I've mentioned before that I've always wanted to write a book.
The only problem is that I have neither the drive nor the determination to do so.
I also lack one key component to book writing...a story.
There are a lot of words in my head, but none that actually combine to form a whole chapter, let alone an entire book.
I thought I would try something different by writing only a chapter.
That's it. Just a chapter. A chapter of a book that will never be anything more than a chapter.
Please keep in mind that I'm making this up as I go with the only concrete idea in my head being that there is a piano involved.
I don't know why, there just is.
Here we go!
The Book That Shall Remain Unfinished
by B
Chapter 1 (also known as "the only chapter")
She sauntered into the lounge looking confident but not feeling it. She walked to the first empty table she spotted and planted herself in the chair. It was only after she had disentangled herself from her scarf and bag that she realized she was the only patron in the lounge.
In fact, she was the only person in the entire room save for the man hunched over the piano in the corner.
She regarded him at first by only glancing at him slightly from time to time the way you do when you don't want to get caught staring, but when it became apparent that he either hadn't noticed her in the room or didn't care she allowed herself the guilty pleasure of dissecting him bit by bit.
She noted that he was taller than average, at least as far as she could tell by the way his knees were bent up under the piano at an angle. He was wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, hanging loose from the waist of his jeans and rolled up at the sleeves. His bow tie was undone and lay limp around his collar.
He could almost be described as the run-of-the-mill musician out-of-work character that graces the pages of most literary works today, except that he wasn't. You couldn't use the word "rugged" or phrases like "tousled hair" or "chiseled chin" to describe him. Actually, you could, but you would be wrong in your description.
He was just average. He had a bit of a five o'clock shadow across his face, but it seemed that he used it more as a way to cover the very slight pudge under his chin than as a result of a hard night or lack of a razor.
That's not to say that he was chunky. You could see that he was moderately muscular but there was a soft overlay of weight.
She sensed that he was distracted by something. It was while she was wondering what this distraction in his life could be that she realized there was no music coming from the piano he remained hunched over.
In fact, there had been no music playing since the moment she entered the lounge. Yet, there he sat, running his fingers across the keys, sometimes just touching his thumb and pinkie to individual keys while he leaned his elbow against the piano and smooshed his face into his hand.
She realized that she had been holding her breath while she evaluated him and inhaled quickly and quietly.
It was at this moment that the man at the piano came out of the stupor he was in and looked directly at her. And when I say he "looked" at her I don't mean in the way that you look at someone at the grocery store or the library. He was looking at her, almost through her and the expression on his face became that of recognition.
He blinked. She blinked.
He rose slowly from the piano and walked towards her.
Ta-da!
How's THAT for the shortest, most generic chapter ever?
Though I would like to point out that the beauty of this chapter is that you can come to almost any conclusion you'd like from this point on.
Sci-fi? Sure!
Romantic comedy? Indeed!
Suspense? Absolutley!
Murder mystery? Whatever floats your boat!
The ending (as well as most of the beginning and the middle) are up to you.
Great for your imagination and a lot less work for me.
It's a win-win.
B
You can see the rest of this session here under "White Five Months."
3 comments:
This was too much to take in:) I was captivated by the amazing pictures and the interesting story. I'm going to make mine a romantic comedy;) Thanks!
Great story. I was really captivated.
Ready for chapter 2 please!
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