Hey everyone!! I wrote my very first OC oneshot. I wanted to post it and get some feedback on it. What I did good, bad, etc. Please please PLEASE let me know how I did!!!
NOTE: Hi, I just wanted to let you know before reading that when I was writing this, I kinda abandoned the story for a solid month or two, before picking it back up again. So if my writing style randomly changes in the middle of it, you know why. I feel it’s also important to mention that in the time between abandoning the story and then coming back to it, I rewrote some of the protagonist’s lore, so if there are any inconsistencies, please let me know. Lastly, just so you know, I dropped it around the time the character Vance is introduced, then, again, picked it up again months later. Just so you have a timeframe on that. Anyway, that’s all from me. Enjoy the read!
The clouds slowly drifted across the sky, and out of the sun’s way, as it shined down on the clearing. In the clearing, there he was. Curious, seated on the ground, leaning against a rock with his eyes closed. Needless to say, he stood out among the scenery with his bright orange hat and cloak. The wind blew through his big, poofy hair, as he intently listened to the sound of the grass blowing around him, and the trees rustling further away. At this moment, he felt peace.
Despite what he wanted, Curious knew he couldn’t stay here forever. He had work to do. He told himself in his head that he would get up at the count of three.
“One…Two…Three…” he said in his head. However Curious did not move an inch.
“One…Two…Three..Now.” he said to himself again, but still, nothing happened.
The more he thought about having to get up, the warmer the sun felt on his face, and the cozier the grass felt underneath him, and the heavier he felt his body getting.
“This time, for real…” he thought to himself, taking a deep breath.
“One…Two…Three.” he spoke to himself, hoisting himself off the ground as fast as he could, pushing air out of his lungs. He stood there in the field with his eyes closed for a moment, before slightly peeking them open. He immediately squinted, the sun making it hard to see with his bright blue eyes.
Well, he was up, finally. He slowly stepped forward, getting increasingly faster until he was at walking speed. He looked down at the grass while he walked, which was up to his ankles. He adjusted his big, orange, witch looking hat to block some of the sun from his eyes. He tilted his head up slightly to see how close he was to the path. The path leads back to his house. It was a small house, only one floor and a couple rooms. The bare necessities. It was on an apple farm. He would pick apples and sell them to farmers so they could sell them. Curious knows that he could sell the apples and make the money he’s losing by selling them to farmers, but Curious also doesn’t really care that much. He’s getting by with what he has and what he’s been doing, so it doesn’t really concern him all that much.
Just as Curious was about to step onto the pathway, his left foot got caught on something. He stumbled over it, managing to catch himself from falling, and probably splitting his head open on the rock right on the edge of the path. Curious looked down at the spot where his foot got caught, and noticed something shining in the evening sun. He knelt down, and hesitantly extended his hand toward the shiny object, grabbing ahold of it with two fingers, and pulling it a little. It was small, and yellow, almost golden. With one pull, it came out of the ground. Curious shielded himself from the light of the sun, and held it up to his face so he could get a better look at it.
It was pretty obvious what it was. It looked like a gold coin. It was clearly very old. He could probably sell it for an okay amount of money, although keeping it would be pretty cool…He wasn’t sure what to do. What did he want more? The coin, or money? Curious, looked at the coin for a moment, before dropping it into the sack tied to his belt, under his cloak, and continuing down the path. As he walked through the twisting path, passing by trees, rocks, and nature, all he could think about was the coin. What should he do with it? He started to brainstorm.
If he were to sell it, he would want to get it appraised first to make sure it’s genuine. Luckily he should be able to afford an appraisal. Then he would go to the pawn shop and sell it there. However, doing all of this would require going into town, which Curious is always hesitant to do, and even worse, he would probably have to talk. Talk to PEOPLE at that. Curious stopped talking at all a long time ago, and there was no way he was gonna change his mind on that now. If Curious were to keep it, he wouldn’t have to go into town or talk to people, but then he wouldn’t get any money.
As he continued walking, Curious removed the coin from his pocket, looking at it in thought. The more he thought about this decision, the more anxious he became. It wasn’t overwhelming, but enough to make him speedwalk home. As the path ended, and Curious stepped onto the grass of the apple farm, he had made up his mind. At the very least, he was going to go get it appraised! If it’s worth something, he’ll sell it. If it’s not, he’ll keep it. He was slightly hoping that it wouldn’t be worth much because he didn’t want to be out any longer than had to.
Curious was always listening. For some reason, it calms him down. Normally, he would be listening to birds, the wind, the trees, but this time was different. Rather than the sounds of nature he had grown so accustomed to, now he was hearing the sounds of a different kind of life. Curious walked down the gravel road, trying his best to listen to his footsteps, but it was no use. The town was far too busy. All the sounds around him drowned out any chance of hearing his footsteps. He kept walking on the right side of the road, keeping his head down, and his face hidden by his cloak and hat. He didn’t want to bring any unwanted attention to himself, which is ironic given that he wears all orange.
Curious looked up, to get a better view of his surroundings. In front of him was one of the main roads in the town. The street was lined with shops and bakeries and restaurants as far as the eye could see. There was a street performer down the road who seemed to be part…lizard? Curious wasn’t sure…There are a lot of races, and it’s hard for him to keep track of it all. The lizard lady was painting a picture of two elves. A man and a woman. On the opposite side of the street, the side of the street that Curious was walking on, there was an open garage with a blacksmith, slamming a mighty hammer down onto red hot metal on top of an anvil. Curious found himself staring at the blacksmith, somewhat fascinated by what he was doing.
The blacksmith had a giant beard, and long, dark curly hair. He was huge as well. Definitely towered over Curious. Although that isn’t exactly a rare occurrence, since he’s only four feet tall. He wore large and bulky leather clothes and an apron, likely to protect himself from the heat of the workshop. The man’s hammering came to an abrupt stop, his hand still tightly grasping the hammer. He slowly tilted his head up, looking directly at Curious. A shiver ran down Curious’ spine. This guy’s stare was intense. He had the eyes of a war veteran. It looked like at any moment, that guy was gonna charge Curious, and crush him into a paste. Curious stepped back, and swiftly kept walking, making sure not to look back. After a moment, he could hear the sound of the hammer slamming against the metal continue, and he sighed a breath of relief.
The sight of the blacksmith really frightened Curious. More so than it really should have. So much so that he kept speed walking the whole way to the appraiser, even ignoring the ever so alluring scent of the home made pastries being made in the bakeries that line the streets. As he rushed, Curious closed his eyes and took deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth… As he continued this cycle, Curious felt his heartbeat steady, and his anxiety fade. As Curious opened his eyes to gain his bearings he realized he was still speedwalking. Without any time to react, he felt his face slam into a metal plate. It didn’t hurt, but the shock frightened Curious so much that he fell backwards onto the road, plooming a cloud of gravel and dust among the scene. As Curious waved away the debris, he heard a gentle voice speak out to him from above.
“Woah! Be careful there, little one! That sounds like it hurt!” The voice said in a deep soothing tone.
“Here. Let me help you up. Are you alright? What is your name, small one?”
Curious looked up, and saw the figure of a tall man towering over him. He was wearing a full knight’s armor minus the helmet. He had brown slicked back hair with a single strand dangling in the front, and a slight beard. However the most prominent feature was his horns. The horn on the right side of his head seemed to be broken in half. Curious, still processing what just happened, watched as the tall figure extended his hand toward him, offering help up. Curious stared at his hand for a moment, before deciding to accept. As Curious moved his hand towards him however, he noticed something. Curious’ hand was dug into his own leather pouch, clutching his amber ring that was inside. A feeling of horror and dread washed over Curious. He wasn’t actually going to do that, was he? That was just an instinctual reaction to a potential threat. That thought however caused Curious to panic even more. Was his instinctual reaction really to grab the very artifact that has tormented him with unbearable guilt?
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I had no intention of frightening you. My name is Vance Chapman, and…”
Before the man could finish his sentence, Curious held his head in his hands, moaning and groaning in dread. Curious tried to breathe in through his nose, and out through his mouth…But it was no use. He was still panicking. He shoved the man’s hand away and dashed away further down the road. He spotted the pawn shop just ahead. That’s where he could get his appraisal. He wasted no time. People stared at him as he ran as fast as he could to the large, old fashioned, wooden double-doors to the pawn shop.
Curious swiftly pushed his palms against the two doors. This, combined with the speed he was sprinting, caused him to swing the doors open, followed by them hitting the wall with a loud crash. The sudden noise caused the old man sleeping at the counter to jump in his seat, letting out a “gyah!” Curious stood in the doorway, panting. He looked at the frail, old man at the counter with guilt. He looked away out of shame, but behind him, the doors were still open, and everyone in the area outside the pawn shop were looking his way. Curious panicked, and rushed over to each side of the door, reaching high for the doorknob, to close the doors. Quietly, this time.
He closed the doors, slowly, and gently, going at a snail's pace this time, letting go of the doorknob only when he heard the door click shut. He let go of the doorknob, finally able to get off his tippy-toes. That’s the struggle of being Dwarven, and Curious knew it all too well. Curious could hear the old man laughing behind him at the counter. His laugh was old and dry. It sounded like it was hurting him. His laughing stopped when it slowly progressed into a cough. He cleared his throat, and watched Curious turn his way, and let his palm slide off the door as he stepped forward towards the counter.
Curious let out an annoyed sigh, as he noticed the counter was almost as tall as he was. Just about eye level. Now that Curious wasn’t in panic mode, he was able to get a better look at the old man. He was very frail, almost just skin and bones. He had no hair on the top of his head, but he did have some thin, white hair on the sides. He had a white mustache and goatee. The old man seemed to be very shaky, and his eyes were always squinting. Finally, he wore an old tuxedo with a bowtie, though the outfit seemed to be pretty old and had clear signs of wear and tear.
The old man wiped a tear from his eye, and let out a joyful sigh as he leaned over the counter to get a better look at Curious.
“Woo-wee! I haven’t had a laugh like that since I had a full head of hair!” He said with a shaky smile.
His voice was just a little higher than you might have expected it to be at first glance. It was dry and creaky, with a little bit of rasp to it as well.
“Well that was quite the entrance you made for yourself, boy! You musta been dyin’ to get ‘ere! So do tell, watcha here for?”
Curious stared at him for a few seconds, trying to think of a way to convey what he wanted without using words. He tilted his head a little, and looked down some, scratching his forehead with his finger. His eyes angled downward, and looked rather upset.
“What’s the matter, boy? Parents never teach ya how to speak?” He said with a chuckle.
Curious was not amused by this comment, and furrowed his eyebrows. The man stopped smiling, and leaned back a bit.
“Oh. Uh, sorry ‘bout that, kiddo. Didn’t know theys was a complex thing-a-majig.” He said, his voice shifting into a more serious tone, before going back to his previous.
“Well, any-hoo, don’t fret, shorty! I’ve had a couple folk wander in here that ain’t too fond o’ speakin’!” He spoke, reaching down behind the counter, and lifting a small chalk board up, and extending it towards Curious as an offering. Curious hesitated, but grabbed the board and carefully began to examine it. The chalk board said as follows:
Curious found shoe-shining a little funny. It seemed funny and out of place, but nevertheless, he ignored it. He turned the board around to face the old clerk, and pointed to “appraisal.” The old man squinted his eyes, even though it seemed impossible to squint them any more, and leaned in closer to see what Curious was pointing at.
“Hmm… Oh! A shoe-shine! Can’t say we get many of those these days!” I said under his breath. Curious furrowed his eyebrows and tapped the word “appraisal” on the board a couple times, extending it up as far as he could to get it closer to the old man’s face so he could see it.
“Ohhh! Whoopsie-Daisy! My bad! You wanted an appraisal! Well that’ll be much easier on my back, I reckon!” The old man said laughing, and leaning back in his chair.
“Go ahead and throw the items on the counter while I grab my equipment, son.”
Curious pushed his cloak back, grabbing the edges of the brown sack tied to the left of his belt. The sack opened as he pulled the edges. Inside was a couple silver coins, two gold coins, a ring made of amber, and, of course, the gold coin he had found. He reached into the pouch, and pulled out the coin. He caught himself staring at the amber ring for a moment, before a shiver ran down his spine, snapping him out of it. He closed the pouch by pulling the two strings on its side. Finally, he reached his arm up, and placed the golden coin on the counter.
The old man proceeded to wheel himself out from behind the counter. The man was in an old, metal wheelchair, and was seemingly struggling to push himself with his frail, weak arms. Curious felt bad for the man, and he wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. Curious hesitated, but he stepped forward. He went behind the wheelchair, and reached up to grab the two handlebars. Due to Curious’ dwarven height, and the man, who Curious presumed to be human and maybe around six feet tall, the handlebars to the wheelchair were about eyelevel with him. He grabbed onto the handlebars, and began to push the man forward. As Curious did this, he felt a sudden jolt in the chair. He looked down, and saw the old man had tightly grasped both the wheels.
“Are you nuts, kid?! What in the Sam Hill do you think you’re doin’?!” The old man shouted at Curious, turning his body to face him, only to let out a groan and face his body forward.
“Ahg, damnit. That hurt my back.” the old man scolded under his breath. Upon being shouted out, Curious let go immediately, and backed away, backing up into the counter. He held his hands up like he was surrendering. He looked at the old man rubbing his back with a look of worry and regret on his face. “I was just trying to help.” Curious thought to himself.
There was an awkward silence as the man proceeded to slowly wheel himself to the bottom corner of the shop, where a shelf was nailed to the wall, lower than any other shelf in the shop. The old man slowly and shakily grabbed a tool box from the shelf, and placed it onto his lap. As he began to turn himself around in his chair to head over to the counter, Curious looked down in shame. He didn’t want to look at him. The guilt was eating him alive. Underneath his cloak, Curious gripped the sides of his arms and squeezed as hard as he could. He closed his eyes tightly as bad thoughts began to overwhelm him. He tried to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth, slowly, but it was no use. He was slowly starting to hyperventilate. Curious was about to have a panic attack, but was interrupted when he heard the old man speak from behind him.
“It’s quite alright, boy. It ain’t that big a deal.” He spoke in a soft, relaxed tone. Curious whipped around to see the old man back behind the counter, taking various tools out of his tool box and placing them on the counter.
“I’d be lyin’ if I said it was the first time someone did that. Sure, it’s annoyin’. People seem to think that since I’m in a wheelchair, that that must mean I’m helpless, but boy lemme tell ya. If I was really helpless and unable to do anythin’ on my own, I reckon I wouldn’t be runnin’ a pawn shop from nine AM to five PM on Monday through Saturday!”
Curious felt a little better as he listened, and watched the man remove more and more tools from the toolbox.
“Although, lemme be honest with ya, kid.” The man spoke, his tone shifting.
“If you was anyone else, I woulda kicked your kiester outta my store without givin’ it a second thought. The only reason you’re still here is cause you’re that hermit who lives deep in the forest, over by Brother’s Lake.”
Curious’ eyes widened at this. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How did this random guy know where he was living? And the way he said it, too. It made him think that he was relatively known around town as a hermit near Brother’s Lake. This greatly upset Curious. He looked down, feeling a mix of sadness, anger, regret, grief, and shame. After he had escaped Ambrough, he fled west and went into hiding. He built a small cottage near Brother’s Lake and grew apple trees. The whole reason that he lived so far away from civilization was to stay hidden, but apparently none of that mattered, since everybody in town knows about him.
Curious felt tears well up in his eyes. He used all his strength to keep them back, but one fell down onto the wooden floorboards. Today was going horribly. This is exactly why Curious hates going into town. Nothing good ever comes of it.
“Okie-dokie, let’s take a gander and this here trinket you got.” The old man said, shakily picking up the gold coin from the counter, and holding a magnifying glass up to it. Curious quietly sniffled, and wiped away his tears, before looking up at the old man examining the coin. The old man turned the coin, investigating every crevice of every angle upon the coin.
“Huhhh…Well it certainly ain’t any gold currency we’ve been usin’ recently. Much different from the gold coins we been makin’. Tell me, son, where’d ya find this at?”
Curious looked to the side, not turning his head. There was an awkward silence as the he man continued to examine the coin.
“Ah, right. You ain’t the speakin’ type.” He said under his breath.
“Well it’s definitely real gold, I’ll tell ya that much. On top of that, it’s absolutely an ancient form of currency. This’ll certainly be worth somethin’.” The man placed his magnifying glass down onto the counter, and reached over to grab a piece of rolled up paper among the other tools. The man unrolled the piece of paper across the available counter space. Curious was not able to see what was on the paper, as he wasn’t quite tall enough to see over the counter. What he could see however was the man placing the coin on the center of the paper, and holding the two sides down, to prevent it from rolling up. The old man began to speak. Curious recognized it. It was dwarvish! Although Curious knew very little of it. He could read and write in it pretty well, but when it came to someone speaking in it, he knew very little. Other than a few random words here and there, the only thing he said that Curious understood was “use to capture.”
The man stopped speaking, and closed his eyes. The room went silent. Curious waited anxiously, wondering what all this was about, and what the man was going to tell him. Finally, the old man spoke.
“It sure is weird…Wonder how it's in such good condition after all this time.” The old man said, talking to himself. Though he was talking to himself, Curious listened intently, excited to hear more.
“Ah, family heirloom. That makes sense, I suppose…” There was another pause between speaking.
“Hmmmm yup. That’s that, I reckon.” He exclaimed, opening his eyes. Curious looked at him excitedly, bouncing up and down a little. He watched as the man rolled the paper back up, and began to put his tools away, slowly, one by one.
“This ‘ere coin dates back to a hell of a long time ago.” He said as he gently placed it down on the counter, tapping his finger on it.
“This dates back to before magic was even discovered! I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but this coin here is over twenty-thousand years old! It was kept as a family heirloom, but six years ago, the owner lost it. How sad!”
Curious couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The gold coin he had accidentally stumbled upon was over twenty-thousand years old! Curious couldn’t contain his excitement. He began to bounce up and down in joy, and shake his arms.
“Now here’s the kicker!” He said loudly.
“The owner of the heirloom is alive and well! And they are living in regret for losing the coin. Their family seems to have cut all ties with this woman because of it. However, this here is a pawn shop! And at a pawn shop, it’s finders keepers! So I’ll give ya a choice. You can sell it to me and get a huge payout, or you can skidaddle on outta here, and return it to its rightful owner. The choice is yours, kiddo!”
Curious stopped shaking his arms and bouncing. He had to think about this. There’s no denying that the amount of money he would get for selling this would be life changing, but is it right to do so? He said that the woman who lost it had her life ruined because of it. But how would he know that? There’s no way he could have. Curious was convinced that the old man was lying to him for some reason. There was no girl who lost it! Right? Yeah…That has to be it??
Curious held his hand up, out from underneath his cloak, and pinched his fingers together. He rubbed his thumb across the tip of his fingers.
“Ya want the money, eh? Well that I certainly can do for ya!” The man exclaimed loudly.
“For this, we’re lookin’ at around twenty-five hundred gold pieces.”
Curious’ jaw was on the floor. That was enough to buy a family home! Not only that, but a family home! Curious was right! This IS a life changing amount of money! He couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Afterall, nobody would get hurt in the end, since the girl is just made up! Curious quite literally began jumping for joy, and clapped his hands, making a pat sound due to his gloves.
“Alrighty, so since this ‘ere is a gigantic load of moolah, I can’t give ya the money right away.” He said, shifting his tone to be a bit less playful and enthusiastic.
“I can getcha the dough if you come back here in bout a week. I’d love to give it to ya now, but disappointingly I don’t have the kinda cash lyin’ around that can just buy me-self a house.”
Admittedly, Curious was a little disappointed by this, but he understood and was willing to wait. He nodded and gave the old man a thumbs up, indicating that he was fine with it.
“You got it, pal! I’ll hold onto this ‘ere coin in the meantime and keep it safe and sound for ya, and I’ll see ya in a week, kid!” The old man shouted loudly and cheerfully.
Curious gave the man a little wave, before he tucked his arm back into his cloak, and turned to exit the shop. As he reached the doors, he placed his palms against it, and pushed, but the door wouldn’t budge. He tried again, this time pushing harder. Still nothing. Curious sighed, realizing his mistake. He got on his tippy toes, and reached for the doorknob. Once he had a hold of it, he pulled this time, and the door opened. Curious slipped out, and shut the door behind him, before beginning his walk home.
As he made his way back through the busy gravel street, he wasn’t even remotely bothered by all the noise and commotion. His mind was too busy brainstorming on what he was gonna do with all this money! “I could buy a house in town!” He thought to himself. But Curious prefers the quiet. He would much rather live in a cozy cottage away from civilization. “I could hire someone to help at the apple orchard!” He thought. But it would be hard to find someone and convince them if he doesn’t talk.
Curious was drowning in his thoughts. He just couldn’t decide for the life of him! Before he knew it, he was back home, at his orchard. Curious slipped into his house. He slumped down into a kitchen chair, exhausted. So far, today has been a stressful but exciting day. Nevertheless, he was tired, and he still had to decide what to use his money on. If only he could ask someone for a second opinion. Curious suddenly had an idea. This idea excited him, but the excitement quickly turned into worry and fear. He didn’t really want to revisit this, but he was starting to feel like he was out of options.
Curious opened the pouch tied to the side of his belt. He stared at the amber ring inside, becoming increasingly nervous the longer he looked. Curious slowly extended his hand into the pouch, and pinched the ring with his fingers, lifting it out of the pouch. He started it, trembling. Memories flashed in his mind, sending a shiver down his back. Curious took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. He squeezed his eyes shut, and like ripping off a bandage, he shoved the ring onto his right ring finger. For a split second, his body was glowing orange, and a jolt shook his body. Curious kept his eyes squeezed shut. After about 15 seconds, he slowly opened them. He looked down at his hands. The amber ring was glowing orange. This greatly upset Curious. He didn’t want to look at it. He couldn’t bring himself to any longer. Just as he was about to pull the ring off his finger, he heard a voice.
“Let me guess. You need help deciding what to do with your earnings?” A deep voice asked. Curious looked up to see him. It was Ferdinand. He was leaning his back against the counter next to the sink. His foot was resting on the cupboard below and his hands were gripping the edge of the counter. He leaned forward, standing up straight, and crossing his arms.
Compared to Curious, Ferdinand was huge. Curious is about four feet tall, while Ferdinand was at least six feet tall, if not, taller. He wore brown leather armor underneath metal armor, fit for a knight. The metal armor covered his torso, arms, legs, and feet. He also wore fuzzy fur pants underneath the metal leggings. The metal armor had engravings made of amber all throughout it. Every piece had at least something. Ferdinand’s skin was dark. His black hair was made up of multiple long braids reaching towards the back of his head. He had a giant black beard reaching all the way down to where his bellybutton probably was. Lastly, this guy looked like he was at least 300 pounds of pure muscle.
Curious knew Ferdinand already, and he just wanted to ask him about what he should spend the money on. That’s why he put the ring on just now. Ferdinand looked down at Curious, waiting for a reply. Curious nodded.
“Hm.” Ferdinand sighed. He looked down in thought.
“I’m not sure. Have you thought about it?” He asked. Curious gave him an annoyed look. Ferdinand snickered a little at this.
“Ok. Dumb question. My bad.” He said, smiling. Ferdinand looked up to the ceiling, twisting the hairs of his beard in between his fingers.”
“How about a horse? And a wagon for the horse to pull? That would probably help get all those apples to town more efficiently. Plus you could sell a lot of more of them at a time.” He said as he gazed out the kitchen window, looking at the rows of apple trees outside.
Curious’ eyes lit up upon hearing this. He jumped out of his seat and furiously nodded at Ferdinand.
“So a horse and a wagon?” He asked. “Glad I could be of some help to you, Curious.”
Curious gave him a thumbs up as a way of saying thank you, and he quickly slipped off the ring. As he did this, Ferdinand tried to say something, but as soon as the ring left his finger, Ferdinand was gone. He dropped the ring back into his pouch, and walked over to the kitchen window. He looked at the trees, and the apples, and the grass. He heard the wind rustle amongst the leaves, and creak against the house. He closed his eyes, and imagined he was six years old again. He was with his mama in his village. She was teaching him to read and write in dwarven, and he was learning so quickly. This was a happy memory. So why does it make him sad? It was when things were peaceful, simple, and easy. It should make him happy.
Curious knew why. He just wasn’t ready to admit it. He’s lying to himself. Like he’s done for years. Some happy memories are stained with tragedy, and can’t be washed out. Curious couldn’t help but wonder where his mama was right now, and what she was doing. He thought about it, and tried to picture her in various places, doing various things. I tried to picture her riding a horse, but he couldn’t quite picture it correctly. So he tried to picture her doing something else, like sitting in her wooden rocking chair, reading a story to him while he sat on her lap. No, it wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right. No matter what he pictured her doing, it was wrong. Incomplete.
Curious became sad. He lowered his body onto the kitchen floor, and laid down on his right side. He realized what was wrong. Mama’s face…
What did it look like again?
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