It happened twice. Yes, Day 7 happened twice because unfortunately, I couldn’t continue with Day 7 after receiving the news that someone I knew had passed away. After the shock wore off, I was emotional. I was in no place to work and the only thing I could get up to do was eat because I knew I needed to. I asked a friend to accompany me and it helped a lot. When it comes to mourning I like to express my emotions privately so if I’m out or with someone else, I’m forced to turn my attention away from that, and sometimes it helps everything feel less overwhelming. Then I came home and reorganized and cleaned because that’s another way I try to clear my head. The cleaner everything is, the less cluttered my head is. At this point, only stress is keeping me from being a minimalist.
So let’s talk about progress from the real Day 7. I was able to get through more of the story despite other priorities like school. I have also decided that this will be 10 days instead of 7, but I still don’t want it to drag on to fourteen days. If I repeat this kind of experiment and train myself to write really good short stories in 10 days, that’s an accomplishment I would be happy with.
Here is an excerpt from today’s work:
They were headed toward the whirring sound. On their way, some rabbits ran away from the guards in case another portal appeared and they were chosen through proximity. Others stopped and stared at him as if witnessing was paying him respect for his appointment with death.
Parsley was escorted to a green field at the edge of the fortress. It had yet to be built upon for so long that the council agreed to use it to gather waste. There was no upkeep done in the area so the greenery ran wild and uneven. The grass pressed up against the wooden pillars that made up the fortress. They stopped when they came upon a black hole floating in the air and the whirring was concentrated. Parsley trembled and tried to pull away from the guards again, but they held him tight between them.
“Don’t make a scene,” one of the guards warned him.
Parsley wanted to protest when he felt something caress his ear. The creature came out of the portal and was feeling the top of his head. Then a second one came through and both creatures wrapped around his waist and pulled him through the dark hole. Parsley wiggled and squirmed, but the creatures held him tight. He closed his eyes and prayed to Leporidae for a quick demise.