Isolation and Art

Hi everyone, I know it has been a long time. Where I left off was with my latest fiction, Maddie’s Fight. Since then, I have written a few more stories, and also I have put together a collection of short stories to be in e-book format soon.

That having been said, the Coronavirus and its effects on the planet are on the forefront of people’s minds these days. I, too, am thinking about it virtually all the time, as I wake up in the morning, as I eat meals, and when I go to the potty. It has very much interrupted what I thought was my life.

When I heard that the virus had first arrived in China, I didn’t think much of it and was not worried in the least; when it first came to the U. S., I began to panic, especially when it was all over the news, and finally, we couldn’t leave our homes. I suppose that is my ego-centrism talking, thinking only in terms of self and what is immediately around me. But that does not make the lives that have been lost of any less value, it only serves to point out how self-centered and apathetic I was.

So, now we are in quarantine. Our daily lives have altered. I am still writing, though slowly, as I am distracted by my worry most of the time. Being at home means needing to find ways to fill up our time, and yet, we struggle to find activities that are constructive, not mindless.

I’d like to think that my writing/art is not mindless, that it helps to fill the gaps of time that were consumed by work, and that it enriches the social and inner lives, simply by conveying a message of beauty. I encourage everyone who is isolated at home to read, or to look at art, even if it is not my own.

New Fiction: Maddie’s Fight by K. E. Ward

 

Hello everyone, I try to keep my websites up-to-date about the latest projects I’m working on and my latest publications. This morning, Maddie’s Fight became available on the free-ebooks site. Do take a look at it. It’s a free download.

 

http://www.free-books.net/ebook/Maddie-s-Fight

Memoir

In case you missed it the first time, my short memoir, Reflections of an Artist, has been available as a free download on free-ebooks.net. In it, I am revealing parts of my life to you which have shaped the way I communicate and express art to others. I am proud to present this snapshot of my life in ebook format, and if you choose to read it, I hope you will enjoy it, too. Thank you, and have a great evening.

Moon, a Short Story

Hi again, The other day I uploaded my short story, “Moon,” onto free-ebooks.net. After my short memoir, I was ready to try fiction again. This particular short story is yet again another genre of literature, (typical of my writing), which is paranormal suspense. In it I tell you the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl who believes she is a psychic, and would like to become a famous psychic one day. However, she receives a disturbing, recurring vision of her future, and would like to alter her destiny. It is a ten-page short story with a couple of twists and turns, and I hope you will enjoy reading it, if you so choose to do so. Happy reading, and have a good day. -K. E. Ward

 

 

Memoir

Hi folks, I finished and uploaded my short memoir, entitled, Reflections of an Artist, onto free-ebooks.net. I give you a brief summary of my life, from creativity, to education, to personal heartbreaks, to mental illness, and to recovery. As I was writing novels, poetry, children’s books, and short stories, and drawing and painting, I was also living quite the psychotic life. I give you an account of extremely painful things which have happened to me, and explain how I was able to ask for help and recover. In it you will find that I am still a very sensitive person, but I have managed to muster enough strength to have hope. Thank you so much for reading. You are a wonderful audience.

New Children’s Stories

Yesterday, I forgot to mention I have another short book up on free-ebooks. It is called, The Unicorn Who Cried, a collection of three children’s stories, three poems, and a background about the author. The cover is a simple drawing I made many years ago, anticipating a future work. The Unicorn Who Cried, along with The Tiger Story & The Sarah and the Glass Castle Stories: A Short Anthology for Children, are my books meant for younger audiences.

Complete Works

As of today, my complete titles are:

The Heart Grows Stronger

The Incident

Novacadia

I’m Watching You

Streetwalker

He’s After Me

Poetry Beside Rippling Waters

The Tiger Story and the Sarah and the Glass Castle Stories: A Short Anthology for Children

A Candle, a Goblet & a Crystal Ball: The Paintings and Stories of K. E. Ward

Four Short Stories

Train Tracks and the Spider and the Fly

Ladies of the Night

 

Except for the first one, these may be found at http://www.free-ebooks.net. Have a pleasant night!

Latest Publication

This is the cover for my latest publication, found on free-ebooks.net. I tried a different kind of fiction this time, a short story about vampires. It is told through the eyes of four female vampires, whose first initials spell V-A-M-P. I do hope you will enjoy it if you so choose to take a look at it. -K. E. Ward

 

Something Unexpected Happened: A Short Story by K. E. Ward

Haley had been twenty-two years old. She was blessed with thick, auburn hair, which fell to her shoulders. Her brown eyes were clever, and she had a charming, dimpled smile. Her nose was cute and round, her face heart-shaped. She was the darling of her class, growing up. As she grew older, her heart-shaped face lengthened a tad bit, and her neck grew longer and more elegant.

I loved Haley because she was soft-spoken and her words were gentle. I loved her because I considered her brave and assertive, despite her quietness. She was physically beautiful, and her personality became outgoing and even flirtatious. She began her life as a shy little girl, but demanded to increase her strength with assertion.

My name is Andrew, and I miss Haley. She died so unexpectedly. What I remember is being called the day after she had gone to the hospital and the sound of her mother’s grieving voice telling me she was sorry. But she was Haley’s own mother. I should have been the one to tell her I was sorry.

It had been a driving accident. An inebriated driver had swerved into incoming traffic going northbound. There was nothing the doctors could do.

I suppose her mother thought I was someone very important to Haley, because she invited me over to look through her things after a few days. I took one gift home with me, a remembrance and a message for me and my future.

The objects were obviously intended for me; after all, they were wrapped in a box with a tag on it and my name. They were supposed to be a birthday present for me for next month, which was in May. I opened the gift, her mother there, and inside the box we found a brown, leather journal with a fountain pen and stationery. It was her telling me to make a record of my life and share it with others. Through the written word I would fulfill her wishes for me, because I loved her and I wanted to honor them.

So, I started today. I wrote a journal entry and my first letter, which is to my brother in Alaska. I expect to complete the journal and stay in touch with everyone else I love. To Robert I wrote:

“Hi, Brother, I suppose I should fill you in on everything that’s been happening since we last talked. I miss you. I have so much to tell you. Will you promise to keep in touch with me, also?” I continued writing the letter, silently telling Haley, “I love you.” And that was what I would always do. “Thank you, Haley,” and I cried.

Melissa & Rita: A Short Story By K. E. Ward

If only I didn’t suffer from this debilitating depression, I thought. But I was often asked to hang out with my best friend, Rita, on days when I didn’t really feel like it. Rita, with curly, red hair, came knocking on my door sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and sometimes in the evening. I never knew when chipper Rita would come, either in person or on the telephone, and want to have some fun.

“Rita,” I said. “I wasn’t expecting you.” But I was. And I hid my sigh. Not that I didn’t love Rita, but I was experiencing symptoms of tiredness and the desire to cry, all the time, and I had to muster energy just to talk to her. I wanted to be uplifting and fun, but it was so hard.

“Hi Melissa! You’ve just got to hear the latest news about Carla! She’s getting married, and she wants me to come.”

“That’s wonderful, Rita,” I said, my voice low and weak, but Rita wasn’t able to pick up on the sarcasm.

“Don’t you want to come with me to pick out a new outfit?”

Normally, I would pretend to have energy and say, “Sure,” but I was feeling more tired than usual. In fact, my thoughts ruminated about my mother, how we never got along growing up, how I didn’t live with anyone else in the apartment and got lonely, how nothing good ever seemed to happen in my life, and how I was no fun and worthless.

How could I tell Rita what I was experiencing? And she was the nicest person I had ever known. That’s why we became best friends. We’d known each other for fifteen years, and our friendship never ended. I said, “I’m sorry, Rita, but I can’t come. I’m not feeling well. I can’t possibly do it. Please go without me.”

Rita frowned. “What’s wrong, Melissa?”

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. “I can’t tell you.” And it was because I couldn’t put it into words what I was feeling. I felt a physical ache in my stomach, and the emotions were like a fist clenching the insides, so that it was hard for me to let them out; in fact, I didn’t know if I ever could. So, I asked her to leave, watched her leave, and intended to lie down on my bed and curl up until I could go back to sleep.

But I thought about the many years we had been friends, playing on the swing set, going to school dances together, hanging out at the roller rink to skate, eat pizza and drink colas, and even going to the same college. I loved her so much; in fact, in the past, we had had so much fun together that we once promised that we would never lose touch with one another. But I couldn’t see a future for us now. I couldn’t see how I could ever be the fun, upbeat person she needed. I cried so often, when she wasn’t there, that I realized I had a problem, and I wanted help. Because, what if that swing set, the one we both played on, was missing a friend in one of the seats? I couldn’t let that happen. I thought about her, and how I loved her so much that I could not allow myself to drift away in a spiral of sorrow. I could not tear my picture out of the photographs of us together, because it would leave an empty place in her life. I could not leave her. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t see a future for us together, but I wanted to see one. I needed someone to help me do that.

So, I came to realize, that day, that even when we have a wonderful family, great friends, and an amazing support system, sometimes we need a little extra help. That day I made a telephone call to my doctor and told her I thought I had depression and was experiencing suicidal thoughts. My doctor agreed to have me in for an appointment, and immediately I felt a little better, because I knew that help was coming. I immediately felt better also because I knew that I had made the right decision. I visualized the sun of hope coming up from the horizon in my very near future, and I felt more at peace. The good-bye I had said to Rita earlier was not a permanent good-bye, even though I worried that maybe it was. Help would bring us back together. We would always be friends, and no obstacle, even mental illness, could be stronger than the true love we had for one another. I was glad.

 

The End.