Preface:
As I was rummaging through my computer today, I fell onto some fictional pieces that I have written, and I would love to share them with you. So over the next remaining weeks, I may include a couple per week just to balance all the critical and creative non-fiction posts. Of course, you guys don't have to read them, but if you have some spare time, I would love feedback! Thanks! : )Also another warning: I tend to write about periods in time. This one is about the Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland 1916, which was an "uprising" or "rebellion" - depends on which side you were on - against the English for Irish independence.
Hope you enjoy it! : )
For
You
Easter, 1916
Light from the street-lamps created shadows across the
tiny room. Ida stared up at the cracking ceiling as she listened intently for
that familiar noise. The tram screeched past, and laughter wafted through the
window. Finally, she heard the door slam and Cian’s heavy footsteps on the
stairs. She rolled onto her side, closed her eyes and feigned sleep.
“Still awake?” his voice whispered in her ear. His arms
wrapped around her. “I told you that you didn’t have to wait up.”
“How could I fall asleep?” Her hands reached for his, and
her head rested against his shoulder. “Cian, you cannot keep doing this. Every
day I watch you leave and fear that it will be for the last time. Every night I
am frightened that I will receive the knock from the police, asking me to
identify your body.”
“Ida,” he laughed softly. “You worry too much. I am
safe.”
“Really?” she asked indignantly.
“The Brotherhood knows what they are doing. We only do
what is absolutely necessary.”
“Does this include the rebellion? Is it really necessary
for the Irish Republican Brotherhood to strike against the British?”
“Yes! An unfree Ireland shall never be at peace.”
“So you say. But now?” she asked.
“The British are weakest now. We have waited too long for
their empty promises of Home Rule.”
Ida pursed her lips and refrained a rebuttal. It was
useless to argue against Cian’s beliefs. For years she had heard him rage about
the cruelty of the British and the need for Irish Independence. And it wasn’t
that she didn’t agree. She did want
Home Rule. This common belief had brought them together. She could still
remember the rally where she had first heard him. His green eyes had shined
against his freckled face and brown hair. His voice had rung through the square
as he had told his experience of the British brutality, being separated from
his parents and forced to go to a Protestant school. Although she had always
believed in the cause, his story and passion had captivated her. After years of
knowing him, it was the first time she knew she really loved him.
But she did not believe in this uprising. It seemed too
sudden, rash and violent. She was afraid that it would fail as countless other
rebellions had. It shared too many similarities: rumors that the British knew, dwindling
support and no organization. Any attack now would result in a sure loss.
Cian’s voice disrupted her reverie. “You do not need to
worry for too much longer. By tomorrow, everything will be over.”
“Tomorrow?” she croaked. Her head turned abruptly, and
her hazel eyes searched his.
“Yes. The rising has been moved to tomorrow.”
“Oh, Cian, that only ensures its failure!”
“No, the British will not expect a rising the day after
Easter!”
“But you are not ready! With more time, you could
succeed. There will be other opportunities. Please . . . promise me that you
will not participate!” She took his hand.
“Ida, you know I cannot do that. I have to be there for
the Brotherhood. I will be fine.”
“No. If you go . . .” Tears filled her eyes and she shook
her head. “Just promise me! I beg you.”
His green eyes held hers. “Well . . . fine. For you, I
promise.”
“Thank you. You know that I only ask this, because I love
you.”
“Yes.
Just as I will always love you.”
She
nestled her head into his shoulder again. His arms acted like a warm blanket,
and she began to feel drowsy. Knowing that she did not have to worry, she
drifted off to sleep.
Boom . . . boom . . . boom.
The
pounding on a door downstairs startled Ida awake. The warm pink glow of the sun
illuminated the room. Ida shut her eyes. This time she did not have to worry.
Cian was safe, lying right beside her. The police were knocking on someone
else’s door.
A cold draft made her shiver and reach for the blankets. She
blinked her eyes open. She had been warm last night. She rolled over. Beside
her lay ruffled sheets and blankets. Below she again heard the knocks on her door.
E,
ReplyDeleteYou really have a knack for fictional pacing. And I'm impressed that you're setting your stories in the historical past.
The ending is sad, and as a really short story, it's impressive that you've gotten here.
To me, this could expand and include more novelty. Specific imagery from the period. Dialogue that inclues even more emotion (and less exposition).
What a good start. I want to learn about this time period from you.
You should send this link to Tristan, since he's interested in this period.
Also, read Yeats's poem, "Easter, 1916."
Do you watch Downton Abbey?
Sorry it took me so long to respond to this.
Dave
Thank you so much! I love history, and I usually free like I have more freedom and can use more of my imagination when coming up with characters in a historical story than a contemporary period.
Delete(I also absolutely love Downton Abbey! I love the characters, especially Sybil and Mary. [This season was so sad, and I almost pledged that I would not see the new season because of what happened.] They also really did a great job with historical background, the outfits, setting and everything. It is really amazing and enjoyable to watch! I am addicted to that show!)
Actually I have a much longer piece that I am still working on that is set around the same place and setting, but I definitely want to expand on this one. So thank you!
Easter 1916 or the Easter Rising was a culmination of various events in Irish century. Since the 17th century, the Irish had been "rebelling" against the English and fighting for Home Rule. There were various reasons, mostly due to the fact that England basically replaced the Irish gentry with English in their first wave of colonization (even earlier in history) and then in the 1500s and 1600s replaced those Anglo-Irish with English gentry again. Usually this involved taking over their land as well.
This behavior also was influenced by the fact that the English believed that the Irish were of an inferior race to them. This was furthered in the reign of Henry VIII when he declared the Church of England as the main religion throughout England and its colonies and Ireland was reluctant to convert. It is around that time that St. Patrick's staff and other beautiful manuscripts and "relics" were destroyed by the English, which probably fueled more of a hatred between the two groups. Also Irish or Anglo-Irish that did convert to Protestantism were more readily accepted by the Church and the English government. As a result, there was a correlation between religion and the class system. Usually most Irish Catholics were of the serf or in the extremely low lower class.
Anyway, this caused all of these uprisings from the 17th century and on. However, they all failed for various reasons. For example, the weather was not good one time and so the ships from Spain did not come to the aid of the Irish in one of the uprisings. The English found out about them early on. The rebellion was not well prepared and so when one group would fall, most of the Irish would desert the cause. And then the English always punished the groups by executing the main leaders - normally Anglo-Irish or Irish gentry -, replaced their lands with loyal English subjects and enforced even stricter laws upon the Irish. For example, Ulster or upper Northern Ireland actually was one of the most rebellious regions in the 17th and 18th century and led some of the risings. However due to replacing English subjects with Irish 'rebels' there were tons of Protestants in that region by the 20th century.
The 19th century continued this need for Irish independence with the potato failure/famine in 1840s. Although there was really no great solution for the famine, the English just began to ignore the problem after a while. (The English may have tried to help initially but I am not entirely sure.)Five years later or so, they began citing statistics that the Irish were fine when the famine was still raging and there were tons of people still starving and dying. Consequentially many Irish politicians and gentry used this as an example that the British did not care about the Irish and began another debate about Irish independence or for the more conservatives, more representation in parliament.
It was also increased with this sense of nationalism, which began with the revival of learning the Gaelic language and taking pride in Irish heritage and history.
Sorry, I was stopped from publishing it altogether, so here is the next portion:
DeleteThe final straw came around the beginning of the 20th century. The British parliament promised to pass a Home Rule Law, giving Ireland its ability to govern itself or at least have its own government under Britain. This was placed on pause with the beginning of WWI, and there was almost an agreement that if Ireland promised to fight with Britain in the war, they would receive Home Rule. (Unfortunately we never really found out if that was just a political move or if the British would have kept their promise.)
Anyway, sorry about that long explanation, but it is almost needed to understand why this happened, because the rising was not out of the blue. The movement was led by two Irish groups: Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, both of which did not believe in the promise of the British and did not just want Home Rule but complete independence from Britain. As a result they had planned the rising to happen in Dublin, attack the main factories and government buildings. It began on Easter Monday and the city was basically chaos for that whole week. The rising did fail like the rest of the previous rebellions, because the government at Dublin Castle found out pretty quickly about the rising and the Irish had trouble gaining men for the rising and keeping them during it. As a result, the Irish 'lost' and 15 of the leaders of the rising were executed.
Although many Irish did not support the rising or complete Irish independence, these executions actually did the opposite that the English had hoped for. Basically the British were doing what they had done to squash previous risings, but instead of instilling fear, it just aggravated the Irish. The leaders of the movement became martyrs and Easter 1916 became a platform for Irish War for Independence and the Civil War that continued until the 1920s.