Crestfallen.nu

Novels aren’t the only things with happy endings.

Meet Shannon Delsey. She’s a middle-aged woman stuck in the same job she’s had since she was 20, has no kids, has no husband, and has 10 cats to show for it. Frustrated with her life, she decides to start writing a novel. It was a fantasy/romantic/comedy novel, complete with fairy tale ending, and inanimate objects talking. A year later, she finishes it. But now, she’s right back where she’s started–stuck and frustrated.

One day, she’s surfing the Internet, and she comes across a site that was holding a novel contest. The prize? $10,000 cash and a chance for it to get published. Shannon thought that she had nothing to lose seeing as she has nothing other than cats to care for. So she tries it out. She submits her novel entry, and then she looked through some of the past winners. There was one name that stuck out, because she knew him from way back. She told him that she would support him in his writing, no matter what. She’s proud of him, and she wished that she could tell him that. Then she saw contact info. Maybe he didn’t mind e-mails? Who knows?

Shannon was indecisive about whether or not to email him. The last time she spoke to him, it didn’t really pan out the way it should have. But she really wanted to tell him how proud she was of him. After sleeping on it, she decides to email him. This is what she sent him:

Hey, A.J.!

I know we left off on a pretty bad note, and I’m sorry it ended up like that. However, I did come across some of your novel entries that you finally got published. I am so glad that you did! I told you that it was going to happen. But yeah, I thought that I would email you and tell you that I’m proud of you.

Sincerely,
Shannon

As she clicked “send”, an all-too-familiar feeling came over her. The feeling of regret. “Why did I do that?” “He’s not going to reply.” “Why did I bother?” The tears started rolling down her face, until she saw that she got an email.

It was from A.J.

Dear Shannon,

I know you probably hate me, but I am glad to hear from you. I’m also glad to hear that you read my novel excerpts on that site. I’m assuming that you tried out for that contest this year? You have a gift there. You should put it to good use, and this is the perfect way to get exposure. I thought I had nothing to lose, so why not? And I did it. And won. So it all worked out in the end. Novels aren’t the only things with happy endings, you know.

I hope you are well, and thanks for your kind words.

Sincerely,
A.J.

She was taken aback. She always thought that A.J. hated her; not the other way around. She was left reeling to the point where she couldn’t reply back as quickly. She turned off the computer, and went to bed, thinking about what she’s going to say in her next email–and thinking about what she told him 10 years ago.

To be continued…apparently, because now I’ve gotten so into it that it’s turning into a short story!