Short Stories

Quick Shorts #1: A few moments to finish

Hello everyone! This is me, James, again. This short story will mark the first of my quick shorts. These short stories are ones that may not be a quick read, but are at least a quick write.

Requirements:

I must encorporate a specific sentence into the story, using it as the basis. It also must be the first or last sentence. It must also be 500 words or less.

Let's go!

(I need as much feedback as possible in the next 1-2 hours)

My sentence: For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

---/Go!/---

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream," the boy reads out loud. "I dream about many things, when I look at the stars. Perhaps a better life, a better world that I can live in. A place where I can survive without being shunned, discriminated against. A place where people like me do not have to hide from others, the murderers and theives. They steal much more than our possessions, they steal our body parts. I wish this did not happen. I hope for a better world. Every time I look at the stars, I dream."

With that, the boy finished talking, and shyly walked away from the front. The clapping is half-hearted, even though the speech was amazing, and I know why. Who would clap hard for the little "albino boy"? As a teacher, I'm supposed to help stop this, but the child still seems a little creepy to me. He's utterly serious during class, and he never laughs along with everyone else. Really, he's just a loner.

And then his looks. His white hair, pale skin, his reddish eyes. I can almost understand why people wouldn't like him.

As I'm about to call out the next person on the list of people to say their speeches, the bell rings, and the students are out of their seats in a flash. I sigh, getting up to clear off their desks.

It doesn't take long before I make it to the desk of that little albino kid. I pick up a printed sheet of paper, as well as a few scribbled-on notes. My policy is, if you leave it on your desk I can read it.

I take a look at the note.

It's people with albinism, not "albinos"! Get it right!

I wish I could say things. I wish I could stand up to my class. But

that will never happen. I'm different. I'll never fit in. Stupid people.

Sighing, I toss it in the trash, along with his speech.

---/---

After a day at work, I usually go to bed early. It sooths my nerves. But tonight, I take a look out the window.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

Images flash before my mind, memories, but they are not mine. I am seeing through the eyes of a five-year-old boy, watching his father's murder from a hidden spot. I am a teenage girl, being killed, dismembered, and tossed in a ditch. I am a child, feeling the hurt of hundreds of prejudiced comments. I am bearing the brunt of a horrible thing.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

I take a deep breath, startled by these invading thoughts.

I can never know the pain, can I?

I don't know where the thoughts came from, but I think I needed to know it.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

Status: Finished, needs feedback!