The Other Side of Me (My NaNoWriMo Sample)

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been keeping up with my blog very well.

It's been weeks and weeks since I've posted. And to tell you the truth, I really haven't had time.

I decided to do the NaNoWriMo competition this year, which takes up a lot of time. Basically what it is, is a competition against yourself to write a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. You have the whole month of November to do it. Right now, I am at 34,000.

I only have 16,000 left, so I should get done in time. In fact, I'm 700 words ahead right now. I figured with Thanksgiving coming up n the next few days, I would get a little ahead in case I don't have time to write then.

So, that's why I haven't been on here. To make it up to you, I though I'd put a little of my story up here. Just one chapter or so. Just so you can get an idea what i's like. If I end yup finishing it, I will be able to put it on Amazon for you to buy! I'll let you know if I get it up. but for Right now, here is part of my first novel, "The Other Side of Me."\\

Chapter 22 Finding the Sun at Night

“So, The Sheriff told me that you did a pretty good job figuring out who the real bank robber was.” Jacob said once everything was back to normal. Lucia smiled. “Well, I just put the pieces together. Anyone could have figured it out.”

“Maybe, but you figured it out first, even before the Sheriff.” Lucia considered this. “True,” She said. “But only because the Sheriff didn’t have time to investigate. He ran off to catch you before he could even look around.” Jacob laughed. “Well, that was my way of helping you become famous. Can you believe that the newspaper wants to write a lead story about you?” Lucia shook her head. “I still don’t believe it, and the newspaper reporter interviewed me an hour ago!”

“We’ll have to stay in town a day longer so we can get a copy for you.”

Lucia and Jacob sat on the back of the wagon. Lucia had just put all the vegetables together in one of the pots they brought along, and was now waiting for it to warm up over the cooking fire Jacob had just started.

Mikayla, Anna, and Molly had gone out to the town to explore until dinner was ready. Lucia wasn’t sure how comfortable she felt staying back with just Jacob, but she didn’t want Mikayla or Anna to think of her as being scared. She knew she would have to talk to Jacob eventually, so she might as well start now.

The sun was setting off in the distance, and both Lucia and Jacob watched as the bright orange sun started going down in the distance behind the forest. The sky was a beautiful mix of colors. Orange, red, purple and pink streaks filled the sky. Lucia wished she could keep the colors in her head, but she knew it would soon be dark, and the only color in the sky then, would be black.

At that moment, Lucia didn’t feel scared. She knew it was only her first night away from home, but looking off at the setting sun, it reminded her that there was something bigger in the world that could take care of her.

When Lucia was little, her Mama would always tell her that no matter where you go, or what you do, God will always be there with you. Even if you travel to the other side of the world, he won’t leave you. This didn’t make since to Lucia, so Mama tried to explain it differently.

“Look at the sun, Luci.” Mama said one night while the two of them were sitting outside one summer evening. “See how big and beautiful it is?” Little Lucia nodded, noticing the bright colors. “Well, if we were to travel all the way to the other side of the planet, we would still see that exact same sun every day.”

Lucia thought about this, but then asked Mama, “But what about at night?” She said. “You don’t see the sun at night. What happens then?” Mama smiled. “Well, sometimes it’s really easy to see God in things.” She said. “Like, when good things are happening.” Then Mama paused, and looked Lucia straight in the eye. “But sometimes, we don’t think God is there, because bad things start happening to us. Maybe someone gets sick, or the crops don’t grow. Or, maybe someone dies. It might be hard for us to see the sun at those times, but do you know what?” Lucia waited for Mama to continue. “Even during those bad times, the sun is still there, it is just harder to see.”

Mama pointed up in the sky. “What’s that?” She asked Lucia. Lucia looked to where her Mother was pointing. “That’s the moon.” Lucia said, noticing the smaller white ball that rested in the sky. “Do you know how the moon shines?” Mama asked. Lucia nodded. “The moon reflects the sun.” Mama nodded. “That’s right. So even in the dark times when it’s hard to see God, we can always look at the moon, and know that he is still there, even when we can’t really see it. And we always know that the sun does come up in the morning.”

Lucia’s Mama stroked her daughter’s light hair. “And we always know that we can always trust in God, because each morning, the sun comes back up.” Little Lucia smiled. “I wish I could see the sun all the time.” She said. “But, I like nighttime too, because you can see the pretty stars in the sky then.”

“That’s something else,” Mama said. “Even though it’s dark during bad times, you always learn lessons that you don’t learn when things are going good. That’s what the stars are. You have to go through the dark, to see and learn something new.”

After having this conversation nine years ago, it was still something Lucia thought of often. She had gone through a lot of nights where God didn’t feel so close to her, especially after Mama died. She couldn’t believe God would allow her Mother to die like that when Lucia was so young. It was hard for her to see the light then. In fact, Lucia wasn’t even looking. She wanted God to help her though the pain, but she didn’t think he could help her when she couldn’t find him.

Finally, Lucia decided to do what her Mama said, and look for the moon. She wanted to find God in the dark. And when she realized that God had always been there for her, she not only saw the moon, but the stars. The brightest star came right before Mam died. That was Anna.

Even though she had lost her Mother, she got a new friend in a little sister. And she wouldn’t trade her for the world.

“It’s a beautiful sunset tonight, isn’t it?” Jacob asked Lucia several minutes later. “Oh yes,” she said. “It’s very beautiful. It’s a good ending to the day.” Jacob nodded, but didn’t say anything more.

Realizing that the soup was almost done, Lucia jumped down from the back of the wagon, and walked over to the cooking soup. She took a wooden spoon, and gently stirred the hot soup to make sure it didn’t burn. “Looks like it’s ready.” She said to Jacob. “Great,” he said jumping off the wagon. “I’ll go find the girls.”

As Jacob walked away from their camp, and back towards town, Lucia felt a strange feeling in her chest. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was. She thought it was a good feeling, but then again, it felt wrong at the same time. It was a feeling of excitement, but it also felt like dread. It felt like she wanted to continue on this road, but at the same time, she wanted to pull on the reins to stop before anything bad happened.

She didn’t want to admit it at the moment, but for some reason, she started to feel like she could trust Jacob. She wasn’t sure if this was a good choice or not. She wanted to be able to trust him, but then again, she didn’t want it to backfire on her in the process.