The Unknown

by Newmoon38

Published November 10, 2014

E - Everyone

In Short Stories

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*A/N: The first sentence was a prompt from my English teacher. I wrote this last year and thought it would be a good thing to post for my first short story on here.*

He tied his boat off and started to climb the cliffs. He knew that no one had lived to tell what was behind the clouds, but still he climbed. He climbed for hours while the fog seemed to be toying with him getting closer, and then further away. Three hours later, he climbed over the edge when he looked up in awe. For what he saw seemed to come straight out of a fairy-tale. He stood up and walked up to a large gate made from pure sapphire with highlights of amber set against the clouds. The clouds glowed a golden white due to the sun shining brightly, but the light didn't hurt his eyes. When he gazed upon the sun, he stood stunned for the sun was smiling and laughing joyously. He blinked and pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming. Once he deduced that he was not dreaming, he continued to gaze upon the sun. His gaze snapped to the gate as it groaned lowly as it opened out towards him. He walked through the now open gate mystified by the images carved into it. As he walks through, he was engulfed in a golden glow. He shielded his eyes from the intense glow, and once it subsided he was once again awestruck. He saw his younger sister, who had died at the young age of three. She was not the little toddler that he had once known, but she was the beautiful young lady he had imagined her to be if she had, had the chance to grow. She reached forward taking his hand in hers and led him further into the golden landscape. Alexander, for which was his given name, was never heard from again. He now laughs as joyously as the sun as he is reunited with his dear sister, Isabella.

Comments & reviews · 5
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KassandraRose
Review
KassandraRose wrote a review Review · May 3, 2021

This was a really good story! There are several things that I loved about the story.
First, I love how you don't know the characters names until the end. It adds a sense of mysteriousness and suspense to the events that take place.
Next, I love the imagery that you use. It really takes to you to the place that he is in, and adds picture to your story. The adjectives that you use are strong and descriptive, and it really adds to the story.
However, I do have one critic for this work. You tend to switch up verb tenses quite a few times, and I think the sentences would flow better if you used one consistent verb tense.
Overall, this was an absolutely incredible story. It was descriptive, and a nice and short read. It was beautifully written and also mysterious and suspenseful. Great job!

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kaitlyn
Review
kaitlyn wrote a review Review · May 3, 2021

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),

Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!

First Impression: Well this was quite a lovely little package. A suuper simple story but just really fulfilling to read honestly. I just loved reading it the whole way through and I honestly have barely anything to even comment on besides the fact that I enjoyed it so much.

Anyway let's get right to it,

He tied his boat off and started to climb the cliffs. He knew that no one had lived to tell what was behind the clouds, but still he climbed. He climbed for hours while the fog seemed to be toying with him getting closer, and then further away. Three hours later, he climbed over the edge when he looked up in awe. For what he saw seemed to come straight out of a fairy-tale. He stood up and walked up to a large gate made from pure sapphire with highlights of amber set against the clouds. The clouds glowed a golden white due to the sun shining brightly, but the light didn't hurt his eyes. When he gazed upon the sun, he stood stunned for the sun was smiling and laughing joyously. He blinked and pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming. Once he deduced that he was not dreaming, he continued to gaze upon the sun. His gaze snapped to the gate as it groaned lowly as it opened out towards him. He walked through the now open gate mystified by the images carved into it. As he walks through, he was engulfed in a golden glow. He shielded his eyes from the intense glow, and once it subsided he was once again awestruck. He saw his younger sister, who had died at the young age of three. She was not the little toddler that he had once known, but she was the beautiful young lady he had imagined her to be if she had, had the chance to grow. She reached forward taking his hand in hers and led him further into the golden landscape. Alexander, for which was his given name, was never heard from again. He now laughs as joyously as the sun as he is reunited with his dear sister, Isabella.


Well...that was a really wholesome little story. Very simple plot and very short too...not too much for me to say even...but honestly it was a little ray of sunshine there to read. Just leaves you with a smile and its just done really well. Nothing whatsoever that I can really point out as being wrong...and honestly I think the one large paragraph works out well enough here. Normally I would say splitting this up a little and adding a bit more description would help out but honestly I feel that this in itself is just already quite good.

Aaaaand that's it for this one.

Overall: Overall, this was like I said just a lovely read and I think I will now stop gushing about how happy this made me to read...:D

As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.

Stay Safe
Harry

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ryleigh127
Comment
ryleigh127 commented Comment · Nov 10, 2014

I love this story. The description fits it perfectly! Well done!

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Amindor
Review
Amindor wrote a review Review · Nov 10, 2014

Hi Newmoon38, Amindor here.
This short story is very good, and I enjoyed reading it. There are many concerns I have for it, though.

Okay, well, sometimes a writer might go too fast in the story and not put enough it. That's what this story seems to be. It was hard for me to read it because it was going too fast. I think maybe you could have added more to it before publishing it to make it more clear.

The way you detailed everything was great, but to attract the reader more, you could have made the details more vibrant, like maybe using synonyms to substitute for some of the words.

In a setting, I would have expected more details about what's happening and where he is. You could have talked about his surroundings before mainly going into what he was really doing.

Your story was beautiful, despite the mistakes that I may have seen. I enjoyed reviewing and reading it, and I hope to do more in the future. Keep on writing!!

Thank you for the review. I wanted to leave exactly where he is a bit vague, so it would leave a bit of continuous mystery. I apologize that you had problems reading it. I'll keep that in mind as I write.

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Burrow
Review
Burrow wrote a review Review · Nov 10, 2014

Ok firstly, I suggest split this up, I did read it but I found it extremely hard. If you want tog et your message out. You need to make it easy to read.

Besides that. I really enjoyed this, you explain things very well. And I can find myself imagining things. I liked how you explained the cliff then went on to explain the gates. It was a very well written story.

Though I suggest that next time maybe go the extra step and add a few more paragraphs. You may have left us at a cliff hanger. But there is a line between that and just not bothering to finish the story.

Either way I really enjoyed this, you are a great writer keep it up!!

Jack

Thank you for the review. You're probably right, I should have at the very least split it up a little. That would have made it easier to read and to follow. I didn't leave the story at a cliff hanger or if I did I didn't mean to. I thought the ending was well enough to end the story. Him being reunited with his sister and all. I appreciate your input.



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