There’s a space in the album.
Sam Taylor looks down at the photograph which fits in his hand, the edges curling slightly up his fingers.
He takes one look at it, and slips it into his coat pocket, securing the button in place.
He walks up the stairs, and shuts the basement door behind him.
A wind blows through the street; he pulls his coat around him as the gale attempts to chill him.
Passing a lamppost, Sam's eyes flick to see a Missing poster taped up; its sides are ripped and crumpled. The paper is pulled by the wind which has sprung up once again, making bits of the paper blow away into the wind. Corrosion is taking place, nature is taking over.
His eyes turn down once again and he continues to make his way through the streets.
A path turns from the pavement, and runs down a hill. Sam takes this route, keeping his eyes on the horizon. The sun peeks over the distant hills and spills golden light over the land.
A glinting can be seen at the bottom of the lane. His paces, which were uneven, quicken slightly.
The running of water can be heard, only soft at this distance, yet calming in this abandoned terrain. Grass has begun to take over these parts of the path; clumps of it underfoot make the journey unsteady and uneven. This is where many feet have turned back, retreated from the beauty below them.
The river is closer now, and Sam can see it clearly, the water before him.
He looks down at his shoes which are dirty and brown. A piece of paper flutters in between them, then flies off, twirling in the morning sun. He wonders whether that was a part of the Missing poster, and how much is left for people to see now.
He stops at the river bank. A bridge can be seen further upstream, where the water flows freely underneath it, away from him.
Sam reaches to undo the button, and slips the photo back into his hand. He gazes down at the picture, a woman and a child sitting together on garden chairs, they smile at the camera.
He tears the photo in half, separating the two people.
He tears again and again, until the photo is in shreds. The wind picks them up as he lifts his hands to the sky and watches them flutter over the water.
His hands drop, and he watches the strips flow under the bridge, away from him.
A sudden movement catches Sam's eye.
A kingfisher darts across the river, its turquoise feathers glinting in the sun.
He smiles.
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
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its really good-sad..... majestic is a better word. its interesting that you went from a dirty street seen to a natural clean but I sort of wanted to have a bit of a gradient between the two seens. again what I have noticed that in your writing that your style is to leave character details open to the imagination witch is quite a professional style. I enjoyed reading this its really good and so are you at writing.
Thank you!
Yeah, it's become a habit to not give many details, a habit I'm trying to break in fact! Thank you so much for your feedback! 
-CFG
This. Was. So. Real.
Sam was real, anyway. You had this way of developing this image, despite not having described in unnecessary detail, every action and every movement was unnervingly clear. But I was sort of disappointed. You took Sam so far, and yet you left us stranded on the riverbed asking, 'Why? What is the meaning behind everything? Who was the woman? Who was the child? Was it Sam?'
And we grab you by the collar and hiss: 'TELL US.'
So I seriously hope there's more to this. Because I really enjoyed reading this and my curiousity has not yet been sated. Write more! Write more!
As far as grammar and flow go, I don't spot any errors, but there are a couple of minor issues I'd like to draw your attention to. They're not really "issues" but if you worked on them you could improve your piece.
First off:
"The running of water can be heard, only soft at this distance, yet calming in this abandoned terrain. "
Shouldn't this be "the sound of running water can be heard"?
Then there's:
"He gazes down at the picture, a woman and a child sitting together on garden chairs, they smile at the camera."
Personally, I think there were too many commas here. You could restructure this bit because it feels a bit... loose... torn off... know what I mean? Or maybe you could use a semicolon instead of a comma after "picture." I think that'd be better.
I loved how you ended the piece! It was absolutely RIGHT. Italicize that.
Nothing more to say,
Peace out.
~Pompadour
Thanks for the review! I'll try to work more on the ending for it, I can see how it could be a bit of an anti-climax!
Yes, I shall edit these in, as seeing I can see your point!
Thanks again!
-CFG
PeanutPhoebe here, would you like a review?
Wow. This was amazing. Loved the way Sam was so real, I could see him walking down that street. I like how you noted every little thing so that you can see the scene. The only thing is, this almost seems pointless because we have hardly ANY background information. Who's in the picture? How does he know them? How is he (or the picture) connected to that "Missing" poster? A whole lot of information like that. Also, is he mad at te woman and child, sad for them, missing them, what? That's what I think could make this sooo much better. Otherwise tho, you did great!! Keep writing!!
Well hello! Care for a review?
You're amazing at making Sam real, the way he moves, every little thing he does... feels so natural. That made it quite enjoyable to read!
OK, now I see you used present tense. I'd normally say to stay away from that, but, you did a pretty good job of it... often it's hard to write in the NOW, and I myself am not a huge fan of reading it - and I certainly am not a fan of writing it ( nor am I good at it )! But, I think you're doing great with it, and I'd say keep at it, though don't forget about the other tenses...
I'm a bit confused as to what this story is about, or rather what's the point of it is - not trying to be harsh, I just don't get it. I like it, but I don't understand. For an example, the very first line you say:
Then you start the story, which has nothing to do with an album, other than the fact that it's about a photograph. It's kind of a neat opening, but we don't even know what the space in the album is for. Maybe if you did say what the space was for, and possibly why?
You do the same thing in the very end:
It is a nice kind of ending... but why? Is it just a bird? I get the feeling the Kingfisher is going to eat the pieces of ripped photo, and then Sam smiling is like them taking revenge on the people in the photo...? I think maybe the problem is it ends too quickly. I'm still wondering about the photo, and all that jazz... So I'd say, maybe take a little more time to explain.
Just my thoughts.
Anyways, other than those few things I thought you did really good, it felt almost poetic, and I quite enjoyed your story!
Keep up the awesome writing, see you around!!!
-Socks
Thank you for the review!
Well, by the first line "there's a space in the album," I meant the photo albums you can obtain, and it's just trying to emphasis the fact that he has taken that particular photo out and it means something to him.
I was attempting to make the Kingfisher be almost like a symbol of hope for him, as he's let the photograph go and he's moving on.
Well, there's a link between the missing poster, that's all I'm saying.
I'm pleased you thought it was good in the present tense, as I usually write in past tense! Thank you so much for the review though!
-CFG
Haha, you're welcome!
This was amazing. I loved the style you wrote in. It made me feel like I was there and could see everything Sam saw. I can't wait to see what else you have to write.
Why thank you! I'm so glad you liked it. I'm glad I have received some response as this is my first work up here! Thank you!
-CFG