Category: non-fiction

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afterlife dying feelings fiction God heaven hell non-fiction Reading The Aging Process writing

A letter to 7

The assignment: “Writing 101: To Whom it May Concern. Pick up the nearest book and flip to page 29. What jumps out at you? Start there, and try a twist: write in the form of a letter.” The nearest book was “The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 book for digital photographers” by Scott Kelby. What “jumped out” at me on page 29 was the number 7. Here’s where it led… 

 

7

Dear 7,

I’ve been wanting to engage with you for so long, not once or twice, not three times, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” And now I see that I don’t have much time left. But I know you’ve got plenty of time and have an endless supply, you’ll be around forever.

Maybe it’s supposed to work out just like it has for the last 58 years and I’ve not been aware of it. Maybe you’ve kept yourself out of reach from me for a reason.

I can’t say for sure when I’ll leave, but I know it’ll probably be sooner than later. You’ve seen millions go before me 7, many of those left without your help, I don’t want to go before getting a little help. I don’t need much and you probably wouldn’t even notice a dent in your supply.

7, my plea to you is heartfelt. I won’t be writing to you again. I know you probably have more important things to tend to besides reading letters from folks like me. But if you can find the time to give me just a little before I have to check out, it will sure make for a wonderful ending.

Thanks,

TC

Categories
music non-fiction Stream of Consciousness writing

Unlock (Writing 101, First Assignment, Stream of Consciousness)

I held the key but deciding what to unlock with it was something I hadn’t given much thought to. The day was dark so there wasn’t much sunlight to judge what I wanted to open. All I knew was that something needed unlocked because I had this key. I don’t remember who gave it to me, or the time of day, or was it night? It doesn’t matter, what was locked needed unlocked and I had to find the lock that fit my key, or the key that fit my lock. I’ve been locked out, didn’t need a key to open the lock. I crawled through the basement window, walked upstairs and unlocked the door to let myself in. I was already in. The lock. I had to unlock something, but what? Where’s the key? What key? The key of C? No, Am, or Em? I think I like Em, I can usually create an etherial sound with just that one key. And when I strum the Martin just so, that key always unlocks the door.

But it was getting dark, there wasn’t much light left. I can’t find the lock in the dark. Feeling is relied upon, eyesight isn’t. Close my eyes and use the key. What key? The key of Em, Am? Em has usually unlocked many doors, but then the door shuts and is locked once again. Having less sunlight, waiting until the next day, or not. I cannot find the lock, but how long have I looked? Or does this require more than one set of eyes? Maybe there’s more than one key for that ONLY lock? Yes, I think there is. If you had only one key, and it fit the locks on three different doors, Door Em, Door Am, and Door C, which door would you unlock?

My key was shaped like a guitar, I knew how to unlock all three doors. But I didn’t know what was behind any of the doors. I knew a carpenter who could make windows. Mirrored windows, you could only see yourself, but from the other side you could see your life, the history of your life, leading up to the time you took the key. I kept the key too long, waited for a time when unlocking Door Em meant crawling through a time tunnel. I needed the key to unlock the door, or the Door. The key I held began to play that Key, the Important One, Etherial One, Em. It will still unlock the other doors. But only if you listen to the Key, the Important One, Em. In the end, there is only one key, the Important One, the Key, the KEYNOTE.