Abigail White
(Here’s a very short character sketch I wrote 6 years ago.)
She never imagined that this would be the defining moment of her life.
Born Abigail Little, she had grown up with platinum blonde hair and deep brown eyes. As a teenager, she obsessed about her appearance and social behavior. She was smart and pretty, funny and good-natured. She was the girl every boy wanted to kiss and every other girl wanted to be.
As an adult, she married and mothered. Crow’s feet etched their way around her eyes, and though still potentially attractive, looks mattered progressively less to her. She bought nice clothes for her children; sweats and sneakers for herself. Her hair became frizzy and wiry. She put all her energy into her family, all her time into her home.
When the kids were old enough for school, she took a job as groundskeeper at a local amusement park. She was always cleaning up someone else’s mess, but she didn’t mind. In fact, it was an honor, for she knew the story of the broken window. It has been said a building can be vacant for years without becoming dilapidated, until even a single window gets broken; and then the whole building will become uninhabitable within days. Abigail knew that just one piece of trash, and her entire world would begin to disintegrate.
It was this passion she threw into her work. As a result, she was late one day. She was late picking up the kids from their after-school program. She got bawled out. Actually, the woman was very nice to this overworked mother. But Abigail couldn’t see it any other way. She had failed her duty.
It was then she realized, she was being controlled by circumstances. She had lost the excitement, her passion for life, her passion for her own life. She lived for everyone else, where she had once lived for herself.
The next day, she blew off work. She got in the car and drove across the state. Then she walked into the First Bank of Everytown, U.S.A., she walked up to a teller, pulled out her gun, and demanded they fill the satchel with cash.
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Comments
What a great character sketch! I feel I know so much about this woman, but still have so many questions. Would love to know what she’s going to do next.
A little tightly wound? I think so! Like many of us day after day. I liked the way you wrote this and I loved the twist at the end.
I’m not clear about her revelation. She was passionate enough about cleaning up to miss picking up the kids, but being chastised convinced her she had lost her passion? I’m missing something.
From the Ashes of Courage – Ardor Point #1
Ooh! Nice twist. I actually ran into some groundskeeper ladies today. Now I’m starting to wonder about them. *L*