Group Story - Collaborative Effort

[tomk]

brainstorm:

Sara looks at a picture of Caleb's posterity and recognizes the GHOST. The ghost is a past relative of Caleb's!


Just a thought.


Or,


Sara and Caleb are going through old pictures in Sara's attic and asks, "Who is this gentleman?" Sara looks over at the picture Caleb is pointing to and it is one of her relatives.

[skalenfehl]

I think an outline of the plot would be very helpful to develop the characters, setting, background, etc. We need a direction and also some kind of idea of how the story should end. A well developed story deserves an epic climax.

[tomk]

Originally Posted by skalenfehl

I think an outline of the plot would be very helpful to develop the characters, setting, background, etc. We need a direction and also some kind of idea of how the story should end. A well developed story deserves an epic climax.

Is everyone waiting for this?


I can do it --- I just did not want to destroy the "collaborative" feelings this project has enjoyed so far.

[skalenfehl]

I'd feel more comfortable if you created the outline. You can pm it to me and anyone else involved. Gotta keep all the lurkers in suspense.

[tomk]

Originally Posted by skalenfehl

I'd feel more comfortable if you created the outline. You can pm it to me and anyone else involved. Gotta keep all the lurkers in suspense.

As much as I would like to keep the lurkers in suspense, I think it is best to post my thoughts here, Skale.


Here we go.



Main character: Sara Muller

Supporting characters: Caleb Hirst (boyfriend)

Other characters: Apparition (Caleb's Great Great Grandfather, Jacob Hirst)


PLOT: Sara and Caleb seek to discover the identity of a mysterious apparition that appears to Sara. Quite by accident she and Caleb discover that the apparition is a relative of Caleb's: Jacob Hirst. They speculate on why he is appearing to Sara. Through the internet they discover that Jacob Hirst moved west during the Gold Rush and owned a small mine, now abandoned. Feeling that the answers might lie in or around the mine, they take a trip to California and find his old abandoned mine. Inside the mine they find a journal. That journal records a vision which names Sara Muller and Caleb Hirst by name. That they are to be married. That their son will have a great mission to accomplish during his life, and will be instrumental in gathering the Lord's elect from the 4 corners of the earth. This is why the apparition was appearing to Sara.




How's that?

[skalenfehl]

Sounds good to me.

[tomk]

Welp, any takers for the next installment?

[tomk]

Hello?

Has this thread died?

[tomk]

Hoping to resurrect this project.

Bump!

[tomk]

Please read the first few posts before posting.

HERE IS CHAPTER ONE:


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 there shivering in the wind. The weather that day seemed to be having a hard time deciding if it wanted to windy or not or sunny or not. It was maddening.

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 has never been your strong suit."

Caleb laughed at this. "You're right of course. I would be the first to admit that 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. When Caleb spied her entering the room, he quickly rose to take his drink from her.

"Thanks for the drink" said Caleb.

Sara smiled and gave a quick nod. She sat down next to Caleb on the couch, giving him time to take a few drinks from his glass. After what she hoped was an appropriate time to wait, she asked "So, what did you want to ask me?". She desperately wanted to act nonchalant, but felt pensive as she studied Caleb's face, waiting for him to respond.

Caleb swallowed hard and seemed to be trying hard to gather his thoughts. Finally, he looked Sara in the eyes and asked, "Sara, do you remember how we first met?"

"Of course I do," Sara smiled. "You were on your way to a class at school and I was heading home. I remember it like it was yesterday. Why do you ask?"

Caleb scratched the back of his neck. "I still remember seeing you coming out of the building and smiling at me."

"Yeah, you looked pretty surprised when I said hi."

"That's because girls never gave me the time of day. You were the first one to ever notice me and I didn't know how to react."

"Well it's a good thing you ran into that pole, isn't it?" Sara giggled. "If I didn't think I distracted you that much, I would have let you keep on walking. You looked as if I had two heads or something."

"It wasn't that," Caleb snickered. "It just felt so surreal, that's all--kind of like watching a movie. That sort of thing always happens to someone else."

Sara's forehead creased slightly. "What do you mean?"

Caleb's cheeks colored a bit. "You're just so ... beautiful, Sara."

Now it was Sara's turn to flush. She looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "Thank you, Caleb" she said in a whisper. When she lifted her head again to meet his gaze, a tear was rolling down one cheek. She'd figured-out long ago that he liked her (a lot) but had learned that Caleb just wasn't one to express it. But wow, having him do so as he did, just now, she could feel the truth of his love for her. Yes, she knew that men were more visual creatures, by nature, but this felt to be much more than just a commentary on her hair or make-up. Much much more.

They embraced. His lips found hers and they spent a few moments just enjoying this sweet expression of heartfelt love. All of sudden, Caleb started chuckling.

A smile spread across Sara's face. "What's so funny, Caleb?"

"Nothing. Nothing. You'll think it's stupid. Not just stupid. Pathetic and weird."

"Try me" Sara said.

"Before I ran into that pole the day we met...I already knew who you were."

Sara was surprised to find this out this new information, but she also thought she had an idea where this was going. "Go on" she prompted him.

"I got a hold of your schedule, and started following you between classes."

"You did?" Sara's was fighting to suppress a grin.


"Yeah. Weird, huh? I just wanted to watch you. I'm not usually THAT shy around girls, but you were so beautiful, I was totally intimidated! I just felt so out of my league with you."

Finally Sara couldn't contain her laughter anymore. She just busted-out in a fit of hysterical laughter. Caleb, stunned, just sat and watched her as she fought for breath between attacks. He found himself chuckling in response.

With visible relief on his face, and once Sara had calmed down a bit, he asked the obvious. "You're not mad?"

Sara just shook her head. "No - not in the least, Caleb. In fact, I'm really quite flattered, to be honest. I've never known myself to have such an impact on a guy, enough to intimidate him into silently stalking me before getting up the nerve to speak to me...." She giggled some more as she thought about his awkward behavior around her those first weeks. She'd caught him out of the corner of her eye a few times. When she'd look over he'd hurriedly become interested in a book. One time he'd even been holding it upside down, she'd noticed. She just sat there shaking her head as Caleb continued to watch her carefully.

She looked at the window and a smile crossed her face as an idea crossed her mind.

Standing up from the couch she extended a small hand to Caleb. His hands reached-out to grab hers. Her hand disappeared from sight as his huge hands enveloped hers.

"Let's go for a walk, Caleb. I heard there's a jazz band playing at the gazebo tonight."


"Sounds perfect" said Caleb.


Arm in arm they left Sara's house and headed in the direction of the park.


[CHAPTER END]



Chapter Two:

A few days after attending the "Gazeebo in the Park" band performance with Caleb, Sara was sitting in her living room looking through some old family journals that her mother had given her. Her mother had told her that some of them went back to the time of the prophet Joseph Smith!