Chapter 6, Part II. After the policeman left the hotel, I felt a bit relieved...

[Kitosdad]

After the policeman left the hotel, I felt a bit relieved. But the urge to go out and do what the doctor had ordered did not totally subside. I felt a good stroll around would help me shake that feeling off. I asked Becky if she would be kind enough to accompany me. She readily agreed and said it was indeed a good idea. We both left the hotel and started walking down the street. It was very cold outside, but the company of a beautiful lady made up for it. After we had walked a few blocks we decided to head back to the hotel. She asked how I was feeling now. I said I was feeling a lot better and wouldn't want to go anywhere but the hotel. She smiled and said she would rather go home then. I assured her, though a bit reluctantly, that I could make it back to the hotel without her help. She smiled warmly and said good night. I watched as her lovely silhouette disappeared into darkness. I heaved a sigh and wished she had kissed me good night. As I turned the corner, I saw the policeman across the road talking to another cop. That didn't look like a good sign. He looked across at me and waved a hand. I waved back and shouted to him that I came out to walk Becky home. He nodded and said good night. But something in his eyes showed that he was suspicious of me and didn't believe what I had told him.

I slipped under the covers and fell into a deep sleep. I woke up late in the morning and felt very hungry. I called up the reception and ordered breakfast. I walked up to the window and drew the curtains. It was a bright sunny morning and the city had already buzzed into life. People were in a hurry to get to their destination. There were annoyed looks on the faces of most of them. I turned my gaze to two people who got into a fight over who had made the wrong turn. I shifted my attention to a few impatient people who were honking away at the cars in front of them because they had failed to move immediately after the traffic lights had gone green. Such an unhappy lot, I thought to myself. They didn't know that those things were trivial and not worth wasting such a beautiful morning over. They had no idea how worse life could get.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the loud doorbell. The breakfast was brought in and I could wait no longer. After having a hearty breakfast, I opened the newspaper to see if there were any updates on the murder of MP. To my utter shock, there was news on the front page that there had been two more murders the night before. This time the persons killed were big businessmen in the town - Simon Hinderson and Lance Karowski. It also said those two were close friends of the murdered MP. "Karowski! Karowski! Does that name ring a bell?" I wondered. I had heard that name before but where? My memory was failing me again. I felt like banging my head on a blunt object. I wished Becky was here with me. I didn't have her number either and she wouldn't come to the hotel until evening. Would the guy at the reception know her number? I immediately called him and asked if he knew her number. To my relief, he said he knew it. I took down the number and called her without waiting a second. She didn't answer my call. I tried again but to no avail. Cursing my bad luck, I leaned back on the pillow, closed my eyes and tried to recall where I had heard that name. Just when I thought I was getting it all back, I heard the phone ring, derailing my train of thought. I jumped up from the bed and took it in my hands. It was the receptionist. He said Becky called in to ask who had been trying to reach her by phone and he told her that it was me. Before he could say anything more, I cut the line off and dialed Becky's number again. She answered the call and listened in horror to my story. She had obviously not read the news yet. She promised she would be at the hotel as soon as possible.

I was pacing nervously in my room when the door bell rang. I lunged towards it and swung it open. She walked in and sat on the bed. She asked what had happened and I narrated the whole story again. She asked if I heard that name from Dr. Maybe. How could such a simple thing slip my mind! It was indeed Dr. Maybe who mentioned that name the previous night. I couldn't thank her enough. She poured herself a hot cup of coffee and asked if I had indeed gone straight to the hotel after she had left for her home last night. I replied in affirmative and also told her that the worse news was that the policeman saw me on my way back. She agreed that it was indeed bad and a situation couldn't get any worse.

"If you went straight to the hotel and fell asleep immediately, who possibly could have committed those murders? Would that policeman believe you now? I don't think so. I am sorry but I think you are in a bad mess. I can't think of a way to help you out."

ps. This segment is Daemon's contribution to the story.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Daemon99]

Hi Bill,

Can you please point out grammatical errors in my story, if you could find any? Also, please give me some suggestions on how I can improve my writing skills.
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Non-native speaker of English
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I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

[Kitosdad]

Daemon, if I had any thoughts of your not being " up to the task", then I wouldn't have asked you to be co-author. You are doing really great, and probably are feeling the benefit of stretching your mind a bit to find the exact English words to express yourself.

You're doing great. Are you feeling confident enough to record it?

Bill. :lol: :lol:
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Gray]

I could see that you two are writing something. My task now is to find out other chapters but I have a suggestion --

Could you please have a post pointing to all of the chapters and having a preface to the book?

Needless to mention, it was a good read even though I arrived at chapter 6 randomly.

:)
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First lesson - English, not english. I, not i. ~A student of English

[Kitosdad]

Gray, the chapters are racked as people view them. Daemon and I have no control over that.

If you prefer, you can wait until it is published and we'll sign it for you. It'll cost €29.95 though. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Bill.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Kitosdad]

Damn, I keep doing that.

ps Gray. Chapter 6 has two parts.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Gray]

[Nick*]

Hi Bill,

The story is very interesting.
I have some questions as follows.

[Kitosdad]

Can you tell me a story?
[ Goto pageGoto page: 1, 2, 3 ]

Gray, this is the beginning. I think page 3 starts it. The previous two were a Sci-Fi adventure. Didn't start out to be, but that damned other guy introduced a space-craft into the story. :lol: :lol: :lol: It really set me back for a while, but we finally figured a way around it.

Bill.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Kitosdad]

Hello Nick, You'll have to ask Daemon about this. He penned this part of the story.

Daemonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!! You're wanted. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Bill.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Gray]

[Nick*]

My questions are open for discussion. It doesn’t matter who is going to answer it. Everyone in this forum are welcome to express their idea here. I wish I could learn some sentence structures through the examples in this essay. Can anyone give me a hand ?

Thanks,
Nick*

[Kitosdad]

Hello, and Good morning Nick.

Sentence structure in any other language than one's own will always be a stumbling block in everyone's progress, but the fact that non-natives can come on here and get it almost right in a very short time always amazes me. I think it goes back to something in your own native way of thinking rather than writing.The older that you are when deciding to learn is also a problem,because the many years of thinking in your own sentence structure is very difficult to shake off. Read lots of the posts in this Forum and witness this for yourself.

Mastering the tenses is far more important in getting your meaning across than getting the sentence structure correct.

You are very good in writing, but if I may point out some " faults " in your last text, which I am sure are unintentional, yet are governed by your ingrained thought patterns, at least in my opinion.

" My questions are open for discussion. It doesn’t matter who is going to answer it (them). Everyone in this forum are(is) welcome to express their idea(s) here. I wish I could learn some sentence structures through the examples in this essay. Can anyone give me a hand? "

Nick, my sentence structure comes from being a native speaker with a degree of literacy, but a marked failing in refusing to accept academic grammar explanations.
I, in turn, wish I was as clever as Alan, Mr. Micawber, and Jamie. These are the people who have really mastered the English language far better than I ever will.

If anyone is to be really admired it is Daemon, whose input to this pulp-fiction has been invaluable.

The beauty of English is that the structure can be altered to paint a " prettier picture. " Usually this is done in a subtle manner, and therefore is not immediately obvious to all readers, but the tenses must be rigidly adhered to. Tenses are what makes it understandable to the reader. Vitally important ---Tenses. Get them right, and everyone will understand. Get them wrong, and it's another story. :)

The object of writing this pulp-fiction is to help people like yourself to understand our way of thinking and how we structure the sentences. I'm sure you have read many English books, and this is the best way to learn, because conversation, unlike reading, can be so easily altered to turn the subject into a joke, or to add a serious point into the conversation, which results in blank faces being displayed by the non-native listener.

Nick, I'm happy that you are enjoying our foolish attempts to write a story, but if you, and others like you,pick something up from our inane ramblings, then it will all have been worthwhile.

Kitos.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Daemon99]

Hi Nick,

I am not a native speaker of English, nor am I a teacher. I am just learning it. All this story-writing stuff was not something we had planned. It just happened and we enjoyed it a lot. It also gave me opportunity to improve my writing skills a tiny bit. I read a lot and have a fairly good understanding of the expressions and grammar. But that's not all that is needed to write something. You should be able to choose the right expressions for a given situation. You might have read them before but recalling them and using them appropriately poses a challenge.

As for the questions you asked, I am not sure what those expressions are called. I just know they sound natural. Whenever I ask questions on this forum, I always try to find out if a particular expression is used properly or not. I never bother to ask what it is called because I am not a teacher or a student of English - I don't have to write any tests. :) I just love learning new languages. And you know what... I am learning French now. I am loving it. :)

Merci, Bill. Vous êtes un homme bon. (I hope it's correct :) )
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Non-native speaker of English
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I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

[Kitosdad]

Daemon, you are a marvel, and a mainstay in my day to day ramblings.

Bill.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.