Hello, everyone! I usually write fanfiction for A Series of Unfortunate Events, but today I wanted to try writing for a different book. I loved Stephen King's novel The Shining, and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of it. So without further ado, here is my latest story! "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (the title of this story) is also a song by Pink Floyd (who owns the name). It inspired me to write this.
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond: Wendy's Story"
I don't know why I'm writing this. Maybe putting it all into words will help me put it all behind. Maybe I should make the drive through Sidewinder and Estes Park, through the mountain road, back to the Overlook. Maybe it would be best for Danny and I to go and say goodbye, then put it all behind us and move on with our lives. Or maybe we should just sit home in our little apartment and pretend it never happened. We could make up other excuses for the reoccurring nightmares. Danny could go back to school and start kindergarten. When the other mothers ask about his father, I'd simply say "Oh, my husband passed away in a terrible accident." We could live normally again.
I want that more than anything, but deep in my heart, I know that that simply cannot be. The experience this past winter, will forever haunt us. No matter how hard we try to forget, we still have the scars (on our bodies and our hearts). Danny still talks to Tony, and I'm still in therapy (both physical and psychological). There is no moving on. Just as Jack is now part of the Overlook, the Overlook is now part of us.
Is it bad that I still love Jack? He was the only man I'd ever truly loved. We've been together since college. Even while he was coming after me with the mallet, underneath my fear was still love that I had for him. I still think about him every single day. How could I have so much hate and fear of someone, but still love him with all my heart? Words simply cannot express the mixed bag of emotions I felt. I remember looking into his eyes, as the mallet crashed through the bathroom door. There was only the slightest bit of my husband left. Despite the evil that had resided in him, he was able to allow Danny and I to escape, giving up his life in the process. I'm forced to believe that he did it as an act of love.
I've noticed that the experience has taken a large toll on Danny. He doesn't ever talk about the experience. But every night, he runs into my room, yelling about the nightmare he had or the event Tony had shown him. I always ask him if he can tell me about it, but then he goes quiet and just cuddles up to me for the rest of the night. I know he must miss his father. Somehow I can just tell. Maybe I have that "shine" thing that Mr. Hallorann told Danny about. Or maybe just a mother's intuition. Danny has always been the sweetest kid, but he doesn't like to go out and play as much. Just last week, I tried to take him to the zoo, but he shrieked as soon as we got to the gate. Just outside the zoo, there were hedge animals, including lions, just like the ones that had attacked him at the Overlook. He could barely stand to be in the presence of those topiary animals.
As much as I want to stay strong for Danny, sometimes I break down. Sometimes I cry. I cry for the times we spent together as a family before the Overlook, and before Jack's alcoholism. I cry because even though I'm away from the hotel, and the hotel is destroyed, that I'm haunted. I think back to when we took Danny to an amusement park for his birthday, and we all had a great time. Those happy memories really are the ones that get to you. But now, it's just me, Danny, Tony, and the ghosts of our pasts.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! Please review and tell me what you think! I would love to go through a bunch of events from the book and put them in Wendy's perspective (she is a character whom I admire).
"Yeah we all shine on, like moon and the stars and the sun. Yeah we all shine on and on and on."- John Lennon (Instant Karma)