Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Hosted by Denise, ruled by one axiom: ‘All stories built up from the prompt word must have six and only six sentences’.
This week we return to the serial story, ‘the Whitechapel Interlude‘
The prompt word:
MARK
“Time is more the passing of a wave through the ocean’s waters, than a river carrying us from now to then.”
Our Reverend Mother, standing in front of the classroom, paused as completely as a stalking wolf, her prey catching the scent of death; I felt the air turn cold and my scalp warm.
“Anselm, are you alright?” Sarah’s voice marked her location on the bed buried in the darkness of her bedroom, unfortunately, neither had a place in my early-morning classroom; my stomach marked the occasion by dropping further towards the earth’s center than possible, had I been in either place, sitting on a wooden bench or lying on a safely familiar bed.
The mental discipline that two years of training in the Order meant to arm me against the unknowable, became increasingly insubstantial, I was child in an abandoned house hearing a door slam between him and the friends he wanted to impress, now safely on the street-lit sidewalk.
“Listen to me carefully, Anselm,” Brother Abbott’s voice, like a faded libretto holding the promise of making sense of an opera, came from somewhere, not just down what looked like Commercial Road, but from some time later (or earlier) in the day, “Stay focused on your heart, Time is as much feeling as it is experience, hold onto 2 Peter 3:8-9.”
“You again, I’ll thank ye to either move along or share a bob for my company,” I almost recognized the woman’s face, when I saw the time traveller descend the broad staircase of the St Pancras’ Hotel.
About clarkscottroger
Intrigue and time travel, what a combination!
Thanks, Chris… it’s an interesting story (and a challenge in writing)…I look at these Sixes as opportunities to try to achieve certain effects, in the case of this week’s Six… a sequential change of setting (in time) by one character, without any external support from the narrative
or something, lol
fun
as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be – wonderful timelesssix
Am liking the intensity of the first two sentences.
Then the child alone in the abandoned house (fear factor maxed up to eleven).
And Brother Abbott’s voice come to reassure Anselm from either the future or past – wow, how we need sometimes that voice of aid able to cross boundaries of time!
It’s all about Anselm in this Six it seems, but not really, as the others characters are present in subtle ways.
Thanks, V
(as I was saying to Chris in reply to her comment) this week was about, ‘can I have a Six Sentence Story in which the character moves unpredictably through time (and space) with little or nothing by way of support from the plot… Anselm is here, then he’s there and there/then)
fun
It worked a treat and was a treat.
Nice phrase: “dropping further towards the earth’s center than possible” . Those thousand year long days can get very long.
Thanks Frank.
Nice get on the verse.
My favorite part was, ” I almost recognized the woman’s face.” WOW!
Thanks (and welcome to the Six Sentence Story)… that woman will, I believe, be returning in future Sixes… Anslem having had a chance encounter with her at the end of the Chapter Eleven.
Sometimes you grasp at the straws of sanity in those moments.
Keep your eyes in the middle distance and your thoughts close
That beginning sentence speaks volumes about life and how we pass through it. Enjoyable time traveling SSS. The music is a perfect fit.
Thanks Pat.
(man! I had two notes in my head of the song (remembered from long ago) but could not for the life of me find it… I used search terms like ‘Time’ and ‘old song’ and, even Minute Waltz nothin. Finally, out of nowhere ‘syncopated’ popped in my had and it connected.)
Wow, blew me away.
Why thank you, what a nice thing to say!
You’re welcome–and now I see I require more patience re commenting; ah life, so tedious (sigh).
I don’t see my comment, but you replied to it ‘somewhere’ which means it reached you…thus, the world must still be turning. Have a weekend :)
I did see it (thank you), ‘course, we’d be well-served by not thinking there might be an additional timeline, where your comment might have gone initially.
got to get through Friday first. lol
Gotta love time travel!
and fun (if not challenging to write)
Who asked ‘What it the best time-travel movie ever made?”
‘Predestination’
totally amazing
Well, that was a wild ride! Anselm is no doubt headed towards a position of “importance” if he can make it through the acolyte stage, lol
“my stomach marked the occasion by dropping further towards the earth’s center than possible”
That split second between one moment and another, in an unknown “place”. Nice line.
Excellent opening sentence.
yeah, Anselm has got what he thinks he wants… lets see if he can handle it
Nice poetic tones.
Thank you, Lisa