This is my weeks entry into Finish the Story Contest hosted by @bananafish.
One of the things I enjoyed while doing the research for this work was the music. I didn't know it would be right up my alley. It is kind of India like but not. It has some classical musical elements, some jazz, blues, and rock; some opera thrown in from time to time. I'll probably be listening to more of this through mixcloud.
A Thousand Windows
by @f3nix
From the Little Ararat’s peak, Vartan "tiger's eye" observed his hometown, Yerevan. In the ample pocket of his tunic, well sheltered from the harsh wind, his squat fingers played with two graceful jade discs, while his steed, foaming with fatigue, seemed suddenly reinvigorated at the sight of home after months of traveling. If it had not been an animal, it would seem that he was moved. In Vartan's eyes, the only veil was that of travel fatigue.
Armenian merchant of precious stones, merchant son of merchants, he did not care how dangerous the journey was, nor how many moons had rotated above the long caravan: his mind was a precision balance that incessantly weighed and estimated without respite Indian emeralds, Burmese rubies, Pakistani aquamarines. This was Vartan's life since the cradle: he made a profit, and he did it surprisingly well.
A brisk early March night, something unexpected happened to him: he had a dream. Being an unusual experience for him, he awoke to throw in a far corner of the room the brocaded bedspread, upset and wet with sweat despite dawn’s breeze. In his family no one used to dream, there was no space for these frivolities. If he reflected well, maybe a couple of times he had dreamed of carving a gem or making a good deal, but he never came across those surreal dreams like a sand mirage in the ocean. After that episode, dreams began to visit him more and more frequently, as the unstoppable progression of pot-bellied drops in an August downpour. Frankly, it was a very unfortunate situation for Vartan, who was soon forced to invent every kind of wild night escapade to justify the increasingly evident dark circles under his eyes.
Then one day, while he was dreaming, the unthinkable happened: he suddenly perceived that he was in the dream. That first experience of dreamlike lucidity did not last long, nothing but an imperceptible beating of wings of awareness before the rules of the dream came back to swallow him and to dictate the story, relegating him to a mere spectator. Night after night, he began to acknowledge the laws that governed that world and how to bend them to his creative power. Thin and rarefied realms could become dense with colors, shapes, and perfumes. The Escheresque geometries of dancing fractals disobeyed space and time. Gradually, Vartan learned to attribute a new meaning and content to the term comprehension. For every new dream he was immersed in, the breath of those universes and his soul were united in one single essence longer and longer. In those dreams, Vartan traveled in the folds of reality, learned the language of angels and played dodges with them in the heart of perennial storms of unknown planets.
Soon, what was happening in Vartan's soul could not remain hidden to the eyes of the family, his friends, and the entire city of Yerevan.
MY ENDING
When Vartem woke up in the morning, he decided he was going to walk to Republic Square. He wanted to mingle among the people to test his new found knowledge out with the many different travelers that came from far and wide to visit the city.
He retrieved his stored away drawing paper and pencils from the chest covered in various jewels, a gift from royalty handed down to him through the ages. He stuffed them in his rook-sack. He, also, took water and food - pilaf, stuffed grape leaves, homemade yogurt, and kharpert kufta - a variety of luxurious food most around him could not afford.
He exited his small, humble home, locked the door, and strolled down the street with a gleam in his eyes. His neighbors sat on their porches eating sunflower seeds, a pile of shells lay between them as they laughed and took in the morning's glory.
Vartem turned down Movses Khorenatsi Street. The shop keeper, Gor, called out, thanking him for the jewel he'd long requested. Vartem maked a heart shape with both of his hands and held his hands above his head.
Rows of apricot trees lined the street. Children picked the families morning breakfast. The smell of baking apricots were carried into Vartem's unusually long nose by the gentle wind. He thanked God for his sense of smell.
A group of men were cutting down trees to stoke their fires with. They yelled out to the Vartem when they saw him in his earthy tunic, thanking him for the tools to keep their families warm with. The genocidal times of which they lived had almost wiped out their spirits and wills to live.
Vartem's throat choked up as he held back the tears of joy it brought to his heart to see the little good he could do for his people.
Narek, who was renowned in the neighborhood for his somber toned voice, practiced singing on the lawn about the things that once entered his most precious jewels - those were taken from him in Bittis along with his family. Two boys with instruments, one with a qanun and the other with a dhol, accompanied his adagio melody that rung in the ears like a singing bowl.
A man driving a four-wheeled carriage pulled up beside Vartem and asked if he'd like a ride to where he was going. Vartem, being a little tired of walking, had agreed.
Vartem sat on the seat next to the driver and shared his food with him. The driver shared with Vartem his drink that he had stored under the skeleton boot. The wine was just the thing that quenched Vartem's thirst.
Vartem saw in the distance the Republic Square, but, as he went to speak of his joy, nothing came out of his vocal cords. He tried to move his body, but that had begun to stiffen up. Soon he couldn't move a muscle.
The man pulled the horse's reigns to the left and turned into a vacant alley. He got up, hoisted Vartem up on his shoulders, and threw him into the carriage. "İtaatsizlik için ödeyecek," he said slamming the door shut.
Vartem knew the Turkey phrase well. It had been a common trope for the last couple of years on his travels in and around the war torn cities. You will pay for your disobedience electrified his brain like the Escheresque geometries he'd played with in his dreams.
THE END
| Previous | Finish the Story Contest | Entries | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Town That Changed | Even the Clouds Smile | The Border | Horror Vacui | |
| Black Star | Quitting Life | LER | It Awakens | |
| Apocalypse and Pretzels | Metallic Kisses | Curie upvoted The Battle of Bloodneck Valley | Awakening | |
| Curie Upvoted Obstinancy | The Last Will and Testament of Geralda Connors | Curie Upvoted Pirate Hunters | Spoon-fed Memories | Lucid Dream |
| The Taste of Chicken |
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Tools:
- The Most Dangerous Writing App - This program keeps me from getting to bogged down with what I think is the perfect way. It forces me to keep writing no matter what comes to mind.
- Grammarly - I use this app all the time to catch my mistakes. If I didn't have a spell checker, you would be lost in my world. haha!
- Hemmingway App: Another useful tool to help you make your writing more clear, comprehensive, and easier to understand.
- Steem World: After the @ symbol, enter your name or anyone elses name to see a host of information regarding what is going on with an account.
- List of 21 sites. Photos that you can use freely in your blog posts.
twenty-four hour short story - You gotta be quick to get this one posted in time. He posts the contest on Sunday (usually) and ends it about 48 hours later. This contest has a 2000 word limit.
Finish the Story Contest - The contest begins on Wednesday (usually) and end 5 days later. This contest will test your write skills with something a little different each week. Pletty of time to write something around the 500 word mark.
Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! - Coming out roughly every week. If you enjoy card games like Magic, Yugio, and others like it, you might like this game. Write a fictional tale about the card they present in the contest and your entry just might be the one they choose to showcase.
Tell A Story To Me, And Win 5 SBD! Writing Contest - Kind of random when it comes out but don't worry. You will have two weeks to complete your work of art from the given prompt. Have fun!
Haiku - These are coming out every couple days or so. If you stuggle with rhymes, no worries. Haikus don't have to rhyme. All you need to make a haiku is five syllable on the first, seven syllables in the second line, and again back to five syllable for the last line. So easy it makes me think I'm being super product. LOL
Mizu No Oto - Every Image Has Its Haiku Contest - By reading the title, you should be able to guess how this haiku contest works. You're given an image and you write. I've really enjoy this contest because there are people here who've actually gone to classes to learn how to write haiku's; so if you want, you also can learn how to write quality haikus from reading the comments and critiques they and others give.
50-word Challenge - This is an interesting challenge and very challenging to say the least. You only get fifty words to tell a story or a vignettes. Here is a great post that will explain the difference between the two concepts. Good luck, Brave Story Writer!
Vocab-Ability 1x1 - What happens is you are given a list of roots and the words they can be found in. You create sentence using those words and post in the comment section of the post. Your upvote for your creative work will come soon. One of the best way to increase your vocabulary is by doing these 10-15 minute exercises almost daily. What craziness will you create?