Art | STYLE Style of Wight Children’s Writing competition winning story…
The Man Who Would Rule Nothing By Tr u Crossley-Brook, aged 17 (15 when she w rote th is stor y) I l lustration Ju les Ma rri ner On the edge of a sma l l tow n, i n a sma l l house, i n a sma l l room, a w ri n k led K i ng sat on h is sma l l worn th rone i n a shadowed corner. T he wa l ls he had bu i lt a rou nd h i msel f were as cold a nd u ny ield i ng as h is hea rt. T he rema i ns of brid i ng row n w rappi ng paper la id scattered at h is feet, the pa rcel hav i ng been lef t at the door that morn i ng. On h is lap sat a worn acoustic g u ita r. T he brow n wood had lost its sh i ne, the stri ngs rusted a nd sti ff. T he forgotten K i ng scowled at the i nstru ment he had once adored, h is ow n eyes hav i ng a lso lost thei r youth f u l g low, h is hea rtstri ngs now taut a nd u ng iv i ng. But the sig ht of it ig n ited the spa rk of someth i ng he had bu ried i n h is m i nd, someth i ng of a ti me long past. His f i ngers d ri f ted over the stri ngs i n spite of h i msel f. T he melody d ri f ted from them as easi ly as they had yea rs ago. As the ha rmony bega n to shape itsel f, he opened h is mouth a nd croa k i ly sa ng a long, i mages beg i n n i ng to f l icker i n h is head. He chased a f ter the echoes of the f leeti ng memories. As the weig ht of the yea rs l i f ted from h is shou lders, someth i ng sof tened i n h is hea rt w ith each word. A l l at once he was there a l l over aga i n. A you ng ma n i n the ga rden, entra nced by the woma n he had seen a mongst the g reat sta r’s rays a nd g reen blooms, h is a rms open w ide to her w ith noth i ng to lose. T he honeyed su n l ig ht embraci ng the trees, w rappi ng a rou nd her shou lders l i ke a del icate shawl; a sof t morn i ng breeze combi ng her ha i r, ca rr y i ng the a roma of the f lowers she held. He had opened h is mouth a nd sa ng when he saw her, for no words of the morta l world cou ld captu re what had u n ravel led i n h is chest i n that moment, what had bloomed l i ke the f lora a rou nd them. In that moment she had become h is world. His treasu re. His ever y th i ng. Yet where was she now? T he last wh isper of the sa me melody d ied on h is tong ue, the tu ne fad i ng as h is fra i l f i ngers shook , th roat too tig ht to conti nue. T he room was no longer yel low bathed g reens, retu rn i ng to its cold stone g rey. T he polych romatic blossoms that had smel led so sweet, were replaced w ith the w itheri ng heaps of brow n that sat by the cu rta i ned w i ndow, m iserable i n thei r crack i ng a nd ch ipped pots. T he wa l ls he had ca ref u l ly bu i lt cru mbled a rou nd h i m. Sudden ly, the K i ng was merely a ma n once more. It had on ly ta ken the mere memor y of her for h i m to come u ndone. T he ma n lowly bowed h is head, a nd wept for a l l he had lost.
About the author Tru was born in West Yorkshire but moved to the Isle of Wight with her family when she was nine. “I’ve always loved reading and writing, even when it didn’t make much sense to those who tried reading my work,” explains Tru. “I am currently in my first year at the Isle of Wight college, one of the youngest in my Animal Management course seeing as I’m an August child, working towards an extended diploma. To help with my course I am volunteering at the local cat rescue centre as well as helping out in the unit on site, where there is a wide range of animals I get to work with from Chinchillas to Chickens. “I was inspired (to write this story) by the Broadway musical Hadestown, a spin on the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice. One of the songs tells the story of Hades and Persephone, and how they have drifted apart when compared to the love they shared when they first met. I wanted to capture the feelings and image that the music and lyrics painted but in my own spin of things. “I am in the process of writing an online story based on a TV show I am currently obsessed with, putting a spin on it with my own themes and ideas added to the existing content. “Other than creative writing, I enjoy other forms of artistry, such as drawing and music. I learnt to play the clarinet with private lessons when I was 10, and since then I have also become quite skilled at the piano on my own with input from my school music teacher.”
For a l l he cou ld have been. July and August 2022
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