Tag: creative writing

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Lost and Found

Lost and Found is a scene that takes our current situation into account but employs creative license as we fast-forward about six years into our “new normal.” 


Through Jordan’s eyes, we are reminded that a child — living in the moment because that’s all he’s ever known — won’t consider his life to be part of the “new normal” because it won’t be new to him, his generation, and all those born after him — it will just be “normal”. 


When the ‘Jordans’ of the world hear stories about the way we lived before the pandemic, what will they find shocking? What will be laughable? And what will we insist that they know about the way we lived pre-COVID-19, as we pass the proverbial torch?


Officer Lee is a caring maternal figure who represents the past — the way things used to be. She gently reassures Jordan while they search for his mother in a busy airport, which is a brand new experience for Jordan. Though frightened when he realizes he is alone after losing sight of his mother because he was in awe of the crowds of people and planes on the runway, his fear ebbs and he asks Officer Lee questions — reminding us of the curiosity and resilience of children and (perhaps) humanity. Though we may have expected the young boy to cower in a crowd full of strangers, Officer Lee’s kind words and friendly smile gives him the confidence to continue on his journey to find his mom and take his first flight to finally meet his grandmother in person.


Through his and Officer Lee’s conversation, we get the feeling that Officer Lee misses the way things were pre-pandemic. We’ve all heard the phrase, “back in the day”. It is likely that that’s how all of us who remember life before the pandemic will describe it to those who have no natural frame of reference, as did our parents and grandparents when telling us about the way things used to be. 


Throughout history, we can reflect on the shifts and revolutions that rocked the collective conscious; many took time to build before flooding society in a tidal wave of change. That is not the case for the COVID-19 pandemic. There were warning bells and flashing lights, but we woke up one day and — all of a sudden — life was different. So, if you have moments of feeling lost, try not to despair. We are adapting.


We will endure transitions we likely can’t fathom at this moment, but — as we get through this together — I hope that this scene reminds you that though COVID-19 was a catalyst for change, frustration, anxiety, hardship, and tragedy, Jordan reminds us that it is not the end of wonderment and joy. 


We’re trying to find our way. Though we may feel lost at times, have hope that like Jordan, we will be “found” once again — perhaps by helping one another.

DECOMPOSITON:

Cast of Characters:

Jordan Pipman (young child): Young child; five or six years old. Travelling with his mother. This is the first time he’s going on a plane, so (prior to getting lost) he is very excited about the trip. He has no memory of being in crowds before the COVID-19 pandemic, so being surrounded by strangers is new. 

Very emotional experience from excitement (before he realizes he’s alone) to fear (alone) to cautious (upon finding officer) to somewhat relaxed (with officer) to relieved (back to mom; unseen). 

Security Personnel, Officer Lee (female, nearing retirement): Older woman, retired police officer; works as a security guard at the airport, part-time. She raised children and has grandchildren, so she knows how to speak to a young child. Quiet, stable energy.

Mom, Maria Pipman (*does not appear on screen)

Time: 

In the future. We are no longer living under physical distancing measures, but we haven’t been able to gather in large crowds for very long. 

Synopsis:

Jordan has never been on a plane, nor has he been in large crowds (that he can remember) before. The scene begins with the child feeling excited, then fearful once he realizes that he is lost. A friendly security guard/officer intervenes and helps him find his mom.

**In order to establish space for each character, perhaps JORDAN always enters the screen from the left and OFFICER LEE always enters from the right. (Maybe you can set your computer up so you can easily walk around it when the characters are introduced? When both characters are talking on screen, I think you could simply look to the side where the other character would be standing/look up or down to communicate whom you are in that moment.) JORDAN looks up when talking to OFFICER LEE and OFFICER LEE looks down.

Lost and Found, The Scene

**OFF-SCREEN (O.S.)** 

MARIA:

Jordan, come on! We have to get moving! 

(Exasperated)

Honey, come on! Keep up! 

JORDAN:

(walks on screen)

Okay, Mom! 

Walks, then stops as something grabs his attention. Pause for a beat here. 

(Excited, gasps)

I can see the plane! I can see the plane!

Is that our plane?

Stands in one place and looks around; body language to suggest he’s avoiding bumping into people in a crowd.

JORDAN:

(Whispers) 

There’s a lot of people.

(Normal volume)

Mom, look at all the people! 

JORDAN pauses. Looking around for his mom. Spins in a circle.

Mom?

(Louder)

Mom?

(Starting to panic) 

Mom?!

JORDAN Walks off screen, still searching

JORDAN (O.S.):

MOM?! Where are you? 

OFFICER LEE walks onscreen from the other side.

OFFICER LEE:

(Kindly)

Excuse me? Hi, I’m Officer Lee. I’m a security guard here at the airport. Are you lost? I can help you find your mom.

(Pauses; looks down at Jordan.)

OFFICER LEE:

No need to cry! I’ve helped a lot of kids find their parents because I’ve worked at the airport for a long time. I know this can be scary, but don’t worry! I’ll find her. What’s your name?

JORDAN:

(Shyly)

Jordan Pippman.

OFFICER LEE:

(Smiles. Speaks confidently.)

Well, Jordan, I was a police officer before I was a security guard, so I know I can help you find your mom. Can you tell me what she looks like? What’s her name?

JORDAN: 

Maria. She’s tall like you and has brown hair and brown eyes.

OFFICER LEE:

Do you remember what she’s wearing, Jordan?

JORDAN:

Ummm. A red shirt and jeans.

OFFICER LEE:

Good memory, Jordan! Don’t worry, we’ll find her. 

(Looks around)

Reaches for her walkie-talkie.

(Talking into walkie-talkie)

I’m with a young boy named Jordan, he’s looking for his mom named Maria Pippman. We’ll make our way to Terminal 1. Page and advise when she arrives. 

(Puts walkie-talkie away; looks down to Jordan.) 

Jordan, they’re going to make an announcement to ask your mom to meet us at Terminal 1. We have to go this way, okay? 

Assume Jordan nods. Walk in opposite direction to the way Jordan was walking. Face the camera as they continue walking through the airport.

OFFICER LEE looks around for Jordan’s mom as she’s speaking.

I’m looking for your mom’s red shirt. I like the colour red. What’s your favourite colour, Jordan?

JORDAN:

Blue like Jim’s amulet in Trollhunters, but Grandma’s favourite colour is red.

OFFICER LEE:

Is your grandmother here at the airport? We can look for her too.

JORDAN: 

No, we are going to see Grandma in Florida. Grandma told my mom to wear red; that’s why I know it’s her favourite colour.

OFFICER LEE:

Oh, you’re going to Florida! Have you been to Florida before, Jordan?

JORDAN:

Yeah, but Mom said I was a baby so I can’t remember. We would’ve gone before, but people got sick, so airplanes stopped flying.

OFFICER LEE: 

People stopped travelling for a long time. Do you remember meeting your grandma before, Jordan?

JORDAN:

Well, I see her on the iPad and my mom’s phone. She can’t wait to give me a BIG hug!

OFFICER LEE:

What about your grandpa?

JORDAN:

He got sick. Mom said that he went to heaven. She was so sad because we had to stay home. We couldn’t visit him. Mom cried a lot.

OFFICER LEE:

I’m sorry. That’s very sad. 

JORDAN:

Yeah, mom was really sad for a long time. My teacher said things are different. (shrugs) I don’t know…

OFFICER LEE:

Some things are different.

JORDAN:

Like what?

OFFICER LEE:

Well, people stopped flying for a long time.

JORDAN:

(Excited)

We’re flying today! 

I have planes at home and I pretend that they fly all the time! I have to play by myself because I don’t have brothers or sisters, but when I grow up, I want to be a pilot.

OFFICER LEE:

It would be very exciting to fly a plane.

JORDAN:

Yeah! I’m glad that planes fly now!

OFFICER LEE:

It’s great that we can travel again, but I think people are a little more careful than before. 

(Pointing) 

Do you see the face masks for sale over there?

JORDAN:

Yeah. My mom has a mask. Hers has puppies on it. They’re really cute because some are rolling over and some are sitting with their head like this.
(Tilt head to the side.)

OFFICER LEE:

(Smiles; kindly)

That sounds cute. Well, there was a time when most stores didn’t sell masks.

JORDAN: 

(surprised)

Really? What about when you went to the grocery store? Look over there! 

(Pointing)

People working at McDonald’s wear masks. They always wear masks, right?

OFFICER LEE:

(Shakes head)

No, that’s pretty new too. 

JORDAN:

(Wide eyed)

My mom says that’s dangerous!

OFFICER LEE:

(Looks for mom)

It was for a little while. Things were different then. Like, before we had to stay apart, we used to stand next to each other all of the time.  

JORDAN:

Even strangers?

OFFICER LEE:

(Emphatically)

Especially strangers!

We’d dance shoulder to shoulder at concerts, stand elbow to elbow with people in subways, we’d sit next to people we don’t know in restaurants and movie theatres —

JORDAN:

(Confused)

What’s that?

OFFICER LEE:

What’s what? A movie theatre? 

Assume Jordan nods.

It was a building people would go to sit and watch movies together on a really big screen. Way bigger than a TV.

JORDAN:

The kids next door watches movies on a wall. Is it like that?

OFFICER LEE:

Yeah, like that, but even bigger.

JORDAN: 

I kinda like watching movies at home. 

OFFICER LEE:

Me too. That’s why — even though we can be together now — it’s not the same. There are no more movie theatres because we’ve adapted.

JORDAN:

What does ‘adapted’ mean?

OFFICER LEE:

‘Adapted’ means that we’ve changed because we needed to do things differently. Like, do you ever have school at home?

JORDAN:

Sometimes.

OFFICER LEE:

My grandkids do that too. But when I was growing up, we had to go to school every day.

JORDAN:

Why didn’t you just stay home and do school on your computer?

OFFICER LEE:

We didn’t really have computers back then. 

JORDAN: 

Not even at school?

OFFICER LEE:

Not even at work! We didn’t have phones in our pocket either.

JORDAN:

(Looks disbelieving. To himself)

That’s so weird!

Officer Lee, what was that word again?

OFFICER LEE:

Adapted?

JORDAN:

Yeah. Is ‘adapted’ good?

OFFICER LEE:

(Nodding)

It can be difficult to adapt, but sometimes we have to try new things. 

JORDAN:

(Happily)

My mom says that every day is new because it never happened before!

OFFICER LEE:

(Laughs)

Yes, that’s true! 

JORDAN:

(Grins)

Officer Lee, you sound like my grandma.

OFFICER LEE:

(Smiles)

Do I? That’s nice. I hope you have fun with your grandma when you get to Florida.

(Looks around)

This is Terminal 1. 

(Pause, looking. Points.)

Jordan, is that your mom in the red top?

JORDAN:

(Excited)

Yes! MOM!

(Run off-screen)

END

This is the first scene I’ve written in a long time. Writing a musical is on my bucket list, so when a friend from Toastmasters asked if I would write a scene for her so she could complete the final project of her ALG (Advanced Leadership Gold), I was happy to assist.

In preparation for writing the scene, I asked my friend to brainstorm a few different ideas (she came up with some really good ones! Among them was an individual who gets stuck in an airport and a child who gets lost in the city and is assisted by a police officer. I blended these two ideas together and added some creative forethought based on our current situation — et voila!

My friend gave a wonderful performance! Fortunately, she really liked Lost and Found.

Take care!

Give life the green light. It’s A Go!

Amber Green

Looking for a great short story? You’ll really enjoy:

🇨🇦 Musings of a Masterpiece

A work of art narrates its journey through time in this short story. 

In the centuries since its creation, it has witnessed the joy of love and companionship, the heartache of loss, and hardship. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but what if the masterpiece you so admire silently muses at the countless wonders of humanity?

🇺🇸: Amazon.com users, click here.

🇬🇧: Amazon.co.uk users, click here.

Amber Green is a self-published Canadian author and freelance writer. Her short stories can be found here: www.amazon.com/author/ambergreen

© 2020 Amber Green

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Chair Observes Virtually Inexplicable Desertion (Where did you go?)

My feet remain bolted to the floor. My legs, back, and seat stiff and unforgiving. 

I’ve never sat vacant for so long. 

I look straight ahead and survey the perpetual stillness. The chairs in the stands across the stadium — directly across from me — are just as empty. They are fellow chairs that were produced in the same factory as me, but who were manufactured too far down the line to cross paths; we were installed too far away from one another to ever have a meaningful conversation. We are at once kin and complete strangers.

As any stationary object, our only hope is that we prove useful to humans and that our neighbouring chairs are not a total bore.

I got lucky. The chairs around me — my friends and family, my brothers and sisters — help me pass the time as we recall the many moments that humans sat upon us, spilling pop and beer and nacho cheese. As chairs, we accept that our mission is to assist you when you want (or need) to take a seat- and yes, the fact that “ass” is in “assist” is considered a fortunate, if not cheeky, play on words.

When the silence began, one of my neighbouring chairs took the opportunity to complain about the goth kids in decades past who had chains hanging from their clothes. They scratched the hard plastic of his seat- their zippers in places that didn’t make sense to any of us. (But then what do we know about fashion?)  Another chair joined in as we commiserated; she reminded us about the ridiculousness and prevalence of body glitter years ago. That was a rough time for all of us, as glitter is a shimmering inescapable mess if you’re a chair made of plastic. Alas, we can’t partake in your trends (or understand them completely); we can merely observe. 

Call me a masochist, but I quite like the small heart that a young rebel in love carved into the left side of my seat when on a date with a young lady. He returned with that same woman years later and proposed in this very stadium. Though they didn’t sit in my section, I watched on the big screen above the court as the man got down on one knee and the young woman accepted his proposal through happy tears. The applause of thousands of strangers who surrounded them thundered throughout. Though these people shared in the joy of this couple’s happy moment, I’ll never forget the way they kissed as if they were not among strangers, for at that moment, he saw only her and she him. 

The little boy whom I assisted that evening had no idea that the heart he traced as he sat through the proposal — waiting patiently for the game to restart — was carved by the man on the screen some years before. I wish I could have told him about the significance of that heart, but that’s not a chair’s place.

Like this little boy, it’s always a joy to see young children accompany their sports-loving family to the most anticipated game of the time. It doesn’t matter the sport; the fanfare, camaraderie, and the love of the game is exuberantly passed down, from generation to generation. Bearing witness to this transfer of tradition is what I’m missing most- when parents explain the game to their wide-eyed kids; children cheer and imitate the adults around them as they offer their own commentary to the delight of the fans surrounding them.

The quiet days have turned into weeks. I yearn for the applause, the laughter, the jeers, the chants, and the boos. Humans are strange, I think to myself. Perhaps we will never understand you. Then again, perhaps it’s not my place.

After all, you left with no warning. I hope everything’s okay, though I know deep in my bolts that you’re facing something extraordinary.

We sit abandoned, dutifully waiting for life to return to normal. In addition to the empty stadium, I wonder what else is left unused? Empty airports, empty schools, office buildings, and museums- structures made to enrich your lives wait for your return. Stationary objects everywhere are holding up our end of the bargain; we only hope that you do what you have to do so life as we know it can once again resume. 

The silence is eerie. Wherever you are, I’m sure you feel it too. 

You probably didn’t realize how social you were until you disappeared. Whatever you’re going through — for however long it takes — perhaps when life returns to normal, you’ll appreciate the little things a little more. 

If I ever have the opportunity to assist you, perhaps standing from your seat to allow someone to pass while you’re gathered at the stadium won’t be such an inconvenience. I wonder- will you offer a stranger a kind word or a smile a little faster than you used to before the silence? 

Will this time inspire you to look up from your screens and experience the beauty of the world and appreciate the moments that you have? (It’s not too late to start now.) Wherever you are, I can only imagine that your phones are with you, as I rarely see you without them. Maybe when you come back, you’ll make an effort to record the special moments in your memory rather than through the lens of a smartphone. 

With all of that said, maybe I’m off my rocker to think that humans would take advice from a chair, but if you haven’t stood up and walked away, consider that while a chair’s mission is to assist humans, perhaps a human’s mission should be to assist other humans too.

Until I can finally assist you again, wherever you are, I invite you to take a seat. Take a moment. Take a breath. Take some time.

If you liked the above, you would really enjoy:

🇨🇦 Musings of a Masterpiece

A work of art narrates its journey through time in this short story. 

In the centuries since its creation, it has witnessed the joy of love and companionship, the heartache of loss, and hardship. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but what if the masterpiece you so admire silently muses at the countless wonders of humanity?

🇺🇸: Amazon.com users, click here.

🇬🇧: Amazon.co.uk users, click here.

Amber Green is a self-published Canadian author and freelance writer. Her short stories can be found here: www.amazon.com/author/ambergreen

© 2020 Amber Green

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2019: Year of the Phoenix

2019 may be the year of the pig in East-Asian/Chinese astrology (it remains so until January 24, 2020), but for yours truly, it has been the year of the Phoenix (like that in ancient Greek folklore).

I burned my preconceived notions and tired formats to the ground through three major shifts and accomplishments in my professional life this year:

  1. I started my own publishing company, It’s A Go Publishing, in order to self-publish electronic short stories available through Amazon (Kindle) and Kobo. Each story is/will be written with a message of hope, empowerment, and inspiration intended to permit each reader to enjoy, pause, and reflect. In time, I seek to build an online following that I will use to leverage a highly coveted publishing deal with a major publishing house for my first novel. Speaking of which,
  2. I completed my first novel earlier this year, which is the first installment of a trilogy. In my pursuit of a literary agent, I have already been the beneficiary of great kindness from other writers and professionals in the publishing industry, who have served as learned cartographers as I continue to navigate my travels through the literary landscape.
  3. I shifted and redefined the focus of my freelance writing business, The Write Results.  

I emerge from the ashes with these experiences and sage lessons as a businesswoman with a new sense of purpose, an impregnable answer for the oh-so-necessary, “What’s my why?” and continued feelings of gratitude for all of those who have helped me along the way. 

Whatever your business- whatever your purpose- I hope that you will join me as I bring the heat in 2020. 

Extinguish the doubts and fears that have been holding you back and illuminate your dreams until your mission is ablaze. Like the Phoenix, rise from the ashes of your past lessons and welcome a renewed, revitalized version of yourself this new year.

It’s A Go, 2020! Let’s light it up! 

Amber Green

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Rags to Riches: Part 23

**Author’s note: I started my own publishing company in late 2019 — It’s A Go Publishing — in order to distribute my electronic short stories online.

Rags to Riches continues to be free below, but at present, it remains incomplete. I look forward to reviewing, editing, and continuing this short story in the coming months.

If you happen upon this post, and you would like to provide your feedback before I continue, please comment below. As always, thanks for reading. It’s A Go!**

Hi everyone,

Thank you for joining me to read part 23 of my first Saturday Story: Rags to Riches.

Have a great weekend! Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!

Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!

Amber Green

Continue reading “Rags to Riches: Part 23”