Snow Melt

Decry - a writing exercise

17 Asma 164 B.E. – September 5, 2007 about 11:00 AM PDT

Note: From Yahoo Journal Writing Group – September 4, 2007

This exercise is from 'The Writer's Path- A guidebook for your creative journey.'

1. Open your dictionary at random

2. Without Looking, bring the tip of your finger down on the page.

3. Read all the definitions of the word your finger lands on. If there are unfamiliar words, look them up too.

4. Begin a session of free-writing with a sentence containing the word you choose.

Variation- Use the word as a title for a poem
variation- look up seven words, use them in a letter to a friend.

Sarah decried the criticism she received from her siblings. It wasn't that she was lazy, she tried best to keep her section of the room clean and neat. Every evening, when she returned from school and finished her homework, she would dust, sweep and mop. She put her books back on the shelf and set her stuffed animals on the trunk that served as a dresser and chest of drawers. After completed these chores, she said her prayers and went to bed, but the next morning her area was a mess.

The stuffed animals, with the exception of the teddy bear she slept with, were strewn all over the room. Her homework and other papers scattered all over the floor. Ella, her eldest sister, always stood over her bed glaring at her. "Why," she'd snarl, "can't you do a decent job of cleaning your section of this room. It's bad enough we have to share the same room, without you living like a pig." Sighing, Sarah would get up and straightened everything again, but this time she put the stuffed animals on the bed after she made it.

Sarah had learned long ago that saying anything or defending herself always made Ella mad. Therefore, Sarah remained silent all through the rest of the morning until it was time to go to school. Sarah enjoyed school, there she could relax without being criticized for something. After school she returned home and did her homework in the kitchen. However, when she went upstairs to the room she shared with Ella and Morgan, the younger sister, she found her area in a mess again.

After school it was Morgan who set glaring at her as she came through the door. "Well," Morgan berated, "it's about time you came up and cleaned that pigsty of your's up and hurry before Mom gets home." Again Sarah cleaned her area up and went to bed.

Then one morning, Sarah had enough. She got up and began the daily routine, but this time she moved slowly until everyone left the house. Her mother didn't notice because Sarah was always the last to leave for school and get home. After everyone had left, she took Ella's largest backpack of its shelf and removed everything it held. The next thing she did was pack as many of her cloths as she could in the backpack. Then taking her teddy bear, she put the rest of her stuffed animals in her trunk and left the house, with the backpack hanging from one shoulder and holding her teddy bear.