Ellie- The main character. Quiet, timid, and physically plain, she's usually looked over and prefers it that way. At the beginning of the story she has just finished college as a _____ major and has moved from a small town to a large city. The imtimidating size of city and it's impersonal feeling oppresses her. Loneliness creeps over her. She works in an office environment and feels to imtimidated to really get to know most of them.
As a child, she didn't have many friends and many spent time with her "monsters". She was an imaginative child with vivid and strange daydreams, dreams, and fantasies.
Unknown to her, her father wrote the Stories of Ellison, an obscure childrens' book based on her adventures. The story begins when Ellison is five and the world ends. She meets several creatures and tries to save the world and fails. Then they try to find a new world and she leads them back out of their old world into her own.
At five, Ellies' parents were divorced. She stayed with her father in a house near some woods. She was in the woods for several days and was the focus of a search during a fire that destroyed an area in the middle of the forest. When she was found, she was dirty, tired, a bit hungry, but safe and wrapped in a white cloth that she was using as a shawl. She kept the cloth with her always, calling Princess Ivy's cloth and saying something incomprehensible to the adults about a dead kingdom. Afterwards she had three imaginary friends Mr. Nobody and two others who don't have names yet.
Mr. Nobody- a scoundrel, definitely, but not mean spirited. He's a mischief maker who, for all the trouble he causes, is a pretty fun imaginary friend, definitely loyal. I think he represented my need to be daring. Which is why he was always getting me in trouble of course ;) Tall and thin with toussled hair, youngish (but not a child- maybe late 20s). A crooked grin, flashing eyes... He's the type who'll try and get you to loosen up and stop being so serious... "live a little" would be his philospophy- carpe diem. He'd be the type to push you off the high diving board if you were too scared, but he wouldn't do anything that would put you in any serious danger (well, not intentionally ;) He's rather short on tact, outspoken and blunt. He can't always see the whole picture which is why his actions sometimes backfire )
caterpillar- Huge, brightly colored segments (like a patchwork creature). He was chasing me around baby carriages in the back of McDonalds, but I wasn't as scared by him as I was by the other monster. He's furry all over, and misunderstood... people tend to see his size, and his worminess and run away. He's really a decent sort of fellow, shy, and sensitive. Loyal too, and not one to take risks at all. Not too smart, but he makes up for it in kindness. If you look into his eyes, they're the kindest eyes you've ever seen, even if he does look intimidating elsewise.
a tall (nearly eight foot tall) humanoid- gaunt and hairless. It's skin is the color of night. It's head is like a skull with smooth skins covering the sunken areas for its sockets and mouth; the only openings are two slits for notrils. Its limbs are disporportionately long, especially its fingers, with which it uses to sign to the others. The torso and head are the size of an ordirnary humans'. It isn't particularly expressive about emotions or much else, but generally intelligent.
Carol- A generally helpful woman from Ellie's office. She is the close friend. She is close minded about issues of reality. she read The Stories of Ellison as a child and found them to be freaky. she stopped reading them when she heard that the weirdo girl that the stories were based on actually cut her own arm. Ellie finds out about the books and reads them. Carol is unyielding in her rejection of the fantastic and Ellie pushes her away.
Gwynn- Carol's friend who is a bit more understanding, but doesn't speak out much. She is mostly in the woodwork. but gives Ellie the key "Live however you can."
Chapt. 1
A new beginning (post college real life?). Show main character going
through her day shy and generally withdrawn. Dreams of dying if she
touches the water.
Chapt. 2
Sounds of construction that no one else can hear. Insomnia. Neighbors
think that she's gone mad.
Chapt. 3
New neighbors. the monsters of her childhood have moved in. She
disappears once in a while to hang with them. they make her feel better
and she sets out more confidently in the new day.
Chapt. 4
Friends. With her confidence she meets some new friends, Carol and Gwynn.
Chapt. 5
Time lapse. Hanging w/ her human friends talking about cute things. The
main character finds lizards and snakes cute. Others like cute and
fluffy. They thinks she's strange, but that's sorta OK.
Chapt. 6
One of the friends becomes close and the main character tells her about
the monsters. The friend gets a little freaked and tries to shrug off the
beasties as imaginary. Carol tells Ellie about these weird books that she used to read as a kid. Main Character is hurt.
Chapt. 7
Self examination. Main Character doesn't know why she's so hurt.
Flash back to playing with the monsters as a kid when there were few
others around. Reads Stories of Ellison.
Chapt. 8
Believes that she has been relying on the monsters too much and tries to
ignore them. She feel that she needs to grow up finally and join the
human race. Goes to ask them to leave her.
Chapt. 9
She tries to go on, but feels like something is missing. Her friends
drift away, because she is so moody. Depressing snippet with Dinty Moore
and Mr. Fields as dinner guests and solly box (cheesy TV) for late night
company. General drift.
Chapt. 10
Friends visits. Conversation about things into the topic and Gwynn mentions the idea of living however one can. Carol gets freaked again, when the main character mentions the monsters. Carol leaves, but Gwynn lingers for a moment and encourages her rather left-handedly(??). The idea is that noone really understands her. Dreams of island and water rising in a standing wave to consume her.
Chapt. 11
A dream of a truly deserted island. Awakening to a dark shape flitting
away. A pursuit through a strange and mystical City where spirits flit
through the streets and fairies dance with moths around street lamps.
Trolls live beneath the bridges. She bargains with creatures and outwits
them. Her guides are two birds. One black with white eyes who sings songs of
self doubt about the monsters and to join the world. The other white with
nocturnal eyes who sings songs of
embracing what she knows is madness. She is ambushed by territorial
redcaps (nasty cretures who dye their caps with human blood) with weapons
of cold steel that take away pieces of her willpower. They bear the faces
of all who have told her to grow out of her fantasies. The birds are
hurt. One of her monsters aids her. She mourns her irritating guides and
is told that she can heal them if she wants by her monster. She follows
her instincts and does, by joining them into one.
Chapt. 12
The Quest begins. Her monsters nolonger had a purpose away from her. They
took turns watching over her, while the other followed the shadow unicorn
to sustain themselves, they need her belief to survive. They were caught
trying to follow it one night by the protean mindless creature called the Soci-Yeti who tries to drain away their life force and gives birth to the cold red caps. The girl and the monster set off.
Chapt. 13
They find the giant Soci-yeti who consumes them both. Within the
creature, her monsters are faded, but use their bodies to shield her. The
Soci-Yeti is the redcaps' mindless god and progenitor. They have finally
captured the shadow unicorn for it. They believe that if it is consumed
then their god will rule the night and the dreams of the City and will
bring them a paradise of unlimited food and easy prey to slaughter.
The Soci-yeti is fluid and transluscent, like water. She feels the
monsters' pain and realizes that they are a part of her. She forma ring
with them and dares to touch the "water". She feels herself drowning and
dying.
Chapt.14
Unable to swim in the waters of Soci-Yeti she mostly concentrates on
making the ring of her monsters and herself. The creature holds them physically with a supernatural strength and a powerful mind assault that blurs their perceptions and tries to force them to into a choice of loving it and joining it or dying horribly by drowning. First she tries to resist the attack of the creature directly, but then retreats and holds on. Then she realizes that ignoring it helps and thinking of those around her (true friends) helpsmore. Finally Mr. Nobody cracks a lame joke and she laughs and they all begin laughing. The creature can't contol and therefore cannot stomach them and rejects them. They manage to float and rise above the protean mass,
surprising the 'caps. They take advantage of the moment of surprise to
free the shadow unicorn.
Chapt. 15
Now safe, the young woman looks into the shadow unicorns eyes and is
allowed to touch its horn. In its eyes, she sees somethings which makes
her believe that life is about living to her own standards and not other
peoples. A feeling that she doesn't need to strive very hard to find the
complete feeling that she found when joined with her monsters.
She is blessed by the unicorn to have parts of her monsters with her all
teh time. Her monsters take off and protect the unicorn. She bids them
farewell.
Chapt. 16
She goes back into life, feeling like the night was a dream, but she sees
her shadow in the dawn light and recognized the monsters in there a part
of her. She is not alone. Her friend calls her and when she refuses to
recant her "fantasies". When the friend recommends professional help, she
sadly tells her that they won't be seeing each other for a while. They
hang up politely but cooly. Their are storm clouds comingon that grey
day, but the sun is still rising as she walks through the door where the
monsters once dwelled and stands alone on the roof. She doesn't feel
alone though because she sees her shadow with her.