genralgrey wrote...
T******* goodness!
Between the two of us, I knew that I was the only one with valid prospects for an ideal future. He was nothing but an idealist, naïve and optimistic and stupidly happy about everything he had, appreciative of all the little things that made life… his life, that is, the life that he knew and cherished. I say this with veneration, but why?
I admired him, as one might guess. I didn’t deny it, certainly not, but I may have not shown it until someone called me on it. But what would be the point in such a thing? When it happened there was no judging, there were no taunts for this liking that I had so feared for some time; there was understanding, and with that understanding came frustration. I admired someone lower than myself and I daresay I envy him even now, if only for the sheer fact that ignorance is bliss, and he was, and would always be, blissfully oblivious of the big things in front of him, because he so appreciated the little things.
That I respected him so still remained on the proverbial table, like those flowers he always liked – the ones his mother decorated the table with when we were nothing but children. Had I known… had I known early on why he so frequently stared at that table for more than one reason I would have laughed hysterically and would have not known the reason why. I hadn’t truly known the sensation in my belly at all, and each attempt at understanding it left me with befuddlement and anger that was calmed as easily as it was started by being in his presence. Surely such an act would have broken him from his reverie to look at me in wonder; perhaps I could have seen a reflection of myself then? I proudly admit that I often stared for what I believed to be no reason at all, all the while feeling my stomach rise and flutter and my head feel light and my spirits soar, just to see his enjoyment and pleasure in eating a simple meal made by myself. I rarely noticed myself thanks to him.
Hmm...I don't really know because English is not my native language, but firstly there's some sentences that feels a bit broken, reducing the overall flow of the text. But I could digest some of it...I guess.
The below adjustments are just my preference but here it goes
Firstly, I think it's better not to overuse 'and' in one sentence when you describe multitude of adjective, I myself prefer to separate things in comma, using the 'and' at the last adjective described.
About this one 'there were no taunts for this liking that I had so feared for some time' I think it sounds better when you change it to 'there were no taunts for this liking that I had
really feared for some time', just my preference because 'so' and 'some' in one sentence sounds a bit monotonous, and pairing up with really makes it tad colorful
And about this part 'I admired someone lower than myself and I daresay I envy him even now, if only for the sheer fact that ignorance is bliss, and he was, and would always be, blissfully oblivious of the big things in front of him, because he so appreciated the little things.' makes me a bit confused to comprehend it. Nevertheless, I came up with conclusion that the narrator envied him because of his carefree trait that never changes.
And the part 'That I respected him so still remained on the proverbial table' still lacks a certain participle to make it click. How about changing it to 'The fact that I respected him still remained on the proverbial table' ?
Overall the last chunk of text after the part 'That I respected him so still remained on the proverbial table' makes me feel confused the most, in this quite hard-to-digest piece. But for what I can get so far, it's about some tsundere girl who falls in love with a baka boy if you put it simply~
Pretty well written overall, if you try polishing it a bit, it has potential to be a nice prologue for a novel.
Keep on writing! =)