Stranger Things and Real Life
While cleaning up my folders on the computer at work and deleting all my personal files, I came across this, the original ending to Stranger Things. I thought about posting it as a last chapter with the caveat that it was the original and not the final, but since ff.net doesn't seem to have that "workshop" mentality I figured I'd post it here.
Stranger Things: Original Epilogue
Galen carried his suitcase up the stairs from the train platform as quickly as the crowd and his baggage would allow. He could not wait to be reunited with his mother. His first semester at college was the first time he could remember being separated from her for more than a weekend and he had missed her more than he had expected. He reached the top of the stairs and his keen blue eyes scanned the large station for his mother. He spotted her easily across the station and quickened his pace towards her, dragging his suitcase behind him.
As he got closer, he saw that his mother was not standing alone. There was a blonde man standing with her, and they were apparently deep in conversation. He didn't like the look of it. He knew his mother was attractive, looking far younger than she actually was because of her fit dancer's body, but this man could not be more than a few years older than he was. Galen ran the rest of the distance to his mom and gave her a long hug, partly because he had missed her, partly to let this man know that she was with him, and not alone.
When he released her, he saw the blonde man looking intently at his mother. She turned then to the stranger. "I'd like you to meet Galen," she swallowed and bit her lip, "my son."
Galen saw the man's deep blue eyes grow wide. The man turned to his mother and asked in a bare whisper, "Who is his father?"
He saw his mother tense. He saw the look of pain in her eyes. Why did this man have to bring up his father, his no good father who had been out of the picture since before Galen was even born. He saw his mother gaze meaningfully at the man. Galen realized that there was more to this than was apparent and stepped back to watch the scene.
After a moment, Galen saw shock flash across the man's eyes. "You are sure?" the man gasped.
Galen's jaw dropped at the insinuation in the man's question. He belatedly realized that somehow, from a look from his mother, this man knew who his father was. He saw his mother nod, apparently not as affected by the question as Galen was. "It has to be." She dropped her eyes to the floor. "For there has been no other since."
Suddently Galen felt uncomfortable. He felt like he was intruding into a private part of his mother's past. And yet, it had to do with him. This was his father they were talking about. He stayed rooted to the spot, looking back and forth between his mother and the man.
He saw his mother look back up at the man, both of whom were now completely unaware of Galen. "Why have you come?"
"I returned to Lothlorien and gazed into the Lady Galadriel's mirror. I saw you," he looked at Galen, "and him." He looked back at Galen's mom. "Return with me."
Galen heard his mother laugh bitterly. "Look at me! Look at you! I'm old. You haven't changed."
The man persisted. "It does not matter. Come back and we shall take the straight road together where it will not matter."
"I can't," his mother said. "We have a life here."
"Carrie..." Galen glared at the man who spoke his mother's name like that. How dare he. How dare he speak to his mother in such a...such a...such an intimate tone? He looked over at his mother. Her face was a mask of torment. Galen was beside himself with worry for his mother, and yet, there was also an overwhelming curiosity. Somehow this man held a key to his past. Somehow, this man knew his father.
The man looked at Galen and then back at his mother. "Your son deserves to know his father." At that comment, Galen could no longer contain himself. The audacity of this stranger, speaking to his mother like that. He would probably have advanced on the man if it had not been for his mother's quiet reply.
"And you deserve to know your son." Galen froze, mouth agape. It was not possible. This man was his age. He looked over at the man who was looking intently at him. And that's when he really saw the man's eyes. They were the same deep, expressive blue eyes that looked back at Galen every day from the mirror. He recalled countless times throughout his childhood when his mother would tell him that he had his father's eyes.
Galen involuntarily took a step back. As if from a great distance he heard his mother continue. "But it is not possible."
The man looked at his mother and said, "Why don't you let our son decide?" Both Galen and his mother gasped at the man's use of the word "our".
It was too much for Galen to take in so he held onto the one piece of the conversation that he could follow. "Decide what?"
The man turned to Galen and spoke to him, since his mother was obviously too frazzled to do any talking at the moment. "Your mother will explain everything." He regarded Galen with wonder, but not without warmth, before turning back to his mother. "And then decide what you will." Galen saw the man grab his mother's hand and look at her affectionately. "I will return here in three days time. Please come to either tell me you will join me or to say our final goodbye." He smiled warmly at her. "If you decide to come, I will wait for you as long as you need."
Galen saw tears well up in his mother's eyes. The man kissed her hand and then spoke in some foreign language to her. "Melin le, Carrie, ten’oio."
His mother choked back her tears enough to reply, "Melin le, Legolas."
As the man turned and walked away, Galen saw tears falling freely down his mother's face. He rushed to put his arm around her, to comfort her. He knew he should let it be, and let the whole encounter pass, but he had to know.
"Mom, was that really...my father?"
His mother hugged him tightly. She looked up into his eyes and realized again just how blessed she was to have such a wonderful son.
"Let's go home Galen." She dried her tears. "I have a rather long story to tell you." They began to walk towards the exit and Carrie continued. "It is a story that involves elves and dwarves, wizards and men, good and evil, and surprisingly," she chuckled, "me and your father."
"And the decision?"
"On step at a time, Galen." She reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "One step at a time."
They walked together through the congested train station, arm in arm, until at last they disappeared into the crowd.
*******************************************
And so this story draws to a close. ‘How does it end?’ you ask? Do Carrie and Galen decide to leave their life, their family and everything dear to them and go with Legolas, sailing off into the sunset? After all, Carrie would get what she wanted, and be able to say goodbye to her loved ones. Or does Legolas, instead, decide that he will stay with Carrie, the years spent with his love and his son outweighing the heartbreak of spending the rest of the life of the earth alone? Or do they indeed part ways for good, as so often happens in this life?
Choose the ending to the story that you see fit. I say it doesn’t matter. For happily ever after is not what life is about. Life is not a means to an end. If we continue to worry about how it will end we do not enjoy the journey. Life truly is about moments. And all that matters in this story is that for one moment, nothing existed in any world for Legolas and Carrie except each other. May we all be so lucky as to find moments like that.
Right off the bat I see glaring POV issues and although my original intention was to post it exactly as it was, I had to fix the Sindarin because it was just painful to look at Grelvish. (This was written way before I knew the evils of the Grey Company).
So why did this change?
Well, first of all, it is a weak ending. Also, my beta didn't like the fact that it took Legolas 20 years to come find Carrie. (I agreed after she pointed that out.) Plus the pregnancy thing was just so very Mary Sue. (I hate that term, but it is so true.)
Let me tell you, I had so many references to her getting nauseous throughout the end of the story, it was a royal pain in the @ss to have to find them all and edit them out. I think there may be some in there, but some people get sick to their stomach when they're upset (which is what she attributed it to anyway).
Of course, now I know that morning sickness doesn't come on until 4-6 weeks, so that whole thing was pure and total BS too...
In other exciting news, Feanor has become a horrible influence on me.
What did the stupid Noldo do now???
Well, I'm in yet another show, with the same director from the last show. I auditioned for this show but due to my schedule she did not want to give me a part. (I would be missing more than half of the rehearsals.) So I said fine, if she needed help backstage, I would help out however I could.
I am in charge of props.
Pretty cool, I've never done props before. So that was fine. Then I get an email from the producer to be in the ensemble of the show because they need more bodies onstage. I don't want to be in the ensemble; I don't want to just stand on stage and sing chorus parts. But, they needed bodies, so I agreed to do it.
They knew my schedule.
For the past two months, when I am there, all I ever hear is a sarcastic, "Nice of you to show up" and similar sentiments. Now, the usual, regular Arandil would try to smooth everything over and make nice with the director. But no.
Last night I walked out of rehearsal. Up and walked out. I completely flipped. She reamed me out in front of the entire cast for not knowing where to go during curtain calls (which they had done when I wasn't there and nobody filled me in). I don't know what came over me, but I felt liberated and fiery. I was all "I'm not taking any crap from anybody, anymore!"
So I blame Feanor. Why? Because I've been writing about him for so long now, I think some of his fiery nature has rubbed off on me. I know it might be a little silly to blame a fictional character, but whatever. You all know that when you write about someone you get into a certain mindset.
Stupid elf.
Stranger Things: Original Epilogue
Galen carried his suitcase up the stairs from the train platform as quickly as the crowd and his baggage would allow. He could not wait to be reunited with his mother. His first semester at college was the first time he could remember being separated from her for more than a weekend and he had missed her more than he had expected. He reached the top of the stairs and his keen blue eyes scanned the large station for his mother. He spotted her easily across the station and quickened his pace towards her, dragging his suitcase behind him.
As he got closer, he saw that his mother was not standing alone. There was a blonde man standing with her, and they were apparently deep in conversation. He didn't like the look of it. He knew his mother was attractive, looking far younger than she actually was because of her fit dancer's body, but this man could not be more than a few years older than he was. Galen ran the rest of the distance to his mom and gave her a long hug, partly because he had missed her, partly to let this man know that she was with him, and not alone.
When he released her, he saw the blonde man looking intently at his mother. She turned then to the stranger. "I'd like you to meet Galen," she swallowed and bit her lip, "my son."
Galen saw the man's deep blue eyes grow wide. The man turned to his mother and asked in a bare whisper, "Who is his father?"
He saw his mother tense. He saw the look of pain in her eyes. Why did this man have to bring up his father, his no good father who had been out of the picture since before Galen was even born. He saw his mother gaze meaningfully at the man. Galen realized that there was more to this than was apparent and stepped back to watch the scene.
After a moment, Galen saw shock flash across the man's eyes. "You are sure?" the man gasped.
Galen's jaw dropped at the insinuation in the man's question. He belatedly realized that somehow, from a look from his mother, this man knew who his father was. He saw his mother nod, apparently not as affected by the question as Galen was. "It has to be." She dropped her eyes to the floor. "For there has been no other since."
Suddently Galen felt uncomfortable. He felt like he was intruding into a private part of his mother's past. And yet, it had to do with him. This was his father they were talking about. He stayed rooted to the spot, looking back and forth between his mother and the man.
He saw his mother look back up at the man, both of whom were now completely unaware of Galen. "Why have you come?"
"I returned to Lothlorien and gazed into the Lady Galadriel's mirror. I saw you," he looked at Galen, "and him." He looked back at Galen's mom. "Return with me."
Galen heard his mother laugh bitterly. "Look at me! Look at you! I'm old. You haven't changed."
The man persisted. "It does not matter. Come back and we shall take the straight road together where it will not matter."
"I can't," his mother said. "We have a life here."
"Carrie..." Galen glared at the man who spoke his mother's name like that. How dare he. How dare he speak to his mother in such a...such a...such an intimate tone? He looked over at his mother. Her face was a mask of torment. Galen was beside himself with worry for his mother, and yet, there was also an overwhelming curiosity. Somehow this man held a key to his past. Somehow, this man knew his father.
The man looked at Galen and then back at his mother. "Your son deserves to know his father." At that comment, Galen could no longer contain himself. The audacity of this stranger, speaking to his mother like that. He would probably have advanced on the man if it had not been for his mother's quiet reply.
"And you deserve to know your son." Galen froze, mouth agape. It was not possible. This man was his age. He looked over at the man who was looking intently at him. And that's when he really saw the man's eyes. They were the same deep, expressive blue eyes that looked back at Galen every day from the mirror. He recalled countless times throughout his childhood when his mother would tell him that he had his father's eyes.
Galen involuntarily took a step back. As if from a great distance he heard his mother continue. "But it is not possible."
The man looked at his mother and said, "Why don't you let our son decide?" Both Galen and his mother gasped at the man's use of the word "our".
It was too much for Galen to take in so he held onto the one piece of the conversation that he could follow. "Decide what?"
The man turned to Galen and spoke to him, since his mother was obviously too frazzled to do any talking at the moment. "Your mother will explain everything." He regarded Galen with wonder, but not without warmth, before turning back to his mother. "And then decide what you will." Galen saw the man grab his mother's hand and look at her affectionately. "I will return here in three days time. Please come to either tell me you will join me or to say our final goodbye." He smiled warmly at her. "If you decide to come, I will wait for you as long as you need."
Galen saw tears well up in his mother's eyes. The man kissed her hand and then spoke in some foreign language to her. "Melin le, Carrie, ten’oio."
His mother choked back her tears enough to reply, "Melin le, Legolas."
As the man turned and walked away, Galen saw tears falling freely down his mother's face. He rushed to put his arm around her, to comfort her. He knew he should let it be, and let the whole encounter pass, but he had to know.
"Mom, was that really...my father?"
His mother hugged him tightly. She looked up into his eyes and realized again just how blessed she was to have such a wonderful son.
"Let's go home Galen." She dried her tears. "I have a rather long story to tell you." They began to walk towards the exit and Carrie continued. "It is a story that involves elves and dwarves, wizards and men, good and evil, and surprisingly," she chuckled, "me and your father."
"And the decision?"
"On step at a time, Galen." She reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "One step at a time."
They walked together through the congested train station, arm in arm, until at last they disappeared into the crowd.
*******************************************
And so this story draws to a close. ‘How does it end?’ you ask? Do Carrie and Galen decide to leave their life, their family and everything dear to them and go with Legolas, sailing off into the sunset? After all, Carrie would get what she wanted, and be able to say goodbye to her loved ones. Or does Legolas, instead, decide that he will stay with Carrie, the years spent with his love and his son outweighing the heartbreak of spending the rest of the life of the earth alone? Or do they indeed part ways for good, as so often happens in this life?
Choose the ending to the story that you see fit. I say it doesn’t matter. For happily ever after is not what life is about. Life is not a means to an end. If we continue to worry about how it will end we do not enjoy the journey. Life truly is about moments. And all that matters in this story is that for one moment, nothing existed in any world for Legolas and Carrie except each other. May we all be so lucky as to find moments like that.
Right off the bat I see glaring POV issues and although my original intention was to post it exactly as it was, I had to fix the Sindarin because it was just painful to look at Grelvish. (This was written way before I knew the evils of the Grey Company).
So why did this change?
Well, first of all, it is a weak ending. Also, my beta didn't like the fact that it took Legolas 20 years to come find Carrie. (I agreed after she pointed that out.) Plus the pregnancy thing was just so very Mary Sue. (I hate that term, but it is so true.)
Let me tell you, I had so many references to her getting nauseous throughout the end of the story, it was a royal pain in the @ss to have to find them all and edit them out. I think there may be some in there, but some people get sick to their stomach when they're upset (which is what she attributed it to anyway).
Of course, now I know that morning sickness doesn't come on until 4-6 weeks, so that whole thing was pure and total BS too...
In other exciting news, Feanor has become a horrible influence on me.
What did the stupid Noldo do now???
Well, I'm in yet another show, with the same director from the last show. I auditioned for this show but due to my schedule she did not want to give me a part. (I would be missing more than half of the rehearsals.) So I said fine, if she needed help backstage, I would help out however I could.
I am in charge of props.
Pretty cool, I've never done props before. So that was fine. Then I get an email from the producer to be in the ensemble of the show because they need more bodies onstage. I don't want to be in the ensemble; I don't want to just stand on stage and sing chorus parts. But, they needed bodies, so I agreed to do it.
They knew my schedule.
For the past two months, when I am there, all I ever hear is a sarcastic, "Nice of you to show up" and similar sentiments. Now, the usual, regular Arandil would try to smooth everything over and make nice with the director. But no.
Last night I walked out of rehearsal. Up and walked out. I completely flipped. She reamed me out in front of the entire cast for not knowing where to go during curtain calls (which they had done when I wasn't there and nobody filled me in). I don't know what came over me, but I felt liberated and fiery. I was all "I'm not taking any crap from anybody, anymore!"
So I blame Feanor. Why? Because I've been writing about him for so long now, I think some of his fiery nature has rubbed off on me. I know it might be a little silly to blame a fictional character, but whatever. You all know that when you write about someone you get into a certain mindset.
Stupid elf.