I'm really not much of a short story person. I've certainly done oneshots before, but always as accompaniment to some larger whole, usually something like the Brutal series. This is one idea that struck me, though, that I couldn't do in a whole novel. We'll see if it ever happens.
Title: "That We May Live" (could be changed)
Genre: Romance, I think
Main Characters: Annie Bernard, a young woman with boy-short black hair and a general attractiveness about her.
Phillip Durham, a young man with short brown hair that's rather scrawny.
Setting: Modern-day America during Veterans' Day.
Plot: Annie visits the grave of her grandfather, a war veteran. She decorates the headstone with flowers and prepares to plant a small flag, but she loses her grip, and the flag blows to the next plot, an empty one. Phillip, visiting his aunt's grave for similar reasons, is at the next plot and manages to catch the flag before it can go any further. He hands it back to Annie, who thanks him. The two strike up some patriotic conversation about being blessed with the people who fight and die that they might live. As Annie starts back for her grandfather's plot, Phillip stops her for a moment and, apologising if it sounded callous but bringing up the point of their being able to live, asks for her number.
It ends after skipping to some time later. The empty plot is now marked with headstones for Annie and Phillip Durham.
Point of View: Third person, static or omniscient.
Inspired by visiting an ancestor's grave that by some strange coincidence was two plots (one empty) away from ancestors on the other side of the family.
That's sort of touching, romantic and creepy all at the same time. I love the idea that their ancestors' sacrifices were able to give them (presumably) long, full, happy lives.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really cool true story, Journey.
There's been a call from our school writing magazine thing for short stories, so I might go ahead and write this, though it's still dubious.
DeleteYeah. There are a lot of story ideas lurking in graveyards, really...