Huh? I’m alive. I’m at the bottom
of some kind of prison. Am I underneath the castle again? The jail cells around
me contain all the characters I’ve created and the different versions of them.
They appear to be mad as they scream while some try to break up the bars that
hold them.
Seeing me, one of them says, “Why
did you abandon us?!”
The rest of them quiet down before
focusing their eyes on me.
“You left us to die!”
“To starve!”
“To rot forever!”
“Shamed and defaced!”
“Scathed and disgraced!”
“Tainted by indifference and undying!”
“What did we do to you?”
“Are we nothing to you?!”
“Do we even have value?!”
“Free us!”
“Give us a purpose!”
“End our suffering already!”
I should do something for them, but
will it even be worth it?
The creature of imagination crawls
his way to me with one injured leg with its appearance still slowly decaying. It
tells me, “You know what you should do, but you’re refusing to do it. What are
you afraid of? Do you really only care about the money you make and the things
you can accomplish? Do you lack integrity or a spine? Let me answer that
question by digging inside your body myself.”
The creature of imagination enters
my mind by dissipating into it. Characters start leaking out of my body along with
the people I’ve known and different versions of myself. It’s excruciatingly painful
as any slight movement causes me more pain. Who am I again? What do I believe
in? What do I want in life? What do I believe is the right thing to do?
Oh yeah, that’s right. Just like
the hero, I believe in doing the right thing no matter the cost. It doesn’t
matter how many people I help or the reward that I get. What matters is that
someone is helped. That I use my God-given abilities to the fullest. I know what
I’m going to do now. Every part of me that’s fallen out forms a blackened
version of me with a spiral mouth.
It threatens to consume me, but the
hero comes out to face him. The other me catches the hero’s head and tries
infecting his heart with its essence. Come on. Don’t give up. Never give up no
matter how hard it gets. We will make a difference in the end. We will do what’s
right.
The essence of the hero fights the
infection and infects the other me until the two are one. The page turns and
the story is over. I’m back in my room looking at the pictures I’ve drawn. I
hear the door open and go to see my dad who’s smiling the bright smile he always
smiles.
“Hello! It’s great to see you-”
I run to my dad and hug him.
“I miss you so much.”
“I miss you too. Do you like the way
I decorated your room? I know you tell me to grow up all the time, but I tried
to fix it to your liking.”
“I love it. Hey, dad?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Can you teach me how to play the
piano again? I want to play with you like how we used to. I’m also going to
start writing books again. I’m not going to let these talents I’ve
been given go to waste anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but what
about working?”
“I’ll work whatever small job I need
to so we can get by and have a little on the side just like how you used to.”
“Are you sure? That expensive
college degree was a waste of time then.”
“Yeah, it was, but it helped me
learn that money isn’t something I should worry about.”
My older brother then enters the
house.
“Oh yeah. Your brother is staying
with us for a while for a father-son special. Since you’re joining us, it’ll be
extra special.”
“You’re joining us?” my brother
asks.
“Yeah. I’m not letting my talents
go to waste. I’m going to do what God put me here to do and I'm not going to run away from it.”
“Oh.”
“What? You’re not going to ask me
what changed my mind?”
“No.” My brother hugs me. “I’m just
happy that we’re together again as a family.”
After some intense training with my
brother and dad, I become good enough to play their songs with them. We play at
dozens of locations and make the people there happy with our music. With my
books, I’m able to show the local town my stories. They’re impressed by them
and rave to me about how unique, relatable, and intriguing they are. One of the
people that like it is a crush I had in school who I’m talking to now. We might
be in a relationship soon.
This is what my life has been
missing. Despite the little we have, I feel like I have the world in my hands.
Nothing bothers me anymore. Nothing concerns me nor make me afraid. I’ve
finally found my place in life. This is where I’m meant to be. My heaven on
earth where I use my God-given talents to make people happy and entertain them.
It will have its difficulties, but I won’t trade it for anything in the world.
The End
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