The author was enjoying his day.
Turning on his computer and rubbing his eyes, he decided to check his email. He was at peace, like a small boat rocking gently on a calm ocean.
The bright white of his email page was a shock to the melancholic author's eyes, but he blinked away the dull pain and started reading. Ignoring the spam and giveaways, his eyes alighted on an odd email. Fanfiction.
He cringed on the inside, curious to the contents. Narrowing his wary eyes, he read further: "Journey". The name rang a distant bell. He racked his brain for a moment, trying to recall what "Journey" the email referred to, before he gave up and decided to click on the link, settling on a rash action in order to continue.
Drinking in the page, his eyes naturally flowed down to the author: "HelloIAmYourBLAHH". Softly shaking his head, he noted the reminiscent feel of the username, calling back to the worst part of the 2000s, a time he'd rather not forget.
He began to read. Immediately, he laughed at the brief nature of the story – two paragraphs, three lines each. As he skimmed the text, his blood went cold.
He looked at his hands.
He was responsible for this crime against humanity.
It was him.
He was the author.
Trembling, resisting the urge to click out, delete the email, and live a happy life, the author continued reading. The badly-written words burned into his brain. "She did what anyone would do," he whispered, quoting the fanfiction.
A single tear rolled down his cheek, glistening in its profound grief.
Then Gregor and Luxa entered like holy angels. They hugged him, rubbed his back, and forgave him. Balance returned. The world, for the moment, was okay again.