A breeze of refreshing coolness flowed up and around a small, two-roomed house. Nobody lived there, and never had for a number of years. No one cared to tear it down or steal from it because it just wasn’t worth it until now; urban cities were now being built. The couple that had lived there lost three children to disease and had moved to that tiny home in the middle of the countryside to get away from the city.1
When the couple had grown old, the husband made an effort to bring in more money by writing a novel. His idea for the novel was thrilling, and by far the best idea for a book people had seen at the time. The novel consumed him, and he worked hours on a typewriter that sat in the corner of the second room in the house. A window streamed light onto the typewriter, and allowed the old man fresh air.2
Then one-day the author’s wife fell ill. With the lack of doctors to look after her, the old man was forced away from his intoxicating book to care for her. Only too soon did the old man’s wife die and instead of a proper funeral, the old man just buried her out back. Obsessed with his finished work, the old author died at the typewriter not long after his wife’s burial.3
Nobody knew they lived there, nobody knew he died. Not until many years later when urbanization had hit the countryside. A construction worker found the old author’s skeleton on the chair in front of the typewriter; it’s bony hands resting on the keys.4
A rumor flew around that the old typewriter was cursed, as it was kept in the apartment room that was built over the old author’s bones. That typewriter’s keys would sometimes move, still writing the book that never was.
Author notes
I dunno how I came up with this.
Just an obsessed old man and a typewriter that was probably possessed, pushing him to write 'till he could no more.
A contest entry
- For Writers Fourteen Or Under by Andy Stephenson.
350 points, ended June 10, 28 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Comments?
Comments
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Wow, the end is very good and impacting. It could have used a little more descriptions but it was still pretty good.
Good luck in the contest!
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Hi Katherine, thank you for entering the contest and with such a unique idea
.
I’ll have to watch my family—don’t want them burying me out back. Well,
then maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
Your poor writer tied to that typewriter until he just died and turned to bones and nobody knew or cared.
His novel never got finished. He never knew fame.
I enjoyed your tale, you have a smooth writing style and it is easy to follow.
You will need to do some editing; and fleshing out your scenes so your readers can ‘See’ the activity taking place.
Some dialogue between the charaters would be nice
Geri
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Good Story.
This is certainly a different idea. He just buried his wife out back
. That's handy. I think this story needs more detail and expansion. You could even incorporate some dialog between the old man and his wife.
I think someone may find me dead at the keyboard of my computer some day, I spend so much time on it
.
Thanks for entering 'For Writers Fourteen Or Under'.
Andy
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