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rainbowfic2013-03-21 07:22 pm
rustydragonfly) wrote in rainbowfic2013-03-21 07:22 pm
Moonlight 15
Author: rustydragonfly
Challenge: Moonlight 15 (Ephemeral)
Supplies: eraser, charcoal, pastels (origfic_bingo October card: market), glue (You are immersed in deep waters now and your fantasies might be locked in a battle with your personal demons and ghosts of the past. The root of the problem is that you can unconsciously project your imagination on to your friends and family; but even if it appears otherwise, this is ultimately about you and not them. Don't be afraid to heal yourself, even if this seems more complicated than trying to heal others.)
Styles: collage, mosaic, fingerpainting (writing a character I didn't create)
Wordcount: 624
Rating: all ages, references to family breakups.
Story: In The Heart/Manifestations (Real World AU)
Summary: Rebecca, a bookstore, and a stranger.
Notes: Er... I hope it's okay to post this here and that I didn't mess up Rebecca too much?
Some of you might remember Majiv. If not, no real background knowledge of her is required to read this. She and Rebecca just have so much in common I had to let them meet.
Rebecca had an odd relationship with bookstores. People were never loud in a bookstore, and even when it was busy, she could feel alone in a way she didn’t elsewhere. Whether that was a good thing or not depended on when, exactly, you asked.
The real problem was that whenever she set foot in a bookstore, she always found herself in the travel section.
Some days she meant to. She’d hear of a new release, and then staunch herself and head inside. The cashier would make friendly small-talk and ask if she was on vacation this year and what a lovely time she must be having. And she’d smile, and say thankyou, and keep smiling all the way home, when she could stop. Then there were days like this, when despite her best judgement, she found herself there anyway. On those days she would stand and read the book spines, amid silence and glaring store lights and the smell of paperbacks.
This was one of those days, and though he travel section was secluded in a corner, hidden behind shelves. there was already someone there. That someone must have noticed, because she turned to look at her approach. “Not in your way, am I?”
She sounded British to Rebecca’s ears, though not at all like they did on TV, and her hair, caught in the lights, was a mass of wild yellow curls, except for where it had gone pale and begun to turn grey. Rebecca wondered, even if it was none of he concern, who she was. Maybe a tourist, travelling after a life trapped at home? She knew that feeing. She could still remember getting in that car and driving and wishing she’d never have to turn back...
“No, thankyou,” she said. The stranger turned back and pulled out a book, and Rebecca knew, even before she touched it, what it would be. It was so like the world to do such a thing.
She still felt a lurch in her stomach when she read her son’s name on the cover.
The stranger must have seen her face. “You know these?” she said.
“A little.”
“Hmm.” The stranger flipped through the pages. “I’m looking for something not so... touristy.”
Rebecca thought of the line of books on her shelf at home, full of places she’d never been to and would never go. “That should do.” the next words lingered on her tongue, and she didn’t know if she dared voice them. “I knew the author.”
“Oh?” She paused, mid-page turn.
“Yes. We met a few times.” She knew she shouldn’t have spoken up, and she knew that tonight was going to be a long one, full of ghosts inside her, the sort of nights where she was glad she’d sold the old house, because she couldn’t look at it again. But it was a quiet day, and nobody else was listening, and she’d never see this person again. Someone like her should know. Someone who wouldn’t think too much of it beyond an interesting detail, even if it was only part of the story. “I haven’t seen him for a long time.”
“I see.” The stranger gazed for a while at a big, glossy photograph plastered across a whole page. And then, there was a look on her face Rebecca hadn’t seen before, as though that photo was of a long gone place she’d remembered, and would never see again outside of those pages. “Thankyou, I’ll not bother you any longer.”
She closed the book, and turned away, and Rebecca watched her head to the counter, where life was normal again. She did not know if it was a disappointment or a relief that their meeting had ended so soon.
Challenge: Moonlight 15 (Ephemeral)
Supplies: eraser, charcoal, pastels (
origfic_bingo October card: market), glue (You are immersed in deep waters now and your fantasies might be locked in a battle with your personal demons and ghosts of the past. The root of the problem is that you can unconsciously project your imagination on to your friends and family; but even if it appears otherwise, this is ultimately about you and not them. Don't be afraid to heal yourself, even if this seems more complicated than trying to heal others.)Styles: collage, mosaic, fingerpainting (writing a character I didn't create)
Wordcount: 624
Rating: all ages, references to family breakups.
Story: In The Heart/Manifestations (Real World AU)
Summary: Rebecca, a bookstore, and a stranger.
Notes: Er... I hope it's okay to post this here and that I didn't mess up Rebecca too much?
Some of you might remember Majiv. If not, no real background knowledge of her is required to read this. She and Rebecca just have so much in common I had to let them meet.
Rebecca had an odd relationship with bookstores. People were never loud in a bookstore, and even when it was busy, she could feel alone in a way she didn’t elsewhere. Whether that was a good thing or not depended on when, exactly, you asked.
The real problem was that whenever she set foot in a bookstore, she always found herself in the travel section.
Some days she meant to. She’d hear of a new release, and then staunch herself and head inside. The cashier would make friendly small-talk and ask if she was on vacation this year and what a lovely time she must be having. And she’d smile, and say thankyou, and keep smiling all the way home, when she could stop. Then there were days like this, when despite her best judgement, she found herself there anyway. On those days she would stand and read the book spines, amid silence and glaring store lights and the smell of paperbacks.
This was one of those days, and though he travel section was secluded in a corner, hidden behind shelves. there was already someone there. That someone must have noticed, because she turned to look at her approach. “Not in your way, am I?”
She sounded British to Rebecca’s ears, though not at all like they did on TV, and her hair, caught in the lights, was a mass of wild yellow curls, except for where it had gone pale and begun to turn grey. Rebecca wondered, even if it was none of he concern, who she was. Maybe a tourist, travelling after a life trapped at home? She knew that feeing. She could still remember getting in that car and driving and wishing she’d never have to turn back...
“No, thankyou,” she said. The stranger turned back and pulled out a book, and Rebecca knew, even before she touched it, what it would be. It was so like the world to do such a thing.
She still felt a lurch in her stomach when she read her son’s name on the cover.
The stranger must have seen her face. “You know these?” she said.
“A little.”
“Hmm.” The stranger flipped through the pages. “I’m looking for something not so... touristy.”
Rebecca thought of the line of books on her shelf at home, full of places she’d never been to and would never go. “That should do.” the next words lingered on her tongue, and she didn’t know if she dared voice them. “I knew the author.”
“Oh?” She paused, mid-page turn.
“Yes. We met a few times.” She knew she shouldn’t have spoken up, and she knew that tonight was going to be a long one, full of ghosts inside her, the sort of nights where she was glad she’d sold the old house, because she couldn’t look at it again. But it was a quiet day, and nobody else was listening, and she’d never see this person again. Someone like her should know. Someone who wouldn’t think too much of it beyond an interesting detail, even if it was only part of the story. “I haven’t seen him for a long time.”
“I see.” The stranger gazed for a while at a big, glossy photograph plastered across a whole page. And then, there was a look on her face Rebecca hadn’t seen before, as though that photo was of a long gone place she’d remembered, and would never see again outside of those pages. “Thankyou, I’ll not bother you any longer.”
She closed the book, and turned away, and Rebecca watched her head to the counter, where life was normal again. She did not know if it was a disappointment or a relief that their meeting had ended so soon.
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I love this. I love it so much. You got Rebecca down, just nailed her, and that short interaction with Majiv is so bittersweet and well-done... I don't know, just the mutual nostalgia, almost longing, and strange love. Amazing job. *cuddles story*
May I show off to everyone I can find?
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Yeah, I'd like to see more Rebecca too, she's an interesting character, and her regrets fit so well with Majiv's. I think they could do one another some good.
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