The Chameleon Shelves
- Locked due to inactivity on Dec 22, '20 3:54am
Thread Topic: The Chameleon Shelves
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Author’s Note
Hello everyone! This is a collection of short-stories that I will be sharing. Feel free to suggest a story or ask a question. -
Just a Drop of Kindness
The sun rose above the house tops. Soft light shone on the houses, turning them the color of a cream bunny. Though it were a splendid morning, the following hours would be hard.
Jack woke up, as he did everyday- at the exact same time. He shot up like a bullet and banged his head on the low ceiling. Rubbing the spot where he hit himself he remembered that he mustn’t be late to patrolling the neighborhood. Jack was a Redcoat. He slipped out of the hard bed that he slept in and changed quickly into his lobster-red soldier outfit. Taking his gun in his hand, he shuffled down the steep stairs.
The house-wife glared at him with an icy gaze as he entered the kitchen area. The soldier quickly took a load of freshly made bread and stuffed it in his pocket, saving it for later. Jack dipped his head to her and hurried out the door, closing it gently behind him. The soldier began to march around the area, his gun was slung over his back. Times were hard and people shot dirty looks at him from their windows. It hurt his heart to see the United States in such a terrible condition.
Hearing a bell ring, he turned to see a small cat- no bigger than the length of his gun (which was fairly short). He watched as it disappeared behind a small house, its bell still jingling around its neck. Following it, for no apparent reason, he saw a sight that broke his heart.
A child, maybe five or seven years in age, sat in the alleyway. Her arms and legs were thin but in her eyes, there was happiness and love. Taking the cat in her arms, she stroked it carefully. The kid looked as if she hadn’t eaten in a while. He got closer, but as he did he stepped on the gravel that lay on the dirty roads. With a slight yelp, the child grasped the cat tightly in her arms- as if she were protecting it. Jack moved closer to her, so that he could see her more clearly.
Taking his gun off his shoulder as she shrieked and held on more tightly to the cat. But Jack only took it off to toss it away, showing that he wouldn’t harm her. He felt the bread as a lump in his pocket. Taking it out slowly, he held it out to her. Children of America were told to be afraid of Redcoats, and to never interact with one unless necessary.
The small child reached her hand out and quickly snatched it out of his hand, afraid but hungry. She looked up at him with big, scared eyes as she started to eat it. After watching her for a bit, he stood up. His heavy boots were grinding against the gravel as he walked away. Looking back for a moment, the little girl waved goodbye to him.
Author’s Note
I know this isn’t the best story ever but it’s based off of something that I wrote in fourth grade. We were learning about the Revolutionary War at the time and my Language Arts teacher told us to write a story about it. My teacher never gave our stories back, I was pretty disappointed. It was a lot better than this but I’m trying. -
Fireflies
As the sun set, creature of many types started to come out of their hiding places. One of them, a stray dog named Pluto. The dog was small and gangly, its ribs shown but its eyes were bright. Once in a while, the dog caught a rabbit or bird. But most days it went hungry. Every night, the most spectacular sight could be seen on large, sloping hills.
Fireflies.
The splendid creatures amazed all, their blinking lights shining in the reflections of the surrounding creature’s dark eyes. The dog, every week would peek its head out of the den to watch the sight. Today was one of those days, a day where he would venture out of his hiding place to watch the glowing bugs. But the poor dog hadn’t eaten all week. The creature was weak and slow, and quite afraid to go out.
But Pluto was determined to see the fireflies, even if it meant that they wouldn’t be seen by the dog’s bright eyes again. Limping out of the dark den, eyes to the sky- Pluto wondered when food would soon be in the dog’s jaws again.
The dog sat in the middle of a hill, lights flickering around Pluto.
After the display was over, the dog limped to their den. But before Pluto could enter the den, another dog appeared by the dog’s side. It was a dog, like Pluto, skinny. Although its eyes were bright, and it looked fed. Its tail wagged behind it as it bounded towards Pluto, knocking the dog over. It was a ghostly blue color, and fireflies seemed to shine in its see-through fur.
In a celebration of ear-lick and tail-wags, the two sat next to each other, their tails now calm and their tongues lolling out of their mouth. The living dog closed its eyes and let out a long sigh. Heads still leaning against one another, the phantom dog stood up. It took Pluto in its jaws as fireflies began to light a path into the sky.
The dog bounded up the path, Pluto still with it. The look in the ghost-dogs eyes was not sad, but rather joyful. As it reached the clouds, Pluto’s eyes began to flutter open. Setting the thin dog down, as Pluto began to stand up. The starry dog pressed its nose into the other’s wiry fur, the color fading and being replaced with a starry coat identical to the already starry dog.
“Welcome home.” The dog whispered as it closed its eyes and leaned against the other.
Author’s Note
This one made me cry... I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you’d like, please give me feedback on this story. -
Fireflies is really cute
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Thank you!
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No problem :) I liked all the descriptions and how each dog interacted with each other.
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YOOO
You need to write a whole book. -
It’s tooooo longggg.
I like short stories, I’ve considered doing a 2D animation for fireflies. It would be a really nice short -
Room 17
Caroline was just ten years old when her sister had passed away. Her sister, Eliza, had been in a car crash along with her uncle and cousin. The topic was a hard one to talk about, especially to Caroline’s friends (not that she wanted to talk about it). Caroline was afraid to see her sister in the hospital, so she waited outside Room 17 for her parents. She hadn’t understood how important her sister was to her. Now that Eliza was gone, every second of the day was full of regret- regret of seeing her sister one last time...
The ten year old was closer to her sister than her parents were, the two would built forts and have pillow fights together. Caroline never felt sadder when Eliza had passed away. Every night , she sat in her bed- her legs tucked underneath a blanket and her pet dog by her side. She wondered when she would die, after all- everyone dies eventually. People didn’t understand how Caroline felt, they all thought that she was stupid. But she wasn’t, the girl knew more about the world than most adults.
Everyday she sat outside, pondering life’s mysteries- pondering life itself. One day, trying to prove to her brother that she could climb a tree, she ended up getting stuck on a branch. Caroline’s brother, who was mean and rude to her, left her there and went back inside. Filled with anger, Caroline snapped sticks and threw them at the ground angrily. How could no one care about her?
She closed her eyes, figuring she’s be up there for quite some time.
After ten, maybe fifteen minutes, had passed, her eyes fluttered open. To Caroline’s surprise, she saw her sister. There, sitting on the branch right next to her. Eliza looked over at her and smiled. Caroline was almost fearful of her sister’s presence, wouldn’t she be mad at her for not giving her one last hug before she died? The girl could never forgive herself for being too afraid to see Eliza’s dull gaze in the hospital room.
“Eliza?”
“Yes?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be?”
“Nevermind.” Caroline said quietly. She half-expected Eliza to demand an answer from her, but she didn’t. The ten year old girl sat up and scooted over to her sister, who looked like a reed swaying in the breeze. She leaned her head against Eliza’s and closed her eyes. Feeling her sister fade away, her soft touch no longer felt by Caroline’s fingers.
Caroline shot up like a bullet. She opened her eyes, which were filled with somber tears.
It was all a dream.
Calls were heard by Caroline’s acute hearing. Her parents were at the base of the tree.
“Hey, Caroline?”
Caroline sniffled, trying to keep the tears in. She hadn’t wanted those precious moments slip away with her sister- but they were gone. Her father held his arms out, Come, he seemed to be saying with his calm green gaze. Caroline moved herself so that she was upright. Jumping down from her branch high in the tree, she landed safety in her father’s arms. Holding her tight, she cried.
Caroline hadn’t ever cried so much. All the tears from never being enough for anyone, being called stupid, losing the one sister she loved, flooded out. She was in her father’ arms again, her mother stroking her head with one hand and resting her head against Caroline’s.
“Shhh...” Her mother said, her soothing voice calming Caroline down. Caroline closed her eyes once again, and drifted off to another world.
But before she did, she opened her eyes slightly.
And for just a moment she thought that she had seen Eliza waving one last goodbye to her.
Author’s Note
This is kind of like Fireflies. But with humans, you could say. I know this is really similar but I like it so can up your insults. -
Woah :0
You're really good at expressing the moods of your characters. -
Thanks! I really like writing, although I’m usually worried that I’m just thinking my writing is good but it’s actually terrible.
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It's actually really good! It's not overdetailed so it keeps your attention, but it's detailed enough that you can clearly envision it. Noice.
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Tysm!
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Above the Mountain Tops
" What a glorious greeting the sun gives the mountains "
Carlos Waves had just started to begin his hike up the steep mountain. Though the journey was incredibly rough and long, the view at the top was remarkable. It was said that if you made it to the top of the peak just in time you would see the most splendid landscape. The sun would give the mountains a sparkling look, and the valley below would shine with dew. There was nothing like it, it was truly fascinating.
So with a trusty stick, a pack full of things, and determination, Carlos would make it by tomorrow morning.
Carlos was almost at the top when he had to cross the river. At a steady pace, he started to wade in. It wasn’t difficult at all, but it swallowed up much of their time. It only left him more exited to reach the mountain peak.
A whip of harsh, cold wind slashed his face. He shivered, the air was thin and not many plants grew here. Deciding to set up camp, he built up his tent and used some stones that he found to start a cracklings fire.
With his pack next to him, he dug through it trying to find something given to him long ago. Carlos pulled out a pendant, no bigger than his thumb. It was carved of oak wood, and shaped as a bear. He ran his fingers along intricate little designs that were carved into it. Pressing it to his heart he remembered the people that had carved it.
He remembered that warm night in his grandfather’s cabin, watching his grandfather whittle the pendant with great passion and love in his soft eyes. The sharp crack of fire awoke him from his short daydream, waking him up from his thoughts. Slipping the carving into his coat pocket, he put out the fire and crawled into his tent.
Carlos woke up to the sound of the earliest waking birds chirping excitedly. Quickly, he packed up everything and started out for the top of the mountain.
He started his walk up the rest of the mountain, clutching the pendant.
Carlos made it just as the sun was about to rise. It filled him with a warm happiness, this was all he came for. A pleading chirp snapped him out of his thoughts, where had it come from? Turning around he saw a bird, it was no bigger than the palm of his hand, it must have been a baby. It was sprawled out on a large, smooth stone, small blades of grass growing out of the cracks of the rock.
Something was wrong with the bird, the way it looked, the way it moved, the way it sounded. Sure enough, Carlos made his way to it. Now he could see what was wrong, it was bleeding out of its right wing. No other birds of its kind where around, it had blueish grey feathers, and big dark eyes, and a slim black beak.
The sun had started to rise and Carlos had to decide what he would do. The sunrise would happen so quickly, but the bird was on the brink of death. Frantically, Carlos turned his back on the sun and faced the bird. He picked it up gently and put it in an open pocket on his backpack. The bird looked have starved and frozen. It would be kept warm...
Facing the sun, which now cast a bright light on the mountain tops- Carlos knew he had missed it. It only lasted a few seconds, and Carlos missed it. But he didn’t care, he had saved the bird from death and turning his back on the bird would have been a horrible thing to do.
Without regrets, he reached the bottom of the mountain. This time, it was night and fireflies danced around him. With a deep sigh, he made his way into the car he had parked up on a hill. He opened the door and placed his things in the trunk. But he left his backpack out, the bird would be in the front. He set the pack in shotgun and closed the door. Starting to drive away, the bird popped its head out. It looked much better just from being kept warm.
The blue car rode its way into the newly rising sun.
Author’s Note:
Okay, I didn’t really know where to end it. I feel like this one’s a bit long and kind of strange. But I hadn’t written in a while so I decided to do this one. It isn’t my best but please give me some constructive criticism. Again, I haven’t written in a while so I stumbled a bit through this. -
I hope you guys liked these stories so far! I’m going to take a bit of a break to think of some more good storyboard.
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