Saturday, February 16, 2019

WWW and it’s snow joke

http://www.wewriwa.com/

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Continuing a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. They have just stepped outside while Shayla’s baggage is loaded into the car. Kurt spotted a row of punishment stalls across the square, and Shayla realizes the crowd will expect her to inflict some pain on the prisoners there.

=====

Shayla sorted through her money and selected a small silver coin. This would be a heavy jolt. Prisoners occasionally died from neural stimulation, despite the safety limits built in, but her briefing notes had been very clear regarding Brynwyn's harsh views on duty and discipline. She had to stay in character.

"Leave my mommy alone!"

Shayla looked down, surprised, at the tiny bundle of fury pummeling her with minute and ineffective fists.

One of the duty guards pulled the child away. He raised his fist to cuff the young boy, but Shayla held up a cautioning finger. The guard bowed his head. "As you wish, Magister Summis."


=====

When we moved to Canada, everyone talked about the long winters. “Not so,” we said. “We’re settling in Victoria, BC where people move to to escape the winters.”

Thing is, Victoria isn’t geared up to deal with snow like the rest of Canada. Most winters we’ve been here we’ve had snow, but it’s always been one dump, one day of traffic chaos. Then the roads are cleared and things settle down. It all looks pretty for a couple of weeks then it melts.

Last three years or so we’ve seen a change in the pattern, to snowfall spread out over multiple days causing fresh problems every day. This past week is a case in point.

Friday I happened to be working from home, catching up after my trip to Ottawa that I mentioned in my last post. During the day, about 5cm fell which I cleared from the driveway before Ali got home. Sunday night the storm hit. About 30cm which closed the highway that night. We dug ourselves out in the morning and I managed to get into work by mid-morning. It takes the three of us somewhere between 2 and 3 hours to shift that amount of snow from our long driveway.





Very scary drive home Monday in near-whiteout conditions. Lots of cars abandoned by the side of the road. Ali and Matthew were home (schools closed) and cleared the drive for me. Tuesday morning - another 30cm overnight and another 2-hour workout to dig ourselves out again. Wednesday was fine, but slippery slushy stuff started falling Thursday. Not much, but enough to be dangerous - probably more so than a proper snowfall. Our drive opens out near the bottom of a hill, and even crawling down at less than walking pace I couldn’t make the turn into the drive. The car just slid sideways. Managed to correct and carry on down to the bottom, then came back up and reversed into the drive. Yes, scary. Another brief workout Friday morning before getting to work.

Looks like we’ve got a reprieve for the coming week, with the possibility of more to come next weekend. We’ll see.

Of course, I’m still thankful to be living in relatively mild Victoria. Much of the country has had it a lot worse, so I can’t really complain. Wherever you are, I hope you’re staying warm and dry and safe!



19 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's a lot of snow. Even a dusting hits our area and the whole town shuts down. (Which works for me - I get to stay home.)

Jessica E. Subject said...

Sounds like she's struggling to stay in character. Must be really hard for her.

That is a lot of snow for Victoria. In the last week, we (Southwestern Ontario) had freezing rain, a snow storm, then a warm day that made a mess of everything before it got cold again. The week before was the same. Be careful out there!

Botanist said...

Alex, that effect of snow sounds a lot like Victoria. The rest of Canada is vastly amused by how little it takes to bring us to a standstill.

Jessica, she is definitely struggling.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed her moment of compassion, and also you tale of survival in Victoria. We lived in the Interior between Kamloops and Jasper -- lots of cold and snow -- but if we drove to the coast in winter I was always struck by the fact that it felt pretty much as cold at the coast even if the thermometer read many degrees warmer. In other words, Victoria isn't as mild as it thinks it is!

Teresa Cypher said...

It's so hard for her stay in character. Her morals and ethics are not like Brynwyn's.

Sorry to hear about your snow challenges. This winter (much like last year) has thus far had a very low snow total. But we've been pounded with cold rain and an ice storm that left us without power for 5 days. I prefer snow. :-)

Nancy Gideon said...

Her choice just got more complicated!! I hear you about the snow! Michigan has been hammered - throwing in ice just to make things fun on the commutes to and from work. Thank goodness we have fiction drama to fall back on!

Charmaine Gordon said...

Interesting how she struggles to find a way. Excellent snippet

Botanist said...

Ed, that's the difference between dry and damp.

Teresa, no power for 5 days? That's harsh. I hope you have alternatives for heating and cooking.

Nancy, Shayla's set herself a tough course here.

Charmaine, thanks.

Veronica Scott said...

Good luck with the snow! The excerpt today really ratchets up the pressure effectively....she (and everyone else) is in a tough spot for sure.

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

I live in Colorado. The natives, for the most part, learn to deal with less than optimal road conditions and realize that a four-wheel-drive doesn't stop you from sliding if you hit ice, it only makes it easier to get back on the road if you slide off. However, Colorado is a state that attracts a lot of transplants who go bombing along in their 4x4 as if road conditions are normal and end up causing trouble for everyone.
Re: the snippet, nothing adds authenticity to a dystopian setting quite like revealing the cruel attitudes of those in power, as with the guard's attitude towards the child. Well done!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

It must be so difficult to stay in character at this moment. Great snippet.

I have a hunch it's not useless information.
I forgot to add my link. If you have a chance, I have my snippet up too. Karen's Shenanigans

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Forget the "I have a hunch it's not useless information." That was a comment to another snippet. I meant to only copy the link part to my blog. Sorry about that. :)

Elaine Cantrell said...

I bet this won't be the last time she'll have trouble staying in character.

Aldrea Alien said...

Ooo, I bet staying in character is going to get a lot harder pretty quickly.

Diane Burton said...

Great snippet. I can feel her angst as she tries to stay in character yet appalled at the situation.

I remember that awful feeling of knowing I was going to miss a turn and what happened next as if in slow-motion. My car very slowly slid backwards into a ditch. At least, I was close enough to walk home and wait for AAA. This has been a weird winter everywhere. Stay warm and safe.

Botanist said...

Veronica, the pressure is definitely on!

Cara, I'm all too well aware of the limitations of 4WD :)

Karen, we'll see just how difficult in a few paragraphs.

Elaine, Aldrea, you're quite right there!

Diane, I managed to do a very slow and stately 180 on a slippery road last year. The feeling of helplessness still haunts me.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Ian - gosh I'm glad I'm back over here - that's been way more than last year i.e. 2017/8. Shovelling snow - can't say I've done that for many a year - even on the Island ... there wasn't much point - we couldn't get anywhere and the farmer cleared us eventually ...

Good about Shayla ... I want to see what she's going to do with her coin ...

Cheers for now ... Hilary

Denise Covey said...

(((snigger))) I'm staying warm all right, Ian, in an Australian summer. No sign of snow here. Must be hard doing all that constant clearing. Supposed to be a cyclone coming. The ocean if roiling and the wind is blowing but the sun is shining from a clear blue sky. Go figure.
I'm enjoying your unfolding story. What is Shayla going to do next?

Denise

Botanist said...

Hilary, yes we only had an inch or two last year. And you won't like what Shayla's about to do with that coin :(

Denise, Australian summers can pose their own challenges. I have friends who live in NSW. They both volunteer with the fire department, things like manning the radio in wildfire season.

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