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- 09/11/2015
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Dragon Prompts - 1. Aletheia
It was silly actually. Just a spur of the moment thing. In reality I was only on the ESP website to research some details for a pretty insignificant part of a story I was writing. But as a rule, I don’t like to get caught with any factual errors. It was a weird little announcement too, in a purple box:
We’d like to get an idea of the number of those truly interested in this subject, so we’re running a little contest. We asked a passer-by to think of a number between 1 and 1,000 and to write it on a card we furnished, folding it so we couldn’t tell what they wrote. We then placed it in an envelope and secured it in our safe. Take a guess!! Submit the number with your address (no name please!) and if you answered correctly we will mail you a special book as prize. There will be no solicitations or further contact.
There was short entry slot for the number and one for the address and then a big ENTER button. What the hell, I thought. I entered 721 and my address and pressed ENTER. Then the whole box disappeared!
Occurring a couple weeks ago, it was now completely forgotten. This morning, a small package arrived with the mail. Unwrapping what was clearly a book, I was greeted with a rather elegantly tooled leather bound small volume. It had the simple title, Aletheia.
Well, what a pleasant surprise! I didn’t want to open and read it until I had a full pot of coffee. While it was brewing, I concluded Aletheia would be an excellent little distraction to take my mind off the worry I hadn’t heard from Toby in a whole week. I knew he was on a short business trip somewhere on the coast, but was it wrong to expect a few texts? You know, telling me what a good time he was having or how boring it was or even he loved me? He’s my boyfriend for gosh sake!
Finally the brewing was finished and I poured my mug; the same mug Toby gave me early in our relationship when he discovered I was a coffeeholic. He always pays so much attention to every detail of my behavior. The title page betrayed no author or publisher or even copyright date, just the title. I turned the page. The bold “Chapter 1” was halfway down the page, followed by the first several lines of text:
“Joel waited until his coffee was brewed before beginning to read the book.”
I had to read the first line again! It was exactly what I just did! What an unbelievable coincidence.
“He had to re-read the first line, not believing the description of what just happened to him.”
I was about to ...I don’t even know what, when the doorbell rang. As I set the book down, my eyes caught a bit of the next sentence.
“He went to answer the door, forever regretting...” It’s all I saw as the bell rang again, twice! I jumped up and hurried to it, swung it open and beheld Toby. My Toby!! My face lit up in a huge smile. I was about to rush into an embrace, when he pushed a bag into my hands.
“This is all your stuff from my apartment. It’s over Joel. I’ve met someone else.” He turned and hurried to his still running car and sped off before I could even take my next breath!
I remained in the doorway, stunned. Eventually I wandered over to my sofa and sat down slightly trembling. Then I completely broke down and cried for, forever. Later I wandered about the house as in a trance. My world had been torn, stomped and spit on. When I eventually returned to the kitchen, I dumped the cold pot of coffee and grabbed a glass of wine. Sitting at the table I noticed the book. Then I remembered the partial line I saw before Toby ripped away my life.
I was a little fearful now, actually. I peeked at the line again: “He went to answer the door, forever regretting the decision as Toby ended the relationship Joel thought would last forever.” Intrigued now, and with much trepidation, I sipped my wine and continued to read.
“Joel was destroyed. He cried for an hour on his sofa. He remembered all the wonderful times he and Toby had spent over the last year. The deep love they had for each other, the little things they did to show their love. Joel truly believed Toby was his soul mate and would be a part of his life for as long as he had life. Pouring a glass of wine, Joel decided to read further in the book. As he continued he became more and more determined to”
It was the end of the first page. I did not turn the page. Instead, I
My response to prompt 443: You won a book online. When you finally get it the book surprises the hell out of you. What is the book about?
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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