Opening lines

Friday, July 30, 2010


My house is a storybook house. A huff-and-a-puff-and-they’ll-blow-it-down house. The roof is soft; it’s tumbled. There are bushes growing tall past the sills. A single sprouted tree leans in from high above the cracked slate path, torpedoing acorns to the ground.

Splat and crack. Another acorn to the ground.

“Sophie?”

“Mother?”

“I’m off.”

“Right.”

“Be good.”

Be good. My mother’s instructions. Her rules. 

5 comments:

Bidisha said...

Is this from your next book?

Because it's a stunner.

Unknown said...

I love this.

My mom's goodbye words to my brother are not "be good" but "don't be dumb." As if she knows that he can't quite be good but she needs to instruct him somehow. :)

Beth Kephart said...

Hello, Bee, yes, this is from a book I've been working on, and Mandy, that just makes me smile. My words to my son are, Be safe. I guess we all have these things we say.

Liviania said...

It sounds like a fairytale story.

My mom says, "Be careful. Don't get a tattoo; don't get married."

Kelly H-Y said...

Hmmmm ... I'm so intrigued! BTW, I'm LOVING 'The Heart ...'! I'm about half-way through, and have trouble putting it down and going to sleep at night!

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