Creative Writing
Last Updated in August 2023
Committed to crafting complex and inclusive “villains,” clever but seamless plot twists, and shocking or bittersweet endings, Mechelle gravitates toward the dark, the grey, and the magical.
​
Showing is better than telling, so please enjoy these excerpts from her in-progress works.
My eyes swept over them. One for him. One for me. And one for Li Mei Li. How sweet of our husband, Li Mei Li. I scoffed, making it audible. He turned away as quickly as he had turned to me, ashamed.
A minute passed.
When I heard his shaky breath as we sat there in silence, something inside me stirred. I softened. I breathed in. And then out. Let myself sit in that feeling of melancholy. Of pity. Of understanding.
His temporary delusions were just that. Temporary.
He was young. I was young.
We would get our house back.
We would get our home back.
At that, I smiled ever so slightly. His silence was an acknowledgement, yes. A good start. And all I needed was a little bit more. A teensy tiny bit more. And so I waited as we stayed frozen on opposite sides of the bed. Both anticipating something that would never come.
Tick. Tock.
Tick. Tock.
His alarm clock trapped me in a trance that almost made me forget the situation we were in. I fiddled with the tag of my pillow, its body lumpy and yellowed. Nothing like the crisp white that glared at me from the middle of the bed.
Tick. Tock.
Tick! Tock!
“I-”
This is it! This is it! He looked down. I looked up. It will all soon be over! I let out an internal sob. Don’t keep me waiting! Honey, give me a reason to forgive!
But nothing else came out of his mouth. He simply paused, let the words he had linger and melt on the tip of his tongue, then slipped under the covers like it was just another night. The blood in me boiled. The house of cards I had presented to him had just been toppled.
I had waited so patiently for the words “I’m sorry.” For a simple “I’ll fix this.” For him to acknowledge the absurdity of that third pillow. That third pillow! I had waited and waited. For him to say it was all of his own doing. A result of his cowardice. To own up.
Ma. I laughed. Slipping under the covers myself. When you warned me about those homewreckers, this isn’t what I had in mind.
He came with a nymph who had constellations on her face. The stars hypnotized and disoriented, peppering her nose and cheeks. In her eyes, were specks of gold. It seemed like she had just emerged from a cave behind a waterfall. Her hair wet, adorned with bubbles, pearls. Out of the lily pads and right onto the ballroom dance floor. She floated around. Her vulnerability, both her charm and her weapon. "Lilith." He had called out. Cooed. Placing his hand on her waist. Pulling her in.
​
Her partner, this time, liked to play. Liked to laugh. Liked to touch. He attentively ushered her around. Complimented her companions. Made them blush, which made her smile. A citrus-tea smile. A ginger-tea smile. The finest of the finest. "A woman's best accessory-" She had patted him on the head, making light dance around them. "-is her man." He had grinned. A smile of that cat, in Wonderland. Cheshire. "A pleasure to be of service, madam. As always." He looked around, then planted a kiss on her collarbone. With his canines bared, he mouthed a single word. "Hungry."
The pristine 6:47 am light slithered through the gap between the curtains and followed me all the way to the garage. I had stolen a peek of the outside world through the panelled door, feeling giddy as I watched a tiny rabbit nibbling away at my dying lawn, oblivious and peaceful. Hop. Hop. Hop. It stopped at the foot of the small avocado tree and continued nibbling.
​
1) Clear the space.
​
My task for the day was a simple one. The boxes. The bags. The dust. I drifted around the crowded room, inhaled the stale air, relished it. The smell of the slightly damp wood could stay. I looked up at the black widow spider that had greeted me the first day I arrived here, almost expecting him to be gone. He was still there. I gave him a little wave. Or her. Them. It. I let out a frustrated sigh. It stirred in response. The black widow could stay. Everything else had to go.
​
2) Minor repairs and paint the walls.
​
I drove to the nearby Home Depot (only 12 minutes away!) to grab some paint the next day. My hand had hovered above the deep crimson red before I turned to the blues, yellows, whites, and greens I had come for. I fingered the black I had grabbed earlier, walking back to where the four-year-old china-doll of a boy was (he told me his age), still enthralled by the budding roses in the Garden Center. I gave him a little wave. He smiled back in response. Baby blue eyes. I went back, grabbed After Rain, and checked out. Everything took me less than an hour.
3) Paint!!! the walls.
Paint with three (three!) exclamation marks. I had my work cut out for me today. I closed my eyes, strained, then relaxed. I let the images come to me. Let the feelings wash over me. Two coats of After Rain had already dried on the walls. And the ceiling. I opened my eyes. Grabbed my paper pad and pen, crossed off 3) Paint!!! the walls, and called the Pool Guy.
3) Paint!!! the walls.
“Hi, thank you for calling XXX Pool Services. How can we assist you today?”
“I want a pond in my garage.”