I decided after much thought that I do want to turn Angel Tears into a novel. Mind you, I don't expect it to get published, but that isn't going to stop me from trying to get the experience. It's going kind of slowly, since I'm trying to basically pick apart a story and put it back together with a bigger view. It's tough making sure to keep true to the original meaning of the story when trying to make up new stuff.
This chapter, the first chapter, was pretty easy, though. It has no actual new content, though I expanded a lot of the things I said in the original story. I added a poem to the beginning called "Woeful Lament" which I may or may not have posted here previously, I'm not sure. Anyway, Chapter 2 is almost completely new stuff, so if you read the original short story and think this is a waste of time, I promise you, it's not.
Also, you aren't missing anything overly important in the unfinished Chapter 1. It's only a few paragraphs long and is a flashback that the main character has in which a song is sung. It should be done soon, and I'll post it up here when it is.
Angel's Tears
Chapter 2 - Kuni Moto
The balmy air that had once been sweetened with the crisp, tranquil breezes of late summer now reeked with the pungent stench of burning flesh. The skies were blackened with smoke from the enormous fires, mass funeral pyres consuming the remains of those who had died—people who had once been my friends, my neighbors, and my family. The place I had once identified as home now felt cold, foreign, and bleak, and the community which had I had regarded just over a day ago as paradise had become a deeper, darker hell worse than anything I could have ever imagined.
Screams of agony now echoed through the ruins of the town. The faces of those badly injured, red and black, bloody and burned, called out in pain, while others, weary and distraught, searched for something—loved ones, lost treasures, anything at all that could provide some comfort in this grotesque mess of devastation.
Bodies were stacked in mounds by the cremation pyres, and the remains of the burned corpses were taken to the site of one of the ruined temples, in hopes that the pain plaguing their souls would be healed. Most of the corpses were never identified, either because they were burnt beyond recognition or because there wasn’t anyone to claim them. Nevertheless, the bonds shared by many lovers, families, and friends were suddenly broken, and the survivors were deprived of their chance for that final peaceful goodbye.
Some of the wounded were being taken to makeshift clinics set up in the handful of buildings still standing, while others were being shipped off by boat to hospitals in nearby cities where they could receive more proper medical care. Almost none of these people were soldiers, but were just ordinary people like me who’d just been trying to find their way in the world during the hard times of this arduous war.
Where my house had once stood, there was now just a pile of smoldering ashes. Things I had once cherished had been suddenly taken from me, lost forever, and all I could find amongst the rubble was an old iron canteen father had given me when he went off to fight in the war.
Chaos had befallen the town, and the stability of peace had been abruptly swept out from under our feet. The place where I had forged so many pleasant memories as a child was dead, with only slight traces of familiarity remaining. Places that had once provided me with nostalgic solace were gone, and now I could only find such comfort within my own mind.
As a little boy, I had played “soldier” with the other kids in the neighborhood, but at that moment I realized the true nature of war is much different than the naïve games that children play. Even then, as a teenager, I still didn’t understand it and it’s cruel nature, and to be honest, I still have yet to figure it out.
My ancestors had fought their battles with the honor and pride of samurai, and I wondered where that unbridled nobility had gone, perhaps destined only to be found in the deep annals of history texts. Even so, it was unimaginable to think that something with the heart and mind of a human being could produce enough hatred to cause so much destruction. War is a simple word for something so hateful.
Not to criticise, but you could have put this in with the old Angel's Tears.
Never mind. I will write a ZR as soon as possible, but I'm still pretty busy this week. Plus I no have about 3 ZR's to write! Fun, Fun fun!
What did I tell you about writing me Zemitra Reports. Don't write me another one until you do everyone else's, even if they post after me. K?
Anywho, I won't be around for awhile starting next Sunday. I'm going to be in Japan on vaca... I mean researching!
Don't write me another one until you do everyone else's, even if they post after me. K?
Linear Mode
