Short Story: Setting pt. 1

Written in 40 minutes.

Next goals: continue developing the kitchen a bit more, start developing the main character.

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The morning sunshine floods into the kitchen and warms every cabinet door and countertop. The walls--which normally take on a light, butterscotch color--appear like honey in the nascent dawn. A pan lined with cooking oil, black pepper, and egg yolk remnants rest atop the gas stove. Nearby, a cutting board holds pieces of cheese, leaves of spinach, and bits of sweet onion which went unused in that morning's breakfast. A white table stands in the back corner of the kitchen, accompanied by two white lawn chairs. One of the chairs bisects the table and the center of the room, seemingly vacated in a hurry. Several items atop the table also suggest a rushed departure: a half-finished bowl of scrambled eggs with a fork hanging off the rim, a newspaper tossed aside with advertisements spilling out, and a napkin crumpled up next to an unused knife.

A dusty trail of bootprints winds from the table out into the living room. The prints pass the cabinet filled with crystal glasses and fine china, which refract the morning light across the opposite wall in a burst of colors. They pass the maroon linen couches and their textured cushions, situated far from the windows and thus still covered in darkness. The trail--now barely visible on the dark wooden floor--ends at the front doormat. A strong wind blows through the open front door and burrows under the doormat, creating sinuous waves of fabric for seconds at a time. On the front porch, between two planks of wood running parallel to the street outside, rests a bullet casing.