Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
It is hosted by Denise and, other than insisting on six sentences-per-story, she maintains a light-to-a-fault hand on the proceedings.
The funny-looking title? The ‘subtitle’ is a reference to this week’s inter-related stories from Nick (2) and Denise (3).
“…previously on the Doctrine’s Café Six‘, the Sophomore was dragging his feet on his way to the Manager’s office.
Prompt word:
FARM
The tall, thin man smoothed out the crumpled paper with the passionate serenity of a widower smoothing the shroud of his departed, prior to taking his place at the head of a receiving line of one.
The muffled knock on the door was followed by a trapezoid of darkness contorting it’s characteristic sharp-angled shape, as if to minimize the fact it provided passage into the office.
The Sophomore crossed the distance between door and desk almost too quickly, the casual swing of his second-hand overcoat, an unmistakeable imprimatur of youth, was a non-verbal announcement informing all that he was not afraid, but would ask deference to his remarkable intelligence.
Sitting in the lone chair in front of the desk, the young man smiled without cause, remained silent out of caution and occupied his mind with an escalating variety of possible realities extending from the present moment; his friends in the past from which he was mysteriously transported, often chided him on not taking life seriously enough.
The tall, thin man’s fingers ran over the ridges and creases of the letter like a third-generation owner of a subsistence farm sifting dry soil through calloused hands, as if to seek enlightenment, if not salvation.
“Do you know what Hell really is?”
*
About clarkscottroger
Opening sentence held a significant “heart twist”. Effective use of analogy, Clark.
Nice buildup carrying through to the Sophomore’s meeting with the tall, thin man.
That last sentence…damn! No getting around writing a follow up scene, lol
tru dat
(unfortunately I’m losing track of the ttm’s rage. oh well, you know what they say, under all anger is pain and loss
Nice description: “the young man smiled without cause, remained silent out of caution and occupied his mind with an escalating variety of possible realities extending from the present moment” And interesting question at the end.
thanks
yeah, that last sentence… stay tuned lol (I will take refuge that the sental restraints of this ‘hop (6 and only 6 and though I am a fan of semicolae, I just couldn’t frame the tall, thin man’s opinion on the true nature of Hell)
Excellent description – and now the tall, thin man and the Sophomore are together again – what’s next, I wonder?
more (next week) from the meeting in the Manager’s office
I am enjoying immensely the stretching of time travel paradox into new dimensions.
And, I love the contrast between the plot me and Denise are carving out and yours; a Six that sounds quite WoodyAllenesque.
thanks Nick! agreed, the multiple plot lines are fun in that they allow the solidity of a starting point but when skillfully executed (as you and Denise did with your respective Sixes) then I can imagine that for those Readers so inclined, there can be a zoom out from our characters to the exterior of the building single dark oak door down three granite steps
Wow. Somehow I think we really don’t want to know the real answer to that question.
yes and no*
* I agree**
** yeah I know! my apologies for suggesting you might be as odd-in-outlook as a certain curator (of the Wakefield Doctrine)
lol