#concept drabbles

[nic-mccool]

Ancient

The hardest part isn’t making something new, it’s making the new thing seem old. Creating a world that doesn’t feel like it was created. I want a reader to touch down in the dust and feel like there’s a history that’s played out over the centuries, over the millenia. That each speck of that dust has not simply manifested here for the sake of entertainment, but has taken its own journey through existence to arrive where it is seen. 

Have you ever thought of things in these terms? That to manifest is to manufacture history? That anything new, in order to exist, must necessarily be comprised of ancients?

[nic-mccool]

Tasty

“Try this.”

Of all his hobbies, Nathan’s love of cooking is one of my favorites. Every Saturday he lets me tag along to the dorm kitchen while he experiments. This weekend he seems to have a hankering for soup.

“What is it, exactly?” I ask, but take a sip from the proffered spoon before he answers. 

“Chicken noodle,” he replies, “Think you might be getting sick. Nip that in the bud.”

I can’t hold back my smile. I never can, with him. He looks sheepish, which only invites more of my fondness.

“Tasty,” I say. It’s all I can manage. 

[nic-mccool]

Mindless

I don’t know why he does it. I don’t think he does it on purpose. I don’t even think he notices. But I notice.  

Whenever we get out of bed in the morning, or run into each other on campus, or return home in the evening. No matter where we are, no matter how long it’s been. He’ll greet me kindly, he’ll smile sincerely, and he’ll grab my shoulder. And then, once he’s already shifted his gaze, as he begins to turn away, his hand will trail down my arm mindlessly, brushing against my fingertips before he fully breaks away.