Contest Entries

The Last Attempt

For @Skipper_019's contest fifty-four, where competitors had to describe a person's year through twelve paragraphs: one for each month.

January- The Scribe starts a new beginning: a new name, a new city, a renewed drive and passion to make a lifelong dream finally come true, fueled by the simple act of standing on the bustling sidewalk and drinking in the energy and hope that can only be found in a place filled with fellow passionate artists looking for their big break.

February- The Scribe finds himself seated in his usual spot in his usual cafe with his usual order, surrounded by two-person tables populated by couples, as is his, though the chair across from him is empty, for his attention is not captured by some human partner: instead he is captivated by his latest project, and he obsesses over his Lover as she manifests on his screen in tightly spaced Times New Roman and teases his mind with phrases waiting to be captured in skillful syntax.

March- Despite having to endure long hours at minimum wage to continue scraping by, The Scribe remains happy and impassioned as he returns home to his Lover, who grows more beautiful every day as she nears completion of the revision process. No matter how exhausted he may be, The Scribe always makes time for her and never regrets doing so.

April- His Lover smiles at him reassuringly, her prose-wrapped plot dressed neatly in a yellow envelope as The Scribe stands with her in his hand at the post office, preparing to see her off. He takes a deep breath, and she reminds him in a comforting way how talented he is and how much hard work he's done to show he deserves to take this big step. The Scribe takes one more look at her followed by a deep breath that he holds as he slides her in her envelope into the slot in the mailbox, praying.

May- Another envelope arrived. The letter inside was stiff and formal, but the news it divulged did not fail to leave The Scribe overjoyed. His Lover had been well-received, and they would love to do more work with her and see her become a success- she just needs a few tweaks. The Scribe readily accepts.

June- The Scribe, along with a seemingly nice editor, begin tweaking his Lover, preparing her to be viewed by the masses. At first, things seem reasonable, a couple of changes to syntax and formatting and slight adjustments in diction. Then, the changes become more drastic, and The Scribe is unsure he wants to continue going through with this. The nice editor assures him that these changes really will improve her, and The Scribe reluctantly agrees to go along with it. His Lover, though hesitant, trusts the Scribe to look out for her, and the first great revision is made.

July- The Scribe looked at his Lover through the glass of some small bookshop window, trying in vain to cover up his dismay with false pride, hoping not to discourage her. But he could not hide how miserable he was to see her the way she was now: shredded and sloppy and nothing like she originally had been crafted to be thanks to the work of a shady publishing company hiding beneath a nice facade and The Scribe's failure to intervene and save her from the butchering. His Lover, though on display, feels ready to shrivel up in his gaze, knowing the damage she has sustained is in full view and that it is causing him the utmost pain and knowing that, in a way, it was his fault that she was now a ruin in his eyes.

August- The Scribe arrives for his next shift at his third job, burnt out and bleary-eyed but still working in order to maintain an adequate flow of income. He soon begins reorganizing the clearance book section, coming across several copies of someone familiar... though now she is dusty and gray and still showing scars of her mistreatment. The sight of her, row upon row of marked down, unsold copies of his Lover that he placed upon the shelf, filled him with an overwhelming sense of loss.

September- The Scribe returns home after another long day to a lonely apartment, tired but unable to sleep. Finally, on a whim, he gets out of bed and sits down at his computer before digging through the numerous folders and files, reading through old pieces and catching glimpses of his Lover in her earlier stages, as if he had stumbled upon and began to rifle through her old childhood photographs. At last, he double clicks on her, the her before he let the editors have her, and as he takes in line after line he falls in love with her all over again, though some regret still lingers, as he knows he hasn't done right by her and will never get to do that again, at least, not with this form of her.

October- The Scribe decides to try again, and begins to seek his Lover once more, staring before a word document while his fingers stumbled over keys, trying desperately to form her from the jumble of words and phrases that he had left. But his Lover seemed to elude him, afraid of him, his failure to intervene and rescue her the last time he gave her away hanging above both of them, dripping insecurity and doubt.

November- The Scribe stared at the fairly blank document, the five words at the top of its single page failing to yield any inspiration for more. His cursor wanders to the taskbar, hovering over the file explorer and causing a window displaying a folder filled with similarly fruitless files to briefly flash across the screen before he jerks his hand and the mouse away, not wanting to be reminded that despite his many tries, his Lover had left him, taking his ideas and confidence with her, leaving him with nothing but an empty apartment, empty pages, an empty mind, an empty life.

December- Drained and hopeless, The Scribe musters up enough strength to cough out one last goodbye to her, telling the story of how he lost her in his final twelve paragraphs before leaving his pursuit of her and his name behind forever.