When you’re really rushed for time, do you find yourself toe-tapping when someone gives you a long explanation? What is the point, you wonder. Racing from here to there doesn’t allow for leisurely conversation and even less for stories or riddles.
Yet, what if the meandering is really an invitation to a mystery that can enrich your day, or your heart, or your soul beyond your imagination?
In The Land of Darkness, by C.S. Lakin, Callen and Jadiel are running out of time. With each new clue or riddle they unravel to bring them closer to their goal comes an even more mysterious saying and confusion. Callen’s impatience grows—he wants a direct answer now. But a life-changing mystery, like a parable, needs time to uncover and even more time to discover the meaning.
“Callen’s head swam with images: the king-priest buried under the terebinth, with its boughs in the heavens. The tree cut down, but sprouting again. A king returning, blowing breath into dry bones. But not the king-priest of Antolae—a different king. The boar’s words swam dizzily in his head. ….. How were all theses stories tied together? And the one image that wouldn’t come was the one he yearned for most—the bridge.”
At the end of the encounter all they have is another city to travel to with even more questions that need asking.
Journal Prompt:
1. Even if you do not have a mystery in your novel choose a situation to become a mini-mystery parable with long reaching significance.
2. Pick a scene where your character is pressed for time. Make a list of possible obstacles, such as a flat tire. Have a good ‘helper’ come alongside to assist, but keeps making the situation worse.
3. Then, when your character finally reaches his goal, he realizes that the interference saved him in some way—maybe from a huge embarrassment. How does that change his perspective on his frustration?
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