I'm a big fan of Atonement. I have watched the movie a countless number of times, and I have decided to write (to be continued later) a story from Robbie's viewpoint. I will finish later, when my computer is behaving properly. Let me know what you think, and if you all like it, I shall continue.
The characters are owned by Ian McEwan, and my character descriptions won't be based on the book, but by the film directed by Joe Wright. (2007)
Robbie Turner gazed at fragments of his pale face through the shards of mirror scattered all across the dirt pavement, where debris and chaos replaced the once serene landscape of the countryside in France. He carefully picked up the remnants of the vanity, and was shocked at the face that was reflected back at him. He had once been a robust young man, filled with a relentless zest for life, and an ambitious path lying before him, filled with endless dreams and hopes that he held on to with a steadfast fervor. He saw before him a gaunt creature, with empty eyes filled with death and decay that had once been so passionate and optimistic. He had seen his fellow soldiers fade before him, childishly holding to memories of their past before their bodies gave out. He felt exhaustion overwhelm him, and painfully, he eased his weathered body down. Carefully, he reached in to his pocket, and pulled out a treasured bundle of letters, and an old postcard of a cottage that during the last six months had been his steady companion. He closed his eyes, vividly remembering that night that had changed his life so drastically, and had haunted him for the past four years with an urgency he could not explain. He had been wrongly accused of something that left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.
Why? Robbie had pondered this during his confinement in his cell, and he still couldn't explain why someone, whom he had respected, would turn on him like that. He thought about Briony Tallis, the sister to the woman he so ardently loved. During his years of being the hired help of the Tallis', he had keenly been interested in Briony's plays, a source of pride for the intelligent, irrepressible little girl. Robbie had often felt that Briony knew things, or suspected she knew things of matters that were far beyond her years, but he had never thought she would accuse him of raping her cousin. After years of noticeable tension between Robbie and Cecilia, Briony's elder sister, he had confessed his attraction to her in a strangely erotic letter and during that hot, humid summer evening, they had made love in the library. He felt sadness wash over him as he thought of his lips on hers, her limbs entwined with his, and how a few hours later, he had been accused of something that made him repulsed to be thought of as that man.
Why? Robbie felt wetness on his cheek, and numbly he felt his face, his vision blurred by the deep pain of his past. He ached with every fiber of his soul, but there was a small fire burning in his heart that urged him to keep walking until he saw her familiar short, dark tresses, and her big, beautiful eyes. Whenever he shut his eyes and thought of that fateful night, he remembered her smoldering eyes, and when she walked down the path to hug him, tightly, and convey a message that only lovers can do without speaking. He had been disoriented that night, as he was now, trying to grasp the reasoning behind this. He awoke from his reverie, and lovingly gazed at the letters that were before him, with Cecilia's eloquent writing, and the pain behind her words. He saw the small blots of ink, and a distinct sign of a tear during several intervals of her letters that had been his source of joy during the past four years. He longed to see her, and hold her, and love her. He longed to forget that chapter of his life where he had questioned everything and had lost faith in humanity, and where darkness had filled every aspect of his life.