English short story task: Re-write the short story 'Snapshot' from Picture this 2 in a different perspective from a background character
In the perspective of 'Maggie':
Maggie sits in a familiar park tree, looking at the sunset as if falls behind an abundance of pine trees that thickly coat the border of the town she grew up in.
For years now, she comes to sit in the same tree, looking at the sunset over the pine trees. For years she has used the park tree she sits in as an escape, from reality, from her fears, from the past, present and future... from anything.
The familiar park tree is her safe place.
She sips on her takeaway peppermint milkshake she that buys before venturing to the park to climb the familiar tree to look at the sunset over the pine trees.
She uses the park tree as a peaceful safe-ground to keep her emotions grounded and to calm herself down after another stressful day of being a human being.
The familiar park is her safe place.
She distracts herself momentarily, pinching and flicking at her worn jeans with paint splatters coating the once pristine denim. Dots of yellow, green, pink and purple coat the denim and have created a home within the woven denim that Maggie doesn't think twice before putting them on.
She wears the denim jeans every time she comes to sit in the familiar tree, looking at the sunset over the pine trees.
She pulls out a small notebook from her back pocket, laying it on her lap as she reaches for her paintbrushes- tucked into her bra strap for easy access- and the yellow, green, pink and purple paints stuffed in her back pockets, creating their trail of sunsets down the back of her pants, before being splattered onto the front.
She mixes colours on the smooth surface the tree provides when you peel back the old bark, opening her notebook and beginning to paint the same sunset over the pine trees on another page.
She occasionally looks back up at the sunset over the pine trees as a reference for her painting.
Maggie takes her time, squinting into the distance to try and get every detail down on her notebook.
Before she knows it, she's climbing back down the tree, dirty paintbrushes tucked back in her bra strap, paints in her back pockets, leaking slightly from the lids that haven't been screwed on properly, and the notebook tucked safely in her back pocket.
She holds her empty take away cup as she climbs down the familiar park tree that looks at the sunset over the pine trees.
She walks home, as she does every other day, getting home at the same time, living as if her life was on repeat.
The next day, Maggie gets through the morning with ease, following her daily schedule, listening to the same song on repeat and never getting sick of it.
Once the song finishes for the 20th time that morning, she gets up for lunch, walking to her favourite café and ordering a takeaway peppermint milkshake before heading back home, already finishing her work for the day.
She has a shower when she gets home, changing into her paint-splattered sunset denim jeans before she strolls around town, sipping at her peppermint milkshake.
Soon enough, she comes across the gate for the park, ready to climb her familiar tree to look at the sunset over the pine trees, while painting the same sunset on a new page in her notebook tucked in her back pocket alongside her leaking paints.
Everything was going to plan and being on time until she realises that she's past the spot that her familiar tree that has the perfect view of the sunset over the pine trees is usually planted.
She walks around the park again, noting that she's behind schedule, and panicking when she passes the familiar ground where her familiar tree that looks at the sunset over the pine trees usually sits.
She panics even more when she realises that her familiar park tree that looks at the sunset over the pine trees is no longer present.
In its place, stands a freshly cut stump, sadly wrapped in burlap to prevent its regrowth.
Maggie's suppressed tears and emotions flood out of her. She thinks about her worst fears and the past, present, and future. Maggie thinks about home, her favourite café, work, the song she listens to on repeat, she thinks about her family... she thinks about everything.
But what is loudly echoing in her head repeatedly, is that she's lost the familiar tree that looks at the sunset over the pine trees, she's lost a part of her schedule, she's lost her escape, her safe place, her second home...
She's lost a part of herself, the only way to ever know it was there, recorded in the pages of her notebook which holds a copy of the same sunset over pine trees.
Painted to perfection in her familiar tree.
[812 words]
YOU ARE READING
Writing dump
De TodoShort stories, au ideas or some other snippets of up-coming books that I don't really have anywhere to keep so I may as well post it on this. Most of these entries will be from my school work, and the tasks are to rewrite a published short story (s...
