The Five Stages

The other day I was writing a long, drawn out love story and the main male character, who was involved in a lover's triangle, started speaking to me. Now, he was not speaking to me in the manner that I heard voices in my head (I'm not crazy after all), it was a little different than that. It was as though I had no control over my pen and he was speaking to me through my writing.

It all started when I finished a line that read, "He did not know that this indefensible action would eventually lead to his death." It was the part of the story written directly after he went to bed with his mistress. This was the point when I lost control of my pen. My hand began writing on its own, "What? You mean I am going to die? This can't be happening." Needless to say I was astonished by the fact that a character I created was speaking to me. I did not know whether to answer him aloud or write my response on the paper. I decided to speak the two fateful words, "Of course."

He was obviously dismayed by this - How would you feel if you found out you were going to die? - so he decided to beg and plead with me. "How could you do this to me?" my hand wrote, "Don't you think I'm a good guy?"

"Well no, not really", I responded, "You seem to be a scumbag."

He was blatantly angered by my response. "Why would you do this to me?" the ink begged, "This is so unfair. What kind of a person are you?" He was obviously unwilling to take responsibility for his actions.

"Well, it is because you cheated on your wife. It is going to make her very upset when she finds out."

"I'll change, I promise."

It was hard to believe that I was sitting there arguing with a character that was a product of my own imagination. I could not believe that he had the audacity to argue with me over his life. I gave him that life, after all, and if it were not for me he would have never existed in the first place. How ungrateful he seemed for the gift I presented him. "It is not up to me," I responded, "You made a bad decision."

He decided to try bargaining. "Just please let me live to see my children grow up and go to school they are the only good thing that has come out of my life."