4.14.2008

The Price of Freedom

When my father finally came back from his quest he was no longer my father. The horrible thing is I wasn’t myself either. I wish it was easy to explain, wish I could put it all into a neat and tidy box, wrapped up in pretty paper and ribbon. Wish I could sit down and open that box by myself someday, to see if the end somehow mirrors the beginning, to see if there was any foreshadowing that I could have picked up on.

But the bottom line is there was a price for my father’s freedom.

And it was me.

I don’t belong to him anymore. Don’t belong to anyone now.

It took years for me to buy my own freedom, hiding bits of copper and silver that I earned on the streets. Took even longer for me to unlearn my new foreign accent, to replace it with something liquid and elegant, something that flows off the tongue. And then there were the months spent practicing the fine art of Kundow, the local combination of dance and self-defense.

And finally, with my face painted, I donned the traditional dress of a warrior princess and performed every night down at the Painted Pony. Knowing that one day he would walk in the door.

I saw it in my dreams and I knew it would happen.

The end of my father’s quest was destined to be the beginning of mine.

NOTE:
Rachelle was having a contest over at her site that looked like too much fun. So the story above is my entry. The entry that I didn't enter.

4 comments:

Rebecca LuElla Miller said...

Your site has had a makeover! I've been checking in with Bloglines and didn't realize before that you changed it.

Nice piece of fiction. Interesting, captured my interest. So is there a someday story in there for you?

Becky

Merrie Destefano said...

Thanks for the comment, Becky!

I don't know. I was just playing around. Maybe.

I REALLY liked your story beginning though, and I hope that you work on it. It could be a short story or a book. Very cool stuff there.
:)
Mer

Christopher Hopper said...

Merrie,

Thanks so much for the comment over on CJ's site; meant a lot to me!

And thanks for your input about the upcoming "you know what" that you gave to Sharon via email. Just read over your ideas and, wow! So stoked!

Blessings!

CH

Merrie Destefano said...

Thanks for stopping by, Christopher!

And your advice over at CJs was a blessing--thank you for taking the time to dig deep and explain how writers can become better at their craft.

I'm glad you like my ideas. God is doing a mighty work with you and Sharon and some other folks.

I'm excited to see what will happen next!

Blessings,
Merrie