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Tabea

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TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

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*Warning*
This story will contain themes of alcohol abuse and addiction. Originally, the story was going to focus on drug addiction, but somehow that seemed unsuitable for this forum.

*Preface*

A couple of years ago, I attempted to write something for public view for the first time, and posted it here. It was awful. I wrote two chapters, and after not receiving any feedback, gave up. At the time I though that those who wrote had some sort of natural creative talent that eluded me. Now I believe the only issue was I didn't have a story to tell. Now I feel its time to come back and try again, and write something worth reading. Please leave feedback, and be aware I have no issue with how critical it is of the piece. I hope you enjoy (for now, only the first chapter) my new project, entitled Tabea.

03-Jan-2016 04:46:29 - Last edited on 03-Jan-2016 04:52:08 by TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

Posts: 7 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Chapter 1

Cedric squinted through the piercing light slowly filling the room as the sun rose. He wasn't sure if he had even slept, the night proving as restless as the countless ones that came before it. Last nights hangover had yet to kick in, but the nearly empty bottle of liquor he had sipped through the night would help keep it at bay for a couple of hours at least.

Cedric realised now, as he thought of dragging himself out of bed to face another draining day, that the hangover had begun to take hold. This realisation came as he drew back his curtain slightly to peer out into the street, but stopped short once the suddenly too bright light drew attention to his splitting headache. He sipped away at the bottle, but knew that the lack of sleep would mean the headache was hear to stay.

Dragging himself into a sitting position on the edge of his bed, Cedric glanced around his room. A pile of clothes in one corner, a collection of dirty pots and pans in another, a third taken up by a collection of empty bottles, into which he threw the now empty liquor bottle. There was no escaping the fact that he was living in squalor, but he no longer cared. It had been a while since he cared about anything much. Cedric could, in fact, count out the days to when he had last truly cared for something, if he could care enough to do so.

He would be expected down at the farm within a couple of hours, and Cedric considered what needed to be done before he set off. The first consideration was to go down the well, fill a bucket of water and then return home to wash himself. Subsequently, he then considered folding the pile of clothes, washing the pile of dishes or disposing of the collection of empty bottles. Once he decided the best course of action would be to stay in bed for the precious few minutes of freedom he was afforded by his employers, he lay back his head and closed his eyes for what felt like the briefest of moments.

03-Jan-2016 04:47:25

TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

Posts: 7 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Upon awaking from his sought-after slumber, Cedric realised the mistake he had made. The sun was high in the sky, indicating the time was near noon. Cedric sprung out of the bed, grateful that the unintentionally long nap had somewhat put an end to his headache. He rummaged through the pile of clothes, and picked the first clean looking items he came across. As always, the outfit was mismatched, but this barley even registered in his mind as he explored his jacket pocket, feeling even more grateful as he found a gold coin in an inside pocket.

Cedric exited his tiny two room house with haste, and the hurriedness kept with him as he made his way across the town towards the farm. The streets were busy, filled with people heading home as their lunch breaks began. As Cedric neared the edge of town he stopped into a small store where the shopkeep knew him by name. It was probably this feeling of familiarity that kept him coming here despite several other closer-by vendors being more convenient. When Cedric had started seeing less and less of his family, any connection he felt with people became increasingly more important to him.

The shopkeep, knowing Cedric, had already placed the cheapest bottle of liquor on the counter. Cedric passed him the coin and thanked him, in his hurry not able to engage in the small talk that usually help him forget his crippling loneliness, if only for a few minutes. If he had, he might have learned that one of the fences that Cedric was responsible for maintaining had broken in several places, allowing an entire herd of sheep to escape their pasture. If he had known this, Cedric would perhaps have chosen to turn up to work sober for once, in order to explain himself properly to his employers. How was he to know that the dry summer would make the fence posts brittle to the point where a single sheep tripping into a weak point would bring down entire sections of the fence?

03-Jan-2016 04:47:54

TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

Posts: 7 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But Cedric kept walking hurriedly towards the farm, knowing that being four hours late was rare even for him, meaning he could maybe explain it away be saying there had been an accident. A carriage driver falling of off his seat and needing taking to the local doctor, perhaps. By the time he reach the gate of the farm, a quarter of the bottle now hidden away under his jacket having been drunk already, Cedric had convinced himself that his story would keep him safe from the wrath of farmer Joe, who was now walking towards him.

“And where the hell have you been?” Joe spat at Cedric.

“Sorry Sir, as I left to come here this morning, I witnessed a terrib-”

“I don't want to hear it, the slur of your 'S's and the smell of your breath tell me what you've spent the morning doing” Joe said, considerably calmer that a few seconds before. “Your job is the easiest on the farm, and you still cant manage it. All you have to do it walk around the fences, make sure they're secure, and then muck out the pigs. If you had turned up on time this morning, I might have even let you off the hook for loosing us the flock of sheep.”

“I lost you a flock of sheep? An entire flock?” Cedric muttered, stunned.

“The fence on the west-most field came down and they just walked out!” Joe shouted back, having lost control of his temper again. As the size of his mistake dawned on him, Cedric could no longer look him in the eye, and chose instead to stare at Joe's dirty, brown boots. Joe breathed deeply for a few seconds before continuing, calming himself down.

03-Jan-2016 04:48:49

TheRedPuma

TheRedPuma

Posts: 7 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“You're a bright lad, Cedric. I know you've had problems the last couple of years, and that's why we've always let you have chance after chance. The constant lateness and clear lack of effort have always been an issue, but we hoped that one day you would pull yourself together. But you lost us a lot of money, time and effort last night. I'm going to have to let you go.”

Cedric sat atop the hill that overlooked the slow-moving river to the south of the farm, a spot where usually at this time he would be taking his lunch, and a few sly sips of liquor. Today, however, he could no longer afford to feed himself, so instead he drank away his hunger. The liquors ability to numb him from his daily concerns seem less effective than usual though. It may well be the gravity of the situation he found himself in, he thought to himself. How did he end up working such a low end position on a local farm anyway? He had always been the top of the class in the small school in town, and his teachers had hoped he would join them in profession once he had graduated. But he never did graduate. Tabea had put and end any chance of that.

03-Jan-2016 04:49:58

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