Sapling

Introduction

This is a story about a lot of different things. It is about how much love can hurt, how beautiful the wilderness can be, the cruelty human beings are capable of, and more. But before you start reading, I would like to explain a few things. Firstly, the story is written in a rather odd way: I'd say it is half playscript, half novel. Here is a handy key so that you understand what is going on:

Loren: If you see the word "Loren" or the word "Novica" and then a colon, this means that either Loren or Novica is speaking. Please note that speech is only laid out like this if it is being spoken by a main character.

[If you see words enclosed in square brackets, this means that they are actions - "stage directions", if you will. If a non-main character is speaking, their speech will appear here.]

Novica: (If one of the main characters is thinking, their thoughts will appear in these brackets for you to read. This mean you have access to these characters' darkest secrets - I hope you enjoy that freedom!)

You might notice that Loren and Novica speak in quite a distinctive way, using words like "cuz" for "because" and "ain't" for "is not". Writing like this is intended to show that these characters have a dialect. You will also notice some non-English words such as "sisling". Mr and Mrs Ling insisted that all words with a relation to family (and in some cases, age) should have "ling" on the end of them. Essentially, they're extremely vain and want words to be changed in their honour. So, you have "sisling" for sister, "broling" for brother, "mamling" for mother, "papling" for father, etc. I hope that all made sense.

And now, without further ado, I will allow you to jump right in. This story is quite close to my heart, so sharing it makes me feel slightly embarassed, but I wanted to address a number of issues (some of which, I feel, are little talked about) and creative writing is my way of doing so. I hope you can connect with Loren and Novica as much as I myself do - I can see myself in both of them. So: here it is.

Welcome to Ling.