Epilogue: The Lost Manuscript

By Caldwell

Fri, 16 Aug 2024
  • 196 reads
4 comments
 

Years later, on a remote island far from any known trade routes, a journal washes up on the shore. It’s tattered, waterlogged, and barely legible, but the story it contains will haunt those who read it for years to come. It tells the tale of three men who sought refuge from the world and found only madness - a tale of betrayal, violence, and a descent into darkness that none of them could escape.

The manuscript ends with an ambiguous note, leaving readers to wonder if any of it was real, or simply the creation of a disturbed mind. But in those final, cryptic lines, there is a hint - a suggestion that the author, the orchestrator of this tragedy, might still be out there, watching from the shadows, waiting for the world to discover the truth.

The irony is not lost on those who find it. The man who sought to vanish without a trace, who believed that life was meaningless and that nothing we do matters, has left behind a legacy that will outlive him. His story, his confession, is now a part of history - a mark of his existence that cannot be erased.

And as the world speculates on the fate of the SS Leviathan and its doomed crew, the final words of the manuscript linger in the minds of those who read it: We exist, if only for a moment, and in that moment, we leave a mark that time cannot erase.

Certificate 15
Story
Vanishing
Drama

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

You have weaved the details of your story intriguingly, but so sad it is a complete tragedy. (Although the future of the one is still open) And it does seem to set the mind pondering on possible backstories and possible openings that could have been for redemption of each in different ways at different points.

Did we ever get any hint of his relations with his family, and particularly his brother? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Caldwell on

Hi Rhiannon,

I have to be frank. This has been my first attempt at writing something to completion and though I did write backstories for all of my characters, reading and re-reading back through what I have submitted there are many flaws.

I added the story about his brother as an afterthought - I was trying to create some more of a basis for his twisted logic and subconscious destruction of his shipmate recruits. Before that, it was just down to a lack of love from his parents and a sense that his life up to that point had been meaningless and that was his sole reason for this convoluted and abstruse plan.

I was aiming for a kind of post-modern psychological essay in the vein of Paul Auster whose New York Trilogy has been at the back of my mind since I read it probably 20 years ago. I realise mine doesn't quite come off.

The main character's angst and obsession don't feel genuine.

The other two characters are hackneyed.

If I had felt convinced by it I would have followed through and fleshed it out and added physical details, more of a sense of time, and greater focus on the ship and what they were doing day to day.

But I am still proud of it. I wanted to write something whole, with a beginning, middle and end and for that end to have a satisfactory conclusion and for me, this is the closest I have got which is why I thought it worth sharing here.

I appreciate that you have asked those questions because it shows that it has been able to capture your attention and involve you so thank you.

 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

It certainly had a shape and completeness though stirring the thoughts of 'could it have been otherwise' and 'what brought it all about'. I think what was most shocking, but realistic, was the confession that he had deliberately provoked their anger. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Writing a plot to a story is not easy, with so many already having been done a hundred times over.

I've tried to write stories myself, but found I get so lost in the characters, that I have no idea where to go with the story to make it sound interesting. So I take my hat off to you for creating something unique.

I think it was just the right length for abc tales too. Well done.

Jenny.