by Ree Augustine (@ree.augustine)
MG Fantasy
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Thinking he's lost his inner spirit, Louie, a stone gargoyle come to life, journeys to find his faith in himself.
Being made of leftover materials, Louie feels incomplete. His belief in his inner spirit is strong, though, and with that, he makes his way through a small town trying to become a true gargoyle—one that guards. When he meets Isabelle, he immediately realizes he is destined to protect her. But he fails, and at the same time, he thinks he’s lost his inner spirit. In that moment, he decides the only way he can protect Isabelle is by finding a way to fix his broken outsides, especially his one leg that is too short.
Unfortunately, he is unable to fix his leg. His outsides remain broken, and without his inner spirit, his insides are broken too. Louie can’t find his place in this world. Making matters worse, Snatcher, a monster who steals people’s happy moments, has every reason to stop Louie from believing in himself. Isabelle and the entire town are in danger, and only Louie can help, but he doesn’t know it.
If Louie doesn't believe in his inner spirit again, the townsfolk will be doomed to a lifetime of unhappiness, and Louie will never become a true gargoyle. But all might not be lost, as there is a mysterious helper who wants Louie to succeed.
Readers of Jan Eldredge’s NIMBUS and Kate DiCamillo's THE BEATRYCE PROPHECY will enjoy my 25,100-word, middle grade, story THE MOST ENORMOUS THING.
I have a traditionally published middle grade book, HANGABOUT: FAR FROM HOME, under my pen name Ree Augustine. I am a retired stay-at-home mom who writes every day and participates with an ongoing critique group. Prior to that, I tried many jobs: accountant, receptionist, retail clerk, but being a sensitive person, none of them resonated with me until I discovered writing, where I can create adventures with emotional impact.
A winner of the 2025 #RevPit (Revise and Resubmit) annual contest, this story has been through a professional developmental edit and revised. I hope you enjoy my first pages, and I would love to hear from you.
Thank you for your time.
First Five Pages
CHAPTER 1 OF A GARGOYLE
Perched high atop the cathedral, overlooking the town nestled below, Louie wondered if there would be another part to his life.
As of now,
his life had two parts;
the part that he lived in now,
with two gargoyles who didn’t like him,
and the part he had lived before,
where there was one gargoyle,
and an artist,
who liked him.
Louie wished the day that changed the first part into the second had never happened.
“He doesn’t belong here,” Monique had said that day, like she did so often. “He’s made of leftover material.”
“He’s not like us,” Gustave, the gargoyle next to her, said.
It was true.
Their artist, the famous one who came from a city of inner France, had been given the finest materials to work with. Gilded threads of gold ran through their stone forms, and their eyes, made of crystal, glistened with their blue sapphire color.
On the other hand, Louie’s artist, who was also a part-time street sweeper, had been given a chunk of rock to work with. He ran out of material, and it resulted in Louie being smaller than the other gargoyles. It also left his right front leg shorter than his other legs.
“We all belong here,” Colette spoke. She was the eldest gargoyle, and despite her chips and scars from years of weathering, the other gargoyles respected her.
Her words comforted Louie.
But then the man who made endings appeared, and everything changed.
He held a sledge hammer in one hand and a sheet of paper in another. He looked at the paper, lifted his head, and eyed each of the four gargoyles.
He walked over to Colette and smashed her stone form with his sledge hammer.
Garoo! Louie wanted to scream out, but he didn’t have a voice like the other gargoyles.
The man stepped toward Louie, crushing the crumbled pieces of Colette underneath his feet.
Fear rose inside Louie.
“You are uglier than a fly head. Sledge will take a liking to you.” The man raised the sledge hammer.
Garoo! I don’t want to be ended.
“Stop! He’s not an old gargoyle. He’s brand new.” Louie’s artist appeared on the rooftop. His body weaved back and forth, and he put his hand on Louie to steady himself.
“Your mind’s as lopsided as this gargoyle. It’s on the list to be removed.” The man lifted the sledge hammer over Louie. On its steel head was etched the image of a cracked stick.
Louie braced himself.
This was the end.
He wished he could see his artist’s face, but with stone eyes that didn’t move, he could only see the artist’s shirt that was in Louie’s line of vision.
“He’s a commissioned piece of art.” The artist pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. “See? It’s the stamp of the mayor.”
The man grabbed the paper out of the artist’s hand and examined it.
He stared at Louie. He stared at the artist. A hint of longing flashed in his eyes before he said, “Lucky for you. The stamp of the mayor has power.” He lowered his sledge hammer, stomped over the stone crumbs one more time, and exited the rooftop.
Louie’s artist let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” He fussed over Louie, picking off pieces of dirt from his form.
The pores of Louie’s stone opened ever so slightly, and his fear disappeared.
His artist pulled his toolbox closer, the one with the initials L.C, and he leaned into Louie’s face, “Listen to what I tell you.” His breath smelled like vinegar and grapes. “It’s the most enormous thing you’ll ever know. It doesn’t matter what your outsides look like. It’s what’s inside you that matters. Your spirit—that, is not broken.”
Plunk!
A drop of rain fell on Louie, bringing him back to the now of his life.
Plink, plunk!
But the rain didn’t do what it was supposed to.
It fell into his wide-open mouth—filling it up until it rolled over the rim. There, the water trickled down the sides of his stone neck, his stone shoulders, past his too short leg and onto the rooftop, seeping into the tin shingles and forming puddles on the rooftop.
Next to him, the rain water arced out of Monique and Gustave’s mouths, easily, and away from the shingles.
They guarded the rooftop, like true gargoyles.
“You are a dolt, Louie,” Monique taunted.
“Monique,” Gustave said, his voice glazed with disdain. “He doesn’t deserve our attentions. Why, they wouldn’t even use his stone for the streets below.”
Sharp doubt pricked at Louie.
Maybe, he was not enough.
NO!
He would not believe them.
I have the most enormous thing.
My spirit.
It doesn’t matter that my outsides are broken.