Games
Problems
Go Pro!

Writing > Users > IAmThird > 2012

Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction


The following is a piece of writing submitted by IAmThird on February 13, 2012
"I love lamp."

The Lamp That Made Them Famous

Laura had no idea what surprises awaited her when she began to polish the antique lamp she found on the beach.

She had seen something glimmer in the August sunshine and made her way towards the sparkle. What she found was a small metal oil lamp, with intricate designs sketched into the sides.

Laura took the lamp with her from the beach, back to her home under the bridge. There she met up with her best friend Carl.

"Any luck today?" She asked him. He was reading an old, wet copy of Reader's Digest.

He peeked up over the issue, his red curly hair sticking up everywhere."What do you think?" He seemed in a grumpier mood than usual, but Laura ignored it. "How 'bout you?"

"Well I found this lamp on the beach today." She held it up for him to see, turning it to show off the designs. "Maybe we'll be lucky and it'll be worth something."

"Or maybe we can rub it and a genie will come out and grant us three wishes." Carl grumbled, turning his attention back to his reading.

Laura didn't care what he said. This lamp may just be the ticket they needed, so they could get out from under that bridge and make something of their life.

They sat in silence the rest of the day, Carl reading and Laura cleaning the lamp. Tomorrow they would go to the local antique shop and get it checked out. The sun set and they fell asleep to the sounds of cars zooming overhead.

~

When they woke, it was a warm day with a gentle breeze. "Maybe it's a good omen." Laura smiled.

They made their way down to Annie's Antiques and stepped inside, the door bell tinkling as they entered. "Welcome to Annie's Antiques," a woman behind the counter greeted. She had her back turned to them, situating some items on a shelf. She turned around with a smile that immediately became a confused glance when she saw their appearance.

Laura and Carl looked a wreck. They had lived under that bridge for two years. Their clothes were bedraggled and their hair a disaster. "Hello," Laura smiled, walking closer to the counter. "My name's Laura and this is my good friend Carl. We have something that may interest you." She sat the lamp on the counter.

The woman tried to give a smile, but still seemed worried about the two of them. When she looked down at the lamp though, her face made another sudden change. "Where did you find this?" She picked up the lamp and began to investigate it.

"On the beach yesterday. It's terrible for something so beautiful to just be thrown aside like that." Laura replied.

"Yes, terrible indeed." The woman stated, turning the lamp around and running her wrinkly hand over the metal designs. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" She smiled and stepped into a room behind the counter.

Laura turned to Carl. "She looked happy about it." Carl just shrugged. He had always been the quiet type.

When the lady returned, she had a man with her. She pointed to the lamp and the man's reaction was the same as hers. "It's exactly what you said." He exclaimed, picking up the lamp and intently looking at it.

"What is it?" Laura questioned.

"A very very old lamp, that's for sure. I've never seen one in such good condition." He pulled out a magnifying glass. "It even has the date and manufacturer on the bottom."

"So...is it worth something?" Laura inquired.

"Worth something?" The man exclaimed. "It's worth a lot more than just something. It's worth a whole lot of somethings!"

"What do you suggest we do with it?" Laura asked.

"Sell it to a collector." The man informed them. "They'll give the greatest price for it. There's an antique auction going on not far from here this weekend. I would most certainly go there and see what you can get for it."

Laura picked the lamp back up and stuck out her hand. "Why thank you." She shook their hands and walked out the door, holding her treasure tight.

~

They waited for the auction and took their lamp, hoping to turn a good profit. They didn't know anything about it, but apparently all those people there did because that lamp sold for a million dollars. Laura and Carl had to pay some of that to the auction house, but that lamp made them enough money to move out from under that bridge into an apartment.

Both of them went on to follow their dreams: Carl as a guitar player and Laura as a writer. She wrote a book of their lives and how they made it to where they were now, and it became a bestseller. Carl went on to play music for movies and TV commercials.

In the end, the both of them never forgot that lamp and how it helped them do what they always wanted to do.

More writing by this author


Blogs on This Site

Reviews and book lists - books we love!
The site administrator fields questions from visitors.
Like us on Facebook to get updates about new resources
Home
Pro Membership
About
Privacy