Welcome to the Steemit Story Chain

Good afternoon Steemers and a big fat Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a great Christmas holiday and fully recharged those batteries. Now it's time for another Steemit Story Chain where I invite you to continue a story that I start writing. This week's story is entitled Was She There?

I want to say a big thank you to those who contributed to the last story chain, particularly @jorlauski, @butterb and @virus95. You wrote some great additions to the chain and I read some very original narrative, so thank you for taking part. After much deliberation I have now decided on a winner.

@jorlauski

You wrote a very engaging piece which fused the enigma of the story with a sobering layer of narrative, placing the story in a film set context which was very original, and then adding another layer complexity to the whole story. You have won 100 Whaleshares. Please reply with your Bitshares account information and I will send the Whaleshares to your account immediately. Enjoy! If you don't have an account don't worry it's very simple and completely free to set one up here - https://bitshares.openledger.info/?r=akrid-1.

A reminder of the winning entry is featured below.

1.

The fog of uncertainty lingered for a moment as objects around me begun to come into focus. With a sudden series of flashes and then a sudden dimming of the room, I heard a voice yelling something out. The sound was muffled and distant, but felt close to me.

"Cut!" someone was yelling. There was some commotion about me and then I heard the the words " That's a wrap".

A hand touched my shoulder, and I heard my name. Immediately everything snapped into place and became clear to me. My racing heart settled back into my chest and the anxiety began to recede. I knew where I was. I knew what was happening, but my heart sank with the dreaded realization that it was happening again. I had hoped it was just a one time thing - a fluke. Now, I as look around the room, I wonder if anyone noticed. These blackout spells are coming more frequently and it's getting harder to hide them. Being on a movie set helps a little, where people are used to being some else for a while - I could always act like I was thinking about a part or forgot my line - but that could only take me so far. It was only a matter of time before this happens right in spot light - literally

Just then , I started to hear a thunderous roar getting louder - I look around to see what is happening and to my complete surprise - surrounding me is the entire cast - all staring at me - CLAPPING - thunderous , enthusiastic clapping. Cheering and whistling accompanied the fanfare and I stood in shock as the applause continued.

I noticed now that the hand on my shoulder was the the director - he placed his free hand on my other shoulder and looked me on the eyes.

" That was an amazing performance! " He face lit up, with a genuine smile - the kind you see when you seem when you give a pretty waitress a tip. With flashing eyes, he said " Were did that come from? You really nailed it - look , I have tears in my eyes!"

I was overwhelmed - I had no idea what he was talking about - the last thing I remembered was standing off the side of the stage getting into character - then awakening from a blackout. I needed a drink....

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Now moving onto the new story chain which is called Was She There? If you wish to enter the contest the first thing you need to do is upvote and resteem this post. I have written the first part of the story below and all you now need to do is move the story on using the comment box in your own original style. Be creative, ambitious and original. And have fun! You only need to write a short paragraph or two and remember to number your part of the story.

This contest is sponsored by Whaleshares and I owe a big thank you to @akrid and @officialfuzzy. There are 100 Whaleshares for the winning entry. If you would like to learn more about Whaleshares and how they can increase your post rewards please visit https://steemit.com/whaleshares/@eirik/guide-on-how-to-use-whaleshares-updated-version where @eirik will gladly explain more to you.

What I am looking for in order to determine the winning entry is as follows:

• A strong sense of imagination
• Creative intelligence
• Originality
• Narrative fluidity (ensuring the story chain links smoothly)
• Use of language, grammar and syntax (we need to understand what you're saying!)

The winner will be announced in a week's time. A new post will be published then announcing the winner along with a new story chain.

Part One of Was She There?

I often used to see her just standing there, staring. She'd appear out of nowhere. I used to look at her from my lounge window wondering what she was doing, more consumed by what she was thinking. She couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. I would see her from my lounge window, I'd look up and there she was, I'd look away for a few brief moments then look back and she'd be gone. At first I actually thought it was my imagination but then the more I saw her the more I realised she was real, I think. She was always locked into some private deep thought process. Almost in a trance. It was odd and a little unnerving I have to say. She looked troubled. One afternoon I switched on the local news and they ran a story about a teenage girl who had disappeared, she'd been missing for a year they said. I was completely shocked when they showed a picture of her, as I realised it was the girl that used to stand by my house. I don't really know what made me look but I did, and there she was again.