Compilation of short stories/excerpts

18/September

A short story I wrote in a QCS practice test titled "Home"

He sat lazily on the sidewalk, seemly uninterested at the world around him. By now most people didn't bother to look his way, many believed he was a permanent feature of this particular street. When he first appeared sitting on the sidewalk with a bag full of paper and a straw hat on his head, people often asked why he was there. To each one he gave a blank stare. Locals of the town decided to call him Kevin, knowing that it was better than 'the homeless guy'. However as the days turned into weeks, people began to lose interest claiming hateful lies that the public ate up. They believed he was a beggar, slumming in their town with nowhere else to go. That was hardly the truth as he knew that the town a few minutes away was much cleaner and the people were less nosy, but he wanted to stay. He hadn't made up his mind why as of yet but that was of no real importance. Keven, as they call him, was hardly a beggar, no matter how hard they tried to claim he was. He like many generations before him was an artist. 

His first subject was a tall, skinny woman, with a face like a crow and hair as dark as a winters night. She didn't know she was his subject, of course, that would've ruined the picture. He began with soft outlines as if she was a newborn child. With each stroke of his hand, she grew older and soon tight, sharp lines filled the page. The scowl on her face stood predominantly on her face, highlighting her high cheekbones. He didn't bother colouring in her pale face or dry lips, shading in only her contrasting silky black hair and black tinted eyes. She shifted from his view but that wasn't a problem to him. Labelling the picture 'the Crow' he safely placed the drawing in his bag, along with the rest. 

A woman and a child faded into his view stopping his actions. The woman, tall like 'the Crow' softly tugged her child through the crowd before reaching her destination, the florist. Muttering words of discipline to her child she walked inside the building, leaving her daughter to admire the flowers spilling onto the sidewalk. The child, screamed the word innocence as she gazed upon the array of flowers. Daisies and lilies all tugged for her attention, but she hardly gave them a glance. She was more interested in the huge oak tree, planted along the path. Touching it gently she stood in awe. He knew that she was his final piece. He had already begun drawing the sharp hard lines of the scenery around her, leaving a blank space in the middle just for her. The soft tendrils of her golden hair graced it's presence first in the space between the lines. They curled and spun their way to frame her face. The space was soon filled with soft lines and straight edges. Glancing back up he caught the pair once again moving on. That was alright, he thought, he had already caught her in the moment. The artwork was completed as she sighed happily. Gently colouring in the child he left the background grey and dark. But what to call it, he wondered. Glancing once more at the soft tendrils of her hair, he quickly scribbled 'Sunshine on a rainy day'. 

Gathering his belongings, and placing his hat on his head, he achingly stood up from the sidewalk he had sat on for weeks. His bones groaned at the sudden movement before clicking back into place. Cracking his neck and knuckles, he shouldered his bag and began the journey to the outskirts of town. Despite finishing all his pieces, he still felt an emptiness in his chest. 

He reached the outskirts of town before he felt the need to turn around. Sighing he turned back towards the little town of Haven. Shining lights and shadows of a building caught his attention. With eyes wide, he scrambled for his paper and his pencil before wildly depicting the art before him. Sharp edges and soft lines quickly covered the page. The tops of rooftops and fragile street lights echoed throughout before he was finished. Happy with it, he took his bag once more off his shoulders before a bright light shone in his eyes. It was the sunset, falling down over the town. Its light bounced off the rooftops and cars, bringing warmth to the town the last time before the night stole the light. With a grin he coloured in his image, leaving no space filled with darkness. 

He finally felt whole with his last piece. He knew in his heart, this was the last one. Turning away from the bright light he ventured on into the darkness. Just as the light disappeared he finished scribbling the name of the piece. 

It was titled 'Home".