[page 2]

It's hard to be a character in a book. I know, everybody think of me as the typical "no brain, lots of brawn" hero, but I’ve got much more to show than that. I've worked for them all. Rushdie, Pratchett, Chandler, Hemingway...

Well, this half bald, half fat, half bad amateur writer offered me a role, and though I was half inclined to refuse, work is hard to come by nowadays (don't people read books anymore?), so here I am!

Let's have a look at the scenery. "Nondescript" is probably too nice a word, but. it'llhave to do. There's a stair leading up. Seven tall steps. It's something really disturbing about the way it just disappears into the sky. Besides, even though each step is only 5 or 6 feet high, together they form more than a mile of stairway. I don't like paradoxes. They make my fists itch. Besides, there's this pageboy sitting on the third step playing that riff on a twelve string guitar. In other words: this seems bad.

Then there’s the step leading down, of course. I examine the first step. The words "It's for your own best" are carved into the stone. On the next step: "I promised her not to tell anybody, but she needs help, you know". Oh d@*m! I should have taken that offer from Rankin instead. At least he avoids the clichées. Too late now, the only thing I can do is:

  1. Climb the seven steps
  2. Walk down the good intentions

frnordbe@online.no

candidate 33

next

prev

Cast Your Vote!