The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Despite no longer being in possession of the manuscript, Ben figured it was for the best. He had been able to acquire a bit of money from it and understand himself more, but beyond those things, it was occupying too much of his focus and not allowing him to live a normal life. Perhaps he should have listened to Kyle and gotten rid of it sooner. As it remained, Ben was unsure whether having it was the greatest of all blessings, or the biggest curse.  

Although he had yet to realize it, the manuscript had given him one other gift - an introduction to a beautiful and intelligent woman. Other than that one scene, there had been no other mention of Vanessa in the manuscript. Since he was convinced the manuscript was a scripture from God, he never considered the possibility that he could ever be with her. Ben and Vanessa had begun hanging out and every time they saw each other, Ben would expect something bad to happen, as if any prolonged engagement with her would unravel the space-time continuum, or cause some great tragedy. Eventually he was able to free his mind of those thoughts and live his life unbound from the directive of the manuscript. 

Ben sat at the dining room table typing away. He was trying to get his novel finished, but had been distracted as of late. There was a new addition into his life that was competing for his time. 

"There, I'm done," Ben said. 

"Done what?" Vanessa asked. 

"I finished my novel." 

"That's so amazing, Ben, congratulations!" 

"Thanks." 

"How does it feel?" 

"I have to tell you, it feels amazing. I've been through some ups and downs this past year and completing this novel is validation for me. It's tangible proof of how much I've grown." 

"I'm so proud of you. We should definitely go out and celebrate, you deserve it." 

"Sure, that sounds great." 

"So are you going to finally tell me what it's about? You've been so secretive about this manuscript." 

"I'll let you read it, but I drew a lot of inspiration from my life." 

"What's your main character's name?" 

"For now I have it as Ben, but it's meant to be a placeholder only. I'll come up with a different name during the editing process." 

"Maybe you could just leave it as Ben, I like that name. Does it have a title yet, or are you still working that out?" 

"I haven't put the title on yet, but I'm thinking of calling it Angel's Cradle." 

"What does that mean?" 

"An angel's cradle is a receptacle that some hospitals have. It's basically a box where people can anonymously drop off their unwanted babies." 

"That sounds horrible, do people actually do that?" 

"It's supposed to prevent people from abandoning their unwanted babies in dumpsters or on people's doorsteps. I think given the alternatives, an angel's cradle is a good thing." 

"I guess," she said with sorrow. "So is that what happened with you?" 

"I'm not sure. The details of my early life are not clear, but I was abandoned by my mother. The name Owen is actually not my real last name, it's my middle name. When I became eighteen, I legally changed my last name to Owen. But I know now my real last name is Gringer." 

In the driveway was a brand new Ford Mustang in cherry red. Ben deactivated the alarm and opened the passenger door for Vanessa. He then walked around and sat in the driver's seat.