably because the way my face is put together."--Alan Rickman
Thanks to Madame Torision for the avatar.

journalista · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:22 am Post subject:

Terrific!! I just love this story! Thanks, Meredith!
_________________
I want to swim in both directions at once. Desire success, court failure. ~ Alan Rickman