Black Angel

Short stories can be fertile ground for seeking interesting first sentences. When telling a tale in few words, the first sentence needs to carry a fuller portion of weight than in a novel. I found several appealing first sentences in the anthology Octavia's Brood, and I recommend it to sample a variety of authors and approaches.

Walidah Imarisha's story, "Black Angel," starts with this sentence: "Under flickering streetlights, A. walked alone for the first time since she saved Tamee." I immediately imagined an urban, slightly dilapidated neighborhood, and then I wondered why. "Flickering streetlights" is a telling detail. Cities have streetlights, and they flicker either as the sun sets or when they are in bad repair. The words "alone" and "saved" both suggest danger, a better match to the lights being out of order than to sunset. Finally, the -ing ending of "flickering" shows that the on and off lighting continues over time, while "A. walked." Sunset flickers are brief. The precise detail of flickering streetlights was enough for my mind to conjure an entire city street. 

The sentence gives us two important clues about when it happens, as well. It's night, since the streetlights are on. This is also the first time in a while that A. has walked alone. Every first time marks a change. A.'s new activity exposes her to new dangers. A dark street in the city is hazardous, especially alone. That creates tension. 

We also have two characters: A. and Tamee. Normally, a woman would be more at risk alone, but A. saved Tamee. She must be strong. Is she ready to handle this street, at night, alone? The sentence implies that question, and seeing how it plays out carries us into the story. 

Some first sentences unroll a thread that runs through the entire story. This is one of them. I liked the sentence and the story. 

Graphic design by Ken Silbert