Short Story Chronicles: The Beginning

“Look at the image and create a story about it”, Mrs. Cooper said to the students. “You have approximately 45 minutes to write. There is no right or wrong way to complete this task. The important thing is to flex your imagination muscle and stay engaged. Ready, set, go!”

Zoe’s hands began to sweat. She stared down at the lined spaces and wondered what she could possibly write about this random picture. As if the task was not daunting enough, the picture lacked color and clear details. She twiddled with the Staedtler Mars eraser and clicked her blue BIC lead pencil profusely. She repeated this fidgety cycle until the first sentence came to mind. Once that first sentence spilled over the paper, it was a wrap. Zoe’s imagination took a life of its own. She enjoyed these writing exercises despite the initial stress her body would experience in the form of rapid heart beats and sweaty hands. Perhaps it was the anticipation that made her nervous or the pressure of being the last one to start writing in the class. Whatever the reason was, it was not enough to cripple or stunt Zoe’s passion for story telling.

Zoe hid her love for writing until life made her realize how silly that was. As time went on, the more she kept coming back to this passion of hers. And so she embarked on a beautiful journey to become the writer she was meant to be all along….