ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
I'm a published teenage writer that has been writing short stories since the fall of 2005. I also write poetry and flash fiction. Usually, I tend to write fiction, more specifically fantasy, but have tried my hand at other genres. I am an honors student and plan on being a writer, missionary, and linguist. I am an actor, fencer, artist, and guitar player. [September 2006]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (3) Alone At Dawn (Short Stories) The tale of a man searching to resolve the pain of loosing the woman he loved. [957 words] [Fantasy] Confortable Darkness (Short Stories) The world is dark and light is not welcome. It only pains the eyes. [996 words] [Fantasy] Without Reason (Short Stories) Anger breeds hate and hate breeds evil. Unfortunately this perfect world breeds all three. [983 words] [Fantasy]
To The Fullest Sime Sheef
I sat there in an old booth, staring out at the morning, drinking a cup of hot coffee. There was little traffic in the little city. The sun was shining outside and a cool breeze blew across the streets. I thought to myself, Sitting in a cafe for two hours isn't what I wanted to do today, especially if my time is running short. I stood up, walked to the bar for the third time that morning, and sat down, but this time instead of ordering coffee, I ordered a piece of cake and a juice. �Miss, can I get a piece of that cake over there,� I pointed to a cake in the corner under a glass dome, �and can I get some juice?�
�Sure.� was her sweet reply; the same response every time. I had come to this caf� many times before and every time the young lady seemed to avoid me and never said more than that one word. The times I had tried to make conversation with her, she wouldn�t say anything. She would just stare into my eyes with a horrible look in her eyes. I was usually the only man there, so I thought she might be afraid of me. That day the only other person there was an elderly woman in the corner reading the paper and that reminded me, I should have brought a book to read, while I waited. I�m always waiting.
I had come to meet someone but she seemed to have decided against coming. I would have left much earlier but I really didn�t want to miss her, even if she were late. The person had promised me an answer and I really wanted to hear it.
Three months ago, I had an abrupt feeling that I was going to die soon. This feeling gave me a revelation; if I could find out exactly what moment I was going to die than my life would be enhanced to it's fullest but for that my death had to be soon. So I searched for someone to tell me when I would die. I didn�t find anyone, so I stopped my search and later forgot about the whole idea. That is until yesterday, when I received a strange call from a woman claiming to have the answer. The conversation went like this:
I answered the phone. �Hello, Peter here!�
A woman replied in an obviously deepened voice, �Hello, um�I have some�I know something about you that I think you are looking to know as well.�
�Yes?� I questioned.
�I think you know what I�m talking about. If you meet me at the caf� on Lime Street at 8 AM tomorrow morning, we can talk.�
�Alright, but how did you -�, I was cut off by the repetitive beep of a dead phone. I quickly rushed to my desk to write down the time and place. I wondered how she knew.
Sitting at the bar I decided that after eating my piece of cake and drinking my juice that I was going to leave. It wasn�t worth spending a whole day sitting in a caf�, especially when the person was late.
The young lady brought me my cake and juice, along with a fork, and sat it all down on a red napkin. I took a bite of the cake; a good way to pass the time away. Getting some icing on my mustache, I picked up the napkin to remove it. As I did, I noticed that there was writing on the napkin. It said:
I hope knowing does what you think it will.
Five minutes; that�s your answer.
Use your time wisely.
I sat astonished, my mouth wide open. Five minutes! I screamed inside. That�s it! But...but... I just sat there in shock. When I awoke, I had only four minutes left, though I didn�t know it. If it was going to happen, why try to stop it. I would live my last minutes to the fullest. That was of course what I was hoping to do. I wonder what it will be like. I thought.
I called to the young lady, �Miss, could you come here?� I knew she had written the note and that she had been the one that had called me. She walked very slowly towards me. �Please, come quicker. Time is now something very real for me.� I said. She quickly walked right over to me. She stared into my eyes with fear and sorrow. I tried to comfort that look by saying, �It�s ok, I don�t blame you. I thank you.� She started to cry. I stood up and gave her a hug over the counter, and she embraced me back much tighter than I had her.
She looked up at me and said through tears, �You don�t understand.�
An impulse that only comes to a man living life to the fullest overwhelmed me. I looked into those eyes and had to do something. I kissed her. A kiss with the passion of someone trapped in a cage of knowledge. I stood back from her and sat down. She turned and ran into the back room, crying. I took another bite of my piece of cake. It tasted so wonderful. It was as if the cake wanted to taste better for me.
I finished the cake and drank a couple mouthfuls of my juice. It�s citric flavor filling my mind. I put on my coat and plopped on my hat. I walked towards the door, savoring the beauty of moving my feet. I stopped and placed my hand on the door handle. Slowly opening the door, I stepped outside, the cool breeze blowing in my face. Before I left, the young lady called out to me, �Peter!�
As I turned around she said, �You really don�t understand.� A gunshot rang out and the last thoughts running through my mind were, I wonder how the old woman reacted.
READER'S REVIEWS (1) DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"Very well written in the beginning and end, but I felt the writing was a bit flat in the middle, especially from the phone call to where the woman had tears in her eyes. Parts of it captivated me and I felt I was able to relate. I must be honest though ,the meaning or twist of the story was lost on me. Perhaps it could have been beefed up a little to explain the ending better - even if your intention was to leave it open for interpretation. Otherwise quite thought provoking at times" -- Kasey.
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