I've been making noises about starting a story thread for a while now, so thought I should finally get around to it. Mine is one of my 'sketches', which are rough drafts sparked by the turn of a child's cheek, or an old woman struggling with a grocery cart, or any other thing my subconscience might pick out of the deluge of daily life. I've been doing these for years and this is the one I did today... I wanted to make it BGII related and even started one based on my current party, but since it wasn't 'sparked' it petered off and wouldn't have been very good anyway. My hope is that people will post their stories here for all of us to enjoy. The disclaimer being: THIS IS NOT A CRITIC'S CORNER... PLEASE SHARE AND DON'T WORRY IF YOU THINK YOUR'S ISN'T VERY GOOD. Most writers think their own stuff isn't any good, especially new ones, but I want you all to overcome this and share your work...
Well, garsh
here's mine... I hope it's not too depressing!
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Lu was shocked to see them all around her bed when she woke up. The unforgiving light making their faces stark, blotched with imperfection. She wasn't surprised at all to be in the hospital. She had known that she would end up here. But the feeling of trepidation at seeing them all here overcame her relief at even waking up at all.
This afternoon, when she first started to feel the pain in her chest... Was it this afternoon? Or yesterday? Or last week? She didn't know, only that the pain was gone and her discomfort now, other than what felt like a huge bandaid wrapped around her body and an IV needle in the back of her hand, was seeing her family looming above her like gross planets around a fluorescent sun. She quickly closed her eyes, not wanting them here... Wishing they would go away.
"Mother!" Rosco hissed, his whisper a jarring sound against the mechanical beeps and clicks and 'whooshings' of the ICU machines, "Aunt Lu just opened her eyes! I saw it!"
"Shush!" Rosilyn hissed back, and there was a muffled, "Thump!" that must've been her dear sweet sister whacking him on the head. "We're not supposed to wake her! She just got out of surgery, you stupid idiot!"
Ah, dear Roz, Lu thought, struggling to maintain her 'I just got out of surgery and I'm still unconscious' look when a scowl threatened to dispell it. She had always disliked Rosilyn, even when they were kids. Really, come to think of it, she disliked them all. Except her niece, Marcy, that was. And, of course the grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. Her guess was, that's where Marcy was... Stuck out in the lobby with all the kids!
"Mamma," Roscoe whispered again, "She's frowning! You think she's in pain?"
"Ssshhhh!" Rosilyn answered with another, "Thump!" Poor Roscoe. Really he wasn't so bad. The main thing she disliked about him was the fact that, even though he was in his forties now, he still put up with that kind of treatment from his mother!
Go away, she thought fiercely. GO AWAY! But they didn't. She didn't have to look to make sure. She could hear her brother Henry wheezing and SueAnne was cracking her knuckles. She didn't hear Bernie. He was the quiet one of the bunch... She decided Bernie wasn't so bad. They had been close as kids. Closer than she ever was to any of her other siblings, that is. And the nieces and nephews? Not! All except Marcy, that is.
Lu felt the tiniest twinge in her chest as she stiffled a sigh. Must be some pretty powerful pain-killer juice they're pumping into me if I just got out of surgery!
She was a little baffled by the heart-attack. Her doctor always gave her a 'thumbs up' on her ticker. She knew a lot about them, though. Her husband Milt had twelve before the last one finally killed him. Though that was seventeen years ago now, she still grieved for him. Every morning when she filled his squirrel-feeder, she weeped and berated herself for being a silly old woman! In a way, she realized, it was her fondness for him that had saved her life.
Stupid old toaster! She thought, and now had to keep the smile from reaching her face. She had been meaning to get a new one for years now because the stupid thing didn't pop up on it's own, but she couldn't bear to part with it because it was Milt's last anniversary present to her. Just like a man, she thought fondly, kitchen equipment for anniversary presents!
She had just laid out her new copy of Cosmopolitan and was going to glance through it while she waited to pop up her toast when the pain started. All she could do was go ahead and push down the lever before collapsing to the floor. Good thing it was sunny and she had all the windows open, and good thing Bernie had just come over last week to replace all the batteries in her smoke alarms (yah, she conceded, Bernie's not so bad).
Still, she had lain there in agony, choking on toast smoke and cringing at the high pitched squealing for what had seemed eons before the neighbors came through the back door and called an ambulance. Her last memory before succumbing to blackness was the handsome young paramedic tenderly brushing her hair from her face and placing an oxygen mask over her mouth. Maybe she would hang onto the stupid toaster after all!
"Folks?" A sweet young woman's voice said. Not one that she recognised. Must be the ICU nurse.
"Folks? You'll have to leave now. Visiting hours are over."
Yes! Lu thought, saying a little prayer of thanks to God or whoever. And a giggle finally broke through as her family was herded away.
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[This message has been edited by LadyRae (edited 03-19-2001).]