A fiction piece I wrote for my Creative Writing Class. The assignment was to weave the following events together in any order:
- A fire is lit
- A boat sets sail
- Someone writes a letter
His throat was already hoarse. Tears streamed
down his face as he clung onto her arm, his fingernails digging deep into her
skin. Clear mucus ran down his nose as he looked at her pleadingly.
“Don’t,” he choked, gasping for air. “You
can’t- you don’t even…”
She stared down at him coldly. Without a
word, she withdrew her arm and turned away.
“No… Gwen, no, please,” he whispered, just
loud enough for the both of them to hear.
Gwen pursed her lips. She turned to look at
him one last time, a sobbing mess on the deck. Swallowing hard, she made her
way up to the boat that was already waiting for her at the pier. They would
have to sail to a neighbouring island to board a much larger, grander ship
there, which would bring her to a foreign land where she must build a new life.
She had to leave this one behind. She had to leave Iggy behind. She made sure
to face away from the pier as the small boat set off. Not once did she turn to
look, until she was sure that Iggy was just a speck in the distance.
Back in his apartment, Iggy sat alone in the
study. His throat was sore from all the crying and screaming, and it burned
with every breath he took as the fumes entered his lungs. His body felt numb to
the core, the place felt cold- Gwen was missing. His mind couldn’t phantom why
she would leave him for a man she didn’t even love, a man she hardly even knew,
for that matter. They’ve been together for seven years. Iggy let out a pained
cry as he slammed a fist hard against the wooden desk.
By then, Gwen had settled herself comfortably
on the ship. As it’s horns blared as if to tell the word I’m going on another adventure, she finished her last words on the
sheet of paper before her.
Dear
Iggy,
I know this whole thing came so
quickly, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I had to be so heartless. While you may think
that this is absurd, me leaving to marry a man who’s almost equivalent to a
stranger, I hope you understand that I had to do this, for my mother.
I’ve
been a useless child all my life. I never could do anything right. I gave up my
education in college to be a painter, and I left home so young and so early. I
never was there for my family. My mother is lying in a hospital somewhere in
Russia, and if an arranged marriage is what will help bring in the money for my
father’s company… Who am I to say no?
What we shared in the past 7 years will
forever hold a very special place in my heart. If I could, I would find a way
to come back to you… but that’s something that I can’t afford to think of now.
I still love you, very deeply. I’m sorry Iggy.
Gwen blinked back tears as she
folded the letter. She stared gloomily out of the ship’s window as it slowly
sailed away from home.
Iggy was now drenched, sitting
alone in his apartment study. The whole place was reeking with the smell of the
same chemical that he was soaked with. In his hand, he held a small, blue
lighter. As one final tear escaped from his eye, he clicked it open, setting
the entire room ablaze.