Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
Six sentences is all it takes (and all that are desired) in zoe’s weekly writing jamboree, the Six Sentence Story.
This week’s prompt word: STAR
“The world really sucks,” 11-year-old Alan stood at the opening in the plywood-and-scrap-lumber tree fort, sincerity still a bit practiced; puberty not yet arrived to provide a reason to lose all restraint.
“I don’t know, it’s Christmas in a few days, that doesn’t suck,” Ethan kept the emotion muted, having learned to wait for the older boy to catch up to his suggestion of a debate of ideas, rather than yet another struggle for dominance.
Sensing challenges was integral to his relationship to the world, so Alan leaned out the window, grabbed the heavy rope suspended from above and levered himself out into open space, the backs of his ankles holding him to the enclosure; he saw bravery, his younger friend saw Hector being dragged around the city of Troy, he continued as triumphantly as possible, “there you go again with that goody two shoes crap about peace on earth, how many times I have to tell you, it’s a tug of war, good against evil.”
For Alan, instincts trump thought almost every time, they falter only in the presence of certainty, “Yeah, now ya gonna repeat what Sister Ryan said about the magical star rising in the East in time for Christmas,” his eyes betrayed the hope that his friend would hold up his part of the relationship and speak of things he felt.
“She’s right, though,” Ethan forgot himself and somehow became taller and stronger, fear was replaced with certainty, “a tug of war isn’t about two sides pulling on a rope, it’s about a line down the middle; we can’t hardly see it ’cause we’re looking at if from the sides. The star of the Nativity didn’t rise out of the ground, like the line that’s drawn in the sand for the tug of war, it’s been in the sky all along, waiting for one night to shine from above so that everyone, even those who weren’t looking for it, couldn’t help but see it.”
About clarkscottroger
That’s beautiful, Clark.
Very well done.
Lovely story and one we can learn from.
Lovely story and one we can learn from Clark. For some reason I have a lot of trouble leaving comments on your site. Don’t know if anyone else does but I did last week and again this week. Anyway have a happy Christmas.
You have my comment twice so the error 404 message I got must have been a red herring.
Thank you, Irene. (I agree) and please accept my offering of yuletide seafood…. (a bit of a reach, isn’t it? Sorry, the ‘red herring’ expression (or is that idiom?) is so provocative that I just had to try… I will stop typing now)
have a good christmas!
Your symbolic handing of seafood (it must be prawns to be yule offering) is gratefully accepted. My wishes for a good Christmas to you and your family and I am passing (if you can reach) a yule log – I don’t mind whether you eat it or burn it, whichever you prefer. Happy Christmas.
Great six, as always! Merry Christmas!
ty, you too D.
Wow, that was really moving.
I enjoyed all these boyish voices. Wisemen, ain’t they? Cool, Clark.
Thanks D…. ‘out of the mouths of buds’ no?
Well written!
Thank you Reena