This month’s excerpts are from the next stand-alone short story I plan to release (still working on the title). I don’t have a blurb yet either, but it’s about an American guy’s up-and-down relationship with a French girl.
This scene is his initial arrival in France.
* * * * * * * * * *
Finished with customs, Daniel stepped uncertainly into the throngs of people in Charles de Gaulle airport. His French was rusty, much rustier than it should’ve been considering he’d be living in the country for a year, and all he knew was that a woman named Mireille Dubois was meeting him at the TGV station. He drifted with the crowds, finally arriving near the train platform. He set down his bag, rubbed his shoulder, and looked around.
A short woman in her mid-twenties approached him. “Daniel?
Looking back he would always tell himself that time stopped when she first said his name, that he memorized every detail of her face and body, that he could pinpoint the moment he fell in love, but really he just nodded, exhausted after the long flight. “Mireille?”
* * * * * * * * * *
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This is an interesting story, and I like the description of his journey off the plane to the train station. The image took me back to my days in Spain when I used to travel on weekends. I always love how European train stations look in comparison to the ones here in North America. Nice snippet!
I really enjoyed the last paragraph. I think it is an interesting reflection on how we create the stories around our loves.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand what’s happening in the moment, and then looking back, it just seems obvious.
I love how you included both his immediate reaction as well as a later perspective.
I love the way people rewrite the past–we often place significance on things we didn’t before.
Interesting snippet. Reminiscing in a sense of how he knew the moment he fell in love, but in reality the fleeting seconds were only a prelude of the possibility of more.
Yes, we tend to romanticize when we reflect, but doesn’t it make lovely memories? Loved this snippet!