《I Wrote A Novel As A Kid》


 Chapter 1 - Where Am I?

    After getting back home, I ran straight into my room and immediately started looking through my old "treasures" stored in a locked box hidden at the bottom compartment of my room''s cabinet.


    "It must be here somewhere..."


    "Oh! An old drawing... and it''s terrible!"


    "Ooh, a CD. I wonder what''s in it..."


    "Why is there a toy sword here again?"


    Realizing why, I shake my head in embarrassment, remembering old times acting like ahero. Looking back, those days were really embarrassing but they were really fun innocent times.


    "I wonder howshe isright now?"


    I find myself smiling after remembering my only childhood playmate. Those were really fun times.


    "Anyway, I''m getting distracted..." I thought as I continued to search through my stuff.


    ...


    "Why isn''t it here?!"


    I blurted out to myself in frustration after searching for hours to no avail. Well, I did find some interesting stuff, but that''s not the goal right now. Frustrated, I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.


    "It''s weird, but I really can''t shake the feeling that she looked exactly like the character I wrote."


    "While I know it''s just a coincidence, seeing her earlier gave me the urge to really read through my oldnovel. Perhaps I can even rewrite it now that I''ve learned to write better after years of studying. I''m sure I''ll do better than an eight year old me... right?"


    I don''t really know who I was asking for validation. Unknowingly, I fell asleep.


    ...Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Glen, what do we do now?!"


    She asked Glen frantically while gasping for breath. The two just barely managed to hide behind a huge rock after running around for 30 minutes while being chased by 2 massive, and not to mention furious, dragons.


    "Don''t worry Sara! I have a really good plan."


    "Really? What are yo ¡ª HUH?!"


    Glen jumped out of the rock and danced in front of the dragons. He doesn''t really know how to dance though.


    Sara was dumbfounded, and then, she was furious. The dragons too were furious. Why? Glen was really bad at dancing. It was ridiculous. It was ridiculous enough for Sara to momentarily forget they were in grave danger. Maybe if the dragons could manage to catch Glen and eat him up, they wouldn''t. They would just prefer to smash him down. Definitely.


    And then he charged straight at the dragons while raising his sword up in the air.


    "By the power of courage and friendship, GIVE¡ª ME¡ªSTRENGTH!!!"


    He slashed at the air.


    The dragons died.


    ...


    I suddenly woke up. It was a nightmare! I dreamt about how badly written mynovelreally was.


    "I guess thinking about something really badly before you fall asleep really does increase the chance of dreaming something about it..."


    I looked at my cabinet and remembered the toy sword I found earlier again.


    "Gah... It really is embarrassing..."


    I looked outside and noticed it was already dark. Actually, it was midnight.


    "I should put off looking for the book in the mean time and get myself a proper sleep."


    But I couldn''t.


    I rolled around, changed positions, counted sheep... but still, I couldn''t. Falling asleep earlier was really making it inconvenient for me right now. "Insomnia, why now?"


    I gave up.


    I stood up and went downstairs to get myself a glass of water. No, maybe I should get milk instead¡ª so I did. While drinking milk, I looked around the room randomly and found a notebook on the floor.


    "Eh??"


    It was too random. The book I was looking for all day, suddenly appeared right there on the floor. It was as if someone was watching me all along and decided to play with me.


    "That notebook cover... There''s no mistaking it. That''s the book I wrote when I was a kid."


    Speaking of notebook cover, it was really simple. It was a cute attempt by an eight year old at creating a cool looking title lettering. What''s the title of the book? Well, let''s just put that aside for now.


    I placed the glass of milk back on the table and crouched down and picked the notebook up. Of course the first thing I did was open it up.


    "Ahh... It brings back so many good memories."


    I got distracted and unknowingly, I''ve been standing there flipping the pages for quite some time now. After reaching the last page (Yes, it was really short. What did you expect from an eight year old?!), I looked back up.


    "Eh?"


    It was different.


    I don''t normally curse, but f**k..


    "Where am I?!"

 Chapter 2 - I Know Why She Looked Familiar

    "Where am I?!"


    ¡­


    Well, before I continue the narrative about where I found myself suddenly, I think it''s best I went back a few hours before my story began.


    It was Saturday. On this day every week, I make it a point to leave my home and go wherever my feet takes me to. I always walk around without a fixed destination. Considering I live in the middle of the metro, walking around doesn¡¯t come off as a hassle or tiring. It¡¯s actually fun seeing the busy life of other people in the city. There¡¯s always something interesting happening, which I always find amazing. It¡¯s a seemingly odd weekly routine, but doing this helps me clear my mind and find inspiration.


    I was standing before the intersection waiting for our turn to cross the street when I felt someone calling my name. To be clear, I didn¡¯t really hear anyone¡¯s voice. It felt more like an instinct, as if someone was longing for me at that moment. It was a weird feeling. It wasn¡¯t scary or anything ¡ª maybe puzzling, but it was more of a feeling that made your heart beat faster. It made me look around, looking for anyone possibly looking at me at that moment, or someone who looked a tad suspicious. I didn¡¯t find anyone, so I ultimately just brushed it off.


    I began walking as soon as I heard the sound signaling everyone to cross.


    ¡°That feeling¡­ Perhaps I could use that as inspiration?¡±


    While walking in deep thought, I didn¡¯t notice the truck heading straight at me in full speed.


    I died.


    ¡­


    Just kidding. I didn¡¯t die, although that¡¯s how most stories end up these days. Fortunately, the truck miraculously swerved before it ran over me and finally stopped after hitting a street post and the sidewalk barricade. I was currently sitting down on the pavement, baffled by what just happened. Thinking about it now, I could¡¯ve just passed it off as another event that could serve as inspiration, but I guess I was just too overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. I wasn¡¯t thinking anymore at that time. It was then that someone pulled my arm, forcing me to stand up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go now. Hurry!¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡ª¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    She suddenly ran while pulling me along with her. I was running, forced to go with the flow, but I couldn¡¯t really understand what was going on. I have yet to find my bearings after finding out a truck almost turned me into mush, let alone now having someone I don¡¯t know pull me and run.


    ¡°Am I being kidnapped?¡±


    I thought to myself. My mind was already in a mess, so I guess it accidentally left my mouth instead of keeping them in my head. She looked at me with an odd gaze, as if she didn¡¯t understand what I was talking about.


    We ran until we found ourselves in an alley without people. I catched my breath. It was only then that I had the time to look at the person who supposedly kidnapped me closely.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Her clothes were somewhat weird but not to the point you would accuse someone of cosplay. She was wearing red long sleeves. The shoulder parts had holes, exposing her surprisingly fair skin. Her red hair was covering half of her face as if to hide something, but even with just half of her face visible you already know she¡¯s a beauty. What¡¯s most notable is that on her left cheek, just below her eye, was a scar shaped like a star. I didn¡¯t really understand why, but her appearance triggered in me a sense of familiarity.


    ¡°It¡¯s not yet time for you to go.¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Glen, we still need you.¡±


    ¡°Me? How do you know my name?¡±


    As I said that, some people passed by the alley and looked at us in suspicion. I panicked at the thought of being seen with a woman in a very sketchy place. I momentarily faced them, waved my hands, and inadvertently said to them in panic the most suspicious lines anyone would say in that moment.


    ¡°We¡¯re not doing anything suspicious!!¡±


    ¡°What a weirdo.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, he must be crazy.¡±


    Their reactions weren¡¯t exactly what I had in mind. I thought they¡¯d be more suspicious but when I looked back at the woman who dragged me to this place, she was already gone. Needless to say, I left the place in confusion.


    I was walking back to my place in deep thought, recollecting everything that happened today.


    ¡°I almost died and was dragged by a mysterious looking woman who suddenly left without saying goodbye.¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps I could use these events as inspiration?¡±


    I guess it has already become a habit of mine to put off anything bizarre as inspiration. I must be a really optimistic person.


    I passed by the bookstore on my way back home as I normally do as my last stop for every weekend pilgrimage. I was walking around the store when I saw a cute little kid sitting down on the floor in front of a bookshelf. It somehow reminded me of how I acted back in the days.


    It was then that I remembered.


    Badly designed clothes, red hair covering half of the face, and the star shaped scar on the left cheek¡­ That was it. I know why she looked familiar. She looked exactly like the character from the book I wrote 18 years ago!


    ¡­


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a coincidence.¡±