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Authors: Robert Swartwood
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thinking about this the entire way here—my dad’s continued infidelity even though he’d promised us he was done and would never do it again.
“Who were you just talking to?”
“Huh?”
“On your BlackBerry”—gesturing toward his pocket—“you were talking to someone when I walked up.”
“Oh, that. That was just business.”
I closed my eyes, took a breath, and unclenched my fists.
“Really? Well that’s good. I mean, as long as it’s just business, me and Mom and Emma have nothing to worry about. It’s not like you would ever … well, you know. I mean, you did promise us it would never happen again. Right?”
He stared back at me, just stared for the longest time. Finally he nodded and said in a very soft voice, “Yeah, that’s right.”
The streetlamps along the block flickered. It was just a small thing, something hardly anybody would notice, but still I glanced around me, then up at the sky, before settling my gaze back on my dad.
“Good,” I said, and started up the steps.
Like before, he didn’t follow me and just stood there, staring down the block.
I let myself in and closed the door behind me.
My mom wheeled herself into the hallway. “Welcome home, honey.”
I leaned down, gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, David. Where’s your father?”
“Still outside on the phone. You know, business.”
“Yes,” she sighed.
Frantic footsteps pattered into the hallway, Emma shouting, “David’s home, David’s home!”
Mom said, “Little Miss Hyper here is ready for bed. Wanna tuck her in for me?”
“Of course.” I turned to my sister and grinned. “I’ll race you to the top.”
She was already turning away and scrambling up the stairs. I waited a few seconds and then hurried after, Mom laughing in that singsong way of hers as she watched us go.
“I win, I win, I win,” Emma cried when she reached the top, jumping up and down.
Of course she did; I always let her win.
Afterword
In 2000, I wrote a 22,000-word novella called The Silver Ring . I was eighteen. I submitted it to a major science fiction and fantasy magazine (I’m sure you can guess which one) and it was rightly rejected. In the rejection letter the editor said it was “ambitious.” He was being too kind. What was ambitious about it was the length. At the time it was the longest thing I had ever written. But it needed work, and I knew it, and so I put it away and didn’t think of it again until the spring of 2009 where I took it back out and rewrote the entire thing. Keeping the main storyline the same, I managed to cut out 4,000 words while adding in almost three times the amount of action.
Thank you for reading The Silver Ring . To show my gratitude, I have included a bonus short story: “Blind Insight,” which was published in 2000, the same year I originally wrote this novella. To mark the differences in my writing, I have kept the story the same as it was published, word for word. Enjoy.
BLIND INSIGHT
SUDDENLY HE AWAKENED , and found himself in a darkness he never thought could exist. He was lying down and could feel the cold metal of the ship pressing against his body. There was something in his mouth, too, a pair of rather small balls which seemed to be shoved back in his throat. He tried to get up, tried to say something, but those balls denied him the action. He attempted to cough them up, to get rid of them, but they seemed stuck, not moving. With effort, he managed to sit up, and in doing so coughed, swallowing the two balls.
His mouth now clear, he called, “Hello?”
There was no answer, only silence.
Now standing, he reached out in front of him to feel if there was anything in his way. Slowly, he began moving his arms around his body, stretched out as far as he could, hoping to touch a wall, a table, something that might give him an idea of his position.
Carefully,
“Who were you just talking to?”
“Huh?”
“On your BlackBerry”—gesturing toward his pocket—“you were talking to someone when I walked up.”
“Oh, that. That was just business.”
I closed my eyes, took a breath, and unclenched my fists.
“Really? Well that’s good. I mean, as long as it’s just business, me and Mom and Emma have nothing to worry about. It’s not like you would ever … well, you know. I mean, you did promise us it would never happen again. Right?”
He stared back at me, just stared for the longest time. Finally he nodded and said in a very soft voice, “Yeah, that’s right.”
The streetlamps along the block flickered. It was just a small thing, something hardly anybody would notice, but still I glanced around me, then up at the sky, before settling my gaze back on my dad.
“Good,” I said, and started up the steps.
Like before, he didn’t follow me and just stood there, staring down the block.
I let myself in and closed the door behind me.
My mom wheeled herself into the hallway. “Welcome home, honey.”
I leaned down, gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, David. Where’s your father?”
“Still outside on the phone. You know, business.”
“Yes,” she sighed.
Frantic footsteps pattered into the hallway, Emma shouting, “David’s home, David’s home!”
Mom said, “Little Miss Hyper here is ready for bed. Wanna tuck her in for me?”
“Of course.” I turned to my sister and grinned. “I’ll race you to the top.”
She was already turning away and scrambling up the stairs. I waited a few seconds and then hurried after, Mom laughing in that singsong way of hers as she watched us go.
“I win, I win, I win,” Emma cried when she reached the top, jumping up and down.
Of course she did; I always let her win.
Afterword
In 2000, I wrote a 22,000-word novella called The Silver Ring . I was eighteen. I submitted it to a major science fiction and fantasy magazine (I’m sure you can guess which one) and it was rightly rejected. In the rejection letter the editor said it was “ambitious.” He was being too kind. What was ambitious about it was the length. At the time it was the longest thing I had ever written. But it needed work, and I knew it, and so I put it away and didn’t think of it again until the spring of 2009 where I took it back out and rewrote the entire thing. Keeping the main storyline the same, I managed to cut out 4,000 words while adding in almost three times the amount of action.
Thank you for reading The Silver Ring . To show my gratitude, I have included a bonus short story: “Blind Insight,” which was published in 2000, the same year I originally wrote this novella. To mark the differences in my writing, I have kept the story the same as it was published, word for word. Enjoy.
BLIND INSIGHT
SUDDENLY HE AWAKENED , and found himself in a darkness he never thought could exist. He was lying down and could feel the cold metal of the ship pressing against his body. There was something in his mouth, too, a pair of rather small balls which seemed to be shoved back in his throat. He tried to get up, tried to say something, but those balls denied him the action. He attempted to cough them up, to get rid of them, but they seemed stuck, not moving. With effort, he managed to sit up, and in doing so coughed, swallowing the two balls.
His mouth now clear, he called, “Hello?”
There was no answer, only silence.
Now standing, he reached out in front of him to feel if there was anything in his way. Slowly, he began moving his arms around his body, stretched out as far as he could, hoping to touch a wall, a table, something that might give him an idea of his position.
Carefully,
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