Creative Writing Assignments

The Story of a Day

This is a prequel to the short story "The Story of An Hour"

Mrs. Mallard was known to be a calm and collected woman. She has a very respectable demeanor, she never experiences outbursts of anger or malice. The people in the town in which she lived took kindly to her. They knew of her heart condition and they took great care not to trigger any problems with it.
Mr. Mallard was known to be a respectable man. A man with a good job and a lovely home. His public image is as clean as his wifes.
Their marriage was a respectful one. They had married young, as did many couples of their time. They shared similar values. Ones of love, and trust. Louise was a gentle person, she spent her days cooking, cleaning, and reading literature. Brently was a compassionate man. He stood his ground and didn't let others rattle his opinions. He conducted himself with class. Much like their other family members.
They lived and worked well together for years. Brently treated Louise well and took mindful care of her. Louise helped Brently in any way she could and followed his lead.
Louise was a follower by nature. She let others take the reins and guide her through life. She felt this to be a natural part of femininity. Men lead, women follow.
Even if that was her belief and what she was raised by, she felt a slight twang in her heart as she lived it. Following others was his nature, yes. But she possessed adequate leadership qualities of her own. She was resilient, kind hearted, trustworthy, and willing. Her mind says to follow, but her heart yearns to lead.
It was a fine Sunday afternoon. Louise and Brently, along with Louise's sister Josephine, had just returned from church. The sun was gently shining down on the fall trees, creating a beautiful reflection of light. Brently was slightly tense. You could see it. His broad shoulders were stiff, different from his usual demeanor.
Louise assumed it had to do something with work. He seemed unhappy. His job was difficult. She headed to the kitchen. Maybe some warm tea would cheer him up.
She finished brewing the tea and walked towards the door of Brently's study. Josephine was in the lounge room, watching the neighbor children playing in the grass.
She gently knocked on the study door. Three times. The door opened hastily. Brently was standing in front of her with a sour facial expression.
With a gente voice, Louise said "Hello dear, I made you some tea." Brently grunted and took one of the small cups into his hand. He took a small sip. Brently zipped backward. "What kind of tea is this?" he asked harshly. "Camomile?" Louise replied, a little confused. Brently loved Camomile tea. They sit together and drink it in the evenings.
Whatever happened next was like a dream. It didn't seem real. Something like this had never happened before. It left everyone in shock. Especially Louise and Josephine.
Brently brought his arm up into the air and swatted the teacups and teapot off of Louise's tray. The sound of broken china rang through the house walls. No one moved for some time. Brently was breathing heavily. Josephine was silent. Louise was standing still with wide eyes, staring at her husband. What was that? That was all she could think at that moment.

Josephine stood up and walked to her sister's side. Her sudden stillness and silence worried her. Louise just stood there, unmoving. She was in a complete state of shock.
Brently remained in his position for a while longer. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked around. It was as if he was just released from a trance. His eyes searched the room, trying to collectively understand what he had done. His eyes landed on Louise. He watched her unmoving, still body and began to panic.
Brently spoke to his wife. His voice was pleading in tone. He repeated apologies over and over again. It seemed even he had not known what came over him. The longer Louise stood stationary, the more worried the two adults became. Josephine had set a hand on her shoulder and had started to speak to her in whispers. Brently was standing in front of her, looking into her wide eyes. The scene looked like one from a drama series.
The shattered china still laid on the floor when Louise suddenly straightened her posture and swiftly walked towards the stairs. Brently and Josephine watched her walk away with large strides. The two shared a look. They quickly followed her up the stairs and towards the couples bedroom.
Louise had locked herself in her room. She was sitting in her chair next to the window. The sun was still shining beautifully. A slight smile appeared on her face, but just as quickly disappeared from it.
Her mind was foggy. Brently had never been violent. He had always been kind, sweet. That was completely out of character. She didn;t know how to handle this situation. She had always been the rational one between the two of them. Now she was confused on how to proceed.
Josephine and Brently were frantically knocking on the door, trying to get it open. They were afraid she may do something horrific, or her condition may act up because of the shock. Louise couldn't hear them. She had blocked out all noise, beside the peaceful sounds of nature outside her window.
Louise stayed in her chair for hours, She contemplated life. She thought about how she would act when she saw her husband outside the door again. She acted naturally. He would lead and she would follow.
The door to the bedroom opened normally. No hesitation. No struggle. Louise emerged with her normal kind smile on her face and walked down the steps serenely. She made her way to the kitchen to start on dinner. Brently and Josephine followed behind her calmly. They were no longer in panic. They watched her move naturally, as if nothing had happened at all.
The night went on as any other Sunday night would have. No fighting. No mention of the incident. Louise acted as if it never happened. Brently continued to apologize, yet still received no acknowledgement of his words.
Lousie forgave him of course, she just didn't say it. She forgave him, but she also made a promise to herself.
She promised that if the opportunity ever presented itself, she would follow her heart and not her mind.