The Healer

This story didn't originally have a title, but I think that “The Healer” should do just fine.

This is an incredibly personal story for me. If memory serves, I wrote it near the end of my senior year of high school. The story is inspired by the first and—without a doubt—most intense love of my life. It's worth noting that I never actually dated the girl whom I professed to love, nor did I even so much as kiss her, and yet apart from my schoolwork she occupied the vast majority of my thoughts during my sophomore, junior, and senior high school years. As I suspect is the case for most people, I never really got the closure I had hoped for. Nevertheless, in the years that followed I had relationships with other girls and my memories of high school began to fade away, until I found myself mostly numb to the whole experience. Time heals, but it does so very slowly. I'd like to think that if I were to meet this girl now, over ten years later, I would be able to maintain my composure and speak with her just like I would any of my other friends, but I honestly don't know. Even as adults who have had more time to deal with and understand our emotions, some feelings can run deep.

Anyway, as I read The Healer now, I think that it pretty accurately reflects the kind of conversations that would play out in my mind's eye as I daydreamed and even (especially?) when I cried myself to sleep. I must admit that, to my adult ears, the early dialogue sounds a bit contrived and the protagonist petty, but to be honest that's probably a faithful depiction of myself in high school. I can tell that this story was close to the heart, though, because I still think that it's one of the best I have ever written.

The Capsule

I wrote this story as part of a group project in high school English class. We were asked to create a fictional magazine, which we chose to name Technotron: Your Source For Information on New Technologies! The December 2110 issue included The Capsule as a short story. The ending feels rushed, but unfortunately I was under some rather severe time constraints at the time. Nevertheless, it does have some sentimental value for me.

Freedom's Call

This story, like The Capsule, was written during high school under what appear to have been some severe time constraints. Overall it lacks detail and its ending is extremely rushed. Still, at 3800 words, it's one of my longer stories.

For what it's worth, I believe that I originally used Sarah Connor (as portrayed in Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as a model for my protagonist, Gabrielle Stryker. Reading the story now, I can't help but imagine that she bears more than a passing resemblance to Michelle Rodriguez, as well.

Power's Price

I don't really like this story because it lacks character development of any kind, but then again 1280 words isn't much to work with. On a totally unrelated note, I'm amused that I considered a height of six feet to be imposing when I wrote this in high school; at the time that must have seemed impossibly tall to me. Were I to write this story now, I would probably make the protagonist eight feet tall instead.