A/N: THIS STORY HAS BEEN STUCK IN MY BRAIN FOR A WHILE. EVERY TIME I TRY AND WRITE A CHAPTER FOR WHTM & TSLOAVB I GET SIDE SWEPT WITH THOUGHTS OF THIS STORY, SO I HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN ABLE TO WRITE ANYTHING FOR THOSE STORIES, BUT I WILL BE UPDATING THOSE SOON. I KNOW, I HAVE TWO UNCOMPLETED STORIES & THIS ONE BUT, OH WELL. I GOT THIS IDEA FROM A BOOK THAT I READ CALL THIRTEEN REASONS WHY BY JAY ASHER(GOOD BOOK BTW), AND I REALLY LIKE THE WAY ITS WRITTEN IN A DUEL NARRATIVE. SOUNDS CONFUSING RIGHT? IT'S NOT, YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO READ IT TO UNDERSTAND. I'M KIND OF JUST TESTING THE WATERS WITH THIS STORY, TO SEE IF YOU GUYS LIKE IT OR HATE IT. FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREAT SO I KNOW IF I SHOULD CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY. ITS KIND OF LIKE A SAMPLE CHAPTER. ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.
INTRODUCTION:
If your listening to these tapes, then congratulations. You've found where I've hidden them. You must have stumbled across them cause they were not meant to be easily found. I've thought long and hard about what lies on these tapes. They're the thoughts of a girl who feels so lost in the world. So I thought if someone found them, would they think it was trash? Would they bother to even open the box and discover it's contents? If they did open the box, would they listen? Would they care enough to not think this is a joke. Would they continue and listen to the words of a girl who was spilling her soul? So I think that's the reason I left them behind. To convince myself that someone does care enough to listen to my struggles. Even if you haven't the slightest clue of who I am, what look like, or what I believe in. I want someone to care about what I have to say. Just for once I want someone to listen.
Stumbled. The perfect word to describe how I found these tapes. Purely by accident was how I'd discovered the light purple shoe box, decorated with little drawings of flowers, hearts and even a few stickers. What I had thought was that the box was something the previous owners of the house had left behind. Or, maybe it was trash, something they didn't want. But why would it be here? Hidden away like it was wasn't meant to be found?
We had just moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a foreign place to me, so much more different than Colorado. It lacked the beauty and subtle qualities that Colorado had. In other words, I hated it. My dad was offered a coaching job at East High. The money was better and the team seemed more hopeful than the one he was coaching, the one I played on also. I had the whole summer to say bye to old friends and say goodbye to the one place I lived my whole life. I thought it was a major turning point in my life, but I had no idea that that turning point would be replaced.
We arrived at our new home 1 month before school started. The first thing I thought as I stepped out of the moving van was 'Man, it's hot.'. I looked around my new neighborhood, and noticed that our house was one of the many cookie cutters that occupied the block. I turned my attention to the house, my new home looked fairly large for only three people, but that also meant more room for me. When I entered the house, I didn't care about the kitchen or the living room. I just wanted to find my room. My parents had already told me which room would be mine. It was the last door at the end of the hall. I walked up the stairs and walked straight to the door at the end of the hall.
If your still listening, thank you. I should tell you a little about myself. I'm 17 years old, I have long dark brown hair. I love to read. I'm quiet, I'm a good listener. But as you'll soon find out I'm a pretty good talker too. Now, this is the last tape that I've recorded, because as I said before, I originally wasn't going to leave these behind. I've forgotten how many tapes I've recorded over the few months. I know there's a lot of them. Don't be overwhelmed. What lies on these tapes is my life. It's very important that you keep these tapes to yourself. Don't expose them to the world and let people make a mockery of my life. People do that enough as it is.
When I opened the door, I was expecting a room. Nope. No room, only a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs there was another door. I walked up the stairs, thinking about how when I looked at my new house outside, I didn't notice a third story. I opened the door and to my surprise I found a room. I was half expecting a dingy attic. It was bright room, with cream colored walls. It was very bright and large. I liked it. So far, it was the only thing I liked in Albuquerque. On one side of the room there was a large built-in book shelf. 'It must have been a library or office or something.' I thought to myself.
"Hey. It's nice? Isn't it?" I turned around and see my dad standing in front of the door with his arms folded across his chest.
"Yeah! It's like a little apartment up here!"
"I think it used to be the attic but the previous home owners obviously didn't want an attic." He paused and walked over to where the bookshelf was. "Are you sure you want your okay with it? I mean, we can always give you one of the other rooms. You know, you might get lonely."
"No. I'm fine. Trust me."I said.
"Alright, come get some of your stuff out of the moving van." I followed my dad and prepared myself for a few hours of heavy lifting.
When and if you finish listening to these tapes. Don't throw them away, or forget about them. I want you to take care of them and pass them on. Even though I won't ever know what happens to these tapes, I want to believe that the people who come across these tapes have respect for the tapes. Because what lies ahead on the others, well, they happen to be some of the worst moments of my life. This is only an introduction. This is only the beginning of the end.
"I think this last box is yours." My dad says. I take the box, which is light compared to the others we had to bring into our new house. We moved in the boxes and furniture, while mom unpacked the boxes. "We'll put the furniture together tomorrow. I think we've done enough for one day." With the box in hand I walked into my house I finally took a look at my surroundings. I looked into the living room which was painted a faint yellow color. Empty boxes were laying everywhere, our couches where lying in the middle of the large room, and our t.v. in the corner. The house was nice, but it still didn't feel like home. I had a feeling it wouldn't feel like home for a while. I walked up the stairs to the second story and noticed three empty bedrooms probably to be used as a guest bedrooms, or an office or something. I walked down the hall down to my room and opened the first door, and closed it behind. The stairwell was dim as I started to take the stairs by two to get to my suite upstairs faster. Earlier, if I'd been paying closer attention to my surroundings, I would've noticed that one of the steps had a little edge at the end. But, I didn't. In my extreme haste to get up the stairs, my foot got caught under the little edge that I hadn't noticed previously, sending my body forward. The box in my hands flew behind me and tumbled down the remainder of stairs.
"Everything all right Troy?" I heard my mom yell from beyond the door.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I just tripped."
"Ok. Be more careful next time." She said in a caring voice. I got up and went down the rest of the stairs to retrieve the box. I saw the spot where I tripped, not because I knew where I fell, but because of the step. Its edge was slightly longer than the others, which I thought was weird. I had no idea why I was doing this, but as I inspected the stair furthermore, I noticed that it looked more like a elongated miniature trunk. I sat the box down and put my fingers under the edge of the stair and started to lift. I didn't know what compelled me to do this, but if I hadn't I wouldn't have found the light purple shoe box. It turned out that the stair was a secret compartment. I closed the the stair, or compartment, or whatever you would call it and started at the shoe box. I shook it a little and felt the contents rattle inside. The shoe box didn't look old or valuble but I wanted to see what was inside anyways. As I took the lid off the box, I found myself confused over the contents. Inside the box were old-school cassette tapes, like the one's in the 80's. Each one was marked with numbers, and one marked 'Introduction.' There was also a black old-school cassette player. That's kinda where it all began.
These tapes, they....well for lack of better words, they put me back together. Maybe, if you're in pieces like I was, they'll put you back together too......Bye.
As I finished listening to the first tape marked 'Introduction' I didn't know what to think. Yet, I was intrigued by that girl on the tape. I didn't even know her name, but she spoke such mysterious words on the tape. I didn't want to listen to the rest of the tapes, scared of what might lie ahead on them, but another part of me wanted to listen so badly and unravel the mystery of this girl. The sound of her voice over the slight static of the recorder was music to my ears. It was a sweet voice, a voice I could listen to all day, and that's what I did with those tapes. I listened to them until I finally did unravel the inner thoughts of that mysterious girl.
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. SHOULD I CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY?