First Creative Writing Piece: They Had Nothing to Say to Each Other

They Had Nothing to Say to Each Other is a short story about a man and a woman sitting next to each other on the beach. The two of them have a lot to talk about, and they both know it, but they aren't sure as to how to express what they're thinking. The man and woman have known each other for some time and they know each other very well. They both have strong feelings for each other but no one is brave enough to say it out loud. Instead of talking to each other they react by giving subtle hints and clues that reveal their affections but never actually say anything, leading them nowhere. This piece describes their night together and how the woman reacts to the man's subtle yet straightforward advances. 

They Had Nothing to Say to Each Other

By Brooke Rojas

            They had nothing to say to each other. The silence was enough to steal the words from their lips. They sat for hours and hours looking up at the night sky admiring the stars and how they were sprawled out across the sky. The air is warm and the breeze is calm as they rest under a small palm tree near the ocean. Quietly, they listen to the roar of the waves and the rustling of leaves as the wind combs through them. He slides closer and glances as her. She could feel his eyes on her, and the twitch of his hand as the blood rushed through his fingertips. He slowly reached out towards her; she sat still. Draped in silence, he inches closer and closer to her side. Her eyes are wide as she stalks his every move out of the corner of her eyes. Like a child hiding from the monster underneath her bead she is always on the lookout. Her eyes scan all over trying to look anywhere but at him. He keeps his eyes locked on her, intent on making her look at him. He stares and waits for her to turn. But she doesn’t turn to him. She sits in silence because her voice has escaped her. Her words are a useless tool because her mouth is too scared to use them. His rapid movements sound off like fireworks in the distance. They frighten her. She searches the night sky trying to locate its source. Sitting tall and ridged, her body remains on guard. As he lays his head softly on her shoulder she turns her body away from his and stares up at the sky and pretends to analyze the stars. Deep in thought, she lets herself be enveloped by the sky.

But her body lies. She lies.

They danced around these feelings far too long now, constantly treading lightly in the others direction. Testing the waters before diving in. They’ve become passive, a routine of hit or miss. Mostly miss. More time passes and the two still remain silent but this time they wander along the boardwalk. They watch the flashes of light dancing in midair as light up toys are launched into the sky like little rockets. The night is full of them and she watches every one of them closely. She follows them up and down with her eyes while still trying to avoid his gaze.

This hostile air soon becomes unbearable again and they begin to choke. They sit in the sand and try to catch their breath. Attempting to speak, the girl opens her mouth. Her heart is beating so loud that she can barley hear her own thoughts. Only one in particular stands out. No. Her mouth is a prison; her teeth are the gates that hold her words back. They peek through the opening like tiny prisoners in her mouth, but they can’t seem to sneak past her lips. So many thoughts raced through her head, so many ways to show him, but she can’t. She doesn’t know how. So she just looks at him and smiles. His eyes light up and he smiles back at her. They both stand up and dust the sand off their legs. They walk away but the silence still remains between them. While they leave their resting place she turns to him and smiles again. Her smile is compulsive now; she’s unable to control the muscles in her face. One last look into his eyes before the moment is lost forever. 

They walk out onto the main road. Hailing a taxi, the man sighs and the smile is erased from his face. They stand close looking up at the stars. With hands still twitching and hearts still racing she turns to him. Then something unusual happens. He extends his arms out, slowly moving closer and closer towards her. Something they’ve never done before. They hardly ever touched and now this. They lock and embrace each other. She rests her head on his chest, but only for a moment or two. She can feel the warmth radiating from his chest and can hear his heart beating. She closes her eyes. Her mind races and she holds him tighter.

When she sees what she’s done she realizes she doesn’t want to leave him. The driver calls to her and she releases him from her grasp. As she climbs into the taxi she turns and looks back at him through the window. Resting just under his nose is a perfect smile more beautiful than any she has ever seen before in her life. She smiles back at him as she drives off in the night without a word.

She is gone.

First Creative Writing Prompt

This week I will be starting my creative writing. This weeks prompt is to write a short story titled "They Had Nothing to Say to Each Other".

GOALS (By days)

1. Monday - Develop an outline for the story within the first hour of receiving the prompt.
2. Tuesday - Find my strengths and weaknesses with writing and try to address them as much as possible in order to develop my skills. 
3. Wednesday - Work on the piece for at least an hour a day. 
4. Thursday - Create a rough draft and have supervisor proof read
5. Friday - Submit final draft 

OUTLINE FOR PIECE

This weeks piece is a short story based on the title "They Had Nothing to Say to Each Other". My plans for this short story is to create a visual of two people, a man and a woman, sitting next to each other on the beach. The two of them have a lot to talk about but aren't sure how to express their feelings for each other. The man and woman have known each other for some time and they know they both have strong feelings for each other but no one is brave enough to say it. This story depicts that experience without dialogue, just actions. 

PLANS FOR REFLECTION

Each piece will come with a blurb and the end will contain a reflection and analysis of the piece. I want the readers to understand the full meaning of each piece. 

Reflection on Previous Activities and Goals for the Coming Weeks

While taking a look at my past activities and current activities I devised a more concrete plan to show my perseverance and commitment in my creative, active, and service activities. The activities that I have chosen to pursue are as follows:

CREATIVITY

For my creative activity I plan to complete one piece of creative writing a week. I will be given a prompt every Monday and will work on it all throughout the week. My ultimate goal is to improve my skills as well as develop new skills in writing and have a chance to have one of my pieces published in the American Embassy's newsletter that is viewed by 400+ people weekly.

ACTION

Every week I plan to go on walks with my mother. I will plan and initiate these walks and also work collaboratively with my mother in order to create an exercise routine. When I do not have a walk scheduled for us I plan to work out on my own in order to increase my strengths such as my endurance and physical strength. I want to show my perseverance by being consistent in my workout routine. I will also work collaboratively with the Marines at the American Embassy in order to reach my ultimate goal which is to participate in one of their PT sessions or more if I am able.

SERVICE

Although I am currently involved in the Cleft Lip and Palate group, I have decided that my previous group, RCCI, is more beneficial to be involved in. I have worked in this group before and feel like I can work collaboratively with others and show my perseverance while being engaged with an issue of global importance. RCCI has been a very rewarding group and I plan to utilize and develop my skills in working with the kids that we are involved with. 

Family Activities and Goals for Future Activities

The past few weeks activities have not been as consistent as I'd like them to be so my family and I have gone for walks that consisted mainly of walking around our neighborhood or Galle Face Green. The idea was to not only be active but become more familiar with Sri Lanka and different locations that we might not have known were there before. We're taking more time to explore our host country and become more culturally aware and discover new places and see new things.

Week 1: 

This week we had two walks. The first we walked from our house to Independence Square and back again. While at Independence Square explored the buildings and areas around it. There is a small walking area that we did laps around. On that trip we covered about 3.5 miles. The second walk was from our house to the Galle Face Green to the Dutch Hospital. We didn't track how many miles we walked but the distance from my house to the Dutch Hospital is about 4.2 km or about 3 miles. The distance we covered in these two walks have remained consistent each time and have allowed us to explore this area of Sri Lanka a bit more. I haven't been to the Dutch Hospital before so I got a chance to see something new. 

Week 2:

This week we had another two walks. We walked, again, from my house to Galle Face Green and explored Galle Road more and walked along the coast taking photos and looking at the houses that have been left half demolished and run down. It was interesting to see the backside of the developing city because it seems so desolate. I really wasn't expecting that. Our second walk was the most eventful. We decided to have a family outing and go expand our walks out to Galle Fort for the day. This was a very rewarding and interesting trip because I got to finally get out of the city and see a more traditional side of Sri Lanka. I learned about the history of Sri Lanka and saw more of its natural beauty than tall buildings and fast food restaurants. 

Biggest Loser Challenge days 4 and 5

Day 4

            As the days progressed my week got more stressful and my healthy habits were becoming harder to maintain. The stress and workload and lack of sleep were becoming unmanageable for me and I felt like I wasn’t physically performing up to my potential. In order to get a small energy boost I had a small cup of coffee. Although it went against what my goal had initially set, it did help me significantly. I kept up the rest of my routine but by this time I was looking forward to the weekend.

Day 5 – Final Day

            On the final day I was extremely tired and exhausted from the week and I was looking forward to including coffee back into my diet. Every other goal that I had set for myself was easy to maintain and I was feeling good about achieving my goals, with exception to the coffee. Apart from being extremely tired, my body was feeling good physically and I could see a huge change in my attitude. I eliminated coffee from my diet because it was becoming somewhat of an addiction for me and I wanted to cut it out of the equation to see if I’d function more efficiently without it or crash without it. I found that from this weeklong detox that my body probably craves high levels of caffeine. When I introduced coffee back into my diet I started slowly in order to reduce the dependency my body had on caffeine. I wanted to be able to be energized with fruits and vegetables and proteins rather than caffeinated beverages and sugar.

Reflection:

            This experience has helped me tremendously to persevere and stick to my diet plans. It’s been about a month or so since I’ve started this biggest loser diet with my family and it's been going really well. With the time pressures of school and other activities I found it harder and harder to be active as consistently as I’d like to be but anywhere I can be active, whether it’s taking care of my brother and running around making him bottles and changing diapers, or just walking around with my mom and brother around the boardwalk. I try to find any way to be active when I can. I think I definitely have been pushed out of my comfort zone trying new things and tailoring them to fit me best. My goals for the next few weeks are to try to be more active and try to get into a consistent routine. That’s one of the most difficult things for me at the moment is to find the time to balance being active and have enough time to work and get a good nights sleep.