short story

Smitty’s Journey

~ erikvp18 ~ Leave a comment

Smitty, a leprechaun by trade, was tired of always being the butt of jokes. You see, Smitty happened to be an outlier amongst the leprechauns. Most of them by their 70th birthday have secured their pot of gold. Unfortunately, for Smitty he has yet to find the end of his rainbow for his gold. At first, he was very determined to secure his rank amongst his clan. But, as the years went on, Smitty grew more and more weary of searching, and then eventually so embarrassed he finally decided to give up all together. Leprechauns, known mostly for their love of pranks and societal emphasis on money, have made it commonplace to use Smitty as the subject of all their practical jokes. Finally, on the eve of his 120th birthday, Smitty has gone to the council to ask permission to venture out of their mystical land to find his rainbow and retrieve his pot of gold. Of course, this is in hopes of becoming a respected member of his clan and no longer be laughed at.

Now with the permission of the elders, Smitty has set out on his first journey outside of his homeland in decades. His first foray into the world has him entering the magical forest of Maith Agus Olc. For a while, Smitty has enjoyed his time in the forest. He has seen many creatures for the first time since he was a little boy. The sound of the wind, the smell of the plantation, the sight of Unicorns has given him a sense of admiration and reassured him of his decision to follow his dreams of reaching his pot of gold. But, as life goes, it was far too soon to celebrate. As he crossed over the bridge of Idir, things suddenly took a turn for the worse. Gone were the senses of happiness and calmness and a shutter of fear crawled up his spine. The sight of beautiful creatures and flowers have suddenly turned to the dark and dreary view of what the goblins call home. As Smitty continues to make his way through the forest hoping to go unnoticed, a skeleton witch appeared out of no where. “My, my, where do you think you’re off to little leprechaun?”

Smitty, smitten with fear could barely speak. He has never encountered a witch before. He finally is able to muster up the courage to speak. He asks the witch to let him pass for this is his last chance at finding his gold and returning home with his dignity. “Now, now, I cannot let you pass through so easily. But, if you are able to defeat Peyton, a centaur, in a boxing match I will let you out of the forest.” Smitty realizing he has no choice reluctantly agrees to these terms. As he approaches Peyton he is suddenly overcome with fear. Unable to think of a clever way out of this he turns to the one thing that has worked in the past. He plays dead. Luckily, Peyton isn’t very bright and known for being easily gullible, he thinks he has actually scared Smitty to death. He turns and starts to walk away. That’s when Smitty uses his ability to teleport into the air. He starts to come crashing down towards Peyton which will surely knock him out. But, just like how the witch came out of no where, Leroy, a dwarf, suddenly interferes. Leroy using his magical umbrella of cooties was able to protect Peyton and send Smitty flying hundreds of feet away.

Startled by this new predicament and knowing he has no way out of this, Smitty starts to quickly think of a way to get the dwarf on his side. He remembers that the one thing dwarves love more than themselves is money and offers him 20 % of his gold when he finds it. Leroy jumps at the idea of getting so much gold for nothing and decides to let him pass. As Smitty finally starts to make his way out of the forest he hears Keith, the witch, yell. He had not defeated Peyton, and is not allowed to exit the forest. He starts to make a dash for the faint light he sees at the end of the forest. Just when Keith was about to get his hands on him, Smitty made a last ditch dive to get out of the forest. He did it! He was able to successfully make it through the forest. As he gathers himself, and wipes the dirt of his clothes he notices something above him. A trap that had caught a bunny in the shape of a human. “Please, help me. I’ve been stuck in here for days.”

Meet Me In The Woods (excerpt)

~ erikvp18 ~ Leave a comment

My friend and I have been collaborating on a story. We both voice two different characters, a Father (My friend, John) and his Son (me).  This is just a little excerpt from the separate parts in the first chapter.  Collaborating on a story has its challenges but I feel like we have a good story and we can not wait to finish it.

“I felt a jolt in my soul and my eyes shot open. I felt like a seasick passenger on a boat surrounded by a stormy sea but I was stationary; I had sprung up from some sort of slumber and my hands were clammy and I had a cold sweat. I was sitting at the base of some sort of towering tree in a makeshift bird-like nest of moss and twigs and colorful stones. As far as my eyes could see were trees. No one tree stood apart from the other, an endless perpetual landscape of tall towering trees whose canopies plumed upwards. There was no sky, just treetops. It was like I was in the heart of the Amazon, only oddly enough there was no fauna; not an animal, bird, deer, bear, or insect to be seen.
I was alone.”

………………

“It was almost time for him to get on the plane. I was starting to cry because I am going to miss him so much.
“Adam, don’t cry, I will be back soon. “
“I know, but I’m going to miss you.”
“How about I give you my hat? That way, you won’t miss me so much.”
“Okay”.
That made me happy.
He hugged mommy and gave me a kiss before he left through a door that goes to the plane. The plane was so big, I think it could hold hundreds of people on it.
After waiting for a long time all the people finally got on the plane. When it started to move my mom picked me up so I could see better. It went so fast and started to fly up in the air. I want to be like my dad when I grow up.”

Dear Friend (1)

~ erikvp18 ~ Leave a comment

I plan on writing a series of journal entries that is all part of one short story. It is going to be from the perspective of a teenager. As I post them sporadically (it won’t all be consecutive posts, though some might end up that way) I will put a number in the title to let you know which entry number it is for the story.

October 5

Dear Friend,

Hello, my name is Oliver. I’ve been in my new High School a little more than a month now.  I haven’t really been able to make any friends yet.  That is why I am writing to you now. I know I’ve never done so before, but I could really use a friend right now.  High School is pretty rough, not that you would know. People have said that High School could be tough at times for everybody but it hadn’t been that bad up until now.  At my last school I didn’t have many friends, but I did have one. And now I won’t be able to talk to him that much anymore.

Before I go on, you should know a little about me…other than my name.  I am fifteen years old.  My birthday is on September 13th.  I live with both my parents and I am an only child.  We just recently moved because my mom got a promotion at her job and we were forced to relocate.  My dad is on disability now because of an accident.  He spends a lot of time by himself now, but I don’t blame him.  The doctors said he may never be able to walk again. Must be terrifying.

But, my friend at my old school, Jack, he was like me. We were both, I don’t want to say loners because we weren’t but that’s what we were. Not really by choice, but because we were different. We liked different music, books, movies than the other kids.  It wasn’t bad, we had each other. Now, I go to school, sit by myself at lunch, don’t talk to anyone other than my teachers, and then come home. We can’t talk much anymore because our parents don’t let us have cell phones and we live too far away to hang out after school. But like I said, it has only been a month. So, although things could be better, I know it can turn around.

Thank you for listening.  I’ll look forward to talking to you more.

Once again, thanks Friend.

Proud Father (Revised)

~ erikvp18 ~ Leave a comment

This is an updated version of the story I first posted.  I changed it to be an actual letter to give it a more personal feeling. I wrote about real life experiences with a fictional ending.

Dear Father,

You have always been a hard working man. You worked a job he didn’t like for over 30 years to support our family.  You are a family man that sacrificed some of your dreams, sleep, and whatever else you had to so you could be there for me and my siblings.  That has made you a very happy man and I love you for that.  You have never been bitter about anything you had to give up for us.  But, even though you have always been there for us, and will always be there for us, you are a quiet man.  I know you love us but sometimes it would be nice to hear, not just on birthdays or in special occasion cards.  I set out a long time ago to make sure I could make you proud.  My goal is to hear you tell me, “I’m proud of you, son. I love you.”

You could say this isn’t a surprise or something out of the ordinary. What child doesn’t want to make their parents proud?  But for me, it’s more than that.  I could see how certain decisions and actions affects you in different ways.  I  can tell when we do something that makes you happy, makes you feel like we are on the right track. And, I can also tell when you are disappointed; When you know we are smarter than the choices we made.  Dad, you have lived life in a certain way, a way that makes me proud to be your son.  A way that makes me want to do better to make you proud. There was one time you said he was proud of me (that I can recall) but that was after I told a family member about you not saying it and I don’t think that it was a genuine moment. I feel like I haven’t been able to do that.

Growing up I always wanted to play professional baseball.  That was my dream and I felt like I could do it.  I was always one of the better players on my teams.  I always remember you telling me, “It takes more than talent to make the pros. You got to work hard every day and practice.” I knew you were right, but for some reason, I just couldn’t muster up the strength or energy to go out and work every day.  I took this dream of mine to college.  I was so sure that baseball was my ticket to a better future that I let it go to my head. I skipped class and focused on baseball.  Long story short, I got very poor grades and after my two years playing Junior College I was left with an awful GPA and no scholarships. Of course, you knew how that turned out. You took trips with me to visit colleges in hopes I could get an offer.

I tried to make you proud with my accomplishments on the field and didn’t care about what happened in the classroom.  But, another one of the things that you taught me growing up was that education is very important.  And you were right.  And after a year of trying to figure out what college to try to go to where I can play baseball, I went back to Community College. I switched majors to something I was interested in and started to work hard at my education.  I took more credits, I took winter and summer classes, and tried my best.  I wanted you to know that I was doing everything I could to make up for the mistakes I made. After starting over I was able to get my Associates in a year and a half. I was able to get a baseball scholarship to another college and I was ready to continue my hard work.

When I went away to college it was the first time I would be away from my family, “on my own”, taking care of myself with no supervision and no guidance. I thought succeeding in this environment would definitely make you proud.  I succeeded on the field and in the classroom provided it had its difficulties.  I was able to balance school, baseball, and a girlfriend and finish my degree in three semesters.  But when I got home that spring after finishing the semester, the response I got from you was, “get a job.”  I knew I needed a job, I wasn’t planning on getting my degree and then not getting a job.  But, I stuck it out with the job that I had for a few years and then got a new job the following Spring.  I knew it wasn’t what we both wanted but if you knew how hard I looked, I think you would have at least realized that I wasn’t just being lazy.

One thing I don’t like is when people make quips about my work ethic or being a free loader.  I hate borrowing money if I need to. I hate the fact that I had to get a cosigner for student loans.  I don’t like feeling like people think I’m taking advantage of people. If they knew how much I hated those things and how much I work to try to make it so I don’t need those things I think they would understand.  I appreciate peoples help but I am not someone that takes advantage of people.

I’ve lived a long time trying to make you proud of me.  I’ve had ideas and plans to be a success in my life and in your eyes but I’ve never been proactive enough to get them done.  I want to be but I just can’t. I don’t think I can ever reach the expectations I have to make you proud.  I am sorry, Dad.  I tried and it wasn’t good enough.  You deserved better. I love you.

…

Dear Son,
I read the letter that you left for me.  There was never a moment that I wasn’t proud of you.  From the moment I first held you, to the first time you said Daddy, and to the last time I hugged you.  There was nothing you could have done to make me love you less or make me less proud of you.  My only regrets are that you felt pressured into trying to live your life to make me happy and that I never told you my true feelings.  It may be a little late now, but you are my son, I am always proud of you, for who you were and for what you accomplished. I hope you are hearing this, Son. I am proud of you and I love you so much.

Proud Father

~ erikvp18 ~ Leave a comment

My dad has always been a hard working man. He worked a job he didn’t like for over 30 years to support our family.  He is a family man that sacrificed some of his dreams, sleep, whatever he had to so he could be there for me and my siblings.  That has made him a very happy man and I love him for that.  He has never been bitter about anything he had to give up for us.  But, even though he has always been there for us, and will always be there for us, he is a quiet man.  I know he loves us but sometimes it would be nice to hear, not just on birthdays or in special occasion cards.  I set out a long time ago to make sure I could make him proud.  My goal is to hear him tell me, “I’m proud of you, son. I love you.”

You could say this isn’t a surprise or something out of the ordinary. What child doesn’t want to make their parents proud?  But for me, it’s more than that.  I could see how certain decisions and actions affects him in different ways.  You can tell when you do something that makes him happy, makes him feel like you are on the right track. And, you can also tell when he is disappointed; When he knows you are smarter than the choices you made.  My dad has lived life in a certain way, a way that makes me proud to be his son.  A way that makes me want to do better to make him proud. There was one time he said he was proud of me but that was after I told a family member about him not saying it and I don’t think that it was a genuine moment. I feel like I haven’t been able to do that.

Growing up I always wanted to play professional baseball.  That was my dream and I felt like I could do it.  I was always one of the better players on my teams.  I always remember my dad telling me, “It takes more than talent to make the pros. You got to work hard every day and practice.” I knew he was right, but for some reason, I just couldn’t muster up the strength or energy to go out and work every day.  I took this dream of mine to college.  I was so sure that baseball was my ticket to a better future that I let it go to my head. I skipped class and focused on baseball.  Long story short, I got very poor grades and after my two years playing Junior College I was left with an awful GPA and no scholarships.

I tried to make my dad proud with my accomplishments on the field and didn’t care about what happened in the classroom.  But, another one of the things my dad taught me growing up was that education is very important.  He was right. Of course he was.  And after a year of trying to figure out what college to try to go to where I can play baseball, I went back to Community College. I switched majors to something I was interested in and started to work hard at my education.  I took more credits, I took winter and summer classes, and tried my best.  I wanted him to know that I was doing everything I could to make up for the mistakes I made. After starting over I was able to get my Associates in a year and a half. I was able to get a baseball scholarship to another college and I was ready to continue my hard work.

When I went away to college it was the first time I would be away from my family, “on my own”, taking care of myself with no supervision and no guidance. I thought succeeding in this environment would definitely make my dad proud.  I succeeded on the field and in the classroom provided it had its difficulties.  I was able to balance school, baseball, and a girlfriend and finish my degree in three semesters.  But when I got home that spring after finishing the semester, the response I got from my dad was, “get a job.”  I knew I needed a job, I wasn’t planning on getting my degree and then not getting a job.  But, I stuck it out with the job that I had for a few years and then got a new job the following Spring.  I knew it wasn’t what we both wanted but if he knew how hard I looked, I think he would at least realize that I wasn’t just being lazy.

One thing I don’t like is when people make quips about my work ethic or being a free loader.  I hate borrowing money if I need to. I hate the fact that I had to get a cosigner for student loans.  I don’t like feeling like people think I’m taking advantage of people. If they knew how much I hated those things and how much I work to try to make it so I don’t need those things I think they would understand.  I appreciate peoples help but I am not someone that takes advantage of people.

I’ve lived a long time trying to make him proud of me.  I’ve had ideas and plans to be a success in my life and in his eyes but I’ve never been proactive enough to get them done.  I want to be but I just can’t. I don’t think I can ever reach the expectations I have to make him proud.  I am sorry, Dad.  I tried and it wasn’t good enough.  You deserved better. I love you.

…

Son, there was never a moment that I wasn’t proud of you.  From the moment I first held you, to the first time you said Daddy, and to the last time I hugged you.  There was nothing you could have done to make me love you less or make me less proud of you.  My only regrets are that you felt pressured into trying to live your life to make me happy and that I never told you my true feelings.  It may be a little late now, but you are my son, I am always proud of you, for who you were and for what you accomplished. I hope you are hearing this, Son. I am proud of you and I love you so much.