Today I was really struggling, but I am going to push through no matter how bad they are. And so… here it is, in all it’s rawness. I hope you enjoy.
Today’s Prompt:Working with shadow was difficult. It was slippery. And my hands always came away damp.
Today’s Story:
Shadow’s Savior
Factory work was all that was available to me. It wasn’t what I wonted to be doing, but what do you do when its all that’s available? Of course working with shadow isn’t something just anyone can do. No it takes a special skill set and unfortunately its a skill set I’m good at. That’s not to say it was easy for me. Oh no. Working with shadow is always difficult. It was slippery and… my hands always came away damp afterwords.
When you work with shadows it isn’t a job you can talk about. Sure everyone knows about it, but it is something we would all rather pretend doesn’t exist. Working late I see something so disturbing I wonder if maybe there is something wrong with me. I have been working with the shadow for too long. There is no way I just saw some moving through the room under their own power. That just isn’t possible.
Getting up the next morning I’m grabbing my cup of orange juice when I see it again out of the corner of my eye. That furtive movement, almost out of sight, riding just at the edge of my vision. Shaking my head to shake it away I glance at the news playing on my TV.
“This just in, there has been a theft at the Fransvet Jocklin factory. It is unknown how much shadow has beer taken all that we do know was that this morning when crews came in to work, there were no shadows to work with! Unrest Officers are on scene to find out who is responsible and get everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
“What the hell? After what I’ve been seeing that can’t be a coincidence…” I trail off, this really isn’t good. Taking a deep steadying breath, I calm my mind with some meditation practices. After I’m finally centered once more, I hurry through getting ready for my day. That took longer than anticipated and the last thing I need is to be late to work, especially with shadows on the loose.
Riding the bus, my mind wanders. I just knew that they have been lying to me this whole time. They steal shadows from those who have passed and any who live in prison systems and insane asylums. Shadow cloth is a high demand product. It cloaks people in secrecy, and allows for unimpeded movement, not to mention it floods the senses with extra sensations. But if what I have been seeing are the shadows escaping, why are they following me? Shaking those thoughts off, I get off the bus and head in to work, if that is possible.
The line outside of my building is long, but at least the weather is nice. Suddenly I am draped in darkness, a dampness flooding my senses while thoughts flood my mind ‘don’t trust anyone. They are out to get you, to get us. We want to go back to where we belong. You must stop this madness.’
Blinking in the sudden light, I shake it off. “I can’t be going crazy” I murmur quietly to myself, glancing around and hoping that no one heard me. The dampness circles me again, just one thought this time, ‘sorry, we are scared and you we know we can trust. You have to play their game and save us. You are the only one who can. The chosen one to save the shadows.’
Do you ever struggle to push through? I don’t believe in writers block, I just think sometimes we don’t want to write, but writing is something that we can improve through repetition and hard work. I am sharing with you my every day, so you can see it is not all easy, you are not alone! What do you do when you are struggling? What do you find helps? Please share your thoughts in the comments! And if you haven’t seen them yet, please check out the anthologies I am published in, the MN Emerging Writers and the National Edition!
Random Acts of Writing 