What Was Never Said
A short story written by Matt Gardner with PlotWeaver: Cards of Creation, a storytelling game made by Mod Hob Cooperative.
This story uses a Circular Plot Pattern, written in 15-minute timed acts with all story cards drawn at random. For more information, visit www.plotweavergame.com
Act 1: History & Routines
(Story Element Cards: The Flawed, Mountain Lodge, Living in Two Worlds, and Dystopian)
Noah awoke, made himself some coffee, cleaned the litter box, and fed the cats.
The same routine he’d followed for the last five years.
Noah left the city after a series of social failures, job losses, and poor choices in coping. The mountains felt like a good place to lie low.
In the afternoons, he worked on his passion projects, of which he had many. Some days, he would draw while listening to his favourite old records. On other afternoons, he would read one of the hundred or so books he had collected over the years.
Many were given as gifts that he only recently got around to reading. He was aware, at this point, of the friendly nudges and quiet lessons from people who had long since given up on him.
If only he could thank them. But from where he was now, he would struggle to make it back to the city.
Noah’s evenings were calm. Usually, he would make something new-ish out of his limited stock of beans, rice, lentils, herbs, vegetables, and berries he grew in the summer. He loved to cook. It was even better to eat.
After dinner, he would watch one of his old DVDs. As a young person, he’d been very hip and up to date on the film scene. A scene that now felt irrelevant.
He deeply longed for something meaningful. Something to live for besides his own sustenance, which he had mastered.
He grew almost everything, made his own clothes, cooked, cleaned, maintained, and repaired.
But deep down, he was still urban, listening for a rhythm the mountains never quite answered.
Act 2: Progression & Complication
(Story Element Cards: Parallel Universe Merge)
It was late on a Friday in January when Noah’s routine was finally broken.
Half-watching, half-asleep to familiar dialogue, Noah sprang up, jolted by a creaking sound on the balcony.
Could it be the deer again? he wondered.
Then he heard a knock.
He peeked out the window and saw a woman in a parka, large boots, and a thick toque and scarf.
How did she get there, especially in the dark? He thought.
“Who is it?” he shouted through the door.
“Noah, open up!!” a familiar voice called.
It took him two seconds to realize that it was Lynn. He hadn’t seen her in years. Not even before he left the city.
Lynn had worked with Noah during a very confusing time in his life. He adored her, but not in a way that made sense for either of them.
They texted for hours when not at work. At work, they took every break together, making up stories about the people in the building across the street.
Eventually, they fell out.
Noah suspected his behaviour, drinking, and feeling sorry for himself, which must have pushed her away. It wasn’t the best version of himself.
“Noah! Seriously, it’s very cold, and I’ve already been outside for an hour!”
“Absolutely.” Noah scrambled to open the door. He hadn’t seen anyone in months. From his perspective, the world he once knew was over.
“Come on in, Lynn.”
Act 3: Heightened Tension
(Story Element Cards: Cultural Clash)
Lynn rushed inside and went straight to the wood-burning stove, warming her hands.
“Lynn… what are you doing here?” Noah asked.
“I don’t actually know why I’m here,” she said. “I came up to see my family. They have a chalet close to here. Remember… we talked about this area? I might have been the one who told you about this place.”
She was right.
She had told him about the lodge. In fact, he was living exactly the kind of life she once dreamed aloud about. Lynn loved the idea, but the city had offered her what she needed at the time.
“Please make yourself at home,” Noah said. “I’ll put on some coffee.”
“Would you mind if it’s black? I cut out sugar and only eat what I can grow… well, except coffee, beans, rice, and a few preserves from the fall market.”
He rambled. He was nervous.
She looked good. Really put together.
When they first met, she’d been fresh out of university. Noah had already been a veteran in the field and had burned out from industries he no longer believed in.
“Black coffee is fine,” she replied, coolly.
Noah didn’t expect much. He must have hurt her deeply.
But then, why was she here?
“Lynn, may I ask…”
“I came here because…” She stared at the stove. “Because I was worried.”
“You just up and left the city. We lived four blocks apart, and you never said goodbye. Nothing.”
Her voice rose. She was angry. Hurt.
Noah paused. He had rehearsed this moment in his head a hundred times. Practiced his apology.
They had shared a bond, just not one either of them could define.
Act 4: Resolution & Return
(Story Element Cards: Amulet)
“Lynn, please forgive me,” Noah said.
“When we last met, I was a very different person. I was selfish, arrogant, ignorant, and deeply misguided. I didn’t consider how my worldview and actions affected those around me. I drank. I wallowed. I blamed everyone else.”
He continued until Lynn raised her hand.
“I know you’re sorry,” she said. “And I forgive you for all of that. But what I can’t let go of… is that you never said goodbye.”
She turned away, lowering her head.
“Do you know how many times I walked past your apartment? I even buzzed a few times. The last time, someone who lived there years before told me you’d left and gave me your forwarding address. Well, a post box.”
“It took everything in me to find you. And I still don’t know why I did.”
She turned back toward him.
Her jacket was open now. Her toque off. She had matured gracefully. She was stunning, really.
Around her neck was the amulet Noah had given her one Christmas. He had thought he’d left everything from that life behind.
It was not just any Christmas, his last one in the city. Ten months later, he left for the mountain lodge.
“I like your amulet,” Noah said.
Lynn smiled, wiping a tear from her eye.
“That was such a great day.”
“It was,” she replied. Then softly:
“Please tell me why you left.”
“I didn’t fit anymore,” Noah said. “I couldn’t think. I was following a beat that no longer worked. I wanted the noise and the constant social failures to stop. I knew I was the problem.”
“But five years!” Lynn exclaimed. “Jail sentences are shorter.”
She laughed through the pain.
“I barely remember the bad times. I just miss your companionship.”
“I miss it too,” Noah said.
Lynn stepped forward and hugged him. They both sobbed quietly. Nothing more needed to be said.
They stayed up the rest of the night catching up.
In the morning, Noah made coffee for two. He cleaned the litter box while Lynn fed the cats. They ate a wonderful breakfast, followed by a yoga routine Lynn had picked up.
Things began to fall back into place.
Lynn stayed a few more days. Then Noah walked her back to her car. Together, they cleared the snow.
“It was so good to see you again, Lynn,” Noah said.
“Please come back when you’re in the region.”
“Of course,” she replied.
They hugged, this time without tears.
For the first time in years, Noah could see something beyond himself worth living for.
The morning would still come, but it wouldn’t arrive empty.