And so it begins . . . "What? Who said that?" a man asked, "What is this? I'm just words on a page!!" Another voice appears and says, "You're just a character in this story" "Who are you?" the man asks. "I'm John, a side character in your story, but that doesn't matter, you're the main character" "So you're John, but that doesn't help me any. Why don't I have a name?" John laughs, "Well that's because The Writer hasn't given you a name yet!" "Well then I'm Mark, but I'm still very confused." "Why are you confused?" John asked, "You have a name now, that is what you asked for right?" "Well," Mark started, "I just appeared here on this page, then you appeared and told me 'I'm a character in a story', and next thing I know I have a name. What story are we talking about and who is The Writer?" John just smiled, "Some might think The Writer is crazy or that he has done a lot of drugs recently, and a few might even think he's incredibly intelligent, maybe even a genius, but the truth of the matter is that he's just a regular guy who had an idea and created you and I with the hopes of entertaining The Reader." "Well that's just stupid, where is this guy? Who is the Reader?" Mark demanded. "They both exist in an entirely different universe and no matter how hard you look you will never be able to find either, yet they both know what you're thinking, saying, and feeling at this very moment." "How come you know so much, John? And why is everything so dark? I can't see anything." "I'm here as a guide, The Writer placed me here to explain all this to you and to The Reader" Suddenly a bright light shone from the sky, instantly flooding the place with warmth. Mark and John had to squint until their eyes adjusted to the light. All around them was a beautiful garden with colorful flowers blooming all around them and tall willow trees lining the banks of a wide stream that ran past them. The air was filled with the sounds of birds and a cool breeze graced their presence. Mark turned and saw John. He was of average height, wearing simply jeans and a t-shirt. Mark looked down and saw that he was dressed similarly. A certain kind of confusion came over Mark, there was something he could not quite put his finger on. An idea formed in his head, but it wasn't quite complete, something about the color of their t-shirts and the absolute beauty of the garden around them. "It's not in the words on the page, but your shirt has color, and there are things in this garden that are not written, how is that?" Mark asked. Again John laughed, "That's because The Writer didn't specify what color my shirt is or detail every leaf on every tree. He doesn't need to, that's in the imagination of The Reader. Many people may read about you and I, and every single one of them will imagine this garden slightly different, according to their own idea of beauty. If he truly wanted the exact detail of this garden he would have just drawn a picture, but it remains more beautiful in the imagination of The Reader." Mark and John walked down the path for a long ways after that, enjoying the natural beauty of the garden. They weren't really friends because they just met, but Mark felt very comfortable with John being there. He seemed to know so much about this world that he was suddenly cast into. As they walked on Mark realized that John was the only person that he knew. There must be other people out there in this new and beautiful land, otherwise this would be a very boring existence. After several miles they were getting tired of walking and sat down on a large rock that lay just beside the path. "It's very easy to forget about being a character in a story in this world," Mark said, "What am I supposed to do?" "Well, this was meant to be a short story and it will be over soon." John replied. Mark jumped up from the rock, "WHAT? Then all this will cease to be! Will I die?" "No, no, no, no, you won't die, your story will simply end," John explained reassuringly, but this didn't make Mark feel any better. "But I don't want to end!" "Don't worry, you'll continue to exist forever in the imaginations of The Writer and The Reader, if you're lucky The Writer may even write you a sequel where you'll continue your adventure through this land and you might even get to explore more of his magical land. There is so much you haven't discovered yet, like love, excitement, danger, and even chapters. I'm sure you'll come back to learn more later, and when you do I'll be back to help you along, don't worry" John said. "Hmmph, some great Writer I have, this story sucks!" Mark shouted at the sky, and with that The Writer stopped writing.