01 / Things worth keeping
Nell kept things other people walked past. A stone shaped like a sleeping dog. A button the exact color of Tuesday. Three excellent sticks.
Tonight, she was collecting the moon.
Not the whole moon. She wasn’t greedy. Just the pieces it left behind in puddles.
She dipped an empty jam jar into the garden pond, screwed on the lid, and held it up. A pale light drifted against the glass. Nell smiled. Then the light sneezed.
02 / The problem with a jar
“Oh,” said Nell. “You’re a someone.”
The light blinked twice. It had two tiny wings, six tiny feet, and the expression of a person who had missed the last bus.
Nell opened the lid. The creature fluttered onto her thumb and pointed up. High above the roof, the moon wore a ring of little moving lights. One place in the ring was empty.
“I have a ladder,” Nell offered.
The creature looked at the moon. It looked at the ladder. Very politely, it shook its head.
03 / A beginning, together
Nell considered her collection: the stone, the button, the sticks. None of them had ever needed to get home.
She put her favorite jar back on the shelf, empty.
“All right,” she said, opening the garden gate. “Let’s find something taller.”
The little light settled on her shoulder. For the first time that evening, Nell wasn’t collecting anything. She was going somewhere.
An original family fiction opening for adult creators. Develop a gentle, painterly visual language and consistent character references. Keep the story kind, the pacing unhurried, and the lost creature’s expressions easy to read.
Where would you take it?
Bring this opening, its characters, and its world into your studio. The next creative decision is yours.
Start with this concept