My Secret is Love (Blog Assignment #4)
(Word Count: 717)
Love. The
crazy things you do for love. Mary had been the love of my life – but I’ve
never had the courage to tell her my true feelings. We remained friends who
kept in touch, and I had found via an invitation to her wedding in a mail that she
was about to be married to a world-famous Rock Paper Scissors Champion. How
could I compete with him? There’s no way. Yet my gut feeling inside of me knew
what had to be done. I had to go to the wedding and tell her my true feelings.
Max, the man she was about to marry,
was not someone to be messed with. He was part of the world’s elite, and his
crew of Rock Paper Scissor champions were known not to handle conflicts peacefully.
They competed in a rare and extreme form of Rock Paper Scissors, in which the
loser of the game must walk into an abyss of gasoline fueled fire. Despite all
this, I kept my composure. If I can show Mary, my Rock Paper Scissors skills
maybe she would finally see that I am fit to have her love. I spent one whole
month training my Rock Paper Scissors skills, balancing rocks on my hand and
cutting a stack full of papers. Have you ever had a paper cut on part of your
hand that was already cut by paper prior? I think not. Nevertheless, my heart controlled
my brain and ignored my pain. I kept my eyes on my love.
The day
of the wedding eventually arrived, and I quickly went over my game plan. As the
minister brings them together, I will stop the entire wedding to confess my
true love. I beat Max at his own game, he’ll die of a fiery death and my future
wife and I will spend our days happily ever after.
I walk into the wedding, with my heart
beating. I go over the entire scenario, over and over again, ready to prove my
worth to Mary. As the minister begins his speech to ordain the couple that will
quickly be broken up, all my hesitation goes away, my adrenaline pumping in.
“If anyone here opposes the love of
these two in any way, speak now or forever hold your peace” The minister said
quickly, expecting nothing to come out of it.
“H-Hello! Yes, I oppose this marriage
please” I spoke feverishly – do people really have to go into an abyss of fire
when they lose or is that just a metaphor?
“Mary, I’ve held a secret for 10 years.
You’re my true love, I love you. To prove my love to you, I will challenge Max
to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.” I screamed, seeing a confused smile on
Mary out the corner of my eye.
Immediately Max stormed up to me and
screamed “ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS SHOOT!”
My entire life flashed before my eyes,
worried at what’s to come. I throw my hand out furiously, my heart aching for the
love of Mary. This was it. This was my moment of redemption. For all the years
I could’ve told my love my feelings, this is what I was fighting for. I was finally
doing it, and this final move will determine my eternal happiness or death.
I played paper. He played rock. Shock
filled the entire wedding audience. Disbelief filled his eyes. His crew lit up
the fiery abyss that was conveniently right next to the wedding stage. He
jumped down, and out of respect his crew followed him. I was filled with happiness,
impressed at the feat I have just overcome. My hand ached, from the angular
direction in which I used to form my Paper. I looked at Mary, tears in her
eyes, crying.
“What’s wrong dear?” I asked, inquisitively wondering why she wasn’t happier.
“What’s wrong dear?” I asked, inquisitively wondering why she wasn’t happier.
“YOU JUST KILLED MY HUSBAND!” She
screamed, rather rudely.
“Well, to be fair, he wasn’t your
husband yet, and aren’t you happy I’m your husband now?”
“WHAT AM I SOME SORT OF PRIZE????”
I guess
she didn’t like my gesture of love. Was it because I played paper? It’s the 3rd
most commonly used move in Rock Paper Scissors, not sure how she could be mad
at that. Love. The crazy things you’ll do for love.
(Word Count: 717)
Dear Aneesh,
ReplyDeleteThis was such a funny and creative way to approach this assignment. Your postcard is difficult--I mean, how can you make a love story out of what looks like a fiery crash and multiple deaths? And yet, you pulled it off. The Rock, Paper, Scissors championship takes us into the world of the absurd, even as the narrator's tone and approach is realistic. This is a type of comedic tension that's difficult to balance, but you do it well. You give your main character a clear desire, and the motivation to practice and go after what he wants. All very good! The story fell apart a bit at the end as you descended more into slapstick and shouting, and I wondered what would happen if you actually allowed for him to win without killing anyone off (though that wouldn't quite fit the postcard...). Your other super difficult challenge is to avoid cliche--in phrasing and in situation. Phrases we've heard before like "love of my life" and scenes that are familiar (stopping a wedding at the moment the minister asks if anyone objects) make the situation a little stale, so you have to push yourself to keep surprising us (as you did with the R,P, S championship), while still staying with the tone of the world you've set up. So, if you're going to be silly, be totally, utterly silly. Commit to it, and let unexpected things happen. I laughed out loud at this , for real, sitting in my car reading it. That is not an easy feat to accomplish, and you did it.
Hi Aneesh I'm in your podcast group! I had to leave class early today, but my number's 2017809586 so if we start creating our script just text me.
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