The Oak Tree - Part 1 (767 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.92 on 30 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Cool Beans (View user info) at 2008-02-27 08:42:36 EST
Abigail Anderson burst through the hospital door and ran towards her mother, throwing herself on top of the single, frail bed she lay on. Her tears stained her mother's sheets, her pillows, and her skin, blemished with dirt and grime and dried blood. They matched the liquid flowing through the tubes attached to her arms and through her veins.
Her cries came in heavy torrents; dime-sized tears that quickly watered down everything qualified as absorbent. Muffled sobs, suffocated by hospital pillows, was the only noise in the eerily quiet room.
The patient lying in bed stroked her daughter's hair, warily and confused. She was partially drugged, partially asleep, and certainly mystified from her sudden awakening.
"Sweetheart, let your mother rest," a woman in white touched Abigail's arm. She immediately retaliated, as though from instinct, sharply jerking free.
"I won't leave. She needs me." Her words were hard to decipher as she choked on her own sobs, saliva, and tears. "She needs me."
"Honey," the woman in white, who appeared to be a hospital nurse, looked uncomfortable; hesitant. "She doesn't know who you are."
The sobs grew louder; more violent.
"You're such a liar! Stop lying to me!" She started to scream, and the look on the patients face quickly changed from confusion to fear.
"Abigail, you need to leave."
The eight-year-old looked up. Her cheeks were blotchy and red, sticky from her tears. Her hair was ratty and tangled; she looked towards her mother. Her beautiful cobalt-blue eyes had turned tornado gray; overcast and bleak. Her once flawless skin was scratched, battered, and bloodied. The formerly loving gaze between mother and daughter, something Abigail had always taken for granted, turned into a blank, lifeless stare. She felt as if she was looking into the meaningless eyes of a stranger.
***
Rubber tires kicked up small clumps of dirt and grass as they made their way down the barren road, occasionally jolting at the presence of a rock or other unusually large objects. Cloverport, Kentucky, was filled with nothing but flat fields and grazing cows and, every mile or so, a small cluster of trees. Near the edge of town lay a small village, no more than 100 residents, who got their only means of transportation from a twisting dirt road leading to the nearest city.
The road journeyed approximately twenty miles with nothing but brownish-green grass to keep it company, until it took a sharp turn to the left. It was here when you only had a few minutes to go until you were reunited with the highway, which met the dirt road at an extreme angle. The residents preferred to keep away from civilization; it was a cozy little town with plenty of things to do for low-maintenance cost.
The public school provided a classroom for children, and the local grocery was a place for shopping and gossip. The pride of the town lay just a few yards away from the entrance, however. A large oak tree stood tall and proud there, as if to say welcome home to the oncoming traffic.
It was the tallest thing for miles; perhaps that's why the townspeople loved it so much. It was always the site for picnics and get-togethers; children played on its branches and teenage lovers inscribed their initials on its trunk, surrounded by tiny, barely legible hearts.
A cloud of dust could be seen in the distance as Samantha Anderson made her way home. The scenery looked exactly the same in every direction; she would have no idea where she was or how much longer she had to travel until she saw the oak tree. All she knew was that she was going home.
The wind coming through the opened windows of her red Honda whipped her shoulder-length hair into knots, and her lips sang along with the static-sounding radio playing as a soundtrack. A single keychain hung from the ignition; a small picture of a little girl with sandy blonde hair tucked back into pigtail braids and a brightly coloured headband.
She clung to her Golden Retriever and smiled an innocent grin; her cheeks were rosy with a sunburn and her clothes dirty from playing with the neighborhood kids. Samantha carried this keychain with her everywhere she went; she never forgot it.
User Reviews
Submitted by maf54 (user info) at 2008-05-14 16:15:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Director (user info) at 2008-05-12 13:41:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
baaahahahahaha.
That's right.
I'm retal -2ing you.
to death.
to pieces!
to the finish!
Submitted by Beano312003 (user info) at 2008-04-17 10:30:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
wtf is going on here then?!
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2008-04-17 02:54:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR MY RETAIL MUSCLES???
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2008-04-16 17:55:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
this -2 cost me $1.99
Submitted by HellRazer (user info) at 2008-04-16 15:20:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
And remember not to act afraid. Animals can smell fear. And they
don't like it.
-- Homer Simpson
The Call of the Simpsons
Submitted by Titus (user info) at 2008-04-16 13:08:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
THIS IS WHERE I GET THE BIG E-PENOS + MUSCLES?
Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2008-04-16 13:05:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
retail -2s?
You can sell them?
Submitted by haikumikoo (user info) at 2008-04-16 12:21:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
I couldn't find any retail -2s (apparently they were all bought out by sico and oathmeal's alters), so hopefully this -1 will suffice.
Submitted by Phallic_Cymbals (user info) at 2008-04-16 11:50:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Whoever paid $1 said 'retail'...
I didn't read this.
Submitted by Lib (user info) at 2008-04-16 11:48:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GangsterSquid (user info) at 2008-04-09 09:54:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
great post!
Submitted by orph (user info) at 2008-02-29 07:18:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2008-02-29 00:01:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice little images, beaner.
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-02-28 04:17:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by kuroneko_sama (user info) at 2008-02-27 22:24:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
just got me a Wii (near impossible to find round here)
auto "Me Wii" +2
Submitted by loopdeloo (user info) at 2008-02-27 15:53:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Great!
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2008-02-27 15:43:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
no picture of a stately oak?
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2008-02-27 13:38:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
crap sorry this actually wasn't terrible
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2008-02-27 13:38:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:19:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Ltap (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:11:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A tip: don't give your characters a first name that begins with the same letter as their surname. There's nothing actually wrong with it, but it's become so cliched that any name that's like that sounds made up.
--
Try LIVING with a first name that begins with the same letter as your last. I'm walking alliteration.
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2008-02-27 12:19:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2008-02-27 11:53:52 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Can't wait for Part -2.
Submitted by hour_man (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:35:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
What they said below.
Nice imagery though mate.
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:35:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'll spare you the lolcat and the lolcat demand for an increase in volume, and instead, give an overly elaborate semi-reasoning for why I'm rating like I am, rather than what I think of the post itself. Woo!
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:19:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Ltap (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:11:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A tip: don't give your characters a first name that begins with the same letter as their surname. There's nothing actually wrong with it, but it's become so cliched that any name that's like that sounds made up.
Submitted by Ltap (user info) at 2008-02-27 10:11:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Right now I'm assuming that these 2 separate parts of the story will have something to do with each other in the future.
A tip: don't give your characters a first name that begins with the same letter as their surname. There's nothing actually wrong with it, but it's become so cliched that any name that's like that sounds made up.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2008-02-27 09:17:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Socialist_Joe (user info) at 2008-02-27 09:03:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2008-02-27 08:56:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Marge, tell Bart I just want to drink a nice glass of syrup like I do
every morning.
-- Homer Simpson
Lisa the Vegetarian
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-02-27 08:56:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well this is a terrific start. Beautifully written. More!