An Experiment

It's been a while since I wrote any fiction--and the last time I did so, it was writing some more of a novel I have been trying to complete for a decade. And yes, since you ask, to be such a cliche IS depressing.

My thinking now, then, is that it might be helpful to try something completely new. A fresh look and all that. 

So--an experiment. Below are 10 opening sentences to short stories that do not exist, yet. The deal is simple: I will write a short story using the one that folks think has the most potential. Which story would you actually want to read? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and, who knows--maybe you will get to.

1. The dirt was dry, chalky even, and smelled of hay. 
2. Billy had never imagined a baby could be so heavy.
3. The tie around Sydney's neck chafed, and he stifled an urge to loosen it as he listened to his new boss explain how to account for time worked in a system with a level of complexity Sydney never would have imagined possible.
4. The silence was a physical, palpable thing, with weight and sharp corners--and Sally could only destroy it if she remembered her line. 
5. Bella furiously pedaled her bike down the steep incline, the wind in her hair a magnificent luxury, a shocking pleasure. 
6. He emerged from the subway with any sense of direction obliterated; "up" and "down" he had a shaky handle on, but beyond that, nothing.
7. It had only been 45 minutes since he said "I do"--how did it feel like a lifetime?
8. He walked through the woods, relishing the crunch his boots made on the thin layer of icy snow. 
9. I am genuinely not sure whether this is a sad or a joyous tale--I hope when it is done you will tell me. 
10. He enjoyed singing so much more when he was singing with a choir, when he was unable to distinguish his own voice from the dozens surrounding his and intermixing with it completely. 

Until Whenever