Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story (to be linked in later this day)
Denise is the host
The Six that follows constitutes both a continuation of a storyline, (that branched from a Whitechapel Interlude Six), and the way backstory to a certain Café and Bistro. To better reacquaint ourselfs, here is the link to the first time we encountered the couple.
Prompt word:
CONFETTI
For the quiet half of the sea voyage, the waves seemed to smile in the secret way of the ocean, ceasing their silent opposition as the ship approached the western continent. Once near enough to deprive any sea currents a running start, the shoreline began to grow from the western horizon, turning a smooth and open-to-all future vista into a row of baby teeth, immature, (but quickly developing), fangs of a predator. Much as the sight of their new home developed and came into focus, unknown to the young couple standing like newly-weds at the railing of the ship, their family had already begun; as much as the ocean waves subsided, a new life grew.
Angelique Déchue and her husband of but a few months, Nikolaos Létranger, watched the city draw near, eschewing the frantic preparations of their fellow émigrés as the ship entered the harbor.
Despite his affectionate scoffing, Angelique, with borrowed ink and cardboard, drew their name tags with unconscious precision, made all the more impressive by the fact the hand that guided the charcoal was needed to steady the surface; her rendering of their names without accent marks and with a certain light stroke reflected her conviction they would be more favorably greeted by the waiting immigration officials.
Angelique, never slow to show emotion, felt her frown break almost immediately, as Nick turned from the ship’s railing, the harbor gulls frantic for the morsels of bread he tossed, animate confetti marking their arrival; he’d added a defiant ‘ς‘ to the end of his name.
About clarkscottroger
Lovely imagery, hope for a new future; and the sweet expressions of affection.
Thank you.
Standing in their place, i wonder, could i even do it? Excellent story.
Thanks, M
I like that “defiant ‘ς‘” that Nikolaos added.
The fun of fiction, non? Any little touches like that I really get a kick out of adding.
Seconding what Mimi and Frank said.
And…you are spot on, more than you know…but then again you already knew that!
Thanks Nick.
Well written!
Thank you, Miz Saxena
I’m confused as ever, Clark. Where did he add the ‘ς‘?
The last letter of his name on the name card his wife Angelique printed before disembarking at Ellis Island.
(We’ve all heard of or hand friends who have a family name mutilated by small-minded bureaucrats in a immigration office…)
(Technical/writing discussion: the use of the character’s name may have been subject to too many iterations to make the location of the Greek alphabet letter clear. I thought I saw this substitution working in terms of the last letter of his first name Nikolaos. But then, further back in the narrative it’s been Nick*
Hey, C, you oughta stop by the Cafe some week… between fights and date nights, there are often stimulating conversations on matters rhetorical.
*don’t say anything about his last name sounding French… I’m stuck with it**
** which is part of the charm and adventure of writing a serial story in a venue like this… stuck with less-than-perfect choices and decisions. In fact, part of the basis/rationale of this fictional metaphoric location is what, over here in North America is sometimes termed, ‘Open Mic Night’. Impromtu and improvisational fiction and story-telling
Thrilling, yet a little daunting to approach a new life in a new country. Angelic should go far with her approach (as an immigrant myself, I know all about the vagaries of immigration officials).
such open vistas, unlimited potential… we barely have to strain (when writing) as our characters move forward in (their) new worlds/lifes
A lovely tale continued, Clark.
Youthful love, a sense of adventure, fear of the future/of failure, the challenge of a new world among strangers. Much awaits this young couple!
ty
Beautifully written, Clark. I can feel their emotion as they approach their new life. And Angelique trying to make their way easier, but Nikolaos being defiant. such human observations.
Thank you, Jenne.
The things about being human that sometimes become more perceivable in fictional characters than in the people around us in the ‘real’ world.
Brilliant, sweet ,and poignant moment, at a time when emigration and arrivals and national identity is so important.