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vsolt21
02-02-2004, 09:10 PM
Hi everyone, this is a work in progress. So tell me what you think of it so far.

The winds of change

It was a day just like any other day, as Jon Stevens slowly crawled out of his bed. He was in good spirits as he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. Today was his 24th birthday. He had a date tonight with his longtime girlfriend, Sara. He was getting ready for work, when his three year old daughter walked into the room. She asked him if he was going to see the pretty lady tonight. Jon shook his head in agreement. The little girl became excited and said I'm going with you tonight when you see the pretty lady. I really like her.

With that being said, Jon got her ready to go to the babysitter. He rushed out the door and sped down the road. He dropped her off and sped to work. It was another dull day at work, waiting, almost begging for the phone to ring. It never did, as he put his coat on to leave, the computer started making a noise, but it wasn't the normal computer noise, almost like a voice. He ignored it at first, but the noise kept getting louder and clearer. It was saying the winds of changes are blowing in your direction, seize the moment, do the right thing, you know what that is. Jon stood half in shock and half in bewilderment at what he had heard. He rushed out of the office and drove home.
As he arrived home, Jon helped his daughter to the house, all the while thinking about what happened to him just a few moments ago in his office. He took a shower and got dressed for his date and he went to help his daughter pick a dress to wear. He picked a pretty dress with flowers and butterflies, she put it on and he fixed his hair. Jon looked at her and said “You remind me of your mother. You look just like her. She would be very proud of you, Angela". She asked him "Do you miss Mommy", and he just said yes, I do. Angela was hurrying out the door and she grabbed Jon's hand and pulled him along, saying I don't want to be late for the pretty lady. He drove to the place where he and Sara were having dinner; they waited for Sara to arrive. Sara came in about 2 minutes later, wrapping her arms around Jon and give him a kiss. She picks up Angela and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Angela said "hello, pretty lady" My name is Sara, she whispered in her ear. They went and sat down, enjoying conversation and a perfectly prepared dinner. Angela suddenly asked, "Daddy, when are you going to marry her?" Jon looked at her and thought why she asked that question. Sara chimed in, "yeah Jon, When are you going to marry me?" Jon felt like he was backed into a corner with no means of escape. I'm not going to wait forever, you know, Sara said jokingly. The dinner ended and Jon and Angela went back home. Jon carried Angela into the house and got her ready for bed. He kisses her goodnight and told her that he loved her. Angela barely opened her eyes to say I love you too, Daddy.


Jon walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, and thought about what a day he had. He finally reflected back on the incident at work He remembered the voice and thought he had heard that voice before. Finally Jon realized that the voice that he heard was the voice of his ex- wife Lindsey, who was killed in an auto accident two years ago. He wondered why she would try to contact him and if this was her way of telling him that he should marry Sara. He shook his head and came back to reality and got ready for bed. He climbed into his bed, but the thoughts of Lindsey and the incident at work flooded his mind, making sleep impossible. He just laid there for a while, and then he got up to take a sleeping pill. Taking sleeping pills had become commonplace since Lindsey's death, as it seems to be the only way Jon would be able to sleep. Without these pills, he would be a wreck, and not able to work or have the relationship he had with his daughter or Sara. He went back to bed and fell asleep. At 5:00 am, the alarm went off, but it wasn't the siren that came with the clock, but it was the voice again, coming over his alarm clock speakers. All the voice said was "marry her, Jon, marry her soon." Jon set up in his bed and listened to the voice. Jon checks the clock and the alarm. Jon had never set the alarm on the clock before, but somehow the alarm was set and went off at 5:00 am. Jon couldn't go back to sleep, in fear that the voice would return and visit him again.

Jon laid there in fear at what might happen next. He had never experienced anything like this before, and wondered what the meaning of this was. He decided that he would get up and ready for work. He thought to himself, thank goodness it was Friday, the last day of the work week. Fridays at the office were the worst; everyone was trying to get as much work done as possible before the weekend.

He was no different, his early in the week procrastination always caught up with him on Fridays. Jon feverishly ran to his desk to get started. He was hard at work, when the desk started to shake, Jon jumped back from his desk, and watched as the computer's monitor flashed on and off, and then it started to flash messages across the screen. The message said Marry her, Jon. Hurry, Jon. The monitor flashes one more time before I displayed a poem that Lindsey wrote for Jon a couple years ago. Jon hurried to copy down the words that were on display. The computer shuts down and restarted. Like nothing had happened. Jon slowly went back to his desk to start his work again. He stopped shortly after noon, He had a hour for lunch, but usually Jon only took 15 minutes, long enough to go down the street to the deli to order a ham and cheese sub. He finished his sandwich and drink, and walked back to work.

He went to his desk to continue his work. He finished about 10 minutes early, so he decided to go home, out of work and out of fear what might happen next to him. He picked up Angela at the babysitter and took her out to eat at her favorite fast food place. Even though Angela was only 3 yrs old, she was smart enough to tell that something was wrong. She asked" Daddy is everything ok?" Jon said everything is fine. They got home and Jon dressed Angela for bed and they set there until it was Angela's bedtime. Jon took a shower and went to bed after taking the pills prescribed to him. Something in the back of Jon's mind wouldn't let him sleep. He finally got up and fixed a strong drink and shortly after, fell asleep.



Jon was woke up early in the morning by Angela's jumping on the bed. "Daddy, wake up!" she screamed. Jon quickly set up in his bed, hoping that it was just Angela's eagerness to get the day started, rather than another one of the signs that had become part of everyday life. Jon fixed breakfast and they went and watched cartoons. He fell asleep as Angela played with her toys. Angela climbed up on Jon and fell asleep. Jon awoke about noon to the flashing TV screen. The voice of Lindsey rang thru the speakers "marry her, Jon. Marry her now" Jon began to shake as he stared at the TV. All of a sudden, the screen of the TV shattered into thousands of pieces. Jon stood there, as if he were frozen in his tracks. After the shock had worn off, he called Sara and asked her to come over. She arrived an hour later, and she could see that something was wrong with Jon. She looked at Jon, his skin was pale, white as a ghost, and she asked him what was wrong. He walked her into the living room and showed her the remnants of the TV. Jon told her they needed to talk. Jon asked him if she would marry him, Sara was excited and said yes. The excitement woke up Angela, and she asked what was going on. Sara told her about her and her dad getting married. Angela got to her feet and wraps her arms around Sara's waist and began to jump up and down in excitement. Jon walked into the kitchen to make dinner for his family.



They finished lunch and Sara got a page on her beeper, and she had to leave. Sara was on call at the hospital on the weekend. Jon decided that he would drive into the next town to but a new TV. He loaded Angela in the car, and drove into town. He stopped at the gas station to fill up and get himself a drink. He bought Angela a cherry lollipop, because it was her favorite. He handed Angela the lollipop, and watched as she hurriedly torn thru the packing and stuck it into her mouth without a word. Jon just smiled at her and got into the car. Jon drove to the store and began looking thru the selection of televisions, until he found the perfect one. As he went to the salesman, the telephone rang and the salesman asks him if his name was Jon, and he handed the phone to Jon. Jon put the receiver to his ear and Lindsey voice rang thru "ring, ring, ring, hurry Jon, get a ring quick." Jon slammed the receiver down and the salesman gave him a strange look. Jon asked what the price of the TV was and Jon bought the TV. Jon put the TV box into the car and drove home. He carried the box into the house and began to hook it up, as Angela played out in the backyard. Jon got the TV all hooked up and called Angela into the house to watch some TV. Jon and Angela set down on the couch and started watch TV. Although Jon was the man of the house, Angela was the queen of the TV. Jon lets her watch the cartoon network, he had grown used to watching Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all of the other cartoon characters. He was reminded of his childhood and watching the same cartoons himself. He used the time spent watching TV with Angela as quality time with his daughter. Jon fixed dinner and got Angela ready for bed. Angela told him right before she went to sleep that Sara would be a great mommy. Jon had to agree, he thought Sara would be perfect as a mother. He kissed her daughter good night and went to bed.

Sunday morning came and Jon and Angela went to church. They had lunch at the fast food joint near the church. When they got back home, Jon called Sara and asked her to come over because they needed to discuss the wedding. They decided that the wedding would be on July 5, a mere six months away. They talked all day until all the plans were made, they had dinner and Sara went home and Jon and Angela went to bed.

Six months had passed without a visit from Lindsey's voice. Today was the day of the wedding and Jon got up and ready for the wedding. The wedding was at 10 O'clock, and he still had to get Angela ready. Angela was really excited because she was the flower girl, a task that she loves to do, because she loved to be the center of attention. They arrived at the church and were surprised at the turnout. It looked like the whole town was there. The ceremony went on without an incident, and Jon thought to himself that the nightmare that haunted his family was over. The next few days were pretty tough, because they had to move all of Sara's belongings into Jon's place. They got settled in comfortably after the first week. It was Monday, Jon got up early to take a shower and got some breakfast, Sara got up and helped get Angela dressed. Jon was in the shower, listening to the radio, when out of nowhere, the voice returned coming over the stereo's speaker “that was just the beginning, there is a whole lot more to do, a lot more"
Jon stood there shaking in fear. He hurried out of the shower. He ran into the kitchen, where Sara was fixing breakfast. He looked at her and said its back, honey its back. Sara asked him what the voice had said, word for word. She wrapped her arms around him until his shaking came to an end.

Jon went to work and Sara stayed at home with Angela. Sara’s job had gotten easier, which allowed her to stay at home with Angela. Angela had grown a lot in the passing months and she had turned 4. Sara looked like she was falling right into the role of a mother. Angela was looking forward to next year, when she would start kindergarten. Sara worked with her on her on her alphabet and numbers, Angela was a very gifted little girl. They spent most of the time singing nursery rhymes. Angela had a beautiful voice, and Sara looked like an angel as she played the piano. Jon had begun writing poetry in the last couple months, and he and Sara would sing songs after they put Angela to bed. Jon would sing this lullaby to Angela right before she fell asleep.

Little girl, time to go to sleep
My little darling, time to count the sheep
Close your eyes, don’t cry
As I sing this lullaby
You have nothing to fear
Cause I’ll always be here

Jon got home from work and they had dinner and the three of them huddled together on the couch to watch some TV. Angela fell asleep on Jon’s lap, and he quietly carried her to bed. Jon came back to the couch after he got her to sleep. Sara wrapped her arms around him and soon she was asleep. Just as soon as she was asleep, the voice came over the speakers on the TV. Jon, make your family grow, then more truths will be known. Jon woke up Sara in time for her to hear the voice. Sara stared at Jon, looking concerned and asked what they should do now. We ought to listen to it, I think. Sara just shook her head. They shut off the TV and went to the bedroom. Jon didn’t really want to start a family this early, but the voice changed his mind.

Jon and Sara tried to have a baby for a year, with no luck. Jon grew anxious on what the voice would tell him to do next. Sara finally got pregnant after a year and a half of trying. Jon seems to be at ease after he heard the news of Sara’s pregnancy. Angela started kindergarten in the fall and she was one of the smartest people in her class. Her vocabulary had expanded greatly over the last year, and her little body was looking more and more like her mother every day. Sara got a new job, which involved a lot of extra hours of work. Jon got promoted at work, and was allowed to do his work at home. Jon was glad because that gave him a lot more time to spend with his family. He woke up and went to the microwave to heat some water. The display was flashing numbers across it, and the door was flapping back and forth. The voice said teach her what I taught you. Jon looked confused about what the voice meant. The gifts of word, Jon, teach her the gift of words. Everything was back to normal, and Jon understood what the voice meant. Jon knew that Angela was too young to learn to the gift of words, but he knew he had to try. Jon went back to his office and returned to work, later he told Sara about the events that happened that day.

Barbriat
02-03-2004, 02:44 AM
Welcome to the Arcanum Cafe and to the Stories and Essays forum. Have a mug of coffee. Cream? Sugar? Oatmeal cookie? Glad to see you and to read your work. Thanks for sharing!

Were Lindsey and Jon divorced before she died? Ex-wife means divorced. Deceased wife would be married and then died.

The unique story line has me hooked, wondering what is going to happen next, how and why. There's work to be done on quotation marks indicating speech, and there's mixing of past and present tenses. I'm sure those will be corrected in your final draft. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to reading more...

vsolt21
02-03-2004, 11:01 PM
Thanks for the advice. Deceased would be the term that I should have used. I'm not very good at english, I have alot of problems switching tenses back and forth when I write. It just something I got to work on. I'd take all of help I can get, I'm kinda blocked up on where the story should go.

Barbriat
02-04-2004, 12:23 AM
It seems Lindsey has something in mind. Wonder what that is? Does she always "channel" (communicate) through electric or electronic devices? Angela more and more reminds Jon of Lindsey. Why? Will this continue? The love between Sara and Jon seems a bit hollow and cool. Do you mean it to be? Will it flesh out more later?

Great start, svolt! Enquiring minds are waiting. :cool:

vsolt21
02-04-2004, 02:24 AM
The ways that Lindsey contact Jon is supposed to be more supernatural, but I had a good thing going with the use of electronic applainces that I decided to keep it going. She is going to instruct Jon more thru the story. Basically, she is going to have a connection with Jon for right now, then she will start directly connecting with her daugther, Angela. It will not be thru electronic equipment though. Angela and Lindsey have a mother-daughter bond that reaches beyond the grave. I think most of their contact is going to be thru dreams. Sara and Jon's marriage is a evolving thing, from one chapter to another, I'm continuing to think on which direction should I turn their relationship.the whole thing with Angela's turning more and more like her mother is a strong bond between Lindsey and Angela, that has yet to develop in the story.
This whole story started as a way to kill time at my job, it now has a life of its own. I'm really struggling to find time to write what I think is a good story, but the bad thing is that I don't know when the story will end. tell me what you think of these ideas. I think they are good.

vsolt21

vsolt21
02-04-2004, 03:16 AM
I found the next chapter of the story in my writing tablet. the new elements are not introduced yet.





I was looking thru my writing tablet, and I found what i wrote as the next chapter. here it is. the new elements are not introduced yet.Thanks goodness, it was the weekend; weekends were quality time for Jon. He spent most of his time with his daughter, watching cartoons and falling asleep on the couch. Sara spent most of her time on the weekends, washing laundry and cleaning the house. Jon and Angela seem to grow closer and closer together, as Sara’s pregnancy went along. Angela constantly wanted to be with her father, Jon couldn’t walk anywhere without Angela following behind him. She was like his little guardian angel, always watching over him and protecting him. Jon was taken everything in stride, to him; his life was perfect, a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and another one on the way.

Jon and Sara finally set down, trying to figure out what they were going to call the new baby. Jon was leaning toward the name Tessa Nicole. He and Lindsey almost named Angela that, but they settled for Angela Marie. Jon figured that he would name the baby Tessa Marie to make the voice happy, so it would stop bothering him and his family. Sara was nine months pregnant now. Jon had taken the last week off to be with her. That night, Sara went into labor, and Jon rushed her to the hospital. The whole birthing process took 9 hours, and by the time it was done, Sara was exhausted. It was two days before Sara was able to return home. Jon took another week off to help out with the baby. Angela loved having a baby sister, and she told everyone that she had a little sister. She also wanted to bring her little baby sister to show and tell at school. Six months after Tessa’s birth, everything was back to normal. Jon was working at home, so that he could take care of Tessa, while Sara was at work. Angela was really enjoying school; she always came home and told Jon about all the new stuff that she had learned. Jon was amused at how long his daughter could talk about school. Jon was in charge of fixing dinners, because Sara’s job made for some long days at the office. Sara was exhausted most of the time when she got home, so she ate supper and usually went to bed. Jon spent most of the night tending to his daughters. Jon spent a lot of his time teaching Angela how to rhyme, the first step in the path of the gift of words.