Maria hated doorbells.
It wasn't that she was scared of the sound they made or anything; no, she just didn't like them much at all. And she had a good reason for it too.
Everyone in her family and all her friends had been stunned when she'd first told them. But Maria was tight-lipped about it, so soon no one bothered to ask anymore - they simply knocked every time they came over.
The only person who knew why she detested doorbells so much was Maria's husband John. He understood completely, so every time the delivery man made his rounds or the neighbourhood children came asking for donations to the Food Bank, it was John who bravely went to answer the door.
It was Christmastime, and Maria and John were hosting a party at their place. After everyone had had a few drinks (and some eggnog), the mood in the room turned from nervous to light and joyous. For the first time in a long while, Maria began to relax.
Which was perhaps why when the doorbell rang and John was nowhere in sight, Maria decided she was capable of answering the door just this once. Opening the door, she stopped dead in her tracks. On her front step stood a young man, probably only in his 20's. He was clad in green and brown.
"Ma'am." He was polite, but she could see the lines of regret written on his face, the sorrow in his eyes.
Behind her, the holiday music stopped. She could hear her friends making their way to the door, wondering what was going on. They had asked her for years... Well, now they knew.
Oh my gosh. This, plus the latest fanfic I've read about a "soldier Scorpius" dying. That IS what the "young man" was telling Maria, right?
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ReplyDeleteOh, I was pretty sure that the colour was supposed to symbolize something, only green and brown don't "ring a bell". <- (HAHAHA). Oh, actually it does remind me of something, but I don't see how it ties in... Wait... Give me a moment...
ReplyDeleteSorry Grace, but I'm to paranoid to allow your comment.
ReplyDeleteWhat Grace MEANT to say:
@ Halalcohol, think about the significance of this line, and maybe you will understand:On her front step stood a young man, probably only in his 20's. He was clad in green and brown.
*hint: pay attention to what colour he is wearing*
Oh, and my comment before that (that I accidentally deleted [I'm so smart, right?]) said:
ReplyDelete@Grace: Errr... What?
Hm, I don't think I get this one. But I really want to know Hannah's interpretation. Also, I like the way you wrote this. It kept my attention at max to the very end, and was kinda like a cliffhanger.
Yes! For the first month ever, the number of posts is NOT less than the previous month's!
OOPS! Sorry about that. D; But anyways. Um, further hinting: green and brown, as in a certain type of occupation...
ReplyDeleteI got the green and brown thing pretty quickly. Wasn't much of a problem.
ReplyDeleteI already got the occupation. I just haven't figured out what that has to do with doorbells. And I also have no idea who the one, er, "represented" by the young man is.
ReplyDeleteOkay, if nobody minds, I'm going to explain it to halalcohol, and if you don't want me to ruin the SC for you, then don't keep reading.
ReplyDeleteSPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!!!!!!
Okay, this is my interpretation, but basically Maria has a son who's a soldier, and she's afraid of him dying. This is because when soldiers die, their uh, "comrades" have to go inform the families, usually by ringing heir doorbells. And that's what Maria was afraid of, and what happened at the end of the SC. Get it now?
That's what I was thinking, but I always thought that their family was sent a letter, or something.
ReplyDeleteOk... time to explain (I was actually going to write this at the end of the post itself, but decided against it). Grace's interpretation is right - the person wearing green and brown is someone from the military. I was thinking of a better way to describe what he was wearing, but I didn't want to give too much away, so I just kept it the way it was. I'm actually glad you had to think a little to actually get what it meant.
ReplyDeleteI got the idea for this one from watching the news. They were doing an interview with the mother of the latest Can. soldier to die in Afghanistan - and the one thing I remember most clearly from it was the mother saying "I was always scared of doorbells". It got me thinking and of course, I got something out of it. (By the way the real mother's name isn't Maria, if you're wondering.)
So yeah... this one is dedicated to all of the soldiers in our troops and their parents who wait anxiously at home... hoping never to hear the doorbell ring.
Oh, that's kinda cool. As in how you got the inspiration. I base a lot of my stories on one liners like that, too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I pretty much get all my SC's from random trains of thought.
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