I have recently restarted writing my novel. Those who know me well will know how much I love the English Language and I love writing. Creative writing was in my top 3 favourite things to do in high school - the others being French and Music.
Well, here is an extract from my novel. I'm only onto chapter three so I still have a long way to go but all good things come to those who wait right?
I hope you like it. The novel is about a guy who notices a young girl on a train. It later transpires that the young girl has run away from home but also from her predatory stepfather. She is on a journey to find both herself and also to discover the truth about what happened to her older sister. It tells the story of how the young girl finds the strength to overcome her fears but also how she learns that sometimes, trusting people isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is full of heartache and emotion but I hope people will like it.
'It was mid-afternoon when he noticed her. In late autumn, the leaves had changed to their golden browns and bright auburn colours and had begun to fall from their safe haven of the trees. The sun was bright in the sky and there was a cold crisp in the air. The young girl sat a few seats away on the opposite side of the train to the man. Her pink Converse trainers were tapping along to whatever music it was she was listening to. The Converse had a set of rainbow coloured laces. On the girl’s left foot was a single heart bead on the lace nearest her toes in a glittered ruby red colour. On her right foot were three square white beads with the letters “AME” on the lace. The man presumed this was probably a nickname by which the young girl was known by. She was wearing a pair of light, stonewashed denim shorts that showed off her slender, athletic but pale white legs. As the young girl looked up and their eyes met, the man diverted his gaze into the rather boring field they were passing.
Once he noticed that she had
continued looking at her lap, the man continued to observe the young girl. He
usually avoided people, especially young teenagers, as much as possible. In his
career, he had learnt that people were cruel and the best way to avoid any
negativity was to just avoid people unless absolutely necessary. For some
reason, this young girl, who was a complete stranger to the man, was
fascinating to him. She wore a white t-shirt with a band’s logo that he
recognised from currently being in the charts. He suspected it was the same
band that seemed to be blaring from her headphones. However, it wasn’t until he
looked at her face that he noticed truly how young she appeared and he felt a
sense of panic rising from the pit of his stomach. As she took a drink from a
small vodka bottle, the man felt himself calming slightly. If she was drinking
as casually as that in public, then she can’t have been as young as she seemed.
The thin fingers that were clenched around the vodka bottle reminded the man of
a piano teacher that he had once lived next door to. He smiled to himself as he
remembered the weird smell combination of cats and port that used to come from
the piano teacher’s house.
Soft auburn curls fell from her
head and slightly covered her small pale face. As she raised her head, he
noticed how sad her eyes looked along with the few freckles that were scattered
across her nose and cheeks. He gave her a soft smile as their eyes briefly met
before her eyes went wide like a deer caught in the headlights. She quickly
turned her head away, her pale pink lips moving as though she were talking to
someone. She began rummaging around in her bag as the man felt a pang of
sadness and guilt. A small feeling of pity joined the guilt and sadness as the
young girl pulled out a pale grey hooded jumper. He could see what looked like
pale scars on her thin arms as she put the jumper on. The hood went over her
curls as the man began to feel more concerned about her. He realised how
strange it was that he was concerned about a complete stranger, someone he had
never even spoken to and had only observed for no longer than half an hour. It
made him think about being a father and how protective he was going to be over
his unborn child when he felt this concerned for a young girl he’d never met.'
I hope you like it!
Ciao x
