Buying Happiness

sG Taka

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Third FF I write. It is not an action packed short-story. I wanted to take a different approach to this short story. Please criticize and leave your opinion! English is not my first language.

"I don't know"-said a young man as he leveled his head and combed his black hair backwards, as if with a new, clearer sight he would be able to answer such an unexpected curiosity-"but that's a very good question."

A troubled mind sat down on a black, leather couch located in one of the city's most lavishing hotels. He sat recumbently, with his head slightly tilted in a way that his line of sight ran along his right arm and met with an unconstrained cigarette, loosely dangling in between his index and middle finger. He stared unresponsively into the burning cigarette, detached from his surroundings, he continuously watched as the cigarette gradually burned and the ashes fell to the floor.

It was a cold evening, and a soothing, exotic type of music echoed in the background. It was the type of music that beautifully encompassed a variety of instruments and evoked in the listener the feeling of being in a place -outer space, the amazons, the Caribbean; it was lounge music. The man kept searching for closure in the cigarette, as if somewhere in that black, thin, clover flavored luxury he would find a comfortable feeling that would put an end to his problems. Physically he was at the lounge of that hotel, but the hypnotizing melodies that subtly resonated in the atmosphere took advantage of his newly found vulnerable emotional feel and had taken him somewhere else. His surroundings were reduced to simple blurs of colors, flashing lights and unrecognizable silhouettes.

The fire burned the cigarette with finesse, and a thin trail of smoke gracefully rose up and vanished into the air. A young, finely dressed man sat down on a black, leather couch of a hotel lounge and tried to find meaning to all that had just happened to him. He felt empty, and a huge void, slowly but surely, was beginning to replace his soul. There he was, a man that had indulged in greed, lust and addiction sat appalled in a black, leather couch of a luxurious hotel and tried to grasp the whole of his reality.

"Sir" -suddenly, a sweet and innocent voice broke his state of trance. Still dumbfounded and somewhat unresponsive, the man did not know who was speaking or from where, but nevertheless, he was able to tilt his head a little to the sides and make up a blurry, but satisfying silhouette. Everything was distorted, and he felt surreal. -"is everything alright?"

A few seconds passed, and he regained perception. He looked up at the woman, grasped his cigarette strongly and smoked. He did not know what to answer, his previous state of trance had just deviated him from the real problem. He did not understand why or how he felt. The void kept growing, but he did not understand the reason for it. Nothing was missing, he had money, women and everything anyone could ever ask for. He had bought happiness.

Still pondering on what to answer, the young man gave up; if he had not figured out before, he was not going to in the next few seconds. With an obscure and fatigued expression on his face, he simply leveled his head, combed his luscious, black hair backwards, and replied: "I don't know, but that's a very good question."
 
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Dave

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its good but i felt that you used the word "lounge" one to many time in the first half of the story

"A troubled mind sat down on a black, leather couch of a lounge located in one of the city's most lavishing hotels"
here the word makes no sense to me
"A troubled mind sat down on a black, leather couch located in one of the city's most lavishing hotels"

well that is just my opinion over all good work!
 
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sG Taka

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its good but i felt that you used the word "lounge" one to many time in the first half of the story

"A troubled mind sat down on a black, leather couch of a lounge located in one of the city's most lavishing hotels"
here the word makes no sense to me
"A troubled mind sat down on a black, leather couch located in one of the city's most lavishing hotels"

well that is just my opinion over all good work!
Ahh I see, thanks for your feedback! I changed it to see how people react.
 

Better

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Damn it was like a little visual play in my head as i read, good job

i pictured Antonio Banderas as that guy xd

You must be registered for see images
 

sG Taka

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Damn it was like a little visual play in my head as i read, good job

i pictured Antonio Banderas as that guy xd

You must be registered for see images
Thanks! That was sort of what I was aiming for! Glad to know it somewhat worked ^^

XD that's pretty accurate actually..
 

Gutsy

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Alright the read was okay, you actually made me visualise a few things, but you need more description, maybe some fond and color.... and you need to split the text up so it is more neat and looks more readable :D

The story itself is good but needs work and most of all... try to make it looka appealing :D
 

sG Taka

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Alright the read was okay, you actually made me visualise a few things, but you need more description, maybe some fond and color.... and you need to split the text up so it is more neat and looks more readable :D

The story itself is good but needs work and most of all... try to make it looka appealing :D
Fond and color? Could you please elaborate?

I think the text looks fine! I can't separate it more, it'll be like two sentence paragraphs xD
 

Gutsy

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Fond and color? Could you please elaborate?

I think the text looks fine! I can't separate it more, it'll be like two sentence paragraphs xD
More descriptive: try to make sentences more detailed :D

Fond: Try to make the text look more interesting like this :D

Size: Different size is good

Color is important to make it more appealing :D

Last but not least maybe put a picture in the beginning of each chapter it makes people feel better.
 

sG Taka

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More descriptive: try to make sentences more detailed :D

Fond: Try to make the text look more interesting like this :D

Size: Different size is good

Color is important to make it more appealing :D

Last but not least maybe put a picture in the beginning of each chapter it makes people feel better.
I use italics, but for dialogue and key words that are meant to convey a deeper, maybe more complex meaning. Not just to make it seem interesting xD

The size? Maybe for titles, but dunno.
Color? Meh, I'll pass on that one, haha but it does make it more appealing :D

And the picture thing sounds like a good idea, although I'd like my readers to visualize the setting without the help of pictures, but thanks anyways!

:D
 

Rorasa

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I think it was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. It sure wasn't and action packed one but you developed your character well and fully expressed his feelings. 10/10 :)
 

sG Taka

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I think it was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. It sure wasn't and action packed one but you developed your character well and fully expressed his feelings. 10/10 :)
Well thank you very much, I really appreciate that you liked my story. I believe perfect is a bit far-fetched but the thought makes me happy =DD
 

Yerrina

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"I don't know, but that's a very good question."

You start with statement. You end with statement. This (I presume) sums up the persona's life. He is confused still, despite living all these years, and all he can do is assessing the goodness of the question, which does not help him in anyway. He's lost and helpless, and perhaps he said ''that's a very good question'' to coax over this feeling of OMG he IS lost and helpless because he does not want to destroy this image of the great accomplished lucky young man that he's living in. He doesn't want to see the real world as we see him, though he's " slowly but surely" realizing the truth.

"detached from his surroundings" puts more emphasis to how alienated he is from real life, because his current life is like the silhouette of the lady, "blurry, but satisfying".

~ Great work !
 
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