University Times
March 30, 2009
Lifestyle 19
Congratulations Stephanie In a recent issue of the University Times, we ran a short story written by one of our staff writers that was only partially completed. The idea was to print half of the story and stop it abruptly with a cliffhanger. We then invited our readers to submit a brief write-up with what they thought the best ending for the story would be. ...quietly crept out the window and slid down the tree that grew up alongside their house. She climbed onto her brother’s old bike, which he had outgrown long ago and was much too big for her,
and slid off into the shadows to investigate. And now as the heavy footsteps were right on her tail and more could be heard coming towards her from either side of her in the
After careful consideration, our judges decided that Stephanie Corriveau, a freshman and biology major, had presented the best entry. Corriveau was awarded a ten dollar gift certificate for the oncampus bookstore and looks forward to any future contests that we may run. When we left, Jill had...
brush, she now realized why her father was always so harsh with her. She was much too curious for her own good, and something bad always happened whenever she started to explore—he was
only trying to teach her to be more cautious, although his methods left a little something to be desired. Something bad always happened, just like when her brother fell down the stairs,
and just like when she shot the cow. That was why the monsters were after her now, and she kept wishing with all her heart that they would just go away.
The rest of the story, by Stephanie Corriveau Jill’s heart began to pound in her chest and she could feel the adrenaline trickling through her veins. Her pedaling quickened and she experienced a burning sensation rising through her legs. In her desperation, she drove her bicycle right into the dark, ominous forest. Jill believed that the monsters were still following her, hidden in the shadows and ready to pounce at any minute, but she was not willing to look behind her. As Jill moved further into the depths of the forest, she could see a ghostly, glowing light in the distance. Again, her curiosity got the best of her and she lost any fear she previously had of the monsters. When Jill attempted to maneuver through the forest, her bike wheel hit into the root of a tree. The bike toppled over and Jill was thrown to the ground. As she slowly brushed herself off, she could hear a rustling noise in the nearby bushes. It’s the monsters again, she thought, and she hurried to get back onto her bicycle. Just as she was preparing to leave the area, a small, black cat emerged from within the bush. Jill scanned the forest, trying to figure out where this animal had come from, when she
noticed a tall, dark figure walking toward her with arms outreached. Jill screamed as the silhouette grabbed hold of her. Then it spoke in deep tones. “Just what do you think you’re doing out here at this time of night?” “Let go of me, you monster!” cried Jill. As Jill turned for a closer look at the figure, she realized it was actually Bob, a man from her town who enjoyed spending his time hunting in the woods. He let go of Jill’s bike and chuckled. “Well, I know I’m not always the nicest person, Jill. But don’t you think calling me a monster is a little bit extreme?” Jill blushed in embarrassment as Bob proceeded to pick up his cat. He turned back to her and said, “I heard your bike fall a few minutes ago. It seems like you got a few scratches from the accident. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll get you a bandage?” She decided that it was best to clean herself up before she went home, so she agreed to follow him. As they walked through the woods, Jill realized that they were nearing the glowing light. Bob led her to an opening where she
finally discovered a fire was the source of the light. Jill saw a tent and some other gear and came to the conclusion that Bob had lit the fire because he was camping there. She let out a deep sigh of relief. “I thought the glowing lights were ghosts!” Bob rummaged through a kit that he had in his tent and returned with a bandage. “You sure have a curious mind! First monsters, now ghosts! Didn’t anybody ever tell you that ‘curiosity killed that cat’?” At that second, the man’s cat meowed, and he glanced down at it with an apologetic look. He then turned his gaze back toward Jill with a concerned expression on his face. “Why don’t you have a seat? I think there’s a story that you should hear about being too inquisitive. You’re lucky that you weren’t seriously injured tonight because of your curiosity to investigate the forest.” Jill relaxed into a chair that was near the fire. As Bob helped her put on the bandage, he drew a deep breath. “I used to explore a bit myself. There was one night I decided to climb up a tree, just to see if
there was a monster of some sort at the top. When I grabbed hold of one of the branches, the flashlight I had been holding fell to the ground and shattered. Since there was no light, I couldn’t tell where the next branch was, and I slipped. I injured myself pretty bad and nobody was around to help me. I learned a valuable lesson that day, which was that being too curious could lead me to do dangerous things.” Bob paused and then laughed. “You know there’s no monsters and ghosts, right? It was your curiosity that led you to believe that these things were lurking around you. Maybe next time, before you go investigate, you should consider these things and also the possibility of getting hurt. Especially wandering around alone at night in the woods….” Jill felt rather humiliated about the choices she made and thought that what Bob told her was right. She thought back to how her father was angry with her when she fired the gun – he was only concerned that she would injure herself. As she reflected on these thoughts, she realized that Bob had finished applying the bandage. He
motioned for her to rise. “I’ll help you find your way back through the forest,” Bob said. “It’s probably best that you get home. I think you’ve had enough curiosity for the day.” The cat darted off and the man followed it, while leading Jill’s bike through the trees. When they finally came to a clearing and Jill could see her house, Bob gave her the bicycle back. Jill thanked him for helping her out. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I just hope that you’ll remember what I told you,” Bob said. Once he had disappeared into the depths of the forest, Jill snuck back into her house. When she got upstairs into her bedroom, she quietly slipped into bed. Just as Jill was about to close her eyes, she heard a rattling noise coming from the corner of the room. Jill’s body snapped upright and she was about to go investigate. Then Jill froze as she realized that it was a slight breeze blowing on her window blinds. As she rested her head back on her pillow, she thought back to what Bob had said. She’d had enough curiosity for the day.