*Shivers* I love the anticipation building up to NaNoWriMo. Love it.
I thought I'd share the first bit of my NaNo--realize, this is a NaNo and I wrote it in thirty minutes, so it's not edited AT ALL, but I like seeing what comes out of people's fingers on the keyboard when they're put to pressure :)
The first two (completely unedited) pages of CLOSED MIND:
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MELINDA
Run!
It was the only thought in my mind. I could hear them behind me, hear them following. There was no choice but to keep running, get as far away as possible—
“Stop her!”
The child in my arms cried. I shushed him, feeling tears come to my cheeks. I rounded a corner into an alleyway, searching for anywhere to hide. There was a hole in the wall, just big enough. I crawled in, soothing my son, praying endlessly to God.
The knights ran around the corner. I held my breath. They entered the alleyway, confused, not thinking to look at the walls themselves. My son shivered in my arms, and I held him tightly, praying he wouldn’t cry out.
“She’s not here,” one of them called.
I exhaled loudly once they’d deserted the alleyway. “Thank you, God,” I breathed, kissing my little boy’s forehead.
He whimpered, but stayed quiet. With some difficulty, I climbed out of the hole in the wall, grimacing.
Hold on, Melinda. Just a little more.
Limping, I backtracked a block, still keeping an eye out for knights. Only when I was sure there were none around did I knock on the door to the orphanage.
“Please be awake,” I whispered.
I strained my ears, and let out a sigh of relief when I heard the creaking of floorboards behind the door. A woman answered, not young and not old, a robe pulled around her shoulders. She frowned.
“Can I help you?”
“Please, can I come in?”
The woman looked at the child in my arms and nodded, stepping aside. I staggered through the doorway and fell into a nearby chair. My breathing was becoming harder.
Just a little more…
“Are you hurt?” she asked, setting down her candle.
I took a deep breath. “Take him,” I said, extending my arms.
Her eyes widened in alarm. “You don’t want your child?”
“It’s not my destiny,” I said with a gasp. “You must take him!”
She hesitated for a moment before taking my son from my arms. A huge burden left my shoulders, and I smiled for the first time in months.
The smile disappeared as another stab of pain went through my body. There’s still one more thing to do…
I reached into my cloak. My hand brushed the tail end of the arrow, and the pain increased. I gritted my teeth, refusing to make a sound, but couldn’t keep the tears from coming. The woman holding my son took a step back in alarm at seeing the wound, the blood staining my dress.
“I’ll find a surgeon—”
“It’s too late,” I said, reaching out to stop her with my free hand. “You mustn’t tell anyone I was here. Not anyone.”
I tried to meet her eyes, but my vision blurred. After a moment, she nodded, and a sob escaped my throat in relief.
“This is his.” I removed the book from my pocket, holding it out to her. When she took it from my hands, my son began to cry, as if he knew. He probably does know…
Exhaling, I slumped in the chair. My task was done—my destiny fulfilled. One hand grasped the side of the chair, the other the arrow protruding through my stomach. The woman knelt next to me, her features increasingly hard to read as the world around me faded into black.
She spoke, and I strained to hear the words.
“What’s his name?”
A smile crossed my quivering lips, and I took my last breath.
“Matthias.”
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Happy NaNo-ing!
♥tg
