Literary Fragments: A Collection of Narrative Moments

The Encounter

• It was freezing cold.
• All eyes were gazing at the basket.
• She was near retiring age.
• Touch it, stroke it, and do not be afraid.
• Aitcheson thrust its flat head forward.
• She was evicted from them.
• The entrance had to be roped off as the children gathered.
• Never handled a snake.
• He stood petrified in front of it.
• It was her fault she was city-bred.
• It has to be knocked on the head.
• The attendant withdrew a green snake.
• For the preservation and welfare of all.
• It is not a question of bravery.
• The attendant draped the snake.

Moments of Tension

• The vessel was worn and dusty.
• They sat in rows on canvas chairs.
• Her fingers recoiled; she touched it.
• She managed to drag the object.
• She used her hands and tore the snake away.
• Smiling with delight to look for more.
• She ran into the room and flung herself down, panting.
• She closed her eyes and moistened her lips.
• He put a soft wrap about her.
• He opened the door and frowned a little.
• He lost his temper.
• His blue-black hair was parted at the side.
• He tried not to speak harshly because of the situation.
• The light shone on her eyelids.
• She stared at the completed work.
• There was no end of bother.

Domestic Scenes and Turmoil

• Hannah dozed a little.
• 'He will,' she chanted.
• 'Never mind, mother.'
• 'We shall have a rush, you will see.'
• A mythical beast.
• Call the house and bring a straight-jacket.
• His wife sat up in bed.
• He went upstairs and roused his wife.
• He threw her away, cursing and screaming.
• The police leaped from the car.
• 'He has a golden horn in the middle of his forehead,' he told them.
• A terrific struggle ensued.
• His wife is as crazy as a jay.
• He got up and dressed as fast as possible.
• He took his glass and drained it in one gulp.
• A heavy, blunt instrument.
• 'I hope you won’t blame me too much.'
• At any pause, she swung the big object.
• She began to sip the dark liquid.
• Longing for him welled up inside her.
• 'I think so,' she sobbed.
• She looked into the glass, frowning.
• Take a little nip of whisky.
• She sat for a while, blinking at the body.
• Ice cubes were clinking against the glass.
• A kind of dazed horror.
• At the door, she was humming a little tune.
• She became frantic with grief.
• A smile, a little nod, but nothing more.
• She sat beside the corpse.
• 'It might be a bit of a shock to you.'
• There should not be any fuss.
• She entered the room and began to giggle.
• She had large, bewildered eyes.
• She doted on the children.
• A great deal of bustling about.
• What people get up to when alone.
• The cook kept popping up from the kitchen.
• A series of small, rapid jerks.
• Her face was screwed up.
• She would begin to twitch.
• Observe the sky and sniff the cold air.
• She turned away and peered through the window.
• Somewhere, his timing was off.
• He would never consent to leave New York.
• Her hands were clasped together.
• An hour beforehand.
• After snipping off the end.
• A simple apprehension about the future.
• Beautiful in the flesh.
• At the airport to see her off.
• The flat marshland on the horizon.
• Another was draping them carefully.
• A face that bore such sorrow.
• The car crawled on and on.
• She began to flutter and fidget about.
• 'Stop fussing, the old man said.'
• The fog would blow away at any moment.
• A great yearning to set out.