The Lost Heroine
Created | Updated Sep 11, 2011
The other day I was talking to a writer-friend, and I happened to ask her how her latest story was coming along.
She told me that progress was slow, as she had recently fallen out with her heroine, due to aesthetic differences.
She then informed me that this errant lady had consequently decided to make a life of her own beyond the constraints of the storyline, and was last seen working in the Gift Shop of the local Botanical Gardens.
This seemed a little unusual. My understanding was that the heroine in question was a fictional creation. However, I reminded myself that writers tend to inhabit unconventional realities, and I had to admit to a certain fascination.
Coincidentally, I was due to visit these particular Botanical Gardens in a few days time.
I told my friend that I often visit the Gift Shop to buy honey, biscuits, or a pack of cards.
I suggested that if she could provide me with a name and description, I could introduce myself to this supposed fictional character, try to resolve the situation, and encourage her to return to the story.
My friend agreed to the plan, and I began to fantasise about the proposed meeting.
Finding the appropriate introductory lines could, of course, be a little delicate. It is not every day that one opens up a conversation with someone, just to tell them that they are, in fact, a figment of your friend's creative imagination.
And what if she became convinced that we had met before, in some other place, at some other time?
Before I knew it, I might find that I had walked into a story within a story. My friend would love it!
What if I should discover that the Gift Shop was closed, due to unforeseen circumstances? Maybe I would wander into the Palm House instead, and see my friend eating biscuits and playing cards with a fictional phantom.
Or perhaps I would fall asleep amongst the cacti in the Desert Hothouse, and dream that I had just bought a jar of honey from the Queen of Diamonds. I would tell her that the King of Hearts was waiting for her in the story from whence she came.
Of course, if you have a restless curiosity like I do, you will want to know if this meeting ever did take place, and, if it did, what really happened.
I will tell you all one day, truly I will. All I can say for now is that I did meet my friend's heroine, in the Gift Shop of the Botanical Gardens. It was a most fortuitous event.
I did buy honey, and biscuits, but not a pack of cards.
I have written down the details of this meeting, all except for the last paragraph, which seems to defy expression. I shall be forced to request help. I am sure my writer-friend will oblige.
Anyway, it feels somehow appropriate for her to have the final word.
She told me that progress was slow, as she had recently fallen out with her heroine, due to aesthetic differences.
She then informed me that this errant lady had consequently decided to make a life of her own beyond the constraints of the storyline, and was last seen working in the Gift Shop of the local Botanical Gardens.
This seemed a little unusual. My understanding was that the heroine in question was a fictional creation. However, I reminded myself that writers tend to inhabit unconventional realities, and I had to admit to a certain fascination.
Coincidentally, I was due to visit these particular Botanical Gardens in a few days time.
I told my friend that I often visit the Gift Shop to buy honey, biscuits, or a pack of cards.
I suggested that if she could provide me with a name and description, I could introduce myself to this supposed fictional character, try to resolve the situation, and encourage her to return to the story.
My friend agreed to the plan, and I began to fantasise about the proposed meeting.
Finding the appropriate introductory lines could, of course, be a little delicate. It is not every day that one opens up a conversation with someone, just to tell them that they are, in fact, a figment of your friend's creative imagination.
And what if she became convinced that we had met before, in some other place, at some other time?
Before I knew it, I might find that I had walked into a story within a story. My friend would love it!
What if I should discover that the Gift Shop was closed, due to unforeseen circumstances? Maybe I would wander into the Palm House instead, and see my friend eating biscuits and playing cards with a fictional phantom.
Or perhaps I would fall asleep amongst the cacti in the Desert Hothouse, and dream that I had just bought a jar of honey from the Queen of Diamonds. I would tell her that the King of Hearts was waiting for her in the story from whence she came.
Of course, if you have a restless curiosity like I do, you will want to know if this meeting ever did take place, and, if it did, what really happened.
I will tell you all one day, truly I will. All I can say for now is that I did meet my friend's heroine, in the Gift Shop of the Botanical Gardens. It was a most fortuitous event.
I did buy honey, and biscuits, but not a pack of cards.
I have written down the details of this meeting, all except for the last paragraph, which seems to defy expression. I shall be forced to request help. I am sure my writer-friend will oblige.
Anyway, it feels somehow appropriate for her to have the final word.
