Short Stories

Short stories posted as I write!

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I really miss a time period I never even lived in. I miss when television wasn’t yet invented and books were how one traveled to different worlds. Now reading is almost seen as a chore. I miss when clothes were quality, thick and warm and fit well, rather than the sloppy, baggy, mass-produced pieces of cotton and plastic in most stores today. I miss when people were well-spoken and could write to articulate their thoughts rather than abbreviating phrases to the point that we’re no longer sure of what the phrases actually are. I miss when more people valued relationships within the family, when men shook hands with a firm grip, when women wanted to learn to cook and raise their children, instead of letting the state raise them for them, and when people sought meaning in life early on and lived what they said they believed. I miss when people could tell time on a clock because clocks and pocket watches were all that they had. I miss record players and gramophones and the crackling noise over every recording. I miss when siblings played together in the transparent, sunlit grass, learning physics and coordination in a practical way, rather than just with one’s thumbs on a sofa. I miss when men were protective and taught their boys to open doors, pull out chairs, and pay for dinners. I miss when women wanted to look beautiful, but not slutty. I miss candlelight, hand-written letters, black and white photographs, skirts and pin curls, white dress shirts tucked into dress pants, fishing, picnics in the sun, and handkerchiefs.

It’s a shame that as society progresses, we get “smarter,” but not wiser; innovative, but lazier and impatient; productive, but cheaper. I’d love to escape on a steam-engine train that carries me to a simpler time without the burdens of social media or texts. I’d love to see how my mind changes without getting a stimulation screen overload every five seconds. Did people listen better? Were they happier? Were they better to one another? You can’t escape these things nowadays, because everyone uses them. Books take me away though.

[storiesbysb]

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Just talking about Edmund Pevensie for a moment...

In the beginning of LWW, Edmund is caught in this vicious cycle of being scolded, growing animosity, acting out his anger, and being scolded again, (possibly induced by the bitterness of leaving home) when all he wants is positive attention, to be needed, (hence his acting superior toward Lucy and trying to convince Peter not to trust the animals), and love. One can see his sense of “justice” used in a negative way by his need to get back at Peter by proving himself in the right, even though he knows he is in the wrong by following the Witch. (We know this because he “feeds” off of the Witch’s promises of luxury and power over the rest of his family, and he defensively denies Lucy’s statements about her instantly, plus he sees what happened to Tumnus before he ever set off on his own.) Once Aslan’s sacrifice is made for him, which is the ultimate act of love, it not only fulfills his need of love, but gives him purpose by providing him with something to become worthy of, which he eventually begins doing by breaking Jadis’s wand. The sacrifice flies in the face of his internal framework of justice, because it is not what he deserved and it is not fair, but it is pure love. This we can see touched him even much later in life, as he knew he could not ever repay Aslan and he became more forgiving. For example, the question of Rabadash’s fate being discussed and his proposal of mercy, saying, “Even a traitor may mend. I have known one that did.”

[storiesbysb]

Chronicles of Narnia Characters’ Strengths & Weaknesses

Digory Kirke -adventurous, clever, skeptical, sensitive about his mother, hot-tempered, dangerously curious, impulsive

Polly Plummer -wants to be grown up, apprehensive, sensible, responsible

Peter Pevensie-leader, protective instinct, finds purpose in responsibility, can be harsh, hard on himself

Susan Pevensie -nurturing, beautiful, gentle, doubtful, dislikes conflict, needs to be heard/seen as smart, skeptical

Edmund Pevensie -needs recognition/love (receives the ultimate act of love and tries to live up to being worthy of this), wants to be treated like an adult, sarcastic, logical, fair and sees it how it is, strong sense of justice, intelligent (notices details, good at puzzling together mysteries), forgiving, pensive

Lucy Pevensie -trusting, optimistic, loyal, caring/loving, doubts her own competency & worth, values truth, valiant, naive

Prince Cor -lacks confidence, naive, high in openness, reasonable, can be pessimistic, easily discouraged, easily pushed around, gentle, concerned for others, brave

Aravis Tarkheena -self-important, distrusting, independent, smart, brave, confident, can be selfish, disgusted by materialistic overindulgence, great story teller (yes that’s totally a personality strength XD)

Prince Caspian X -caring, imaginative, adventurous, optimistic, idealistic, leader, humble, responsible, naive (not so much in VotDT), seeks greatness, values prestige & legacy

Eustace Scrubb (most of this after being a dragon)-intelligent, holds grudges, brave, concerned for his close friends, humble, seeks meaning

Jill Pole -emotional, impulsive, show-off, adorable, smart, independent, brave, wants to be important/included

King Tirian -dramatic (drama...king? XD), dutiful, values honor, loyal, strong values, values truth, faithful, sense of justice, selfless, idealistic, you can definitely tell he is from Caspian’s bloodline

[storiesbysb]

Some interesting parallels between the story of Moses and The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis...

1. Shasta was found drifting in the water as a baby and saved from dying

2. He belonged to a different race than what he grew up in

3. He meets Aslan in the wilderness who adresses himself as “myself” (similar to “I am,”) and gains understanding of his life’s purpose

4. He spends part of his life among royalty, part among slavery

5. He is prophesied to save Archenland

6. He crosses the desert and delivers Archenland from Prince Rabadash and eventually becomes their leader

You don’t always know why things happen to you or what things might have been a blessing for you in the big picture of your life’s story. What I love so much about Narnia is that everyone has a purpose to fulfill...a reason they were brought there or born there, and such meaning for their lives comes in being able to grow through their struggles (as every one of them is challenged) and accomplish something for others.

[storiesbysb]

Added The Horse and His Boy to my Narnia necklace collection! This one was probably my favorite book in the series because of the part this quote was taken from. 💗

[storiesbysb]

Chronicles of Narnia themed necklaces I made this week. Lamppost from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and quote from Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Currently reading the series after having listened to the audio dramas from Focus on the Family Radio Theatre as a kid. In love with Narnia and Lewis’s characters even more now that I’m older.

[storiesbysb]

The Peach (A Short Story)

Jill’s head popped up over the rim of the backyard fence.

“What’re you doing?” she inquired.

“Who are you?” was the boy’s reply.

“My name’s Jill and I’m staying with my aunt and uncle this summer, only they’re really boring and I have to eat asparagus for dinner and they won’t let me go to the market to buy cherry gum. What about you?”

“I’m Phillip,” he said.

“Well, what are ya doing?” Jill asked a second time. 

Phillip had one shoe in his hand and was hopping on the foot that wore the remaining shoe in order to prevent his stocking from getting muddy. When she had asked her question again, he had looked up, lost his balance, and dropped his white-stockinged foot to the ground. 

“Look what you made me do!” he said, rather annoyed. “I was trying to reach that peach with my shoe until you showed up.”

“Well you didn’t have to look up and lose your balance!”

“My mom is gonna kill me, no thanks to you. Girls are all like that! Talk too much and then make a man lose focus and get himself killed!” He used the word “man” here, however he was only about nine years old. Jill was nine-and-a-half, which was much to Phillip’s dismay when he found out. 

“Well boys always do such dumb things like throwing nasty shoes up trees. Nobody likes peaches anyway!” said Jill. 

“I like peaches!”

“Well, that’s because you’re a nobody!”

“At least I’m not a girl, which is worse than being a nobody!”

At this point Jill couldn’t think of something stinging to say in reply, so her head popped back behind the fence and stayed there for about two minutes of silence. 

“That’ll show him,” she thought. 

In the meantime, Phillip was quite glad the girl disappeared, and continued about his business, which included an attempt at climbing the tree. When the branch he swung from snapped, Jill’s head popped back up over the fence.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, luckily I landed on my feet,” he said, his heart pounding from the scare of the fall. Then, he pulled out a brand new pack of cherry gum from his pocket and unwrapped it. 

“Oh! Is that cherry gum? I love cherry gum!” said the fence. Jill’s head was bouncing up and down over the rim now. “Can I have some, pleeeaaase? I haven’t had any ever since I got here!” She had really only been in the neighborhood for two days, but two days feels like an eternity when you have to eat asparagus and stay put. 

“Here,” he handed over one piece. 

“Oh thank you!” Gasped Jill, and she threw it in her mouth and felt the cherry flavor ooze out. 

Phillip put the entire rest of the pack in his mouth and chewed very fast. Or, at least as fast as one can with a whole pack of thick, juicy, cherry gum in one’s mouth. When he decided he was finished, he spat it into his hand and stretched it into a long, pink worm of wet gum. He then proceeded to take one end and swing the worm in a large circle on his right side. Phillip’s plan was to stick the thick worm onto the peach, but when the worm finished about two circles, the end opposite his hand grew lumpy and heavy and half of the strand flew in the air and the thick glump smacked itself right onto the peach. 

“Blast!” yelled Phillip, although he was silently pleased with his good aim. 

Jill stood watching in silence, busy with her gum in her mouth. 

Phillip found the nearest rock and tossed it right at the peach. He missed this time, which made him angry since he seemed to have lost his good aim, so he snatched the rock up again and chucked it harder at the peach. It hit, and the peach swung for a few seconds, but settled, still hanging onto its branch. There was a nice dent in it now, as well as a small tear in the fruit where the rock pulled skin back, and he could almost taste the juicy, yellow flesh as it shone in the sun. Phillip finally sat down (on a dry section of grass) and furrowed at it. 

A gentle breeze rustled the tree’s leaves and the peach finally let go, plopping right into the mud where he had dipped his stocking. Phillip rose and walked to the peach. He picked it up and solemnly looked down at the bruised, torn, gummy, muddy peach in his hand. Jill glanced down at it too. 

“I told you no one likes peaches.”

The End.