In Another Life
an excerpt

Note from author:
Okay, I wasn't going to post an excerpt because the novel is VERY rough right now and maybe not any good at all. But I'm posting this scene because my fellow NaNo-ers might find it amusing. (Warning: this is still a very rough draft. I barely proofed it so I maybe have missed some things.)

But then this happens...

Sue wanted to get back to writing fiction, but she also desperately wanted to take a nap. A voice in her head voted loudly for giving up on fiction and taking a much-needed snooze instead. Sue was sorely tempted, but she kept seeing the old man's face. He had entreated her so earnestly to write fiction, as if it wasn't just a frivolous pursuit, as if there was an important reason for her to make this leap.

Sue couldn't imagine why it would be important for someone like her to write fiction. She didn't even seem to be particularly good at it. Surely the world would survive just fine if she stuck to writing technical articles. But something in the man's face made Sue wonder.

She tried to focus, but she was so tired. It was all she could do to sit up and stare at the screen. She kept finding things to do to put off writing just a little bit longer.

Finally Sue shut her computer and laid down for a nap. It took a while for her to fall asleep because of the guilt associated with napping in the middle of the day. Once asleep she had strange dreams.

Sue was sleeping. She had finally – after pulling on the third quilt – gotten warm enough. An odd sound stirred her toward wakefulness. It took a moment after waking to realize the sound was a knock on her bedroom window.

She got up and went to the window. She opened the blinds and was stunned to find the old man staring back at her.

His face was angry. He pointed an accusing finger in her direction.

"You’re not writing," he yelled.

"But, I was writing. I just took a break."

"You promised to write fiction."

"I was tired. I just laid down for a nap, that's all."

"If you're not going to use the gift I gave you, I want it back!" He pounded on the window so hard that the blinds rattled.

"But I am using it." Now she wanted to keep the magic laptop more desperately than ever. She didn't want to lose her portal to enchanted worlds and alternate lives. She longed to race to the table and clutch the computer to her chest forever. "I am using it," she yelled back. "I promise."

"How many words?"

"Huh?"

"How many words did you write today?"

"A few hundred," Sue stammered back.

"Liar," he screamed and pounded the window even harder. This time a crack began to form in the glass, beginning at the top left corner and making its way down to the right.

Sue stared back in horror.

"Alright, alright, I haven't written anything today. But I promise I will. I'll go do it right now."

The old man stopped pounding and stepped back from the window. "You better." He pointed two fingers at his eyes, then at her. "I'm watching you," he threatened. Then he vanished.

Sue woke up in a cold sweat, struggling to catch her breath. She glanced suspiciously at the window but the blinds were closed as usual. She got up and checked the windowpane, but there was no crack and – thankfully – no angry old man outside.

After taking just a moment to make some tea, Sue sat down at her desk, opened her laptop and began writing fiction like she had promised the old man she would. Occasionally she heard a sound like that of a small animal scratching around the outside of the house, but she didn’t stop to investigate. The noise only made her type faster.