sweaty bum

Submitted by nicole on Fri, 2010-03-05 14:23
in

The title is the first thing that came to mind - the overwhelming theme of this computing experience.  Sticky would have also been an appropriate adjective, as would "riddled by body odor" and "spent looking for the correct keys misplaced on this Spanish keyboard and having to press too hard on the resistent keys". 

Enough complaining, I guess.

I've been reading short stories and it seems that I must be able to do as well, right?  There is even a story in the "Best of 2009" collection that is a first attempt by a new writer (probably not his first attempt, but perhaps the first sent in?  So I get a little inspired, and then there are all these weirdos here with their own stories.  I wonder if the stories I imagine for them are more or less fascinating than the real deal. It seems when you do hear the truth that it is often even more amazing than fiction (an Australian marine who escaped Mexican prison twice and was hired by the Mexican jailers to show them how he escaped and has now come to the beach to die of cancer, for starters.)

The change in vibe at La Isla is what has been most on my mind.  The mood has been somber, for many obvious reasons: Javier's death, the ban on fogatas due to the recent murder (which we just missed by a few days, and which was unrelated to the locals), and of course, the baby.  Rebecca seems to have matured, having gained more than ounce of common sense with the new weight of Zisla on her hip.  She wears this well.  Armando, on the other hand, has become a bit more distant, seeming pensive.  He delights in showering Zisla with the small gifts he can: a rattle, a pacifier filled with honey, diapers, cheesecake, baby turtles, but does not hold her for long.  She is thrilled by it all, though tires of sitting in the stroller or in peoples' arms.  When the world turns simply for her (her cousin jumping like a duck, her father lifting her up) her smile spreads across her face and her few teeth cut through her gums, drool rolling down her chin.   Other times she seems as confused at this entire situation as I am, raising her strong eyebrows in surprise over her dark eyes, the exact eyes of her father.

I didn't think it would end like this, although Zisla is a beginning, not an end.  Still, I saw Armando as he always will be, and Rebecca, not a part of this for much longer.  I wonder how they see it.

For now, I am deciding who would be best suited as the narrator. 

Comments

So Beautiful.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2011-04-06 08:52.

 

    I don't know where did you get this from, but it seem that it came from the deepest heart. I love it and I think you are a beutiful person just because can see what we all are waching  from the edge of the chair as a espectator, I saw Zisla a couple days ago, and she is growing so cute and smart, she's amazing and I think  when she came back to Zipol; Grislie, me and everyone get happy as a child. Zisla is a blessing to all us, but maybe it's a strongest reason to believe that allways is a new day to dream, a new way to live.

 

                                  Thank you for let us know what you see.

 

 

PS: It's a nice tittle by the way. 0_-

Thank you?

Submitted by nicole on Tue, 2011-08-16 01:03.

I'm not sure the proper response to your comment, other than appreciation.  Thank you for reading.  Thank you for commenting.  Thank you for appreciating. 

I have learned alot from this post.  For anyone who read it right after I wrote it the first time and who reread it recently, this post has evolved as I've matured, even just a little bit, as a writer out here in the private-public of the web. 

I want to write fiction.  And yet I am drawn to writing false things about real people.  I mean no ill by it, but I imagine, if I were to be in their places, that it is not always a kind thing to have happen to you.  That is perhaps one of the best compliments I've received, "a beautiful person just because [I] can see what we all are watching from the edge of the chair". 

All that said, I am very happy, and not surprised, that Zisla is still a joy to everyone around her and send all my love to the entire family at La Isla.

why the motivation for this

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2011-12-02 17:03.

why the motivation for this story?

 

I'm not sure

Submitted by nicole on Mon, 2012-01-16 23:23.

I wish I knew why I'm always so motivated to write when I'm travelling.  I would guess that it's a mixture of having the time and space for my brain to relax and wander around and make stuff up, as well as the luxury of people-watching and reading lots of fiction myself.  Those things seem to come together and consistently inspire me to want to be an author.  

Zipolite in particular seems to be full of characters.  i think anyone who chooses to go to Zipolite does so, at least partially, because they fancy themselves as a character.  I mean, they could have chosen San Agustinillo, or Mazunte, but no, they chose Zipolite.  It's a unique place full of unique people.

There is some writing adage that says, "write what you know".  I am, at least so far, just no good at this.  I'm not sure that I am good at writing about other people, but I do know that I much prefer it.  

I am motivated to write stories about people because I wonder what their lives are really like and in place of knowing the truth, I make up imaginary lives for them.  I'm guessing that if I knew the truth it would be more interesting than any story I could invent, and I would most likely not be as interested in writing about it anymore.  

Perhaps it is that simple.