Readables {Requests Closed}

Short Story: 9/5/2014 (PG-13 Rating)

The Reluctant I:
Write a first-person story in which you use the first-person pronoun (I or me or my) only two times-but keep the I somehow important tobthr narrative you're constructing. The point of this exercise is to imagine a narrator who is less interested in him/herself than in what he/she is observing... It is very important in this exercise to make sure your reader is not surprised, forty or fifty words into tgebpiecs, to realize this is a first person narration...

The Unstable Self:
Write a story that alternates between the I and the he or she (or the name of the narrator), making sure you don't confuse the reader with the switches...

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The door closed, making a shrill creak and rattling a melody of bells just above it. Outside, the glass window was cold, causing a ripple of shivers to cascade through my body with the breeze of the autumn air. A pile of old, browned leaves scurried along the sidewalk whenever the breeze blew. It was soothing: hands wrapped around a cup of cappecino with the 75° weather to balance the day's lukewarmth. Comfort was much needed after what occurred recently and it was a continuous cycle of replaying images. Calise was the only refuge that was so pillowy, it was abnormal. She was there when the urge to even kill was closer by than her. She always kept a sane mind, which was very helpful because sanity was such a foreign word.

The judge had made it clear almost two months ago: the papers were signed and the deadline was official but he could not live down the fact that we were over. Returning to school was already in the process of happening while all of this chaos was taking place. He'd often take his anger out on the children, our children, his own offspring. What they felt was most likely far from what their own mother did. Their cries are still clear: "Daddy comes home slamming doors and yelling at us and we didn't even do anything." Hearing the fear in Leila's voice, seeing the girls nervously watch the clock, how often they were found hiding in their room, it was all too alarming. So a small discussion with Tony was held. But discussions become arguments and arguments become physical.

That was when Calise fit into the picture. Not only did relatives recommend it, but Tony obviously needed it. At first, it was the two of us together but when Calise noticed that the simplest things said would spark Tony into nearly attempting to fight in some cases, nearly killing his own wife once, the appointments were individualized. Calise said that if either of us were unable to take care of Chelsea and Leila, they should be removed. That didn't happen nor will I allow it.

Today, the cup of cappicino at hand is the most calming thing to ever provide this high level of calmness, of peace, within the last year of life. The girls are at home with their aunt and cousins, the ones that aren't related to Tony. He finally left us to ourselves just a week ago and he now has moved into his own place. It's a great relief to come home and see the girls smiling and singing along to the television's cartoon songs, watching a TV they rarely saw because they were too scared of an angry ambush from the father they once knew to be the best person in the world. But that has set sail into the burning rivers of hell and will never return.

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Author's Note: Unless you have been following my other book, "Tyler Talk", you probably do not understand this piece. I now take a creative writing class. This was a piece I wrote as homework. The instructions were included at the beginning followed by the actual bit. As far as feedback, I'd like to know if you think I fulfilled my objectives. This piece does not have a title. There will most likely be other shorts that I post but a good portion of them will be related to my other book series, "The Forces Of". Hope you enjoyed and did not get confused.