The surprise ending assignment
So this is a (very) short story I had to write this year and I'm really proud of it. It's like my second favorite short story among the dozens I wrote.
The teacher basically just told that we had to do a surprise ending and since he was my favorite teacher ever, I wanted to write something excellent and not just good. He gave me an A, so I guess he liked it.
I hope you'll like it too, and remember that english is not my native language ;)
Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong, but Liz couldn’t figure out what it was. She had been looking for it for the past twenty minutes and still couldn’t put her finger on it; this annoying feeling was seriously starting to get on her nerves. She just couldn’t miss it, because if she messed this up, she wouldn’t get away with her crime.
Yet, she looked at Micah and once again found him insanely beautiful. The black tuxedo fitted him perfectly and the dark blue tie matched his darker blue eyes. Really beautiful. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong.
“You have to cut your hair”, she said as she finally found out what it was.
“Excuse me?!”, her fiancé cried out.
“It is way too long, you have to cut it”, Liz repeated.
“Are you totally out of your skull, woman?”, he asked. “I am not cutting my hair.”
“Micah -”
“It is not debatable. Get over it, Liz.”
“Micah! You can’t wear an expensive tuxedo with this hair!”, she argued, pointing an accusing finger at her fiancé’s head. “You look like a teenage boy going to the prom!”
“And what’s the problem with that? I looked gorgeous on my prom night!”
Liz sighed loudly. He was being childish. He always was when something wasn’t going his way. But it was about her friend and his sister’s wedding, and if she had to, she would cut his damn hair herself. As stubborn as Micah could be, she was even worse.
His sister, Mary, choose this exact moment to get into the room, and Liz couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Maybe there was a God after all, watching over them, and preventing her from killing the man she loved.
“Your stupid brother doesn’t want to cut his hair”, said Liz.
After observing him during a few minutes, Mary stated:
“You have to cut your hair.”
“See, she agrees with me.”
“Of course she does”, muttered Micah.
“The tuxedo is perfect, now go to the men’s hairdresser, get a good night's sleep - both of you - be beautiful and most important, be on time for the wedding or I’ll kill you. ‘Got it?” Asked Mary with a bright smile.
Micah and Liz nodded in agreement, gathered their things and quickly went away from the bossy bride-to-be. As he was driving them home, the young man started up again:
“I didn’t agree yet, you know…”
“Honey, I don’t want people to wonder why I allowed you to leave the house dressed like a walking disaster”, she settled.
The conversation went on the same way until they eventually got home.
Micah was going to cut his hair.
A few hours later, they were quietly sitting on their couch, enjoying the gentle torpor of the evening. None of them were speaking but they both knew they were thinking about the very same thing: the wedding. Not Mary’s, no, theirs. That day they have been talking about for two years now, maybe the time had come to have it.
Liz realised how much marrying this man meant to her today, when she swore many years ago that she would never marry anyone. She thought it was suicidal. Doesn’t one third of marriages end with a divorce? Why would she want to marry someone if everything was going well the way it was? With Micah’s arms around her, she knew why. She wanted him to be tied to her for the rest of their lives.
As she let her mind wander about her love for him, a tender smile crossed her face. Micah’s arms folded around Liz’s waist and he pulled her toward him. He kissed her first on her forehead, on the tip of her nose, and then softly on her lips.
“Do you know that your sister would slay us if she knew we’re not sleeping yet?”, she asked.
“Oh, I don’t doubt it, my love!”, he replied with a smile.
He brushed his lips against hers but she pulled away. He raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“I want to marry you.”
“I know, it’s the reason of that ring on your finger, Liz”, he said with a mocking voice.
Again, he drew on his face close to hers, but before he could kiss her, she put her fingertips to his lips.
“What's wrong now?”, he asked in exasperation.
“Nothing. I like teasing you.”
Her mischievous smile made him burst into laughter. He finally leaned down to kiss her and Liz woke up.
For a couple of minutes she looked around her room and tried to understand why she was feeling so empty, so sad. And she felt the pain, the aching loss that radiated out from her chest, like a huge hole had been punched through it, tearing down each of her organs and leaving her bleeding, only waiting for the death that would never come despite the passage of time. It was the crippling pain she felt as she suddenly remembered that Micah was dead.
The teacher basically just told that we had to do a surprise ending and since he was my favorite teacher ever, I wanted to write something excellent and not just good. He gave me an A, so I guess he liked it.
I hope you'll like it too, and remember that english is not my native language ;)
Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong, but Liz couldn’t figure out what it was. She had been looking for it for the past twenty minutes and still couldn’t put her finger on it; this annoying feeling was seriously starting to get on her nerves. She just couldn’t miss it, because if she messed this up, she wouldn’t get away with her crime.
Yet, she looked at Micah and once again found him insanely beautiful. The black tuxedo fitted him perfectly and the dark blue tie matched his darker blue eyes. Really beautiful. But she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong.
“You have to cut your hair”, she said as she finally found out what it was.
“Excuse me?!”, her fiancé cried out.
“It is way too long, you have to cut it”, Liz repeated.
“Are you totally out of your skull, woman?”, he asked. “I am not cutting my hair.”
“Micah -”
“It is not debatable. Get over it, Liz.”
“Micah! You can’t wear an expensive tuxedo with this hair!”, she argued, pointing an accusing finger at her fiancé’s head. “You look like a teenage boy going to the prom!”
“And what’s the problem with that? I looked gorgeous on my prom night!”
Liz sighed loudly. He was being childish. He always was when something wasn’t going his way. But it was about her friend and his sister’s wedding, and if she had to, she would cut his damn hair herself. As stubborn as Micah could be, she was even worse.
His sister, Mary, choose this exact moment to get into the room, and Liz couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Maybe there was a God after all, watching over them, and preventing her from killing the man she loved.
“Your stupid brother doesn’t want to cut his hair”, said Liz.
After observing him during a few minutes, Mary stated:
“You have to cut your hair.”
“See, she agrees with me.”
“Of course she does”, muttered Micah.
“The tuxedo is perfect, now go to the men’s hairdresser, get a good night's sleep - both of you - be beautiful and most important, be on time for the wedding or I’ll kill you. ‘Got it?” Asked Mary with a bright smile.
Micah and Liz nodded in agreement, gathered their things and quickly went away from the bossy bride-to-be. As he was driving them home, the young man started up again:
“I didn’t agree yet, you know…”
“Honey, I don’t want people to wonder why I allowed you to leave the house dressed like a walking disaster”, she settled.
The conversation went on the same way until they eventually got home.
Micah was going to cut his hair.
A few hours later, they were quietly sitting on their couch, enjoying the gentle torpor of the evening. None of them were speaking but they both knew they were thinking about the very same thing: the wedding. Not Mary’s, no, theirs. That day they have been talking about for two years now, maybe the time had come to have it.
Liz realised how much marrying this man meant to her today, when she swore many years ago that she would never marry anyone. She thought it was suicidal. Doesn’t one third of marriages end with a divorce? Why would she want to marry someone if everything was going well the way it was? With Micah’s arms around her, she knew why. She wanted him to be tied to her for the rest of their lives.
As she let her mind wander about her love for him, a tender smile crossed her face. Micah’s arms folded around Liz’s waist and he pulled her toward him. He kissed her first on her forehead, on the tip of her nose, and then softly on her lips.
“Do you know that your sister would slay us if she knew we’re not sleeping yet?”, she asked.
“Oh, I don’t doubt it, my love!”, he replied with a smile.
He brushed his lips against hers but she pulled away. He raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“I want to marry you.”
“I know, it’s the reason of that ring on your finger, Liz”, he said with a mocking voice.
Again, he drew on his face close to hers, but before he could kiss her, she put her fingertips to his lips.
“What's wrong now?”, he asked in exasperation.
“Nothing. I like teasing you.”
Her mischievous smile made him burst into laughter. He finally leaned down to kiss her and Liz woke up.
For a couple of minutes she looked around her room and tried to understand why she was feeling so empty, so sad. And she felt the pain, the aching loss that radiated out from her chest, like a huge hole had been punched through it, tearing down each of her organs and leaving her bleeding, only waiting for the death that would never come despite the passage of time. It was the crippling pain she felt as she suddenly remembered that Micah was dead.