# Literary Maneuvers December 2021: The Wall in Twilight



## Harper J. Cole (Dec 1, 2021)

*Literary Maneuvers December 2021: The Wall in Twilight*




Introduction
Welcome to the Wall in Twilight! What story can you spin out of this month's fascinating prompt?
650 words max., deadline 23:59 GMT / 18:59 EST, Saturday, 18 December
If you win, you'll get a badge pinned to your profile, plus the chance to enter our Feb 2022 *Grand Fiction Challenge*, which carries cash prizes.

Judging

There are four judges this month. Joining *VRanger* are *robertn51*, *Ajoy *and *Lawless*. If you'd like to volunteer, please let me know via PM or in the Coffee Shop. If you wish to know more about scoring, take a look at the NEW JUDGING GUIDE which also includes a template to use for your scoring. Please use this template for consistency.

Additional

All entries that wish to retain their first rights should post in the LM WORKSHOP THREAD.

*All anonymous entries will be PMed to myself and please note in the PM whether you want your entry posted in the workshop.*

Please check out our Rules and Policies for extra details on the LM contests.

Everyone is welcome to participate, including judges. A judge's entry will receive a review by their fellow judges, but it will not receive a score, though some judges are happy to let you know their score for you privately. Please refrain from 'like'-ing or 'lol'-ing an entry until the scores are posted.

Judges: If you could send the scores no later than* December 31st,* it will ensure a timely release of results. Much later than that and I will have to post with what I have. Again, please see the Judging Guidelines if you have questions. Following the suggested formatting will be much appreciated, too.


----------



## GunnarTu (Dec 2, 2021)

Gaze ​the sounds of screams recoiling off the walls making its way further and further down the hall where it breaks into a room at the end of a long hallway. A black abyss follows these screams into the room infinitely large as it is confining for the young boy curled up in the corner. The twilight breaking through the window sill splitting off the screams and the abyss from the boy. The boy cold, and fatigued looking intently at the wall of the abyss. two white figures gently and quietly appearing from the abyss. A pure white figure whose only features are its two eyes as infinite as the abyss of the boy's room returning the boy's gaze. The longer he exchanged glances with the figures the more he felt at ease, and the more he wandered into the abyss of its eyes.  
One of the figures extending its arm towards the boy, but the boy payed no attention to its arm coming towards him just as quietly as it appeared and as gently as it had stepped out of the wall of the abyss.  
The boy had drifted into sleep while looking into the abyss. A now brightly lit room and a peaceful silence. A blanket now covered the boy, the chill of the night and fatigue that had once sapped him at night were now gone, and he was now left with a feeling of serenity he had never felt as he drifted further into his dreams. Dreams of his parents, dreams of those comforting white figures, dreams of bliss. A bright light shining through the windowsill onto the boy as he slowly opens his eyes and feels the warmth of his parents next to him. The screams gone, the abyss gone, and the time of twilight still fresh in his mind. Thing will be better he thought and he fell back into serenity with the comforting warmth of his parents at his side.   


​


----------



## RGS (Dec 3, 2021)

Moved to the private section...



			https://www.writingforums.com/threads/lm-secure-thread-december-2021-the-wall-in-twlight.196292/post-2376407


----------



## Deleted member 66445 (Dec 4, 2021)

I almost missed it, they had hidden it so well. The tiny door was nestled in the twisted vines that covered the otherwise plain red brick wall. To most, it was simply an irregularity in the surface, but to me, it was a door that pulsed with arcane energies.
     What were the Fae doing here? Why now? The moon was waning, and they typically didn’t venture beyond the veil unless it was full. Yes, I had been looking for them, but this was the wrong time and place for them.
     I walked over to the bench I saw, plopping my sorry ass on the worn green slats. I rummaged around my tattered bag for my sketch pad and the pencils that were almost worn to nubs. This way I could watch without really watching.
     I had been looking for a Gate for the last three months. They probably knew I was here, but with any luck, they wouldn’t see me for who and what I am. If I didn’t get back now, though, I would lose what little magic I had left. As it was, I could barely sense the arcane, the stronger Magics had completely deserted me.
     One by one, the park lights flickered on, each lighting its own designated spot on the path beneath it. Twilight was setting in, the witching hour, some called it. They were right, you know?
     A shimmering arch-shaped opening was cleverly concealed behind the woody growth and abundant pendulous flowers of the wisteria. I began to walk toward it when she caught my eye as she sashayed along the sidewalk, dancing to some music only she could hear. As she came closer, I could hear her humming, I recognized it as a Celtic lullaby about fairies. What an odd choice for someone so young, especially…here.
     Why was she here? As she came closer, her heel caught on an uneven crack in the sidewalk. I braced myself to catch her. As she knocked me off balance, I felt the icy fingers and cold breath of one of them on my skin.
     :You do not belong here. Why are you here in this place? You have been away for too long, and have forgotten our ways:
     The voice echoed in my head as unseen hands pushed me across the doorway. The girl screamed and wrapped her arms around my neck.  She would have done better to let go.
     As we tumbled into the void beyond the gate, there was a reverberating thud behind us.
     :She was not supposed to come with you. There is a price you must pay:
     They came through the mist, seven of them, standing in a half-circle around me and the girl. I felt her tremble in fear, and instinctively I stepped closer to her, protecting her in whatever small way I could.
     :She cannot be here, and you have turned away from the magics, even as it was unintentional. You two cannot be allowed to remain here, there are those who would seek to harm her for what she is, and you for what you are. You have seen too much of the mortal world:
     :The price is banishment, wiping your mind of our magic. She will remember nothing of this, only that you were a stranger needing help:
     I fell hard, blacking out as my head hit the elm tree to the side of the path. She ran towards me, concern on her face. I let her fuss over me, feeling like I’d seen her before. As I slowly got up, she suggested that we go to the coffee shop on the corner to get cleaned up.
     I looked back at where I had fallen, thinking there should be something there. There was just a red brick wall, darkening in the shadows of twilight.


----------



## TheChristianWitness (Dec 6, 2021)

*The Wailing Wall*



			https://www.writingforums.com/threads/lm-secure-thread-december-2021-the-wall-in-twlight.196292/post-2376338


----------



## piperofyork (Dec 8, 2021)

*Propriety*


----------



## SueC (Dec 8, 2021)

Twilight at Culloden Wall - A Tale to be Told


----------



## Matchu (Dec 8, 2021)

*650 words NIHIL (swearing)*

We began kindly…

But now we were most unkind to those people whom we loved, to a world we once loved.

‘What does she want?’

‘I dunno, I do not care,’ I said and stared into the muddy sky. The telephone slipped from my palm, slipped under a curtain and was lost.

The sun set somewhere else. Joy departed from our sky. She passed me almonds. I sat at my window.

‘Thank you.’

I chewed until bitter sensations lay upon the rocky shelf of my teeth. Niblets strung in saliva, I opened my mouth.

‘Kiss me, bitch.’

‘By God no, are you insane?’

‘I am insane,’ I replied and shovelled a new handful of the almonds into my cheek, sucking oil down my gullet.

‘Fuck ‘em,’ she said.

The worst television flickered on our screen. Our favourite soap opera was detestable.

‘Fuck ‘em all,’ I said.

‘They hate us.’

‘I hate everybody.’

I lay in bed the next morning.

I turned to the radio, discovered the worst radio station in the world. Terrible. I listened to the financial forecast and then on, endured the horoscope medley throughout their afternoon of programmes. Of course, I remained in the bed and wiped my arse on sheets.

I telephoned my wife sat in our kitchen:

‘Tea,’ I said.

Spitting down the staircase I chanced upon the picture frame wedged among post we never opened.

Perhaps my slipper kicked the letters? But there - he sat - among those letters - our angel baby sat in a high chair, the plate balanced on plastic. I folded and lifted him to my chest. I shuffled to my armchair and cradled our baby in my arms. I cried.

Throughout the long day I cried and wiped tears. I waited a long time to make her cry. Finally she did come toward me.

‘What’s that?’ she said, the harshness better than any harshness, my own hell spent with her.

‘Sit with me.’

She sat with me. I shared the secret photograph.

‘Do you remember the beach? The beach and our baby? Remember the peace and the security.’

‘All our anxiety slipped away. The four days were like real people, we watched the sea and we swam with our own children.’

‘We found him.’

‘Do not forget…’

‘I never forget about her. Never forget my daughter. Just wish I could extract potassium from my bones. She might sell my bones and buy a house?’

‘You cannot buy a house with bones!’

‘No…don’t turn on me darling. It is all them, you remember.’

‘Of course. Fuck them.’

‘Fuck them all.’

But those were the four entire days spent on a beach. I found him on a beach. I calculated trajectories across this nation.

‘My son,’ I said on the beach. He embraced his sister, he embraced me afterward. I telephoned you then….

‘Darling, come to the beach. I fixed everything.’

But now this does not matter. When the itch spread

I scratched the itch over my eye. I scratched. I scratched the next morning until an half-eye remained. Satisfying how when I pissed my eyeball tumbled into the lavatory. My hand hovered over the bowl of urine.

‘Why are you covered in your own blood?’

‘Examine my socket, honey. I cannot see anything. Well, I can see your face, I can smell the cement.

‘Yes.’

‘Yes, the cement between the bricks.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, finally, finally, my dear and my shit wife, I have reached the wall.’

‘Cannot say I am not so extremely jealous.’

‘Be jealous. Telephone the man from the commercial as soon as you discover our telephone. Call the Care Free Cremations recommended during our lovemaking.

‘I never say a word. Only you grunt.’

I grunted one final time:

‘Well, now you know. And I have won. I have won everything.’

‘You are a bastard.’

‘Victory.’

‘I love you’

‘I loved you.’

‘I love you.’ REPEAT


----------



## ChicagoHeart (Dec 10, 2021)

https://www.writingforums.com/threads/lm-secure-thread-december-2021-the-wall-in-twlight.196292/post-2376772


----------



## bdcharles (Dec 10, 2021)

*True Siren Narratorial: “By-and-By My Love Stands At A River” (622)*


----------



## Rookish (Dec 13, 2021)

Birth of a Prince (Themes/Language)


----------



## NajaNoir (Dec 14, 2021)

https://www.writingforums.com/threads/lm-secure-thread-december-2021-the-wall-in-twlight.196292/post-2377294


----------



## Harper J. Cole (Dec 17, 2021)

It's always darkest before the dawn
(Anonymous entry)


----------



## robertn51 (Dec 22, 2021)

Lawless said:


> Hopelessly late and way over the length limit, I know. But I couldn't help it. The story just came to me last night. I hope it's clear I'm not trying to compete.



Heh! @KeganThompson will love this has happened. (I love this has happened)

And, when it happens, we usually put them over in the Fiction Workshop. Where more people than those of us doing the Maneuvers will see it.

I'm not suggesting you move it. Let's see what comes of it.

PS: Would you still like a score?


----------



## Lawless (Dec 22, 2021)

robertn51 said:


> Would you still like a score?


Heaven forbid I make extra work for you on top of the 12 stories we have to rate at the end of December.

But if you feel like doing it, go ahead.


----------



## KeganThompson (Dec 22, 2021)

robertn51 said:


> Heh! @KeganThompson will love this has happened. (I love this has happened)
> 
> And, when it happens, we usually put them over in the Fiction Workshop. Where more people than those of us doing the Maneuvers will see it.
> 
> ...


Im a mod so I can have it moved to the fiction workshop @Lawless
Since ur don't meet the requirements for the challenge I'd be best suited over there. But that's great u got inspired. Glad you posted!


----------



## RGS (Dec 22, 2021)

Lawless said:


> Hopelessly late and way over the length limit, I know. But I couldn't help it. The story just came to me last night.


Pink Floyd? Tits? Relax. I forgave you immediately.


----------



## Lawless (Dec 22, 2021)

KeganThompson said:


> I can have it moved to the fiction workshop


Fine. Please move it. I will then add a word or two explaining that the story has been inspired by this competition.


----------



## KeganThompson (Dec 22, 2021)

Lawless said:


> Fine. Please move it. I will then add a word or two explaining that the story has been inspired by this competition.


Yes, I'd certainly mention it was inspired by the competition. Would u like to edit it before or after I move the post?


----------



## Lawless (Dec 22, 2021)

Move and let me know where and I'll edit it then.


----------



## Lawless (Dec 22, 2021)

robertn51 said:


> Would you still like a score?


Something just occurred to me. You can do me a real favor by pointing out all my SPaG errors you happen to notice.


----------



## robertn51 (Dec 22, 2021)

Lawless said:


> You can do me a real favor by pointing out all my SPaG errors you happen to notice.


Absolutely. No favor at all; just part of the job.

But hey, I was going to ask when I got there, but this is an op: Since my score won't be part of the cohort scores, would you prefer my "score" privately, rather than public? Either way works for me.


----------



## Lawless (Dec 22, 2021)

Privately is better. And take your time. Don't let me keep you from enjoying your Christmas.


----------

