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Writer's Guild / Other Worlds
« on: January 08, 2016, 01:01:18 PM »
It has been a good long time since I last wrote anything, but the mood struck today and I managed to write out this chapter for a new story. This is something I have had a mind to write for a while, but had trouble finding a place to start. Hopefully I can keep this project up, unlike my other stories on here, and perhaps even complete this one. Hope you enjoy. 
Prologue - Perfect Life
Returning home after a hard days work in the office, driving away from the heat and stress of the polluted city and into the calming and idyllic tree-laden neighbourhoods of the suburbs, and finally pulling up into my driveway that still remains strewn with leaves from the recently passed autumn; there was only one thing on my mind.
Life IS good. I had a good job, a nice home, a loving wife, and two bright children. My home was modest, but both Sandra and I worked hard to turn this once dilapidated house into a warm and comforting home, and, as I sit here in the car and swim in my memories of our life together, I feel the pride and fulfillment that only comes with years of effort and sacrifice.
I lock the breaks into place, I switch off the engine, and I pull myself from the car before I catch a glimpse of Sandra watching out for me coming home. I could see her giving me her gleaming smile through the curtains of the living room before she turned to announce my arrival home to the kids.
Before I even managed to take two steps away from the car, the front door to the house bursts open and my son and daughter rush out, and they run up to me in the excitement that they always engender when I return home.
“DADDY!” a little voice cried out, “Your home!”
As always, Carly is always the first to reach me, my darling and sweet baby girl, still just a small toddler at the age of three. Just as she reaches me, I bend down, steal her into my arms, pick her up while spinning her loosely around me in my arms, and I gently settle her down in front of me before giving her a big hug. She always enjoys this little routine.
“I missed you, daddy.” She tells me.
“I missed you too, sweetheart.” I reply.
Next, Kyle steps up, though he is a bit older and likes to think himself as a man now. He has grown up so fast, now at ten years old he has taken up jobs in the neighbourhood doing simple gardening work and helping old Mrs Hayle a few blocks away, and he has even set his sights on driving my car. Even though he is older now, he is still a good kid, and he still enjoys my company even if it is only for laser tag and video games more than catch or football like when he was younger. Not that I can complain, though.
“Hi, Dad.” Kyle greets me, “How was work?”
“A minefield, as always.” I smile down on him, “But, I had a word with my boss, as I promised, and he told me that I could let you test out our latest game, and you can even write a review for it if you like.”
“Really!?” His eyes lit up in sheer amazement, “You really mean it?!”
“Yeah, I told him how you kept the last game you played with me last winter a secret, and he is willing to trust me to trust you.” I explain while lowering the tone to be stern with him, “Don’t abuse that trust, son.”
“I won’t, dad.” He vowed, “I promise.”
Kyle and I enjoy our games together. It took me years to get into the video games business, especially since my parents couldn’t afford to have me sent off to university while some of the other kids, and I simply had to work my way up one small step at a time to get to where I am now. I am a games developer, the best and most enjoyable job I have ever had, and I can even bring some games home with me to test out. Kyle likes nothing more than to always pick my brains about my job, and the projects I work on, if only to get his hands on the new games when they release. I am really proud of how far I have come in the last 12 years.
Sandra has always been supportive of me when it came to what I wanted to do with my life. She and I met online, strange enough as it sounds, and we simply hit it off. Though we have different jobs and hold different interests, we have always managed to reconcile our differences and enjoyed our time together, so much so that when she first told me that she was pregnant that I knew what we had was and remains to be the real thing.
And, speaking of my beloved, she walked out into the front yard, standing by the door, and looks over to us saying, “Dinner is on the table, darlings, so come and get it while its hot.”
“Right, mom.” They both rang in unison and scarpered off into the house. As I approached the door and my wife, she spread her arms out and I slid inbetween them, greeting her with a hug and a miss. Even after all these years, she still brews a passion within me, and one that will never die out.
“Am I glad you are home, honey.” Sandra tells me as she slides her arms up around my neck, “Since it will be our anniversary in a few days, I have arranged for my mother to take the kids during the weekend so we can spend some... quality time together.”
“I like the sound of that.” I smile while I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her into a deeper embrace, “And, with the kids away, maybe we can relive some of those days back when we first met.”
“Oh, yes.” She pondered, “I liked our first date. Remember, when you took me out to Kenworth Heights and pointed out the constellations, and I accidentally fell asleep in your arms while we lay on the bonnet of your old car.”
“Yeah.” I reminisced, “I wrapped my jacket round you and kept you close so you wouldn’t get cold, and I lay there with you for hours waiting for you to wake up.”
“I also remember you bought me a burger and fries at a greasy fast food restaurant, and barely had the petrol to get us to Kenworth Heights and back.” Sandra reminded me, “But I didn’t care so much, you spent what little money you had on me back then, and you did so when you could hardily afford it.”
Yeah, that’s right. I had a bad job with terrible wages back then, and money was always a struggle. I put off our first date for a month to scrape together enough for that date, and, though I was rather ashamed that I could only afford to give her that kind of date, she still enjoyed herself despite it, and she did accept my invitation for another date. Sandra was rather well-kept during her upbringing, living a luxurious life with fancy schools and wealthy friends, and yet someone like her married a penniless street kid like me. Who would have thought it.
Her parents didn’t like me at first, they thought I was a waste of space taking advantage of their daughter, but they got to like me after a while, particularly when I finally got my break in life at the game company, and they liked me all the more once my salary tripled six years ago. It was hard for them to admit they were wrong about me, but they did in the end and they quite like me now.
“Come on, Kaden.” Sandra pulled away from me and took hold of my hand, “Time for dinner, and perhaps afterwards we could enjoy a quiet Friday night in front of the TV.”
Once again, Sandra gave me her smile, one so warm and so loving, and the one that I fell for when I first met her.
We decided to meet each other before we went on our first date together, and we met at the town centre in the middle of a busy Saturday. I was 22 years old back then, still a greasy and weedy teenager to onlookers, and I was nervous as hell to meet Sandra for the first time.
You never know what you might get when you meet someone online. All sorts of things go through your mind, from horror shows to romantic parables, which does not help with the first-meet jitters. Though, when I turned round to be met with the vision of Sandra standing just behind me, almost slamming straight into her as she found me and approached me from behind, and that was when I first saw her smile. Though, it was of a nervous and uncertain disposition back then, but I still knew how pure it would become.
She was just as nervous as me, especially given she had not done this sort of thing before, but she held it together better than I did. After we exchanged our real names and made the usual greetings, we simply walked around the town and told each other things about ourselves, and all the while she kept giving me her smile. I could never forget that day, and nor would I ever.
Her upbringing was a little intimidating back then, a subject that was she brought up in conversation that day, but I remembered that she knew all about me and my background, and yet she still wanted to meet me. At times, I did wonder why she went for me when she could have had anyone she wanted, but I later came to know why she did take to me the way she did when we first met.
As Sandra pulled me into the house and through into the dining room, I took my seat next to my wife and faced our kids, and we ate our dinner together.
Very idyllic, honestly. We always ate together, every morning and every evening, like the perfect little nuclear family. Even though such things are so small and so simple, they do give us the most gratification; from the small gestures of affection from my lover, the enthusiastic foretelling of my kids school day, to my family listening to me and heeding my worldly advice; they all give a man purpose, meaning, and true happiness.
After dinner, Sandra cleared the table with Kyle’s help, and Carly and I prepared the living room for a lazy night in before Sandra and Kyle came to join us. Although, Kyle merely took the game I promised him before he shot off to spend the rest of the night in his bedroom, but at least he was enjoying himself. Carly sat in front of the TV, watching it intently, and Sandra and I snuggled together on the sofa.
In front of the TV, with a gentle fire simulated in the hearth, and my life partner falling helplessly asleep just under my jaw; I gaze at the flickering imagery while thinking so fondly of the blissful existence that I have been blessed with. Life simply could not be better for me, and nor could I see how I could live without all that I have right here with my Sandra and my kids.
As the world around me grew warm and peaceful, sinking into the comfort of the sofa, the imagery of the television fizzled into a gentle haze of colour before I too slowly dropped from this world and fell into my dreams with my head resting on top of Sandra’s. From all of this, I have known happiness and fulfillment at its purest when I honestly once thought it might never be mine, and I count myself one of the lucky ones who made it in life.
Or so I thought...
*Feel free to comment*
Prologue - Perfect Life
Returning home after a hard days work in the office, driving away from the heat and stress of the polluted city and into the calming and idyllic tree-laden neighbourhoods of the suburbs, and finally pulling up into my driveway that still remains strewn with leaves from the recently passed autumn; there was only one thing on my mind.
Life IS good. I had a good job, a nice home, a loving wife, and two bright children. My home was modest, but both Sandra and I worked hard to turn this once dilapidated house into a warm and comforting home, and, as I sit here in the car and swim in my memories of our life together, I feel the pride and fulfillment that only comes with years of effort and sacrifice.
I lock the breaks into place, I switch off the engine, and I pull myself from the car before I catch a glimpse of Sandra watching out for me coming home. I could see her giving me her gleaming smile through the curtains of the living room before she turned to announce my arrival home to the kids.
Before I even managed to take two steps away from the car, the front door to the house bursts open and my son and daughter rush out, and they run up to me in the excitement that they always engender when I return home.
“DADDY!” a little voice cried out, “Your home!”
As always, Carly is always the first to reach me, my darling and sweet baby girl, still just a small toddler at the age of three. Just as she reaches me, I bend down, steal her into my arms, pick her up while spinning her loosely around me in my arms, and I gently settle her down in front of me before giving her a big hug. She always enjoys this little routine.
“I missed you, daddy.” She tells me.
“I missed you too, sweetheart.” I reply.
Next, Kyle steps up, though he is a bit older and likes to think himself as a man now. He has grown up so fast, now at ten years old he has taken up jobs in the neighbourhood doing simple gardening work and helping old Mrs Hayle a few blocks away, and he has even set his sights on driving my car. Even though he is older now, he is still a good kid, and he still enjoys my company even if it is only for laser tag and video games more than catch or football like when he was younger. Not that I can complain, though.
“Hi, Dad.” Kyle greets me, “How was work?”
“A minefield, as always.” I smile down on him, “But, I had a word with my boss, as I promised, and he told me that I could let you test out our latest game, and you can even write a review for it if you like.”
“Really!?” His eyes lit up in sheer amazement, “You really mean it?!”
“Yeah, I told him how you kept the last game you played with me last winter a secret, and he is willing to trust me to trust you.” I explain while lowering the tone to be stern with him, “Don’t abuse that trust, son.”
“I won’t, dad.” He vowed, “I promise.”
Kyle and I enjoy our games together. It took me years to get into the video games business, especially since my parents couldn’t afford to have me sent off to university while some of the other kids, and I simply had to work my way up one small step at a time to get to where I am now. I am a games developer, the best and most enjoyable job I have ever had, and I can even bring some games home with me to test out. Kyle likes nothing more than to always pick my brains about my job, and the projects I work on, if only to get his hands on the new games when they release. I am really proud of how far I have come in the last 12 years.
Sandra has always been supportive of me when it came to what I wanted to do with my life. She and I met online, strange enough as it sounds, and we simply hit it off. Though we have different jobs and hold different interests, we have always managed to reconcile our differences and enjoyed our time together, so much so that when she first told me that she was pregnant that I knew what we had was and remains to be the real thing.
And, speaking of my beloved, she walked out into the front yard, standing by the door, and looks over to us saying, “Dinner is on the table, darlings, so come and get it while its hot.”
“Right, mom.” They both rang in unison and scarpered off into the house. As I approached the door and my wife, she spread her arms out and I slid inbetween them, greeting her with a hug and a miss. Even after all these years, she still brews a passion within me, and one that will never die out.
“Am I glad you are home, honey.” Sandra tells me as she slides her arms up around my neck, “Since it will be our anniversary in a few days, I have arranged for my mother to take the kids during the weekend so we can spend some... quality time together.”
“I like the sound of that.” I smile while I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her into a deeper embrace, “And, with the kids away, maybe we can relive some of those days back when we first met.”
“Oh, yes.” She pondered, “I liked our first date. Remember, when you took me out to Kenworth Heights and pointed out the constellations, and I accidentally fell asleep in your arms while we lay on the bonnet of your old car.”
“Yeah.” I reminisced, “I wrapped my jacket round you and kept you close so you wouldn’t get cold, and I lay there with you for hours waiting for you to wake up.”
“I also remember you bought me a burger and fries at a greasy fast food restaurant, and barely had the petrol to get us to Kenworth Heights and back.” Sandra reminded me, “But I didn’t care so much, you spent what little money you had on me back then, and you did so when you could hardily afford it.”
Yeah, that’s right. I had a bad job with terrible wages back then, and money was always a struggle. I put off our first date for a month to scrape together enough for that date, and, though I was rather ashamed that I could only afford to give her that kind of date, she still enjoyed herself despite it, and she did accept my invitation for another date. Sandra was rather well-kept during her upbringing, living a luxurious life with fancy schools and wealthy friends, and yet someone like her married a penniless street kid like me. Who would have thought it.
Her parents didn’t like me at first, they thought I was a waste of space taking advantage of their daughter, but they got to like me after a while, particularly when I finally got my break in life at the game company, and they liked me all the more once my salary tripled six years ago. It was hard for them to admit they were wrong about me, but they did in the end and they quite like me now.
“Come on, Kaden.” Sandra pulled away from me and took hold of my hand, “Time for dinner, and perhaps afterwards we could enjoy a quiet Friday night in front of the TV.”
Once again, Sandra gave me her smile, one so warm and so loving, and the one that I fell for when I first met her.
We decided to meet each other before we went on our first date together, and we met at the town centre in the middle of a busy Saturday. I was 22 years old back then, still a greasy and weedy teenager to onlookers, and I was nervous as hell to meet Sandra for the first time.
You never know what you might get when you meet someone online. All sorts of things go through your mind, from horror shows to romantic parables, which does not help with the first-meet jitters. Though, when I turned round to be met with the vision of Sandra standing just behind me, almost slamming straight into her as she found me and approached me from behind, and that was when I first saw her smile. Though, it was of a nervous and uncertain disposition back then, but I still knew how pure it would become.
She was just as nervous as me, especially given she had not done this sort of thing before, but she held it together better than I did. After we exchanged our real names and made the usual greetings, we simply walked around the town and told each other things about ourselves, and all the while she kept giving me her smile. I could never forget that day, and nor would I ever.
Her upbringing was a little intimidating back then, a subject that was she brought up in conversation that day, but I remembered that she knew all about me and my background, and yet she still wanted to meet me. At times, I did wonder why she went for me when she could have had anyone she wanted, but I later came to know why she did take to me the way she did when we first met.
As Sandra pulled me into the house and through into the dining room, I took my seat next to my wife and faced our kids, and we ate our dinner together.
Very idyllic, honestly. We always ate together, every morning and every evening, like the perfect little nuclear family. Even though such things are so small and so simple, they do give us the most gratification; from the small gestures of affection from my lover, the enthusiastic foretelling of my kids school day, to my family listening to me and heeding my worldly advice; they all give a man purpose, meaning, and true happiness.
After dinner, Sandra cleared the table with Kyle’s help, and Carly and I prepared the living room for a lazy night in before Sandra and Kyle came to join us. Although, Kyle merely took the game I promised him before he shot off to spend the rest of the night in his bedroom, but at least he was enjoying himself. Carly sat in front of the TV, watching it intently, and Sandra and I snuggled together on the sofa.
In front of the TV, with a gentle fire simulated in the hearth, and my life partner falling helplessly asleep just under my jaw; I gaze at the flickering imagery while thinking so fondly of the blissful existence that I have been blessed with. Life simply could not be better for me, and nor could I see how I could live without all that I have right here with my Sandra and my kids.
As the world around me grew warm and peaceful, sinking into the comfort of the sofa, the imagery of the television fizzled into a gentle haze of colour before I too slowly dropped from this world and fell into my dreams with my head resting on top of Sandra’s. From all of this, I have known happiness and fulfillment at its purest when I honestly once thought it might never be mine, and I count myself one of the lucky ones who made it in life.
Or so I thought...
*Feel free to comment*
