Imagine This ~ 5#

Hello everyone! How are you all on this glorious day? I'm doing splendidly! :-) 

I've decided it's time for another Imagine This! 

As a refresher (and in case anyone that's reading this doesn't know ;D), here are the rules...

1) Write a story based off what you imagine is happening in the below picture. 

2) I'd appreciate it if your story is around 800 words (that's the set limit.) But if it's a little over, that okay. 

3) Send your story to me via the contact form, located at the bottom right of this page. Or my email address if you have it. :) 

4) The deadline is Sunday, October 4th. I usually don't make it that long, but I'm going on vacation (starting today) and probably won't be able to find the time to post the entires until we're headed home. ;) 

And now...The Picture!!! 

Lots of story ideas there, that's for sure! :) 

Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see what sort of interesting, amazing, and intriguing stories y'all come up with! 

-Faith

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I've written a story about 9/11 to share with you all today. Here it is. :) 

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day? 

September 7, 2015

 Christy reached over and turned the radio down. "Do you know what Friday is?" 

 Her husband, John, nodded. "Fourteenth anniversary of nine-eleven." 

 "Yeah..." Her eyes filled with tears. 

 He held out his hand and she took it. After a quick glance over her shoulder to assure herself the kids were asleep, she told her husband all that was on her heart. "So much has happened since then. Moving out of the city, four kids." 

 "Not just in our lives, but around the world too. Now we're a country at war," he shook his head. "It sure doesn't seem like it's been almost fifteen years." 

 Christy agreed. "I still remember it all so clearly..." 

Fourteen years ago... September 11, 2015

 That morning, Christy and John had had an arguement. He wanted to move, saying he didn't like living in the city and it was no place to raise children. Christy disagreed. She had always lived in the city, and she didn't want to give it up or her job as an ER nurse at Bellevue hospital. 

 When she left for work, the disagreement was still between them. Nothing had been settled. She didn't tell him goodbye. 

 At the hospital the crash was heard but no one had any idea as to what was happening. 

 Suddenly, the streets outside became chaos. Everywhere there were people running, screaming, crying, panicking. It was a nightmarish feeling. 

 A terrorist attack had been made on American soil. Two highjacked planes had just crashed into the World Trade Center. Christy felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. This can't be real! How is something like this happening? 

 All medical personnel at the hospital were immediately preparing for the thousands of patients they were sure to see. Christy and a few others rode along with the ambulances and were soon on their way to the scene of the disaster. 

 Upon seeing the horrific sight, Christy's heart picked up speed. Her husband of six months was a firefighter...no doubt at this moment pulling people from among the rubble. 

 The injured casualties were being placed a safe distance from the fallen towers until they could be transported to nearby hospitals. 

 Christy and the others hurried over to do whatever they could. She knelt next to a fireman who'd just came from the building. His arm and side were badly burned. 

 He squinted as he looked up at her. "Aren't you John Darrin's wife?" He coughed. 

 "Yes I am." 

 "He was with me when we went, but he didn't come back out." The man coughed again. "I'm sorry, ma'am." 

 Christy felt numb all over. This isn't real...it can't be...Not John...please God, no! 

 Someone called to her, and she went back to tending the wounded. Her medical knowledge was needed. She couldn't give into the overwhelming grief right now. 

 Nearly an hour had passed when Christy paused in her work long enough to look around her at all the destruction. It has to all be a bad dream...

 A shifting, in the rubble and off her right, caught her attention. Is it falling again? Please God, not while there's still people in there! 

 As she watched, the movement, that appeared to be coming from beneath, continued but didn't go anywhere else. Not understanding what she was seeing, Christy slowly made her way towards the place. 

 Suddenly an arm appeared through the debris. Christy gasped and broke into a run. By the time she reached the place, a head and shoulders had appeared. Someone was struggling from the rubble! 

 She knelt and held out her hand. "Let me help you, sir!" The victim took her hand and she helped pull him the rest of the way out. 

 Once free, he collapsed to the ground next to her, coughing harshly. It was then that Christy realized he wore the uniform of a fireman. 

 "John?" her voice wavered. 

 He stopped coughing and looked up at her. "Christy?" 

 She could only nod. He's not dead!

 He coughed again and pointed to where he'd just emerged from. "Get help; There's people in there!" 

 Christy alerted two other rescuers, and five more people were found in the cavity in the ruins. After they were all out and safely away, Christy helped John towards the makeshift 'hospital'. 

 He insisted he was fine, but she didn't like the sound of his coughing. 

 The hospital was short-staffed for the number of patients they were receiving and Christy rode back in one of the ambulances. John was transported there as well. 

 It was near midnight when Christy walked into the room where John was. 

 She sank into a chair. "Are you alright?" 

 He nodded. "Yeah. Are you?" 

 "Not really," she sighed. "This is terrible." 

 "I know." 

 Christy rubbed her temples. "With all this going on, I'll be here all night." 

 "So will I." 

 She looked up suddenly. "What?" 

 "They want to keep me overnight." 

 "Why?" 

 He shrugged. "Bruises to the lungs. Something fell on me." 

 She blinked back tears. "In...there?" 

 "Yeah..." 

  He took her hand. "I love you." 

 "I love you, too." 

 "Let's pray together before you have to get back to work." 

******

A/N: Though this story was based on a historical happening, the characters and the things that happened to them is fictional. 

This picture was captioned, Firefighters and soldiers unfurl a large American flag over the side of the Pentagon during rescue and recovery efforts. 

A flag in a name at the 9/11 memorial in Washington D.C. 

The caption that was on this photo told that the man in the picture joined the U.S. Army three days after 9/11. 

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day? 

Leave a comment and left me know. I'd love to hear your story! Thanks for reading! 

-Faith 

Writer Problem (& the quote.)

                                           

This afternoon I was sitting on the front porch eating chips & salsa and watching the clouds in the distance (hopefully they're rain clouds). I was sorting through my inbox, a million things running through my brain. 

I need to respond to her email...

I need to read that story...

I need to comment on that blog post...

I need to write the next part of "Being Little Sister"...

I need to work on the story for next weeks special post...

 

And then I thought, "why am I getting so flustered because of this? Why am I letting all these things bog me down and interfer?" Yes, this stuff is important, but it's not that important. It's things that I need to do, but not that I have to do. 

My next thought was, "what do I want to do?" I'll tell you. I want to sit on the porch (with my chips & salsa, nonetheless!) and write whatever is own my heart, instead of what I feel like I need to write. I want to not worry about all these things. I want to enjoy writing and not allow it to become something I shove aside with dread because I feel like I have to do it.  

                                          (from Pinterest.) 

Don't get me wrong. I am going to reply to the email, read the story(s), comment on the post, write the next part, and work on the special post. It just may not happen today. :) 

So, what about you? 

Do you ever experience these feelings? 

Have you ever felt like writing isn't fun anymore? Or that you're pressuring yourself too much? 

What do you do about it when those things happen? 

Leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear. =) 

For those of y'all who are just dying to know, the quote hidden in Wednesday's 'What I Saw' is: 

Aaron clasped tighter the girlish hand that wore his ring. 

In the book it actually says: Gilbert laughed and clasped tighter the girlish hand that wore his ring. 

If any of you want to look it up, you can find it in "Anne's House of Dreams" at the end of chapter 3. 

Thanks for listening to my writer ramblings! 

-Faith 

What I Saw ~ 4

Today I have the next What I Saw post for y'all! :) Also there is a post about the end of WWII on Chosen Vessels. You can see that by clicking here. 

Somewhere in this short-story is a quote from Anne's House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Let's see if anyone can find it and then I'll tell you what it is in my next post. :) 

*~*~*~

 "Summer, wait!" 

 The maid of honor stopped and turned around. Aaron was at the top of the stairs calling to her. 

 Summer grinned. "My, don't you look nice." 

 The groom smiled. "Would you do me a favor?" 

 "Sure. What do you need?" 

 "I'd like for Alaina and I to pray together before the wedding starts, if she agrees." 

 "But you aren't supposed to see her until-" 

 Aaron held up his hand when she started to object. "She can come to right here and I'll stay on the steps. I won't peek, promise." 

 "Alright, I'll tell her." Summer became serious. "I'm glad you and Alaina found one another. You're both so deserving of each other." 

 "Thank you, Summer; it means a lot." 

******

 Alaina sat in the small room where the bridal party was getting ready. 

 "Something old," Mom smiled and gave her oldest daughter a lacy trimmed handkerchief. "It was my mother's and her mother's before her. They all carried it on their wedding day." 

 Alaina gave her a hug. "Thanks, Mom." 

 "Something new," Aunt Sarah held out a delicate pearl necklace. "From me and your Uncle Joe." 

 "Thank you, Aunt Sarah. And tell Uncle Joe I said thank you." 

 "Something borrowed." Alaina's sister and bridesmaid, Melissa, walked forward. She fastened a pretty pearl bracelet on her sister's wrist. 

 Alaina hugged her. "Thank you, Lis." She swiped under her eyes. "You all are going to make me cry." 

 "Mine might do just that," Summer said steppping up to the bride. "The something blue was supposed to be your bouquet," she held it out. 

 "It's beautiful!" Alaina exclaimed. Her brow furrowed and she cocked her head to her best friend. "What do you mean 'was supposed to be'?" 

 "Well, there is something else, someone in blues, that asked me to do him a favor." 

 Alaina smiled at the mention of her fiancé. 

 "Aaron would like to pray with you before the ceremony starts. He's around the corner on the stairs. You can stay on this side and he won't see you." 

*******

 A door creaked open somewhere behind him and Aaron resisted the urge to lean around the corner. He smiled when he heard the swish of her dress as she walked closer. "Alaina?" 

 "Yeah, Aaron," she reached forward and took the hand he held out. "It's me." 

 "I asked Summer to get you for me, so that we can have prayer together before the ceremony." 

 "I'd like that." 

 Aaron clasped tighter the girlish hand that wore his ring. "Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You this day, our wedding day. We asked Your blessings on the life we're about to begin together. When we are together and when we have to be separated, I pray Your Will be done in our hearts and lives. I pray that You would give us a happy, strong, and long-lasting marriage. You know what's coming in a few short days, God–" Aaron heard Alaina's sharp intake of breath and he gave her trembling hand a squeeze. "But we rest in the peace that You will see us through the difficult days ahead; when Alaina is here alone and when I have to be away from her. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen." 

 "Thank you, Aaron." 

 "I probably need to go out front now," he sighed. 

 Alaina leaned to her right until she could see the clock down the hall. "It's only a quarter 'til two. Couldn't we stay here a little longer?" 

 "Sure, honey." He leaned back against the wall. "Are you nervous?" 

 "No," she sniffed. "I'm not nervous." 

 Aaron could tell she was crying. "Are you alright sweetheart?" 

 It took her a few seconds to answer. "I just wish you didn't have to go so soon..." 

 "Me too, sweetheart. Believe me, me too." 

 A few tender moments of quiet followed before Alaina spoke. 

 "Aaron?" 

 "Yeah." 

 "Would...would it be alright with you if we saw each other now, instead of waiting until I come down the aisle?" 

 Aaron smiled. "I'd love that. I was going to mention it the other day but I thought you wanted to wait until we were at the altar." 

 "I did want a traditional wedding, but right now I want nothing more than to step around this corner. This is our wedding day, Aaron. I don't want to have any regrets, to wish anything had been different." 

 "I agree." 

 A rustle of white caught his eye and he looked up to find his stunning bride standing next to him. Grinning widely, he took a step towards her. "You're so beautiful, Alaina. I'm so undeserving of you." 

 Alaina smiled. "Don't be ridiculous." 

 He held her close and she relished in his safe embrace. 

*******

 "Before God and these witnesses I pronounce you man and wife. Aaron, you may kiss your bride!" 

 Aaron leaned forward and kissed her ever so sweetly. He whispered in her ear, "I'm so happy!" 

 When they pulled away, Alaina took her husband's hand. "Same goes for me." 

 They turned to face their guests and the preacher spoke. "I'm pleased to present to you, Corporal and Mrs. Aaron Seagle." 

 Aaron turned and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Alaina." 

 "I love you, Aaron." 

******

Well, what do ya think? Thanks for reading! ;)

-Faith