The Three Sisters | Weekend Writing Warriors
Hello, all! Thanks so much for popping by. This week’s WeWriWa excerpt comes from the short story, The Three Sisters. This short is another writing challenge from Dueling Librarians where Renee and I attempted to give our take on a fairy tale. Attempting to stay true to form, I used the number three: three sisters, three tasks, three magical abilities. I also employed the orphan trope, the older adoptive parent with no children of their own, and magic. In an attempt to break with tradition, I made my three heroes dark skinned, as opposed to the European tradition of having fairy tale cast members be all white. Now on to the excerpt!
On their second day of travel, the trio came to a wide ravine whose bridge had been washed away when the river swelled with the winter’s heavy rains. Knowing that walking downriver to find another place to cross could take up to a week, the girls decided to sit and take a rest. Meredith, bathing herself in the bright winter sun, closed her eyes and envisioned the overgrowth of vines on either side of the ravine coming together to form a bridge they could cross.
“Oh, my!” Sophia cried. Her already large eyes growing wider with surprise.
Startled out of her daydream, Meredith opened her eyes to see that the vines were doing exactly what she had pictured. “I don’t believe it,” she breathed, excitement making her head buzz.
“Did you do that?” Olivia whispered, her voice tinged with awe.
To read the full story, you can visit Wattpad.
It certainly works for me – very much the feel of a classic fairytale. I also approve of the non-white protagonists, by the way.
Thank you, Peter. I like to try to break up the monotony by adding something to my characters that can make them appealing to a broader audience. Hopefully, I pull it off here. Have a great weekend!
Oooo interesting! I wonder what the other girls can do… 😉
They can do some very cool stuff Amy. Thank you for reading!
Very fairy tale-ish inagoodway. Loved the vines idea! Excellent excerpt, obviously sets of three work well for you 🙂
Thank you, Veronica! Three is a magic number in the fairy tale and myth realm. Three tasks or trials like in the tale of Psyche and Rumplestlisken. But unlike Psyche and Rumplestlisken, the girls don’t need the help of an outside force. Here, the girls complete three tasks using their unique magical abilities.
I can definitely see the fairytaleness of your tale. The magic coming as a surprise is an interesting twist.
Magic has a way of sneaking up on those who don’t know they carry it. Kind of like how Harry Potter could make things happen, only he didn’t know it was him or that it was magic. Have a wonderful week!
Quite visual.. I think my 8 year old granddaughter would like this. And I think her grandma would enjoy it too. 😉
Thank you, Teresa. I did have kids in mind while writing. It has the darker feel more traditional fairy tales carry. The whole story gives a peek at prejudice and how these biases can make people do bad things out of fear for what they don’t understand.