Beginnings | The Ink Well Fast and Furious Festival - Day Six

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Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay



Little Linette Booth, found herself lost in the woods, couldn't find her way no matter what path she took..

I hated that name, despised it with a passion at the memory of how the other children taunted me...

It must have been your father they were after that's why they blew up those buildings!

Your father was a bad man Linette! You should booth it out of here before they come for you next!

I remembered wanting to strangle them during those times, but I could only watch as they cackled amongst themselves like the brats they were. It was hard enough that my mother would be forced to raise me all by herself after my father's death, but I never expected the truth behind it would be an even harder pill to swallow..

Linny... The father you knew—he provided for us quite well but.. He isn't—wasn't your real father…

And that's when I met him. He looked at me with his sharp green gaze, the same pair of greens that always looked back at me whenever I stared at my mirror for too long—unbeknownst to me, that moment would mark the life-changing events that occurred thereafter.

“Who.. is she..?” I asked the man who had introduced himself as my biological father as we silently watched the redheaded girl that played outside in the well-manicured garden.

“Your sister, Betty.” He had said it so matter-of-factly as he drank his coffee that I was surprised at his further explanation, “Unfortunately, she seems to have inherited her mother's... illness. Which makes you my prodigy.”

Putting his mug down as he raised his elbow on the desk where we sat, he went back to unnervingly staring at me behind his steepled hands before he started speaking further, “Your muddy brown hair has to go, but it's enough you have the same eyes.”

I doubted I could pass for the same lively girl that played outside with her two friends--one had pale blonde hair while the other had a head of black curls-- they were like a mock-up version of the Powerpuff Girls honestly.

“So what do you say, Linette? All you have to do is play nice for the time being.”

Would I go back to being Lost Little Linette? No. But I was also through with playing nice.


Links:

The Ink Well Fast and Furious Festival Launch

The Ink Well Fast and Furious Festival - Day Six



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3 comments
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Well, that's intriguing! You laid the pebbles on the ground and led us to a suspenseful ending. What is the father suggesting, exactly? We don't trust him, because of clues dropped already. And what would Linette be willing to do in order to leave her past behind?

You provide a clear voice for this character. She is wounded, resentful. She is young. She is eager to make a change in her life. Her situational security--her identity, the identity of her father--has been upended.

You weave dialogue and narration together effectively.

I am puzzled by your use of the word 'prodigy'. Perhaps this is intentional. In such a short piece it is hard to know where you are going with this. Perhaps you intend to suggest that he is planning to supplant the red-headed child and train Linette for some future endeavor. Or...perhaps you meant something else.

A good exercise. Kept my attention and revealed a great deal.

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Everything you wrote leaves me wanting more, every sentence, every thought leaves me with the feeling that there is still more to be unveiled and I am trapped by the feeling of wanting to keep reading.

Very good indeed, plus there is a taste of something sinister.

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We've given your post a little curation love from @curie. This is a very intriguing piece. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your fiction work with The Ink Well.

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