The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 19: On the wall were pegs for hanging clothing.
On the wall were pegs for hanging clothing. The woman let her study the space for a moment and then walked across to the wash basin. She looked into the pitcher and clicked her tongue when she found it empty.
“I’ll get this filled for you so you can have a good wash before you sleep.”
“I appreciate that,” Anya said. While she was tired enough that she could have fallen into bed without washing her travels from her, the bed looked clean and not only did Anya not want to soil it, but she knew she would feel much better once she was clean. The woman nodded, picked up the pitcher and then went out of the door. Anya thought to follow her, but by the time she moved to the door, the woman had already disappeared around a corner.
‘I suppose I’ll find out where the water is later,’ Anya thought. She left the door open and Slipped the pack from her back. During her travels, she only removed it when she needed to extract one of her rationed meals from its depths. It felt good to let it fall away from her back. Anya set the pack on the floor by the bed. As she straightened the woman returned . She not only held a full pitcher but had a pile of cloth in her arms. Anya watched as she set the pitcher down on the stand and placed a small square of soap next to it. The top of the cloth appeared to be a towel fro drying and the rest was a night dress and a clean set of clothing.
“I wasn’t sure what you had with you,” the woman said, but I know I always like to wear something fresh when I finish a journey. “When you wake I can show you to the laundry if you’d like.”
“That would be great,” Anya replied. Tears prickled in her eyes at the kindness.
“No problem,” the woman replied. “I’m in room thirty six but if I’m not there I am usually around somewhere. When you wake up just head down to the main corridor. I’ll probably be in one of the rooms.”
“I will,” Anya replied. “Thank you for your help, and the loan of the spare clothes.”
“They are for you to keep, if they suit you,” the woman told her. “While here many put their skills to use on the materials gathered and leave behind items for other travelers to use. These are for you and if you would like to use your skills while you are here to make something to leave behind then we welcome your contribution. Now, I’ll leave you to your rest.”
Before Anya could think of a reply, the woman turned and left, closing the door as she did so. The door locked from the inside and as nice as she felt the people she met here were, Anya couldn’t help but lock the door before moving to pull the curtains closed. In the dim room, Anya stripped off her clothing.
While the bathhouses in Tyrin were generally reserved for the more well off citizens, every citizen believed in regular bathing. Anya was used to having two dresses that she alternated between so that she could wear one and clean the other.
Ten til Midnight 