LITTLE MATTERS AND UNIVERSAL

TRUTHS –
JANE AUSTEN’S HOUSE
WRITING COMPETITION ENTRY FORM

Please complete this form and email it to:

enquiries@janeaustens.house using the subject WRITING COMPETITION.
The competition closes at 5pm (UK) on Friday 30 October 2020. After
this date no further entries to the competition will be permitted. Please
make sure you keep a copy of your work as your entry will not be
returned to you. Good luck!

Name Marija Ilić

Address Stojana Aralice 20/24

Phone number +381 653186168

Email address marijailic97@gmail.com

Age category Adults(+18)

Competition category FICTION

Please use this space to write your entry. Please stick to the word limits -
Poetry: no more than 30 lines
Letter writing: 500 words
Fiction: 500 words
For more guidance, visit https://janeaustens.house/visit/whats-on/

DAISY WREATH

A small town of Appleton is surrounded by mesmerizing daisy fields. These fields, like
living walls, protect the majestic squares and old monuments already forgotten by many.
In those monuments live green members of wild ivy, eating through rough material,
leaving nothing in their wake. Despite grand architecture and lively buildings, Appleton is
rather morose and lonely, for there are no human residents occupying their rightful
places. There are no steps to be heard, nor children surrounding the only fountain, who
has been there since for a long, long time. This fountain has heard joyful clicking of coins
and trinkets, has seen fated couples exchange their promises of love and togetherness and
finally, has touched the hearts of so many people with her pleasant, watery murmur.

Yet, all of this is no more. Nowadays, the only sound gracing the walls of Appleton is made
by the wild wind, whose purpose only seems to be failed destruction of this place. Actually,
no, there is something more. You see, for as much as Appleton appears to be missing that
lovely sound of laughter, it is not completely devoid of feelings. In that sense, Appleton
overflows with emotional energy found in masses. These feelings manifest in a form of
almost invisible silhouettes, floating during the night. Some are more obvious to the naked
eye, while others are utterly indistinguishable. An interested passerby may wonder, while
scratching his beard, why is that?Well, the answer is found in an simple explanation. The
silhouettes` life force, albeit redundant, depends entirely on emotions. In fact, it is an
unspoken rule that whichever silhouette has accumulated the most sensations found in
these feelings, has the honour to glow and just about appear human. Human enough to
fool an outsider who was lucky enough to stumble across this hidden gem. But, these
silhouettes can never disappear. They cannot communicate either, other than a low
grumble, which they can muster but once a month. Amongst these shapeless beings exists
one which entirely resembles a woman. This one had long, flowy hair which would, when
lit up, look blonde and angelic. However, this female silhouette still hasn`t had the
pleasure of lighting up Appleton, reduced to a small daisy field just outside of town`s
borders. There, she makes daisy wreaths, on this lonely daisy field, placing each on the
heads of small child silhouettes, making them look presentable, though the wreaths start to
float around, as if by their own will. Her story, like many others in Appleton, is a less
positive one. A girl who went through burning trials, only to be left by those whom she was
trying to save, had retreated and disappeared like a shooting star. But even then, these
silhouettes live here, finding joy in small moments of monotony. In the town of Appleton
there are no human residents, but it still overflows with love and humanity.