Week 3 Story: The Past Comes to Haunt
Cody Smith was a professional bull rider who had worked many
years to get to where he stands today. And that is at the entrance of the PBR
World Finals. This is where the elite of the elite ride and shoot for that
eight seconds. Cody was a man who loved what he did and could not see himself
doing any other profession. One of his biggest enjoyments of bull riding was
seeing and riding different bulls each month that are brought to competition.
Cody was getting ready for the first night of competition,
getting his gloves and bull rope together. He would get in his pre-riding zone
blocking out all distractions, and that’s when he knew he was ready. The
announcer called for all the riders to come draw the bull that they were going
to rid that night. Cody walked to the office and drew his number then walked
over to the board where the list of bull names was posted. Cody stood in shock,
this night he was bound to ride Midnight Magic the 2,500 lbs
The exact same day tree years prior Cody was matched to ride Midnight Magic and back then he feared the bull. That year Cody had found himself doing whatever he could to get a check, just to live off. So what Cody ended up doing during the ride was using his illegal spurs to kind of tame the bull just so that he could make it through the eight seconds and move on. But because of this Midnight magic got hurt, so Cody’s face was one that mighty bull would never forget.
Back to the present Cody found himself preparing for his ride and going through everything he could do to stay on, little did he know there would not be much hope for him and his ride. It was Cody’s turn to to attempt the eight seconds so he hopped on the bulls back and instantly Midnight Magic went crazy, the helpers strapped Cody in and when the buzzer sounded they were off. Midnight magic made sure Cody would not last but only 3 seconds, giving Cody the most terrifying ride of his life.
Cody was thrown to the ground devastated. What he had wished would never happen just unfolded right there in front of him at the biggest competition of his life. In deep thought on his way back to his trailer he knew this fail of a ride was a repercussion of the ride where e hurt Midnight Magic three years back, when he was doing anything and everything just to make checks.
Author’s Notes: This story was based off the excerpt from Narayan’s Ramayana Part A. In the excerpt Rama was exiled against his will. Dasharatha knew this awful situation is because of the curse placed on Rama a long time ago, when he had killed a man. The Theme I took from the excerpt was that Things you do in the past with come back to get revenge later in life. I wrote the story with completely different characters and a completely different plot. But I held the theme that your past can and will haunt you.
Bibliography: Narayan. Ramayana Part A
Hi Drew! Your story is a good cautionary tale. Maybe you could add more detail to the bull riding scene. It would make such an awesome action sequence. Having been to a rodeo before, I know that most events have the audience captivated, there is nothing quite like it. You did a really good job developing Cody's character.
ReplyDeleteHi Drew, you have great background information on Cody which is good for readers to know. Maybe add more detail to the actual bull riding, I think it would make your story even better than it is since that is what the story is mainly about. It is a good concept that the past comes back always, kind of like karma.
ReplyDeleteHey Drew! I noticed that you had a first and last name for your character, is that somebody that you know? I'm also curious as to how you decided to use bull riding and PBR as your plot, are you a bull rider? The story that you used with bull riding is very creative which I really enjoyed as it's different than most of the epic stories we are writing about. The only thing that I might add is detail to current bull riding situation and somehow make it more clear when he has flashback.
ReplyDeleteHi Drew! Your story was vaguely reminiscent of The Longest Ride, by Nicholas Sparks. If you haven't seen the movie and are ever in the mood for a neo-western chick flick... I totally recommend. I like how you applied Rama's story to a more modern character. Your story has a lot of moral truth to it, which is representative of many of the themes of the Ramayana. A specific strength of your writing is how well you set up the plot and initially intrigue the reader. I was not expecting to read about bull riding, so I was immediately intrigued. In the future, I think you could add more imagery to your story to really make it come to life. You did a great job describing the bull, but I couldn't picture the bull rider or the stadium/arena where the event was taking place. Overall, great job with your story. It was such a fun and playful twist. I look forward to reading more of your writing!
ReplyDeleteHey Drew! I loved reading this story because it had the clear lesson that doing things that are wrong might just end up cost your more in a way that is not financial. I think it would add to your story if you included details about how the spurs that Cody used truly hurt and traumatized Midnight Magic so much that he would remember Cody when they would meet again. I think it would also be interesting if there was a part of the story where Cody and Midnight Magic both locked eyes and they recognized each other from that day.
ReplyDelete