Week 7 Story: The Last Daughter Standing
All my life I
have been running. Running from my home, from my unbeknownst future, from a
beast.
At one time in
my life I had eight sisters. We grew close over the years as little girls do.
We played outside, inside, anywhere we could. Until one day, my family was
attacked by a blood thirsty beast. Since then, our lives have become mobile.
This massive beast came for my siblings and me. One by one my sisters were
taken from us, leaving our family to dwindle.
The first time
the beast attacked, I was the mere age of six. He took my oldest sister from us
first and left the rest of us to wonder why and when he would strike again. Ever
since that day we all have been living our lives in fear. Each time he has
attacked my family he takes one sister from the family. Now, I am 14 years old
and I am the last sister standing. I know that the beast will come for me, it
is inevitable. However, my parents continue our lives on the move in order to preserve
my life as much as possible.
One day, while
on our journey by foot as far away from the beast as possible, my parents and I
came across a man named Susa-no-wo who claimed he could slay the creature who
was undoubtedly coming for me next. Obviously, my parents jumped at the opportunity
to save my life. However, there was a catch. Susa-no-wo would only save me from
the beast if he could take my hand in marriage. While this was the only way to
ensure a safe life, I couldn’t help but feel that all my life I have been
running from my inevitable future, only to be saved and have my future decided
for me anyway.
I am forever
grateful for my now husband’s bravery in the most desperate time in my life. I
have grown to love him in a way I could have never imagined when I met him as a
young girl running from a beast.
 |
| Japanese Mythology: Wikimedia Commons |
Author’s Note:
The original
story follows the same basic storyline, but I wanted to tell the story from the
perspective of the last sister running away from the creature with her
desperate parents. Adapted from The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi
Hi Maria! I really like the layout of your blog, I think the colors are pretty and so is the image you chose for this story. I love how you told it in first person, it makes it easy to connect and relate with the girl. It’s a really intense story at the beginning, but I like how the ending is mostly happy, even if the girl still had her future decided for her.
ReplyDeleteThe first line of this story is astounding.That's the kind of line you see at the beginning of a critically acclaimed novel or something. I may be overhyping it, but I cannot understate how much I love it! I read this story at the very beginning of the class and so it was really cool to see you swap the perspective, I actually did not recognize it until you name-dropped Susa-no-Wo. Great job here!
ReplyDeleteHi Maria!
ReplyDeleteAs I finished reading your story I though, this is a good beginning to a longer tale. I feel like it was cut short. What if you added in a fight scene between her new husband and the beast? Or even a struggle of an almost encounter where it would make the parents extremely desperate to save their last remaining daughter? I did not read the original story so I do not know how the other sisters were taken, besides by the beast. Maybe you could add a memory or a dream of one of her sisters being taken by the beast, that would give this story some extra suspense.
Hi Maria!
ReplyDeleteI really loved where this story was going. It had a lot of potential with all the emotions it has. I feel like this is just the beginning of a longer story. I was craving more details about this man. Was he good? Bad? Was he the prince charming that came and saved the main character or was he actually the beast in disguise? There's a lot of details that are missing that could make a good story GREAT! I hope I get to see more and how it evolves.
Hi Maria! The first line to your story is such a great way to start a story! I was intrigued from the very beginning. I love using the storytelling method of switching the perspective of the narrator! I think it adds a whole new depth to any story, and you did a great job with this one! Really great job!
ReplyDelete