Dear fictio-holics friends, today we'll enjoy an increased 5 @steembasicincome shares pot thanks to @marcoriccardi, who will donate 4 shares! It's possible that from the 20th edition and for the whole summer period, the contest will last two weeks instead than one but I'm planning to further raise the pot. We'll see! This time I tailored for you something different, in the form of a diary. I'm so eager to know how you will develop my beginning of the story, who's been created with keeping in mind some real occult references, as well as truly open structure, made to foster your creativity (not that there's the need, considering your amazing recent contributions).

Things that please the Bananafish mighty god!

• vote, vote, vote your favorite story!
• Try to post your story the earliest possible and not at the last moment.
• Sustain, comment and upvote each other as a true group of friends and fiction lovers.
• Respect the 500 words limit.
• Post in your blog instead than in the comment section.
• help our contest & workshop to grow by giving it some visibility.
  
  

And now.. let's dive into today's story!

I Will Write No More

Prague, 22 September 1994


Dear silent friend,

once again, I will force you to bear the tremulous handwriting of this pathetic old man.
Time has yellowed my fingers and your pages in equal measure. But I know you will not complain in finding yourself soiled by my memories once again, after such a long time, after the hiatus of decades of life, spent far away from the ancient leather of your cover. And I hope it did not bother you to try the tickling of my pen again. Not more than three spots of water and ten sheets before this, you still were curiously waiting for the hand of a fourteen-year-old, full of dreams and watercolours.

As I write, the mist rises from Moldova and lingers among the ancient gothic spires, guardians of forgotten secrets, while a pale September sun, as a master of alchemy, transmutes in gold water and heavens.
There is this little kestrel who, for a few days, has been picking on the attic's glass at dusk, while I perform my little preparatory rituals before everything happens like every night. The graceful winged evening’s maid urges me to once again cast my gaze on the hundred towers city, but these eyes will no longer be able to patiently stand on the surface of the mystery.

"I discovered a terrible law that links the green colour, the fifth chord and the heat. I lost the joy of living. Power scares me. I will write no more”. Such were your feelings, Gustavo, and I still remember your trembling voice when you confided in me, the last time we met, before the great war swallowed everything and everyone, forcing us to interrupt our occultic studies. Only now that the layers of reality have finally crumbled before my eyes, like a sedimentary stone on the sides of a primordial river, I can grasp the true meaning of your words. The anxious joy of discovery, mixed with the ancestral vertigo of sidereal abysses, has overwhelmed me and continues to overwhelm me every night I leave.

And, just as in the layers of rock are the remains of creatures lost in time, even these levels of reality are not devoid of surprises .. and encounters. By now, I'm sure they saw me, but I cannot help but go back. Of all, I know that the faceless child already waits for me, every time closer, just beyond the threshold. He craves my warmth, my vibration and, this time, I do not know if I will manage to continue playing the game of deceiving him, while I persevere to the end. Certainly, I cannot draw back right now that my human life ends and, at the same time, I’m experimenting one, a hundred, a thousand lives.

Forgive me, dear diary, for having forced you to bear my poor ravings again. Perhaps, we’ll never meet again. The kestrel flew towards the old city. It's time to leave.

Join the fun! Here is how this contest works:

1. An unfinished fiction story or a script is posted.

2. You finish it with your own post or a comment in the comment section. A limit of 500 words is recommended.

3. YOU WIN! 4 @steembasicincome shares to the writers with the best ending.
   
   
   

   The result will be out on Tuesday 10th July, 14:00 PM - two o' clock in the afternoon GMT+7 (U.S. West Coast time zone). Submission deadline: Monday 9th July, 12:00 PM - noon
   
   
   

The @bananafish has come between us!

You might have noticed a strange entity wondering between the stories.. yes, the GOD reincarnated in a Steemit account! The aim of @bananafish will be to sustain this community. Probably it would be a good idea to make this account become the home of the contest and create a team of proud storytellers running it, plus trying to obtain some delegations for giving good upvotes to everyone. Time will tell!

If you like this contest..SPREAD THE GOSPEL! I'm grateful for your resteeming and word of mouth. Everything helps to grow together!

GOOD LUCK, BRAVE STORYTELLERS!

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