The Tale that Couldn't be Told

He’d been tapping away at the keyboard

So he could get the ending straight,

A labour of love he’d called it

But it was dark, and getting late,

The villain had to be sorted out

By the heroine, called Cath,

He wanted it all to jell before

That final paragraph.

 

The Moon had risen outside and shone

In a strange and subdued light,

He should have finished before, so this

Was not a welcome sight.

He backspaced over a typo, then

He looked hard up at the screen,

But all that he’d typed was gibberish,

In a font he’d never seen.

 

It must have jumped to another font

Was the first thing that he thought,

So he scrolled back up, to see how much

Of his work had gone for nought.

The font looked vaguely Arabian

With a hint of Russian too,

Had taken all of his storyline

So he didn’t know what to do.

 

He tried to highlight the paragraph

And switch to the font he’d used,

But when he read what the wording said

It had left him quite confused.

‘You’ve stumbled in to a place of sin

Have opened an ancient page,

Locked down for over a thousand years

You’ve opened the world to rage.’

 

‘Delete the whole of the manuscript,

Don’t let it stick in your head,

The more you read you will feel a need

And will probably end up dead.

Delete the curse, and the final verse

And destroy your hard-drive too,

Be sure, if you wish to stay alive,

To do what I tell you to!’

 

He thought of the work that he’d put in

And the rebel within him stirred,

‘Why should I wear some other’s sin

When I only have your word?’

The screen grew misty, and Cath appeared,

The heroine of his tale,

‘Take no notice of him, my dear,

I’ll die if his will prevails.’

 

His villain pushed her out of the way

And snarled at him through the screen,

‘Where do you think my evil comes from,

Not from some fictional scheme!

You drew me out of an ancient well

Of lies, of sin and deceit,

To clear me out of your sub-conscious

You’d better hit the delete!’

 

He heard the footsteps pound up the stairs

And beat on his garret door,

‘You’d better not have my wife in there,

Or else, I’ve told you before!’

And Cath appeared for the final time

In the tale that wasn’t complete,

His neighbour beat on the padlocked door

As he sighed, and hit the delete.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[alf]

Hi David. Wow!!! Where your muse takes you is so astonishing!!! I couldn't help but think of the 'the devil came down from Georgia' as I read this!!! it has everything evil in it and captures the bad nights of writing so very well. Hitting the delete button, wow, how tragic is that!!! Loved the humour twist at the end!! as always, an excellent write, alf

[Marie]

I agree with Nisreenaa,This has to be a virus. Have those ancient curses found our computers? I have an external hard drive. I hope that's safe.

[Devanshu Rajput]

It's is as same as Lighting Jack popping out of your screen. Lol

Nice read. Nothing to say about this masterpiece.

Devanshu

[Valentine]

This is really a fantastic write. Putting it in favorites so my niece can read it. It is her kind of a favorite read. Valentine

[B]

Sounds like a virus
And a mini struggle on a screen
My brain was fully imagining every word

David you have quite the scenario here
Loved it

[Lyn Croker Paget]

This tale drew me in right from the beginning creating curiosity and upward climatic tension as unexpected forces began to unfold.
What a battle of the wits for the character with total interference , when all he wanted to do was finish his work
which featured Cath as the heroine and obviously he was fulfilling his fantasies of her by keeping her locked in his world through the keys.
What a tug of war to keep hold of her with the husband beating on the door and one agonising stroke Cath was gone .
Definitely the suspense kept me on the edge right to the end.
Thankyou for sharing.

[Barbz]

You have the unparalleled ability to take us from the fantasy of yesterday's Once Upon A Time, thru various civilizations and eras, fill with veiled horror and intrigue, tapping your fingers to today's Delete. You force us to read above, below and between the lines, and when we think we Got it......were actually waiting for that Twist. I believe I sensed a bit of your introspective side in this piece, and that is always refreshing. I think I can speak for your many readers and followers when I say that We shall always receive, with gratitude your Tales that can't be....Deleted!...Barbz

[Confuser]

David: Your creativity is magical...like you said, poetry, rhyme and meter, but it's unique always a story, always a woven twist and a surprise, always great descriptions and emotions and suspense like a thrilling suspense filled story. I loved like all of your work. You ooze talent. I thank you once again. You never cease to amaze me. Great work. Dale