He had been here before. He couldn't remember when, but he had been here before. Perhaps it had been in a dream, or maybe he was experiencing a moment of déjà vu. But as much as he tried to push against that brick wall, he could not remember how to get through. His fingers gripped the cold brick and tore down the wall, but he only came away with dirty, bloody fingernails. He kicked, he punched, he yelled, but nothing worked. All he knew was that he had to get to the other side soon. His life was depending on it.
Part 2 by Christine Fagan
Desperate for a way through, he decided to try a new approach. He swallowed all that was left of his pride and leaned his whole body into the bricks. He simply leaned, and with that he could feel movement. The wall ebbed and flowed as if controlled by breath. This wall works remarkably like a lung, he thought as he continued his leaning. In almost an instant he felt swallowed. The wall consumed him in his entirety and he clumsily fell through the bricks. Given the chance he would have screamed, but a contradictory mix of pride and shameless fear overtook him, and he remained silent. After a few seconds of eternity, he was on the other side. Once he regained his balance he stood ready to face the council. He was going to win, if only because he was not ready to die.
Want to write the next paragraph to the story? Submit your paragraph to NDLFshortstory@gmail.com. Limit of 200 words. Title it Part Three. This story will continue until Nov. 16. If your paragraph is selected, it will be published in Viewpoint, and you will get to read it at the NDLF panel discussion Nov. 19. The visiting authors will write the ending paragraphs. Take advantage of the opportunity to write a story along with three New York Times bestselling authors.
