{ inklings writing contests } NEW CONTEST

[Tesalong]

A boy (or girl) is given a choice to choose: his safe, false reality of virtual lovers and friends, or the dangerous real world, where his real-life best friend truly does care for him. If he chooses one, he will lose all memory of the other… and there is no third option

Illusion of Fate

"I love you, Samuel."
Sam felt the grin stretch across his face, feeling a burst of warmth, happiness, and excitement threaten to engulf his heart. He stepped forward and embraced her, laughing, trying to ignore that familiar stab of pain and longing that came from that distant, cynical portion of his mind. She's not real. It quietly chanted. None of this is. You're still just a twenty one year old nobody from nowhere doing nothing with his life.

You're hugging programming.

He quieted the voice, focusing instead on the sensation of Camellia's soft hair running through his fingers. "I love you, too." He whispered, releasing her from his grasp so that he could watch her face. She was more real than anything else in his world. She had to be, needed to be, lest he lose his sanity. Reality did nothing but shatter, but the virtual world was an escape, a way out. "Will you marry-" Before the words could exit his mouth his vision abruptly went blank and dark, the vivid colors of beautiful forest vanishing. His future fiance was no longer in his arms, instead replaced by lukewarm emptiness. He frowned. Bright red words appeared before his eyes: power disconnected. He let out a breath through his nose, sighing as he reached up and tugged the virtual reality helmet off of his head.

He found himself staring directly up at his friend, Kire, and the dark bags beneath his eyes. It was unusual. Kire was carefree, well-balanced, quick with a smile and a kind word. However, now he only looked stressed, angry, and exhausted. It didn't suit him. But then again, that was what reality did. It broke people. "Samuel, I can't believe you." Kire said, teeth gritted in anger. The fact that he hadn't called him Sam was a bad sign. "You can't keep doing this kind of thing, it's-"

Intense fury and irritation sparked to life in Sam's heart, replacing the numbness, "Can't keep doing what?" He demanded, setting the heavy device in his hands onto the desk with a resounding thump. What was Kire referring to? Sam's declining grades? His isolation? His not caring? Why? It was Sam's life, not Kire's.

"You can't keep running from your problems!" Kire shouted, hands moving dramatically through the air to emphasize. "You cannot spend your life inside of a video game, Sam! I know that things look bad sometimes-"

"Sometimes?"

"Would you let me finish?" Kire challenged, voice rising. "I know things are bad, but they get better. But they'll never get better if you continue to run! You can find happiness-" He began to elaborate, trying to turn the conversation into some inspirational spiel.

That was rich. "Happiness?" Sam spat. "No, you need to face the facts, Kire." He said, standing unsteadily from his chair and poking his index finger at his friend's chest. "Happiness doesn't come to people like me. This isn't some kind of story book where everyone ends up happy in the end. That isn't reality. Reality is stupid and unfair and full of disappointment." He said, pushing past the man. "The sooner you accept that, the better. If you don't, you're living in a fantasy." He added, grim faced.

Kire's eyebrows tilted upwards, the sadness and desperation in his face forcing Same to look away. "Then what are you doing, Sam, if you're not living in a fantasy?" Kire whispered, almost pleadingly, voice quivering from tears waiting to be shed.

Sam didn't know how to respond, a moment of heavy emotional silence blanketing over the room. "At least I know that I am." He finally muttered, the words hurting to say. He didn't hear Kire reply and so instead inhaled and exited their dorm room, letting his long black hair shield his eyes. He wanted to act as if he didn't exist for awhile, and so shuffled silently down the hall, keeping to the side so bustling students could move past him. The pain was consuming, tearing at him from the inside out. Salty tears were gathering at and blurring the sides of his vision. He didn't know where he was going, but found himself at the front doors, the glass revealing the university's expansive space of interconnecting walkways and gardens. It was inappropriate, that blissful beauty of the outside world when his own was collapsing. His hand paused on the handle, not knowing if he really wanted to face the contradiction.

"Do you want to make a deal?" A raspy voice said from behind him, seeming to echo oddly within his mind. He whipped his head around, coming face to face with an old woman. Her back was hunched slightly but standing, leaning on an old wooden cane. A pink shawl covered her shoulders, a ward against the cold.

He felt a weird shiver creep slowly down his spine. "What are you talking about?" He questioned, ignoring that gut sensation that something was amiss. "Are you, um, looking for someone?" He asked, glancing around. Perhaps she was a university staff member or was someone's grandmother who had gotten lost along the way.

The woman laughed. "No need to worry, dear, I've already found him." She explained. The laughter stopped, but her grin twisted into a sly shape, "Samuel, let's get to the point of things." She muttered.

Sam froze, "How do you know my-?" He began warily.

"You are unhappy, yes? Disillusioned one might say." She said, continuing on as if he hadn't said anything at all. "I have a proposition to offer to you, young one. What would you say if I could change your life forever? That I could bring to you that happiness that you desire? That peace?" She asked. A light sparked in her dull grey eyes, "That I could give you your deepest desires- for only a small price."

Normally, Sam would have believed the woman was crazy, that she was confused and her mind had disintegrated with age. Except something about her promised she was telling the truth. It was in the way she spoke, how she held herself, that inexplicable shiver and tension in his back. She felt both so familiar and so unknown at the same time. He knew, from the very pit of his stomach, that she could bend the universe. He swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat. "I wouldn't hesitate to accept." He said breathlessly.

That sly grin widened, "Wonderful." She purred. She then cleared her throat, growing more serious, "Alright, Samuel, do we have a deal?" She asked, holding out a steady hand to shake. Light seemed to dance off of it in odd ways, as if it was seeping out from her very skin. With a quivering hand, he grabbed a hold of hers and shook, feeling determined and resolute, resigned to what he was doing. He would not back out. He could hear laughter once more, pulsing on his eardrums.

He awoke to a white, empty space. He was conscious, but his physical body was not there. His spirit floated in the nothingness. "Samuel," The old woman said. He looked towards the noise, seeing three women standing side by side. One was young, one was middle aged, and the other was the lady he had made the deal with. The three fates. His soul recognized them immediately, as if he had known them forever. Perhaps he had.

They began speaking at once, one shrill, one clear as bells, and the other harsh and shaking, "A deal has been made." They proclaimed, all smiling manically. "You must make your choice."

Choice?

They nodded solemnly, "Yes, your choice." They confirmed. "You have two to choose from, two possibilities and opportunities for the joy you crave." The youngest and the oldest held out a single string, stretched out between the two. "You can either live in your virtual world with Camellia and your other companions, or," they paused for effect, "you may continue existing in the life you currently own."

Before Sam could respond, the middle one shouted, "Wait! You have not heard all of the terms." she cried. "When you choose, you shall lose all memory of the other life." She added with a gleeful smirk. The realization hit Samuel with the force of a bus. He would forget, lose it all, and he wouldn't even know. The knowledge of that was powerful. He could take advantage of it, or he could let it control him.

"You now have a decision to make. Make it quickly, and choose wisely." The fates said in unison, summoning before him images of the two people he held most dear: Camellia and Kire, their faces blank. Surrounding them were family from both worlds, friends from the virtual life. The more numerous group lied with the imagined reality. He felt the importance of the decision weighing heavily on him. "The life with Camellia will only be an illusion. It will not be real, though we suppose that you will have no recollection of the fact." The fates mused. "But then again, you could brave through true life, with other real persons. It is yours to decide."

Samuel gathered his courage and found his words.
I don't care if it's an illusion. I just want happiness.

The fates grinned.

Illusion

Sam paused and blinked, an odd feeling waving over him. He had felt disjointed for a moment, although he didn't recall why. He shook it off, bringing his attention back onto the love of his life, "Sorry, Camellia, I don't know what came over me." He said, laughing sheepishly. He cleared his throat and returned to the topic at hand, "Will you marry me, Love?" He asked, voice catching in his throat.

Camellia's olive skin blushed, her hand going to her mouth, tears making her eyes red. She took a second to gather herself, "Oh, Samuel, yes, of course I will!" She said, arms flying around him. They cried together, shedding happy tears that slid down their cheeks as they laughed. He felt so joyful that he could have sung, or flown, or perhaps even danced. The future was bright and beautiful. There was nothing that could go wrong.

Reality

The twenty one year old had collapsed in the dorm hallway, having crumpled to the floor, eyes open but glazed and unseeing. Sam had died, his life snuffed out before it truly could begin. Kire could feel the hot tears slide down over his cheeks as he clutched the paper in his hands: the invitation to Sam's funeral. Nobody knew why he had died. The autopsy came back with nothing. It was as if his friend's heart had simply stopped beating. Kire was unable to voice it, but he felt distinctly as if it was his fault, as if the death was on his head. Maybe if he hadn't confronted Sam, maybe if he had seen Sam's problem sooner, maybe if- but no, it was all too late now. All too late. Sam was gone forever, and the void he had left was unfillable.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
He didn't bother to brush away the tears because once he did, new ones would take their place.

[tuesdaysart]

A boy (or girl) is given a choice to choose: his safe, false reality of virtual lovers and friends, or the dangerous real world, where his real-life best friend truly does care for him. If he chooses one, he will lose all memory of the other… and there is no third option

Illusion of Fate

"I love you, Samuel."
Sam felt the grin stretch across his face, feeling a burst of warmth, happiness, and excitement threaten to engulf his heart. He stepped forward and embraced her, laughing, trying to ignore that familiar stab of pain and longing that came from that distant, cynical portion of his mind. She's not real. It quietly chanted. None of this is. You're still just a twenty one year old nobody from nowhere doing nothing with his life.

You're hugging programming.

He quieted the voice, focusing instead on the sensation of Camellia's soft hair running through his fingers. "I love you, too." He whispered, releasing her from his grasp so that he could watch her face. She was more real than anything else in his world. She had to be, needed to be, lest he lose his sanity. Reality did nothing but shatter, but the virtual world was an escape, a way out. "Will you marry-" Before the words could exit his mouth his vision abruptly went blank and dark, the vivid colors of beautiful forest vanishing. His future fiance was no longer in his arms, instead replaced by lukewarm emptiness. He frowned. Bright red words appeared before his eyes: power disconnected. He let out a breath through his nose, sighing as he reached up and tugged the virtual reality helmet off of his head.

He found himself staring directly up at his friend, Kire, and the dark bags beneath his eyes. It was unusual. Kire was carefree, well-balanced, quick with a smile and a kind word. However, now he only looked stressed, angry, and exhausted. It didn't suit him. But then again, that was what reality did. It broke people. "Samuel, I can't believe you." Kire said, teeth gritted in anger. The fact that he hadn't called him Sam was a bad sign. "You can't keep doing this kind of thing, it's-"

Intense fury and irritation sparked to life in Sam's heart, replacing the numbness, "Can't keep doing what?" He demanded, setting the heavy device in his hands onto the desk with a resounding thump. What was Kire referring to? Sam's declining grades? His isolation? His not caring? Why? It was Sam's life, not Kire's.

"You can't keep running from your problems!" Kire shouted, hands moving dramatically through the air to emphasize. "You cannot spend your life inside of a video game, Sam! I know that things look bad sometimes-"

"Sometimes?"

"Would you let me finish?" Kire challenged, voice rising. "I know things are bad, but they get better. But they'll never get better if you continue to run! You can find happiness-" He began to elaborate, trying to turn the conversation into some inspirational spiel.

That was rich. "Happiness?" Sam spat. "No, you need to face the facts, Kire." He said, standing unsteadily from his chair and poking his index finger at his friend's chest. "Happiness doesn't come to people like me. This isn't some kind of story book where everyone ends up happy in the end. That isn't reality. Reality is stupid and unfair and full of disappointment." He said, pushing past the man. "The sooner you accept that, the better. If you don't, you're living in a fantasy." He added, grim faced.

Kire's eyebrows tilted upwards, the sadness and desperation in his face forcing Same to look away. "Then what are you doing, Sam, if you're not living in a fantasy?" Kire whispered, almost pleadingly, voice quivering from tears waiting to be shed.

Sam didn't know how to respond, a moment of heavy emotional silence blanketing over the room. "At least I know that I am." He finally muttered, the words hurting to say. He didn't hear Kire reply and so instead inhaled and exited their dorm room, letting his long black hair shield his eyes. He wanted to act as if he didn't exist for awhile, and so shuffled silently down the hall, keeping to the side so bustling students could move past him. The pain was consuming, tearing at him from the inside out. Salty tears were gathering at and blurring the sides of his vision. He didn't know where he was going, but found himself at the front doors, the glass revealing the university's expansive space of interconnecting walkways and gardens. It was inappropriate, that blissful beauty of the outside world when his own was collapsing. His hand paused on the handle, not knowing if he really wanted to face the contradiction.

"Do you want to make a deal?" A raspy voice said from behind him, seeming to echo oddly within his mind. He whipped his head around, coming face to face with an old woman. Her back was hunched slightly but standing, leaning on an old wooden cane. A pink shawl covered her shoulders, a ward against the cold.

He felt a weird shiver creep slowly down his spine. "What are you talking about?" He questioned, ignoring that gut sensation that something was amiss. "Are you, um, looking for someone?" He asked, glancing around. Perhaps she was a university staff member or was someone's grandmother who had gotten lost along the way.

The woman laughed. "No need to worry, dear, I've already found him." She explained. The laughter stopped, but her grin twisted into a sly shape, "Samuel, let's get to the point of things." She muttered.

Sam froze, "How do you know my-?" He began warily.

"You are unhappy, yes? Disillusioned one might say." She said, continuing on as if he hadn't said anything at all. "I have a proposition to offer to you, young one. What would you say if I could change your life forever? That I could bring to you that happiness that you desire? That peace?" She asked. A light sparked in her dull grey eyes, "That I could give you your deepest desires- for only a small price."

Normally, Sam would have believed the woman was crazy, that she was confused and her mind had disintegrated with age. Except something about her promised she was telling the truth. It was in the way she spoke, how she held herself, that inexplicable shiver and tension in his back. She felt both so familiar and so unknown at the same time. He knew, from the very pit of his stomach, that she could bend the universe. He swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat. "I wouldn't hesitate to accept." He said breathlessly.

That sly grin widened, "Wonderful." She purred. She then cleared her throat, growing more serious, "Alright, Samuel, do we have a deal?" She asked, holding out a steady hand to shake. Light seemed to dance off of it in odd ways, as if it was seeping out from her very skin. With a quivering hand, he grabbed a hold of hers and shook, feeling determined and resolute, resigned to what he was doing. He would not back out. He could hear laughter once more, pulsing on his eardrums.

He awoke to a white, empty space. He was conscious, but his physical body was not there. His spirit floated in the nothingness. "Samuel," The old woman said. He looked towards the noise, seeing three women standing side by side. One was young, one was middle aged, and the other was the lady he had made the deal with. The three fates. His soul recognized them immediately, as if he had known them forever. Perhaps he had.

They began speaking at once, one shrill, one clear as bells, and the other harsh and shaking, "A deal has been made." They proclaimed, all smiling manically. "You must make your choice."

Choice?

They nodded solemnly, "Yes, your choice." They confirmed. "You have two to choose from, two possibilities and opportunities for the joy you crave." The youngest and the oldest held out a single string, stretched out between the two. "You can either live in your virtual world with Camellia and your other companions, or," they paused for effect, "you may continue existing in the life you currently own."

Before Sam could respond, the middle one shouted, "Wait! You have not heard all of the terms." she cried. "When you choose, you shall lose all memory of the other life." She added with a gleeful smirk. The realization hit Samuel with the force of a bus. He would forget, lose it all, and he wouldn't even know. The knowledge of that was powerful. He could take advantage of it, or he could let it control him.

"You now have a decision to make. Make it quickly, and choose wisely." The fates said in unison, summoning before him images of the two people he held most dear: Camellia and Kire, their faces blank. Surrounding them were family from both worlds, friends from the virtual life. The more numerous group lied with the imagined reality. He felt the importance of the decision weighing heavily on him. "The life with Camellia will only be an illusion. It will not be real, though we suppose that you will have no recollection of the fact." The fates mused. "But then again, you could brave through true life, with other real persons. It is yours to decide."

Samuel gathered his courage and found his words.
I don't care if it's an illusion. I just want happiness.

The fates grinned.

Illusion

Sam paused and blinked, an odd feeling waving over him. He had felt disjointed for a moment, although he didn't recall why. He shook it off, bringing his attention back onto the love of his life, "Sorry, Camellia, I don't know what came over me." He said, laughing sheepishly. He cleared his throat and returned to the topic at hand, "Will you marry me, Love?" He asked, voice catching in his throat.

Camellia's olive skin blushed, her hand going to her mouth, tears making her eyes red. She took a second to gather herself, "Oh, Samuel, yes, of course I will!" She said, arms flying around him. They cried together, shedding happy tears that slid down their cheeks as they laughed. He felt so joyful that he could have sung, or flown, or perhaps even danced. The future was bright and beautiful. There was nothing that could go wrong.

Reality

The twenty one year old had collapsed in the dorm hallway, having crumpled to the floor, eyes open but glazed and unseeing. Sam had died, his life snuffed out before it truly could begin. Kire could feel the hot tears slide down over his cheeks as he clutched the paper in his hands: the invitation to Sam's funeral. Nobody knew why he had died. The autopsy came back with nothing. It was as if his friend's heart had simply stopped beating. Kire was unable to voice it, but he felt distinctly as if it was his fault, as if the death was on his head. Maybe if he hadn't confronted Sam, maybe if he had seen Sam's problem sooner, maybe if- but no, it was all too late now. All too late. Sam was gone forever, and the void he had left was unfillable.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
He didn't bother to brush away the tears because once he did, new ones would take their place.

NOOOOOOOO!
THIS KILLED MY FEELS.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

[watermelon.]

Hehe, that is good in a contest sometimes! Mine is still a work in progress but I don't have school tomorrow so we'll see

[Tesalong]

NOOOOOOOO!
THIS KILLED MY FEELS.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

Haha, you're welcome. <3
Mission accomplished.
Do not worry. I hear that feels have nine lives~

[watermelon.]

ANOTHER NEW CONTEST UP! I WILL ANNOUNCE IT AT INKLINGS TOO!

My feels lost like 8 lives already XD

[iWonder]

I am so entering this time. Hahababababahhahahahhhhhaaaaaaa or in otherwords: *maniacal laugh*

[lucas.]

i'll be entering ;D

[watermelon.]

Hehe glad you guys like it! I was thinking, and I was like- well they will all win if I judge cause I will run down the street screaming XP

[Jelly.]

No! Stop it, stop it! Leave me alone already!
Cassie started to tos and turn in her bed. Her best friends Kit and Mallory were right across the hall, yet she still felt uneasy. They had recently moved into the famous "Murder House" after they moved away from their hometown together. Even though many people told them not to buy it, they bought it anyways. They were just starting high school and the stress of the rumors was getting to poor Cassie.
Come this way....this way...
The voice inside Cassie's head have her a headache. She just laid down in her bed and tried to stay calm. She heard Mallory scream from downstairs, and ran to her aid. Kit was on the floor, and the palm of his hand was badly burned.

W.I.P.

[Kawaiicuttie]

What do you mean by "virtual'? Like online or something in your head?