Brexit
1. In the bustling heart of London, where the Thames glimmered under the sun, my surname became the synonym of success [k3: unnatural collocation] synonymous with success, and my portrait of a blue-eyed man in a tux was on dozens of billboards. I owned a prosperous company that specialized in exporting [k3: overly technical] a thriving car export business high-end cars to Europe. My business empire was built on a foundation of seamless trade and the ability to get along with any partners abroad [k3: awkward phrasing] international partners effortlessly. / My business empire thrived on seamless trade and effortless collaboration with international partners.
2. However, everything can't [k1: no contractions in a formal story] cannot go in a flawless way all the time. The Brexit referendum came out of the blue, looming uncertainly [k3: redundant] came as a sudden, ominous shadow through the English business community. I organized an urgent meeting to show my colleagues the ropes [k3: idiom used incorrectly] walk my colleagues through the situation. The prospect of leaving the European Union could [k4: tense] can play a devastating role in our carefully crafted business model, but in case of it, [k4: incorrect phrasing] if that has happened, I was [k4: tense] am confident in our ability to bend, but not break," I said. / "If that has happened, I am confident in our ability to bend, but not break," I assured them.
3. When the results of the voting came in, I couldn't help panicking [k3: unnatural phrasing] felt a wave of panic, as I still had hope that the UK wouldn’t leave [k4: incorrect tense] would not have to leave the EU. In a few months, the initial euphoria of Brexit supporters faded, while scores of companies went out of business.
4. Facing increased tariffs, customs checks, and regulatory complexities, raising operational costs, I understood [k3: word choice inaccurate] realized my business’s poor position. I brainstormed and came up with the idea of dealing with other, non-European countries. That was how I found my major partner in India, whose cooperation opened new horizons for my company. / Seeking a way forward, I turned my sights beyond Europe and forged a game-changing partnership in India, unlocking new horizons for my company.
5. Eventually, the profits from selling cars significantly increased [k3: better style] soared, making my business even more successful in comparison to the pre-Brexit era [k3: awkward phrasing] than before Brexit. / Eventually, my company’s profits soared, surpassing even our pre-Brexit success.
6. All in all, this change in my country taught me that each unfavorable situation [k3: more expressive phrase needed] every setback can turn into opportunities for growth [k3: singular is more natural] an opportunity for growth. / Ultimately, Brexit taught me that even the harshest setbacks can become opportunities for reinvention and success.
Reformation
1. Once, I was a diligent farmer, working tirelessly on a small farm in the south of our town. "My son is strong, stocky, and handsome—he is the farmer whom our descendants will be proud of," [k5: incorrect relative pronoun—use "that" or omit] "My son is strong, stocky, and handsome—he is the farmer our descendants will be proud of," my father used to say. But truly, I had always been dreaming about curing people, using my grandmother’s recipes. / But deep down, I had always dreamed of healing people, following my grandmother’s recipes.
2. However, certain changes in our country cast doubt on the once-prosperous farming community, making a stable future seem uncertain. The news of King Henry VIII’s break [k3: inaccurate word choice] schism from the Catholic Church reached us like a distant storm, stirring feelings of fear and curiosity within me. Although at first, [k5: misplacement] Although at first, this change caused objection from society, soon the Reformation became the springboard for changing people's beliefs and values. [k3: awkward phrasing] a catalyst for shifting beliefs and values.
3. One fateful evening, a traveler from a foreign country was making [k4: incorrect tense] made a speech on the main street. He spoke passionately about the importance of individual faith, encouraging us to seek our own understanding of God rather than relying on the Church’s teachings. After that meeting, I started exploring my beliefs more deeply. / From that moment, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery, delving deeper into my faith.
4. As time passed and our society changed its beliefs, my life transformed in a way I could never have foreseen. My new convictions opened the doors to a perspective far beyond farming. I became the local doctor, famous for herbal medicine, fulfilling my dream. Soon, many town dwellers asked me for advice in case of ailments. [k3: unnatural phrasing] Many townsfolk began seeking my advice for their ailments.
5. Now, I am sitting outside my cottage, surrounded by flourishing herbs and feeling grateful for the revolution that set me on my path. What would I do now if our king didn’t establish Protestantism? [k4: incorrect conditional] What would I do now if our king hadn't established Protestantism? / What would my life be like now had the king never embraced Protestantism?
Slavery abolition
1. My name is Tom, and I was born into bondage on a plantation, where the sun rose early and set late, casting shadows over the fields we toiled on. My skin, dark as the cultivated soil [k3: awkward phrasing] brown as the earth itself, marked me as a tirelessly working man. My life seemed to be a cycle of tremendous labour and endless submission to my owner. / From dawn till dusk, the sun bore witness to my toil, and my life felt like an unbroken chain of labor and submission.
2. But one fateful day, everything changed. I do remember that moment [k1: unnecessary emphasis] I remember that moment vividly, deeply etched into my mind. That day, the sunrise glimmered in a special way [k3: unnatural phrasing] held an unusual glow, as if it were a portent of upcoming changes [k3: phrasing not to the point] the upheaval to come. In April, the war broke out. The news about it spread over [k4: wrong preposition] across the plantation like wildfire, inspiring uncertainty and curiosity into into my brothers’ minds. [k4: wrong preposition, k3: unnatural collocation] filling my brothers' hearts with uncertainty and curiosity/inspiring my brothers with curiosity/ instilling uncertainty in my brothers. “You’ll never leave this place, sloggers! This is not your fight!” bellowed our master. / “Mark my words, you’ll never be free! This war is not your fight!” our master bellowed, his voice thick with contempt.
3. As the Civil War drew to a close, I was stood [k4: incorrect passive] stood at a crossroads. Although the shackles of slavery were finally broken, scars after years of backbreaking work did remain [k3: awkward phrasing] the scars of backbreaking labor still marked my body and soul. I couldn’t realize [k3: incorrect verb choice, k1: Better do not use short form in emotional fictional stories like this] could not grasp that I was truly free. I talked to my wife, and her trembling voice of joy [k3: unnatural phrasing] her voice, trembling with joy, convinced me that it was our only chance to turn over a new leaf. / For the first time, my wife and I stood on the edge of a new life, her voice shaking with joy as she whispered, “We are free.”
4. I got a job at [k4] on the farm [k4: incorrect article] a farm soon. Yeah, it was even more exhausting than working on a plantation [k1: too informal] Indeed, it was even more grueling than my days on the plantation, owing to the new responsibility of gaining money [k3: unnatural collocation] earning a living for my family. Sorrowfully [k3: unnatural adverb] Tragically, in the aftermath of the war, many former slaves tragically [k3: redundancy] perished from starvation, but I managed to bend, but not break [k1: inversion for emotiveness] bend but not break! / Many who had once toiled beside me did not survive the harsh realities of freedom, yet I refused to crumble under the weight of hardship.
5. Now, I’m sitting outside my small farmhouse, getting scrumptious* pleasure from [k3: unnatural phrasing] deriving immense pleasure /relishing/basking in in the glow of the shining stars in the suburban sky, and thinking over [k3: wrong phrasal verb] reflecting on how the Civil War in my country turned my life upside down. Who would I be now had slavery never been abolished? [k4: incorrect conditional] if slavery had never been abolished? / Now, beneath a sky free of chains, I reflect on how war reshaped my destiny. Who would I be if the chains of slavery had never been broken?
*✔ "This cake is scrumptious!" (This adjective is appropriate only for describing tasty food)
✔ "We had a scrumptious dinner at the restaurant."
Story_Interregnum
Before the Interregnum, my life was one of comfort and privilege.
Never before had I imagined that the very soil beneath my feet would sleep [k3: inaccurate word choice] slip from my grasp.
My days were passing [k4: wrong tense + k3: unnatural collocation] passed in the company of nobles, feasting on delicacy [k4: incorrect number form] delicacies and sipping fine wine. / My days were spent among nobles, feasting on delicacies and sipping fine wine.
A man of stout built [k4: wrong word form + k3: unnatural collocation] stout build, I was known for my welcoming nature and hospitality.
How tranquil was my estate, how secure my lineage appeared — so I believed and trusted [k3: redundancy] — or so I believed.
However, within the drums of the war coming [k3: unnatural phrasing/linking] amid the drumbeat of the coming war, the shadow of Cromwell’s New Model Army raised [k4: wrong verb form] rose.
Some dark echoes of confiscation process [k4: wrong article] the confiscation process were spreading through Britain at breakneck speed.
One day that fate overtaken [k4: wrong tense] that fate overtook my estate as well.
“ Mr. [k5: syntax – extra space before quotation word] Mr. Thomas, we are to have a conversation with you on the course of [k3: unnatural collocation] regarding your allotments foreclosure [k4: incorrect possessive case + k3: wording] allotment’s foreclosure,”sounded //came a stern voice of Cromwell’s follower sounded [k3: unnatural phrasing] from one of Cromwell’s followers.
I answered the door in an attempt to hide my trembling hands and appeared in front of the lord [k3: unnatural collocation ] appeared before the lord. // My hHands trembling, I opened the door, trying to hide the distress.
I was on the verge of arguing, but hardly any words had I been able to say [k5: syntax – word order] I had hardly been able to say a word before my estate was decluttered [k3: inaccurate word choice] seized. //Hardly had a word bee uttered, when my estate was seized. No chance for even arguing/disputing the order. (away to avoid the repetition of 'I')
In the aftermath of the revolution and confiscation, my life was incredibly [k3: wordiness] altered in ways I could never foreseen [k4: wrong verb form (perfect infinitive needed)] could never have foreseen.
The only thing remained [k5: syntax – missing relative pronoun] that remained after the confiscation was just a little fragment of glided [k5: wrong spelling (‘gilded’)] gilded frame paintings [k3: unnatural collocation] framed paintings that used to please my eyes for years. / …was a small shard of a gilded frame from the painting that had pleased my eyes for years.
I lost the right to take part in government, economy and public life decisions [k2: parallelism/logic + k3: collocation] decisions concerning government, the economy, and public life.
That was the deepest point in my life, and I was to build it [k3: vague reference (‘it’ unclear)] had to rebuild it from the grassroots up.
Now I’m [k1: style – consider no contractions for elevated historical tone] I am sitting in my poor house, recollecting // reminiscing about the moments when I could lay [k4: wrong verb form (‘lie’)] lie in the garden, surrounded by flourishing herbs and flowers, feeling [k2:coherence - feeling when lying in the past?] that I wasn’t [k1: style – contraction in elevated register] was not // I wish I had been as grateful as I ought to be [k4: wrong tense (reference to past)] ought to have been for having so much during the monarchy [k3: unnatural collocation] under the monarchy.
Optional holistic rephrase (keeps meaning, elevated tone):
/ Before the Interregnum, my life was one of ease and standing. I never dreamed the very ground beneath my feet would slip from my grasp. My days were spent among nobles, feasting on delicacies and sipping fine wine; a man of stout build, I was famed for welcome and hospitality. Yet as the drumbeat of war grew, the shadow of Cromwell’s New Model Army rose, and rumors of confiscation swept Britain. In time that fate overtook my estate. “Mr. Thomas, we must speak regarding your allotment’s foreclosure,” came the stern voice of a Cromwellian. I answered the door, hands trembling, and stood before the lord; I had hardly been able to say a word before my estate was seized. In the revolution’s wake my life changed in ways I could never have foreseen; all that remained was a shard of a gilded frame from the paintings that had delighted me for years. I was stripped of any say in the decisions of government, the economy, and public life, and I had to rebuild from the ground up. As i sit in my poor house and reminiscing about the hours I would lie in the garden, ringed by herbs and flowers, it dawns on me that I was not as grateful as I ought to have been under the monarchy.