"The World that Once Was"

To improve on writing, I practiced many short stories before actually writing the next part of my novels. It helps keep me thinking different scenarios and etc.

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The stench of liquor fills the air around this small bar. Everyone is dancing merily to the bard's tune, singing and drinking to their heart's delight. Almost everyday is like this, the love and joy of friends having fun together, even to the point where they think it would last forever. "So let's dance once more!" says one, and the next would say, "Fill it up!"

Sitting in the corner is the loner. Though he always comes to these special occasions, he never joins into the fun. But today, was a special day. Today, the daughter of the bartender offers him to dance with her. He felt awkward at first, because no one would volunteerily go up and ask him. He looks at the girl, admiring her beauty for the moment, and then accepts her offer. A typical reply that no one can resist. The bard plays another tune, everyone goes for another round of drinks, the loner dancing with his partner in the center of the crowd, it was another joyful day.

As said once before, not everything lasts forever. A day or so later, the town is in ruins. The sky is blackened from the ash and smoke polluting it from the town below. The bar that once contained the merily and the joyfuls no longer stands. But even when there is nothing left, the Bard is still heard, playing his tunes in the silence of this nothingness.