Composition-Short story 

Charles Blackwood was back. I thought he was gone for good. Me and Constance were finally happy living away from everyone. He came back yesterday morning. It’s been years since the incident and of all days he decided to come on a rainy Tuesday morning. Constance decided to let him in because she pitied him and wanted to hear what he had to say. He deserves to rot. I want to fly to the moon. He came in he tripped on a loose wooden tile. I snickered. The dark lights flickered and made a buzzing sound. The kitchen was still as beautiful as always with the glass cabinets and fancy plates. Plants surrounding the counter top. The dining table neatly put together and had a bright light shining on the middle of the table. Charles wanted something, he a had a glimmer in his evil eyes. I rolled my eyes. “Oh Constance dear we have so much to talk about,” Charles said. Jonas was staring at him. I wondered what Charles was going to ask for again, he probably wants that stupid money. “ Why don’t you go rest before we talk? You can stay in Uncle Julian’s room just like last time,” she said. Constance had a glimmer in her eye that I’ve never quite seen before. I smiled at her. She started to wash the chicken. “Merricat dear why don’t you go play with Jonas?” she said. I ran up the wooden steps creaking every step I took. I creaked Charles door open, I saw him staring at himself in the mirror. He doesn’t deserve to be here. I ran off chasing Jonas out the backdoor. The bright orange leaves were on the ground, the trees looked so lonely. The blue sky was shining brilliantly. Almost as bright as the gleaming sun. The Blackwood house stood up tall like a castle. I took a breath of the fresh crisp air. The fog blew from my mouth. I shuddered from how cold it was. “MERRICAT come get dinner before it gets cold,” Constance yelled from the wooden door. I wish I could fly away. I don’t want to eat dinner with Charles. Merricat set up the dining table with a white sheet in the middle, a roasted chicken with a knife in the middle of it with potatoes and carrots around it. Charles already sitting in father’s chair. The atmosphere had a warm feeling. Constance brought out a bottle of wine and three wine glasses out. “Whats the special occasion dear cousin?,” Charles asked. “To us. We are reunited and finally a family!” Constance laughed. I stared at her in disbelief. How could she say such things. “Im so happy yous see it that way cousin, I actually came here to ask a favor” Charles stated. Constance poured him the wine and then poured herself. She poured into my cup and I stared at the blood red wine. We never drink wine. “Im in a bit of trouble back where I was staying. Money problems. You see I came to find the money and gold our dear Merricat has buried” he said. He ate a piece of chicken. I didn’t feel like eating. Constance smiled. It was a fake smile. “Oh dear cousin I don’t really know what you mean, money is just a paper,” she said. Charles laughed. “Money means everything cousin, think about the places we could go. Wouldn’t you want to help your poor cousin out.”he said. His eyes were filled with greed. She stared ta him and finally spoke. “I suppose so,”she stated. CONSTANCE! He is the enemy. She took her her wine glass and lifted it to charles. He smiled from ear to ear. He took his glass and clinked it with hers. He took a sip. She gulped hers down. What is she doing? Has she gone mad. Jonas was staring at me. Charles took another sip. “Well I suppose I should get the cake I made to celebrate” Constance said while turning around. I saw a crow fly by the window into the darkness. CLINK. I jumped. Charles head was suddenly on his plate of food and spilled the dark red wine on the white sheet. I started at him. Well cats out of the bag. Constance put down the carrot cake she baked on the table. “Constance?,” I asked. “Would you like a piece of cake sister?she asked. “What happened to charles?”I asked. Not that I am complaining. “Oh right,” she said finally acknowledging him. “It wasn’t in the wine?” I asked. “It was in the glass my dear. I knew Charles just wanted money. I wasn’t going to let him fool me twice,”she said. I smiled. We can finally go to the moon. “Constance,” I said. She stared at me with frightened eyes. “I love you,” I said. She smiled in relief. “I love you always,”she said. “Now how bout that piece of cake?” she asked.

Rationale

The novel that I read was We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I did a short story that continues the book from Merricat’s perspective because I felt like I wanted more from the ending and I just wanted to write about how I imagined the book ending. I wanted it to be short and sweet considering the genre is a short story but I also wanted to expand on the theme and environment of the story. It’s also an interesting concept to write since the book could of ended differently so I decided to end it the way I wanted to. Merricat had a interesting thought process and a clear mental disorder from the way she thought she “wanted everyone dead”(Jackson, 12). I think the way that she thought was different and interesting so I wanted to do a short story that tells it from her point of view and with a twist at the end of the story. Like when Merricat spoke about having everything “on the moon.”. The short story shows the theme of how family is important, especially the bond of sisters. That sisters can have each other’s backs through thick and thin. The audience who is being reached is teenagers who have a strong connection with their families. People who can relate to having a bond like that with people they consider family. It’s important to understand the concept and theme of the story since it overall makes the reader feel emotions and connect with the characters. The short story represents an opportunity to learn from how the characters deal with their problems and the house that the Blackwells live in plays a role in how they live and interact with each other. It explores how two sisters can navigate their problems with each other by their side with living in an eerie house that they grew up in. I wanted to include Charles because he played a big role in The process of showing the environment around the sisters was a way to show how important it affected the sisters behavior and characteristics.

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