LJ Idol Week 0: Introduction
The first day of high school my English teacher asked the class to write a story. It was the first time in my education an adult told me I could write whatever I wanted. I felt light-headed; the skies opened, the fluorescent light was sun shine and the stale air conditioning was a keen mountain breeze. I got a little carried away frantically scribbling with my broken pencil nub as the papers were collected. I do not remember the story I wrote, but I remember being really disappointed this teacher wrote that my story was a little too far-fetched.
So, I won’t tell you about how I believed I was a changeling child, from the dark forest fae, who left me behind so they could have the true blonde, blue-eyed daughter. I won’t tell you I thought every cat who chose me was a Dola, a protective spirit, keeping me grounded and safe in order to follow a life path. A spirit sent by the fae folk to watch over me.
I figured, even dark forest fae would care, even if they did leave me in order to have the well-mannered daughter I replaced. They must have known adjusting to life without kin or memory is difficult and leads to all sort of behavioral and emotional problems. Nor will I share that in my teenage years my best friends were three crows who followed me back and forth on my route to school. I was sure Morrígan, the Phantom Queen herself, sent them to me because she knew I was lonely.
Instead, I will tell you my parents are pleased as punch with their red-haired, blue-eyed daughter; so is the cat who has become the motivator to get out of bed in the morning. Now, I have a circle of friends and a partner to care about me. One of them even convinced me to join this writing contest, even though I’ve only been sharing my writing for a mere year. Well, longer than a year if you count George. He was the English teacher I mentioned before. I forgave him for the haste criticism and he apologized with interest in my writing for the last fifteen years. He might be the main reason you are reading this now.
If you enjoyed this, I’d appreciate you letting me know, and keeping me in mind in the following weeks of LJ Idol. I am looking forward to meeting you, and reading your work. What worlds there are to discover. Maybe I will even find my way back to the fae and all the other things I stopped believing in.
So, I won’t tell you about how I believed I was a changeling child, from the dark forest fae, who left me behind so they could have the true blonde, blue-eyed daughter. I won’t tell you I thought every cat who chose me was a Dola, a protective spirit, keeping me grounded and safe in order to follow a life path. A spirit sent by the fae folk to watch over me.
I figured, even dark forest fae would care, even if they did leave me in order to have the well-mannered daughter I replaced. They must have known adjusting to life without kin or memory is difficult and leads to all sort of behavioral and emotional problems. Nor will I share that in my teenage years my best friends were three crows who followed me back and forth on my route to school. I was sure Morrígan, the Phantom Queen herself, sent them to me because she knew I was lonely.
Instead, I will tell you my parents are pleased as punch with their red-haired, blue-eyed daughter; so is the cat who has become the motivator to get out of bed in the morning. Now, I have a circle of friends and a partner to care about me. One of them even convinced me to join this writing contest, even though I’ve only been sharing my writing for a mere year. Well, longer than a year if you count George. He was the English teacher I mentioned before. I forgave him for the haste criticism and he apologized with interest in my writing for the last fifteen years. He might be the main reason you are reading this now.
If you enjoyed this, I’d appreciate you letting me know, and keeping me in mind in the following weeks of LJ Idol. I am looking forward to meeting you, and reading your work. What worlds there are to discover. Maybe I will even find my way back to the fae and all the other things I stopped believing in.