It’s time for another edition of Four Seasons, my monthly fiction newsletter. I think February is still my favorite, but I really like this one as well. It’s definitely a different direction, and I’m eager to see where the series will go from here.
If you are new to the series, make sure to sign up. It’s free and fun. You will get January through March, each a few days apart. Below is an excerpt from this months entry, April.
Enjoy!
It was time for Laney to start thinking about getting her own place again. The last time she had tried, when she was thirty-six, it had gone horribly. But that was almost five years earlier.
She was definitely ready to think about trying again.
She was ready to order a pizza without asking her father what he wanted on top. She was ready to have her mother pick up her own french fry flipping prescriptions. She was ready to let them pour their own baths. And she was definitely ready to stay out late without having to explain where she was (not that any of the places she frequented were worth explaining).
Her parents never asked her straight out, but Laney knew they wanted to know. She could feel it behind their pleasant smiles when she opened the door, just like she could feel it behind every question they did not ask.
Money wasn’t the issue preventing her exodus. Between Laney’s teaching and the violin studio she ran in the tiny unventilated den just across the hall from her bedroom in the furthest corner of her parent’s modest house, she had plenty. Laney had only been on her own for six months in her entire life, had been squirreling away for the rest of her adulthood, and had the savings account to prove it.
Problem was, nighttime without her parents made Laney feel like a toddler lost at Disneyland. Too much open space colliding with too many choices. Daytime was fine, Laney could go to her classes and teach her barely literate students a bit of basic English. On days when she wasn’t teaching, Laney could always step outside for a walk and enjoy the fresh air mingling with the clear direction of her daily routine.
Nighttime was different.
Nighttime never found Laney alone. Night was when the lonely bubbled above the blankets in her bed and started asking her questions she did not like to answer. Nighttime reminded Laney she needed her mommy and daddy like a two-year old needs his saliva soaked blanket.
Nighttime brought the Scarecrow and sometimes all his friends.
About Sean Platt
Yes, Yes, Yes, I like this one.
“Nighttime was different. Nighttime never found Laney alone. Night was when the lonely bubbled above the blankets in her bed and started asking her questions she did not like to answer.”
My synapses are firing and connections soaring. Tell us more. Please and thank you!
Yes, Yes, Yes, I like this one.
“Nighttime was different. Nighttime never found Laney alone. Night was when the lonely bubbled above the blankets in her bed and started asking her questions she did not like to answer.”
My synapses are firing and connections soaring. Tell us more. Please and thank you!
Just read the whole of ‘April’ and LOVED it – felt it, heard it, smelled it on every level, from the playground to the night-time to the puddling sweat of performance. From pigeon to violin, screech of bow to soaring of spirit. I’ve had a weird, synchronicitous week full of musical inspiration (I wrote a piece about it just yesterday) and this was a triumphant finale. You are truly gifted, Sean. Your writing makes lives better, helps us heal.
Just read the whole of ‘April’ and LOVED it – felt it, heard it, smelled it on every level, from the playground to the night-time to the puddling sweat of performance. From pigeon to violin, screech of bow to soaring of spirit. I’ve had a weird, synchronicitous week full of musical inspiration (I wrote a piece about it just yesterday) and this was a triumphant finale. You are truly gifted, Sean. Your writing makes lives better, helps us heal.
Hi Sean: Love it; makes you want to go on and find out if Laney manages to get over her fear and finally leave behind the security blanket and strike out on her own.
Hi Sean: Love it; makes you want to go on and find out if Laney manages to get over her fear and finally leave behind the security blanket and strike out on her own.
Cindy: I’m glad you liked it. The look on your face during the ending was priceless.
Janice: I’m thrilled that you loved it, Janice! I can’t wait to see where the stories go, they should start blending into something truly magical by the end of summer.
Marelisa: She kinda sorta does, but a lifetime of blankets cannot alas be healed in 3,000 words. : > )
Cindy: I’m glad you liked it. The look on your face during the ending was priceless.
Janice: I’m thrilled that you loved it, Janice! I can’t wait to see where the stories go, they should start blending into something truly magical by the end of summer.
Marelisa: She kinda sorta does, but a lifetime of blankets cannot alas be healed in 3,000 words. : > )
I love it! Very powerful. Thank you for sharing the story with us.
I love it! Very powerful. Thank you for sharing the story with us.