Chapter 1: The Beginning
Charles was only ten when it happened. December 24, 2010. 8:15 AM. He remembered this because he woke up to the sound of his mother's cries echoing throughout the house and into his heart. The alarm clock was in the same position he had left it the previous night. He was planning to set the alarm clock for 11:30 but failed to do so because he had stayed up late finishing his summer readings. He would begin middle school in a week; one week before his panic attacks and social anxiety would sky rocket. If only he had known what was going to happen that morning, he wouldn't have had a million questions about how to be cool in middle school. Then again, nothing could ever prepare him for that dreadful morning.
Charles. Honey, wake up. I know it's early and we had the whole day planned out but there's been an emergency.
It felt like a dream, an unethical and dreadful dream. Sadly, it wasn't.
"Mom? Mom, what's wrong? You're scaring me." I croaked. My eyelids were heavier than the amount of makeup my mom was wearing on her face, which was smeared now.
"Charles.. your uncle Charlie died. Sam found him in his office with a note. She asked us to come see her immediately. She hasn't notified anyone else but us so we have to go, okay honey?" My mom frantically tried to calm me down by brushing my hair backwards and rubbing my cheeks together. She always did this when she was nervous. Ironically, it was more for my mother's sake rather than my own.
We were planning on celebrating Uncle Charlie's birthday by spending the day with him and his wife, Sam. His book, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", has been a huge hit ever since it was published in 2007. An independent film company offered ten thousand dollars for the rights of the book. He happily declined without a heavy heart; he thought it wouldn't be fair to his fans. You see, he had a brilliant way of looking at things from a different perspective. If he had accepted the offer and allowed them to turn it into a movie, it would have be adapted from the director's point of view and not the reader's point of view. He wanted his story to be seen by millions, from millions of perspective. One answer was never enough for Charlie. Until the day that he would pass away, Charlie never stopped looking for answers.
Even though I knew that this wasn't a dream, I was calm about the whole situation. I couldn't help but stare blankly at my mother smearing her makeup and hugging her knees together. I found it amusing, actually. It was so amusing that Uncle Charlie was my dream for the last 10 years. When I grew up, I wanted to be a successful writer with a beautiful wife and a content heart, like Uncle Charlie. Now that my dream had some loopholes, I couldn't help but laugh at how sour my stomach began to churn.
I stopped laughing and burst into tears after realizing it was the moment. The moment where a writer truly becomes a writer; the heartache that is universal. I's the moment when you can feel your heart shriveling up in your chest. They say you experience this when you grow old and see the world in a crude way, but I was unlucky to have experienced it 60 years earlier than due time. This moment is what separates readers from writers; it's the courage to give away pieces of your shriveled heart in your work for others to confide in. We read books when we're younger because our imagination was the root of our growth, it was the root of my childhood. Uncle Charlie's works were my childhood. He was my favorite novel for the last 10 years of my life, until that moment.
Alright so I don't own any of the works related to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, hence why I added the title in the story for irony, so let's get that out of the way. This is my first time writing ANYTHING that is close to fanfiction, so go easy on me. Please let me know what you think or what you'd like to see. Let me know if I should continue the story, or write a different prompt. If I get enough positive feedback, I should be updating regularly so let me know. Hope you guys enjoy.
xo,
Q