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 60: “And you think I have?” Anya asked.
“And you think I have?” Anya asked. She recalled the turmoil of her own thoughts earlier. The woman smiled.
“You have settled yourself,” the woman said. “You are quite a stubborn one.”
“And yet you called me,” Anya said.
“I did,” she said. “I found the stillness in your mind and asked the same questions I ask of all those who come to me. There was no hesitation in you. You require answers before you can choose a course. Once you have those answers you can decide your fate.”
“I thought the Star was here to determine my fate?” Anya asked.
“No,” the woman told her. She shook her head. “The House of the Star serves as a place of respite. Those seeking a path can come. They have tasks to occupy themselves utilizing their skills as they settle into themselves. Some are escaping harsh circumstances and need to settle before they can start a new life fresh. Others are simply confused by multiple paths placed before them and need a moment to sit quietly and decide which is ultimately best for them. We are here to provide that rest, that solitude and that solace while they make their decisions. Then we help them on their path.”
“Finding them positions,” Anya asked.
The woman smiled. “The two you have spent time with? The older one comes in gratitude and she teaches the younger one, providing her skills she can take with her. Perhaps the younger one will find love in her home village, marry and use those skills in her own home without ever returning. Perhaps she will come back each year honing those skills and then find a position as a seamstress.”
“So you don’t see the future?” Anya asked.
“The future always has many paths. Some people turn away from without realizing they are there, some people decide to avoid deliberately. Some they choose willingly.”
“So this is a place where people make their own decisions even if they attribute them to the Star,” Anya asked.
“Yes,” the woman replied. “Occasionally we open paths if there are none available, but it is always their choice whether to walk them.”
“and have you come to place a path before me?” Anya asked.
“No,” the woman said. “You are an interesting case. I have brought you here to clear obstacles from your path.”
The woman stepped away from the balustrade and walked towards Anya. She maintained a careful distance, never drawing uncomfortably close. The woman gestured towards the stone basin. The future cannot be seen, there are too many interwoven lines. To tell you I could see your fate would be a lie. But I can show you your past so that you can let it go and seek a path for the future.”
“My past,” Anya repeated. She turned and walked over to the basin. She stood on one side of the basin while the other woman stood on its opposite side.
“Plague hit the town in which you lived with your family,” The woman said. She waved a hand over the water in the basin and a white mist began to rise from its surface.
Ten til Midnight 