How much can you convey of a story by writing only its core, leaving the rest to the reader? Where can you discover the hinterland between prose and poetry?
The postman's knock brought the housewife whose husband was away. He asked for water as she grabbed the letter from his hand. As he drank, the glass trembled within the sad wrinkles of his hand. White hair crowded his brow, hiding a permanent frown. She consumed the letter again and again, but his glass was empty in no time.
The husband wrote only when he could, and she waited through the night for some dream to resolve her pain. His letters salved a deep wrenching ache she couldn't pluck out herself. When she wrote, "I miss you so much," he replied: "I don't even get time to think of home."
The postman knew these stories of departure and deprivation, and he wished he could offer something more. He scuttled back and forth like a fish in a drowning world, watching the death of hope, wanting to ask, "How can I help?"
He had known this woman for more than ten years, partaken of her laughter and tears. He now felt he was an inalienable part of her world. A comforting uncle whose word was enough to soothe her. He wondered how she would take his news.
The woman looked at him and said, "Thank you," and waited for him to back away from the door. He stood for a moment longer, wiped the sweat off his brow and said, "Madam, I won't be coming any more."
This story has so much promise. You can turn it this way and that and from the core create umpteen new stories. And its stands just as well by itself. Great one, Shreekumar.
oops, lee, those questions weren't meant for you to answer! they were purely rhetorical, echoing my concerns before choosing the form. the core feeling is what i've presented. you could even concoct a novel or play or poem around it. and somewhere in there, we'll probably locate another core, or more of them (hopefully without mapquest!)
I enjoyed the write, but I didn't answer any of the quesions you posed: "How much can you convey of a story by writing only its core, leaving the rest to the reader? Where can you discover the hinterland between prose and poetry?" This ws more than a core story so I don't have a core story to contrast with it. As for hinterland, maybe mapquest.com will know:)
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