Opening parts of “An Everyday Self”
Like the title says this is the opening of a short novel of mine dated 2014; surreal in nature. Enjoy!!
I
Tomorrow came as a surprise for Tom; he wasn’t used to surprises. It didn’t matter if it was on a Tuesday or Wednesday, surprises were always surprising. Remotely surprising was Tom’s reaction; it always followed the same pattern. He stopped for a while, examined his presence and in an instant borrowed some milk from his neighbour with whom he was friends.
Dear Margaret, he would say. Can I borrow some milk from you? It was as simple as that. Margaret had been married once but her husband left her for another…man which was more than society could take; hence a sudden move to Asia somewhere where there were no beaches; only peaches to spare. A wiser economy perhaps but Margaret and Tom were good neighbours.
Their friendship had developed over the years to include more than what was normally the case with neighbours. If Tom had a problem with a shirt he could always consult Margaret and if Margaret ever wore a skirt, which was never the case, then in theory she could consult Tom.
When Tom was at his best he was not surprised which may come as some surprise, given the fact that he kept his nose in a jar most of the time, while the rest of the time passed like snowflakes falling upwards and not downwards which was normal for snowflakes that fell.
Yes it’s rather surreal, but these days I kind of feel the same way. Certainly very little surprises me anymore. I sort of relate to this, it’s good.
Thanks for surprising me.
I always like to come in at the beginning of a story. This sounds like it could be intriguing.
Featheredwing.
Thank you very much indeed. This one is special to me and it’s approximately 70 pages of a moment and thus the moment in question simply won’t seem to go away; whatever it is … lol. Much needed comments on that piece of mine. BTW It’s available but I can send you copies if you like and if you give me some time.
Thanks again!!!
keep his nose in a jar… hmm
is he perhaps nothing but the imaginary friend of Margaret? her world was rocked and reversed (snowflakes that go up) because her husband left her for another man. ‘society’ may be Margaret’s psychological condition.
in theory she could consult Tom. in theory. another hmm, and she doesn’t wear skirts. maybe Margaret is Tom. In which case it was Tom’s wife that left him for another .. woman.
what a weird little story you weaved here. quite fascinating I must say. one can see it in various ways.
looking forward to the next installment
Instantly so dear lady!! “To jar or not to jar” Vintage norse expression … 🙂
Moreover I can tell you in my native lanuage that it’s surreal so anything is anyone’s guess but stay away from long drinks while you read otherwise it’ll be (in scandinavian (modern norse so to speak:) en smula ogreppbarmässighetspåverkansoneklighetsverklighetsorealterat.
By all means run that word through google translate and the current will possibly blow 🙂
More seriously I could post the continuing parts of that piece on demand.
what does your username mean? always wanted to ask, it sounds like the Greek letter Omecron.
what does this long word mean?
everything can be explained using logic.
I seriously hope you will submit more parts.
Hmm. Yes, I can submit the rest of chapter one next week. As I got your response I was composing an explanation to the long word off the thread here (so to speak). ‘ In norse and the scandinavian language it makes perfect sense to combine several words and make them one long word. This is done very often although they don’t really end up in any dictionary. The word I construed above is a combination of … (I’m counting) … 6 long words making up a fully comprehensible word of .. (I’m counting) … 60 letters altogether…. lol. It… Read more »
Sometimes out of the blue I ask myself “how old are you again?”
my reply is usually “Two”
lately I have said “Ten”
so, you’re older than me in a sense, I don’t know your real age. But this ‘age’ – the ‘esoteric’ the ‘inner voice’ age seems fine.
Misuse of semicolons. Usually a period would suffice. Unless you are writing something like “I loved to leave the shuttle and set foot on a new planet; however, this planet was a living hell.” Or if you have to highly related clauses.
“When Tom was at his best he was not surprised which may come as some surprise, given the fact that he kept his nose in a jar most of the time, while the rest of the time passed like snowflakes falling upwards and not downwards which was normal for snowflakes that fell.”
Makes no sense to an English speaking person.
Understandingly so. To Me neither.:) Thank you!!