Hi little monsters! I’ve always enjoyed writing and use it as an outlet a lot. Last year I decided to start writing short stories based off songs and add some of my imagination to them. I haven’t reallyshared them with many people (a few teachers and a couple of my friends) so I thought that I would post them on here to see what y’all thought :) This one is based off Angel Down: Fannie and Lori were taking a peaceful walk in downtown Manhattan. They often took little trips like this, for no reason other than to spend a little time with each other and get out of their stuffy little apartments. They were taking their usual route – past several restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and apartment buildings, through the park, past the church on the other side, then taking some sort of alternate route back, which changed constantly. Back when Lori still had to live with her parents, they would force her to go to that very church every Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. Neither one of the girls was ever religious, but Fannie knew how much Lori truly despised it, so she would always go with her, putting aside her common dislike for it and deciding to use it to justify her being gone so often. Despite not wanting to take part in the church anymore – once they had a choice – it would always hold somewhat of a special place in their hearts. Given this, they decided to make it a point to always pass it whenever they went out for anything. When Fannie first met Lori in that little coffee shop on the corner, they had both been out as an excuse to escape their parents. Lori’s were super religious and always forced it on her, so they didn’t have the best relationship. Fannie’s parents could both start an argument in an empty house and had completely different opinions, so needless to say it wasn’t very pleasant when they were home. Neither one of the girls had the courage to go up to the other but, as fate would have it, they ended up bumping into each other outside a little café (quite literally). Both their coffees ended up everywhere but their mouths and they both went crashing to the hard pavement. On the bright side, they discovered that both of their favorite drinks were an iced caramel latte with a shot of vanilla. Both of them smelled like coffee for days after that incident. Other than the drinks, no real harm was done and they exchanged phone numbers. They’ve been friends ever since and always make time for each other when the other needs it. As they were passing the old church, they hit an invisible wall and turned to face the building, as if they had rehearsed it. They had overheard on the streets that they were going to tear it down soon, seeing as it was abandoned and just taking up space that could be used for something else. Despite having no significance whatsoever to anyone in charge, the girls were sad, and maybe even a little angry about the fate of the little brick building. They had so many morning and afternoon meetings here, so many ups and downs, so many laughs, so many cries. They just simply stood there for a moment in comfortable silence, all the noise of the bustling city seemed to disappear. They were in a soundproof bubble of their own thoughts and memories. They looked at each other, exchanging sad smiles. They didn’t need to speak to tell each other what they were thinking, they said it all with a single look. Lori finally broke the silence, “We have so many memories here,” Fannie nodded, somewhat slowly, “Yeah, we really do.” Both their voices were laced with compassion and sorrow. Tears began to prick at their eyes, threatening to break the barrier that confined them. Fannie pulled her into a tight hug, gripping her as if she would disappear if she were to let go. After a moment, Lori gently pulled away, holding onto Fannie by her shoulders. “You are my best friend. I’ve spent the best years of my life with you. You’ve been there for me, through thick and thin, sickness and health,” they both laughed a bit at the statement, making them sound like an old married couple. “No matter the case, you’re the one that’s always been there.” “Just like you’ve always been there for me” She reached her hand up, gently placing it on Lori’s cheek, using her thumb to wipe away the tears that were now creeping down her soft face. They shared one last tight hug, before turning back to the church. Lori tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, signaling that gears were turning in that thick skull of hers. “Hey,” she smirked, turning her head to look at the brunette beside her. “You remember back when we were like 12 and I would always go up to that window up there and pose while you would take photos from down here?” Fannie giggled, remembering those good times. “Yeah, I do. We really thought that we made such a great supermodel and photographer,” she joked. “Well, at least one of us was right,” Lori remarked. “Yep,” Fannie beamed, bringing her camera up to show it off. “So, now that you actually take pretty pictures of people as a profession- what do you say we recreate the good ol’ days, eh?” She laughed, taking the lens protector off her camera and motioning for Lori to head on up to the second-story window. Once up there, she posed dramatically, making them both burst into laughter. Once they had been able to compose themselves, they got on with the shooting. They went through several poses – including one where Lori was sitting crisscrossed toward the front of the open window, gazing out like a child who had just seen a shooting star, which brought a smile to both their faces, remembering old childhood pleasures – Fannie adjusting however necessary to get the perfect angle. “Good?” Lori yelled down, many clicks of a camera later. She was given a thumbs up by a preoccupied Fannie who was already examining the shots, so she secured the window back into its original position, turning around to go meet back up with her friend. Just as she pivoted, a thunderous crash pounded through the cool autumn air, along with the sound of shattering glass. Fannie jumped at the sudden boom, dropping her camera at the sight before her. She saw Lori, the closest thing she ever had to family, plummeting to the rough pavement beneath her feet. She caught a glimpse of her face, horrified and confused. She rushed to catch her limp frame, the force driving her to her knees. She pulled the poor girl into her lap, frantically trying to find the wound through her teary eyes and uneven breaths. She spotted a large – and growing – crimson splotch on her torso, moving the fabric of the formerly gray t-shirt she was wearing. She found the sharp injury, quickly placing both her hands over it and applying as much pressure as she could muster. Lori screamed out in pain, as it shot throughout her body. “I know, I know,” Fannie cried, hating to see her best friend in so much pain. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’ll all be over soon, just stay with me Lori, please!” she gently cupped her face as she pulled her into her lap. Lori reached up to grip Fannie’s arm, her knuckles turning white as she cried out. Her hold began to loosen, but she didn’t fight it. She knew she couldn’t. She knew this was how it all ended. The color began to flood away from her face, her eyes losing that blinding spark that they always held. “I love you Fannie…and I always will,” she paused, making an attempt to laugh, but instead coughing consumed her for a short moment, sputtering blood and allowing it to stain the concrete. “No, no, don’t say that!” she practically yelled, tears jumping from her eyes and landing on the woman in her lap. She went limp, no longer having the strength to grasp onto that tiny sliver of life she still held. Her skin turned ghost, eyes losing any sort of light and comfort that they once contained, her hand, which was still trying to hold onto Fannie’s arm with her last dying breath, fell to rest across her chest. “NO!” she screamed out. A wounded animal in complete agony. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Please.. please! Come on Lori, come on! Wake up!” she lightly slapped her cheek a few times, clinging to the hope that maybe her friend had just decided to take a short nap. “Please… please. You can’t leave me, not now. Not now that we finally got our lives together, now that we finally had some sort of a chance…,” she cried softly, leaning over the corpse of what used to be a gentle, kind, caring, woman, that was never deserving of any hatred or pain. “Someone, help! Help!” she cried, only now noticing that the scene was being completely ignored by passers-by. She whipped her head around frantically, eyes wide and heart racing. Why isn’t anyone stopping to help?! Why aren’t people concerned? Someone is bleeding out on the sidewalk, bedside a church! And no one even bats an eye?! She turned her attention back to the auburn-haired goddess whose frame still rested on her lap, completely void of life. She looked at peace, in a way. She was free of the suffering of this cruel world. Free of the pain, of the hurt, of the heartbreak, of the hatred, of the sadness. Finally free of the people that had wronged her in her short-lived life. Released from her prison in this ruthless, callous world, plagued with evil. She had to admit, she wished she could go too. It is indeed finished, I just like to leave part of it to the imagination, I would really like to hear other people’s perspective :)