Group Story - Collaborative Effort

[skalenfehl]

Ooops! Sorry. Please feel free to edit it as you see fit.

[tomk]

An old man made his way up the street. He had a bag of groceries under one arm and a cane in his right hand. The wind caught the leaves from the trees that lined the street and they swirled around him as he walked.

Across the street, Sara looked out the window from her room that faced the street. The bright yellow and red maple leaves, which danced about the old man, caught her curious gaze. She knew they were being carried by the wind, but they seemed to have a life of their own!

As thoughts often do, Sara's thoughts wandered back to another time, years ago, when she had looked out of the very same window and had observed a dark figure with no physical body under the lamp post, staring back at her. She shivered as she recalled this memory. The apparition had not been seen since, but somehow she felt the encounter held some dark purpose, yet to be understood.

Sara, being deep in thought, was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Who would be coming by this early, she wondered. She hesitantly left the window, feeling somewhat relieved by the intrusion. She hated when those old feelings came back. Looking through the peep hole she was surprised to see her boyfriend, Caleb, standing their shivering in the wind.

She quickly opened the door, and let him inside. She could feel the cool of his cheek against hers as they embraced. He was cold!

"I'm surprised to see you today, Caleb" Sara said. "I thought you still had a few more exams to take."

Caleb grinned. "I finished them earlier than expected. I guess I was prepared for my exams, for once."

Sara laughed at this. "Finishing a test early like that means one of two things..." she teased.

"Well, I didn't spend all summer studying for nothing," Caleb replied with a boastful head shake and a sly smile. "If I'm gonna ace them, I'm gonna be ready this time."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Let's hope!"

She studied his face anew. "So what's with the scruffy beard?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Just trying something new." Caleb replied.

A small frown crossed Sara's face. "I see. Well, come sit down. I made some lemondade a few hours ago. Would you like some?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

Sara walked from the living room into the kitchen, mulling over this new development with her boyfriend's face.

The memory of that time she had seen the apparition returned to the surface. The man across the street! She realized that he had a scruffy beard, just like Caleb! Unlike Caleb, the man had been wearing odd-looking clothes from the 19th Century. The mystery behind what she had seen that one time only seemed to deepen each time she thought about it. There was a meaning she could not readily put her finger on, but she could not escape the feeling that there was some significance to it, nevertheless.

[Moksha]

Thanks for the rewrite.

[tomk]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Thanks for the rewrite.

Hope that was okay.

[Moksha]

I like leaving the spaces out of nevertheless. Itseemsgoodthatway.

[tomk]

Any takers for the next part? I don't want to post more "content" two turns in a row.

[skalenfehl]

I'm trying to think of a suitable direction or a plot formula. This mysterious dark figure is throwing a monkey wrench in my thought processes.

[checkerboy]

An old man made his way up the street. He had a bag of groceries under one arm and a cane in his right hand. The wind caught the leaves from the trees that lined the street and they swirled around him as he walked.

Across the street, Sara looked out the window from her room that faced the street. The bright yellow and red maple leaves, which danced about the old man, caught her curious gaze. She knew they were being carried by the wind, but they seemed to have a life of their own!

As thoughts often do, Sara's thoughts wandered back to another time, years ago, when she had looked out of the very same window and had observed a dark figure with no physical body under the lamp post, staring back at her. She shivered as she recalled this memory. The apparition had not been seen since, but somehow she felt the encounter held some dark purpose, yet to be understood.

Sara, being deep in thought, was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Who would be coming by this early, she wondered. She hesitantly left the window, feeling somewhat relieved by the intrusion. She hated when those old feelings came back. Looking through the peep hole she was surprised to see her boyfriend, Caleb, standing their shivering in the wind.

She quickly opened the door, and let him inside. She could feel the cool of his cheek against hers as they embraced. He was cold!

"I'm surprised to see you today, Caleb" Sara said. "I thought you still had a few more exams to take."

Caleb grinned. "I finished them earlier than expected. I guess I was prepared for my exams, for once."

Sara laughed at this. "Finishing a test early like that means one of two things..." she teased.

"Well, I didn't spend all summer studying for nothing," Caleb replied with a boastful head shake and a sly smile. "If I'm gonna ace them, I'm gonna be ready this time."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Let's hope!"

She studied his face anew. "So what's with the scruffy beard?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Just trying something new." Caleb replied.

A small frown crossed Sara's face. "I see. Well, come sit down. I made some lemondade a few hours ago. Would you like some?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

Sara walked from the living room into the kitchen, mulling over this new development with her boyfriend's face.

The memory of that time she had seen the apparition returned to the surface. The man across the street! She realized that he had a scruffy beard, just like Caleb! Unlike Caleb, the man had been wearing odd-looking clothes from the 19th Century. The mystery behind what she had seen that one time only seemed to deepen each time she thought about it. There was a meaning she could not readily put her finger on, but she could not escape the feeling that there was some significance to it, nevertheless.

"So how do you think you did with your econ final?" Sarah asked, trying to get those images out of her head.

"Oh... you know, I think I did alright," Caleb replied.

"Yeah, economics was never your strong suit."

"Yes you are the future banker in this relationship."

Sarah laughed. Banking was definitely not in her future. While she was good with numbers she didn't want to spend all day with them. She had more important things to do with her time. She was glad Caleb's finals were over finally. Now maybe they could go on that vacation he had been promising to take her on for the last year.

"Sarah, do you have a second? I need to ask you something," Caleb called from the other room.

[skalenfehl]

An old man made his way up the street. He had a bag of groceries under one arm and a cane in his right hand. The wind caught the leaves from the trees that lined the street and they swirled around him as he walked.

Across the street, Sara looked out the window from her room that faced the street. The bright yellow and red maple leaves, which danced about the old man, caught her curious gaze. She knew they were being carried by the wind, but they seemed to have a life of their own!

As thoughts often do, Sara's thoughts wandered back to another time, years ago, when she had looked out of the very same window and had observed a dark figure with no physical body under the lamp post, staring back at her. She shivered as she recalled this memory. The apparition had not been seen since, but somehow she felt the encounter held some dark purpose, yet to be understood.

Sara, being deep in thought, was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Who would be coming by this early, she wondered. She hesitantly left the window, feeling somewhat relieved by the intrusion. She hated when those old feelings came back. Looking through the peep hole she was surprised to see her boyfriend, Caleb, standing their shivering in the wind.

She quickly opened the door, and let him inside. She could feel the cool of his cheek against hers as they embraced. He was cold!

"I'm surprised to see you today, Caleb" Sara said. "I thought you still had a few more exams to take."

Caleb grinned. "I finished them earlier than expected. I guess I was prepared for my exams, for once."

Sara laughed at this. "Finishing a test early like that means one of two things..." she teased.

"Well, I didn't spend all summer studying for nothing," Caleb replied with a boastful head shake and a sly smile. "If I'm gonna ace them, I'm gonna be ready this time."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Let's hope!"

She studied his face anew. "So what's with the scruffy beard?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Just trying something new." Caleb replied.

A small frown crossed Sara's face. "I see. Well, come sit down. I made some lemonade a few hours ago. Would you like some?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

Sara walked from the living room into the kitchen, mulling over this new development with her boyfriend's face.

The memory of that time she had seen the apparition returned to the surface. The man across the street! She realized that he had a scruffy beard, just like Caleb! Unlike Caleb, the man had been wearing odd-looking clothes from the 19th Century. The mystery behind what she had seen that one time only seemed to deepen each time she thought about it. There was a meaning she could not readily put her finger on, but she could not escape the feeling that there was some significance to it, nevertheless.

"So how do you think you did with your econ final?" Sarah asked, trying to get those images out of her head.

"Oh... you know, I think I did alright," Caleb replied.

"Yeah, economics was never your strong suit."

"Yes you are the future banker in this relationship."

Sara laughed. Banking was definitely not in her future. While she was good with numbers she didn't want to spend all day with them. She had more important things to do with her time. She was glad Caleb's finals were over finally. Now maybe they could go on that vacation he had been promising to take her on for the last year.

"Sara, do you have a second? I need to ask you something," Caleb called from the other room.

Sara froze at the subtle tone in his voice. Perhaps the tiny hints that she dropped whenever they strolled by jewelry stores in the mall where they enjoyed an occasional movie finally sunk deep enough into his preoccupied mind now that he had some time to relax from all his studies. She checked herself in the reflection of the toaster. Her auburn hair cascaded down and over her shoulders, framing her soft facial features with perfection. Her dark eyeliner enhanced the bright tawny tones in her eyes.

"I'll be right there. Just pouring some lemonade!" she replied, stalling.

A few final checks and she opened the refrigerator and grabbed the small pitcher and poured a couple glasses full. She replaced the pitcher and closed the door and carried the two chilled refreshments out into the other room.

[Moksha]

An old man made his way up the street. He had a bag of groceries under one arm and a cane in his right hand. The wind caught the leaves from the trees that lined the street and they swirled around him as he walked.

Across the street, Sara looked out the window from her room that faced the street. The bright yellow and red maple leaves, which danced about the old man, caught her curious gaze. She knew they were being carried by the wind, but they seemed to have a life of their own!

As thoughts often do, Sara's thoughts wandered back to another time, years ago, when she had looked out of the very same window and had observed a dark figure with no physical body under the lamp post, staring back at her. She shivered as she recalled this memory. The apparition had not been seen since, but somehow she felt the encounter held some dark purpose, yet to be understood.

Sara, being deep in thought, was startled when she heard a knock at the door. Who would be coming by this early, she wondered. She hesitantly left the window, feeling somewhat relieved by the intrusion. She hated when those old feelings came back. Looking through the peep hole she was surprised to see her boyfriend, Caleb, standing their shivering in the wind.

She quickly opened the door, and let him inside. She could feel the cool of his cheek against hers as they embraced. He was cold!

"I'm surprised to see you today, Caleb" Sara said. "I thought you still had a few more exams to take."

Caleb grinned. "I finished them earlier than expected. I guess I was prepared for my exams, for once."

Sara laughed at this. "Finishing a test early like that means one of two things..." she teased.

"Well, I didn't spend all summer studying for nothing," Caleb replied with a boastful head shake and a sly smile. "If I'm gonna ace them, I'm gonna be ready this time."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Let's hope!"

She studied his face anew. "So what's with the scruffy beard?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Just trying something new." Caleb replied.

A small frown crossed Sara's face. "I see. Well, come sit down. I made some lemonade a few hours ago. Would you like some?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

Sara walked from the living room into the kitchen, mulling over this new development with her boyfriend's face.

The memory of that time she had seen the apparition returned to the surface. The man across the street! She realized that he had a scruffy beard, just like Caleb! Unlike Caleb, the man had been wearing odd-looking clothes from the 19th Century. The mystery behind what she had seen that one time only seemed to deepen each time she thought about it. There was a meaning she could not readily put her finger on, but she could not escape the feeling that there was some significance to it, nevertheless.

"So how do you think you did with your econ final?" Sarah asked, trying to get those images out of her head.

"Oh... you know, I think I did alright," Caleb replied.

"Yeah, economics was never your strong suit."

"Yes you are the future banker in this relationship."

Sara laughed. Banking was definitely not in her future. While she was good with numbers she didn't want to spend all day with them. She had more important things to do with her time. She was glad Caleb's finals were over finally. Now maybe they could go on that vacation he had been promising to take her on for the last year.

"Sara, do you have a second? I need to ask you something," Caleb called from the other room.

Sara froze at the subtle tone in his voice. Perhaps the tiny hints that she dropped whenever they strolled by jewelry stores in the mall where they enjoyed an occasional movie finally sunk deep enough into his preoccupied mind now that he had some time to relax from all his studies. She checked herself in the reflection of the toaster. Her auburn hair cascaded down and over her shoulders, framing her soft facial features with perfection. Her dark eyeliner enhanced the bright tawny tones in her eyes.

"I'll be right there. Just pouring some lemonade!" she replied, stalling.

A few final checks and she opened the refrigerator and grabbed the small pitcher and poured a couple glasses full. She replaced the pitcher and closed the door and carried the two chilled refreshments out into the other room.

The drink hit the spot. He had indeed been thirsty. He would have asked for another, except for the strange after taste. He thought nothing of it.

They continued their chit chat, while she continuously twiddled with the auburn hair cascading down her shoulder. Soon all he could concentrate on was that soft auburn hair. It seemed to lull him... he found his eyes were closing. Stretching out on the couch, he yawned, "I think I will take a nap for a few minutes".

As he closed his eyes, she smiled and got up. She took his glass to the kitchen to rinse it out.