Post by J.O.N ((Dragonwing)) on Aug 28, 2010 9:15:25 GMT -5
I have some written material for you guys, they're English folio pieces.
Once upon a Night.
Roof Story
Heavy rolling waves crashed across the pebble shores of Newfoundland driven by the strong winds from the Atlantic. With them they brought the cold and promise of a storm. The very promise itself lent a sense of urgency to the inhabitants of the island. For Bill, a single father of two young daughters, that would mean getting as much of the housework finished as possible before the storm wrecked any rundown part of his property. That was why he had to finish the roof as quickly as he could, or the rain would damage the roof and attic of their three story house.
Water damage was far harder to repair than to prevent.He had left his two daughters inside with their favourite colouring books as a means to keep them distracted and safe out of the cold wind. As he pulled himself up over the gutter once more, the shingles slung over his shoulder, Bill smiled at the thought of his baby girls sitting warm inside with their crayons. He climbed to the top of his steep roof, past the attic window, and took in the view of the sea with some pleasure. Mentally slapping himself, over his lapse in concentration, he turned back to his task of setting the shingles and hammering them in to place.
At the height he was, he felt nervous and it was easy for him to miss the rattling of the ladder upon the gutter. Soon a soft voice called out and Bill looked up and around in confusion until it called out again, more clearly. Cautiously leaning out from the roof he saw that his youngest daughter Rebecca was making her way up the ladder towards him. The ladder swayed uneasily from the inexperienced toddler’s ascent. Bill’s heart all but stopped, his daughter had wandered into an incredibly dangerous situation.
“Daddy? Help Daddy?” she asked in naïve innocence.
Slowly placing down his hammer, Bill edged from his position and forced his quaking nerves behind a parental wall of steel. He had to be calm for his daughter, if he made one mistake and a hundred things could go wrong. If he was too stern she may become upset, cry and let go unwittingly rubbing her eyes. If he was too calm she would continue up the ladder and upset it in the wind. Even worse, if he rushed forward to grab her, then he could knock the ladder back, and send her crashing down to the concrete below. All he could hope for was to calmly and gently make his way to his daughter, coaxing her to do his bidding.
“Stay there Becca, daddy will come down for you, stay still and we can both be together.” He said with a reassuring calm he himself could not feel, but hoped was there in his words.
“Daddy?” puzzled Rebecca.
Foot by foot Bill slowly made his way down the roof, careful of the shingles he had lain out. Something slipping from the roof could just as easily kill his daughter by scaring her. Inside him, his emotions raged to leap at her and desperately claw her to his chest. But he could not listen to them, only to himself as he cooed his daughter to stay still and wait as he continued down to her. Already he could see her knuckles begin to go white from the cold air and she was beginning to shiver, the ladder moving ever so slightly.
“Daddy?” this time he voice was beginning to take on an edge of concern, fear.
“Stay there my darling, I’m nearly there, hang on to the rungs like a good girl,” as he spoke he reached the gutter “you’re doing so well, I’m proud of you.”
The words seemed to calm her slightly and she drew a bit of strength from the words of praise. Whispering, praying, Bill slowly brought himself down on to the ladder and made his way down to his daughter, careful not to upset the ladder. Then gently he wrapped his right arm around her waist and drew in tight. Almost instantly she broke in to fearful sobs.
“It’s alright, I have you now, and it’s going to be fine.”
Step by step he brought them down the ladder to until his feet met solid land. At that he let out a long held sigh of relief. Placing Rebecca on to the ground he hugged her tightly.
“Let’s go inside and have some hot chocolate, I can finish the roof later.”
Ignoring the tears in his eyes, Bill brought his daughter in from outside and decided that the roof could be damned; he had a family to tend to first.
Once upon a Night.
It was darkness, rolling, blanketing, containing and embracing. Forever reaching, stretching; touching the horizon and covering the shadow infested land below. It is the black entity of the further reaches of the beyond and a picture of nothing.
Underneath it the colours of the earth lay gathered in shades of dark. The rolling hills nothing but dark bumps on the featureless expanse; the blades of grass creating an ethereal scene of moving shadows as the breeze lazily breathes across the land, sending trees swaying and leaves gently whispering. An opposite of the day it brought the stillness and restful quiet that lulled so many tired weary souls to sleep.
Yet if one was to awake and look up into the still blackness they would see the silvery pinpricks of the billions and billions of great giants that ruled the expanse of space. Each one added to a picture of immense magnitude that brought inspiring wonder that had dominated humanity’s imagination from the very beginning. Each one contributed to the creation of gods and stories of wonder. Their fiery bodies sending light over great distances to shine upon the shadows. Each one added its own silvery touch of grace to the land.
Yet none could match the dominating silver disc that danced around the planet itself; a silent partner bathing the land in its glow, commanding the tides and enthralling the hearts and minds of the sky gazers. It was an eerie mix of light and dark, each entwined and a reflection of what they cast upon.
Underneath it the colours of the earth lay gathered in shades of dark. The rolling hills nothing but dark bumps on the featureless expanse; the blades of grass creating an ethereal scene of moving shadows as the breeze lazily breathes across the land, sending trees swaying and leaves gently whispering. An opposite of the day it brought the stillness and restful quiet that lulled so many tired weary souls to sleep.
Yet if one was to awake and look up into the still blackness they would see the silvery pinpricks of the billions and billions of great giants that ruled the expanse of space. Each one added to a picture of immense magnitude that brought inspiring wonder that had dominated humanity’s imagination from the very beginning. Each one contributed to the creation of gods and stories of wonder. Their fiery bodies sending light over great distances to shine upon the shadows. Each one added its own silvery touch of grace to the land.
Yet none could match the dominating silver disc that danced around the planet itself; a silent partner bathing the land in its glow, commanding the tides and enthralling the hearts and minds of the sky gazers. It was an eerie mix of light and dark, each entwined and a reflection of what they cast upon.
Roof Story
Heavy rolling waves crashed across the pebble shores of Newfoundland driven by the strong winds from the Atlantic. With them they brought the cold and promise of a storm. The very promise itself lent a sense of urgency to the inhabitants of the island. For Bill, a single father of two young daughters, that would mean getting as much of the housework finished as possible before the storm wrecked any rundown part of his property. That was why he had to finish the roof as quickly as he could, or the rain would damage the roof and attic of their three story house.
Water damage was far harder to repair than to prevent.He had left his two daughters inside with their favourite colouring books as a means to keep them distracted and safe out of the cold wind. As he pulled himself up over the gutter once more, the shingles slung over his shoulder, Bill smiled at the thought of his baby girls sitting warm inside with their crayons. He climbed to the top of his steep roof, past the attic window, and took in the view of the sea with some pleasure. Mentally slapping himself, over his lapse in concentration, he turned back to his task of setting the shingles and hammering them in to place.
At the height he was, he felt nervous and it was easy for him to miss the rattling of the ladder upon the gutter. Soon a soft voice called out and Bill looked up and around in confusion until it called out again, more clearly. Cautiously leaning out from the roof he saw that his youngest daughter Rebecca was making her way up the ladder towards him. The ladder swayed uneasily from the inexperienced toddler’s ascent. Bill’s heart all but stopped, his daughter had wandered into an incredibly dangerous situation.
“Daddy? Help Daddy?” she asked in naïve innocence.
Slowly placing down his hammer, Bill edged from his position and forced his quaking nerves behind a parental wall of steel. He had to be calm for his daughter, if he made one mistake and a hundred things could go wrong. If he was too stern she may become upset, cry and let go unwittingly rubbing her eyes. If he was too calm she would continue up the ladder and upset it in the wind. Even worse, if he rushed forward to grab her, then he could knock the ladder back, and send her crashing down to the concrete below. All he could hope for was to calmly and gently make his way to his daughter, coaxing her to do his bidding.
“Stay there Becca, daddy will come down for you, stay still and we can both be together.” He said with a reassuring calm he himself could not feel, but hoped was there in his words.
“Daddy?” puzzled Rebecca.
Foot by foot Bill slowly made his way down the roof, careful of the shingles he had lain out. Something slipping from the roof could just as easily kill his daughter by scaring her. Inside him, his emotions raged to leap at her and desperately claw her to his chest. But he could not listen to them, only to himself as he cooed his daughter to stay still and wait as he continued down to her. Already he could see her knuckles begin to go white from the cold air and she was beginning to shiver, the ladder moving ever so slightly.
“Daddy?” this time he voice was beginning to take on an edge of concern, fear.
“Stay there my darling, I’m nearly there, hang on to the rungs like a good girl,” as he spoke he reached the gutter “you’re doing so well, I’m proud of you.”
The words seemed to calm her slightly and she drew a bit of strength from the words of praise. Whispering, praying, Bill slowly brought himself down on to the ladder and made his way down to his daughter, careful not to upset the ladder. Then gently he wrapped his right arm around her waist and drew in tight. Almost instantly she broke in to fearful sobs.
“It’s alright, I have you now, and it’s going to be fine.”
Step by step he brought them down the ladder to until his feet met solid land. At that he let out a long held sigh of relief. Placing Rebecca on to the ground he hugged her tightly.
“Let’s go inside and have some hot chocolate, I can finish the roof later.”
Ignoring the tears in his eyes, Bill brought his daughter in from outside and decided that the roof could be damned; he had a family to tend to first.
