In this series, I will take the Word of the Day from Dictionary.com and craft a short piece of creative writing around it. My goal is to embrace the meaning of the word in some unique way, all the while trying out different styles, rhythms and characterizations. It is as much an exercise in creativity as it is an exploration of grammar. Enjoy!
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By Alex Seise
Dr. Aganetti shook her head. “No, no, no!” She slammed down her tiny steel hammer, grinding the head and handle into the rock. “Damn!”
Pietro sheepishly cowered from the raging archeologist. She was patient and kind back at the university, but she boiled over with intense fervor the moment her leather-laced boots stepped into the dirt. He was oblivious to the cause for her latest upset. “Is… Is everything…?”
But she didn’t let him finish. “These characters, see them?” She pointed to the tiny etchings in the stone. “They’re not from the same Ursprache. This… This is a different language entirely, damn it!” She kicked at the dirt, sending a small cloud puffing up into the shallow cavern.
Quiet Pietro wondered why such a magnanimous discovery affected the terse doctor so negatively. He shrugged it off to his own low education and reached for the lantern.
