As the fifteen minute novel story idea was finished before the year was out, I chose a different story start and worked up a new outline. So now we are into the story of Anna. Thus far i am really liking how it is shaping up. Clearly there will be massive edits later, but this experiment is just about getting the whole story out. Adding and subtracting can come later. For now, the story goes on…
Day 19: Anna wondered who would be the best to contact.
Anna wondered who would be the best to contact. It was an unusual thought. During the time she was gone she did her best to try to forget about anyone left behind. She knew the consequences were dire for them if they were caught speaking to her and she didn’t want to cause them trouble.
Now she didn’t know who would still consider her a friend and who would have moved on forgetting all about her. She wasn’t that close with her friends before she left. Their group was always rife with back stabbing and gossip. Competition between them was encouraged at every level for pretty much everything. There was competition for the best teachers, the best placement in the hall of gathering and the best dance partners. Competition spilled into spell ingredient gathering and workspace.
After she left Anna found herself missing her own spacious and well-appointed workspace more than she missed any of her friends. ‘Still I need information,’ Anna thought. She tried to shift her thoughts back to her previous life, thinking of them. The ones who would have the most information would be the most competitive. ‘If I can make it look like helping me out gives them some sort of advantage it might be best,’ she thought.
Another thought occurred. ‘As long as that advantage isn’t contacting one of the hire ups and being seen to be useful by feeding me the information they wanted.’
It was a distinct possibility and Anna used it to turn over names and possibilities in her mind. She still hadn’t come up with an answer by the time the machine stopped running and she began gathering her things to leave. The clothes she wore were still damp, but she could hang them up and allow them to line dry here. ‘Especially since I am taking these clothes with me.’
Leaving them would ensure she had a fresh set here should they be needed. Once she hung them up to finish drying and tidied up the rest of the space, Anna took her bag and left the safe house. She felt no eyes watching her, but still took a long and winding route home. She saw nothing unexpected and no one who didn’t live in the area.
It was close to the time she normally came home and she saw all of the familiar faces. She nodded greetings to some and exchanged a few words of pleasantries with the others. She discovered as she ran that it was never a bad idea to be thought well of by her neighbors. Occasionally the local gossip alerted her to something unexpected in the neighborhood and allowed her to escape. She saw no reason n to ditch the habit now, and in fact actually enjoyed most of her neighbors here.
The apartment she called home was modest, but a far step above the safe house she just left.
Ten til Midnight 