A Writer's Dream

She still couldn't shake the previous night's dream. After being shot, Emily had died, but she could still hear everything going on around her. This led her to wonder if dead people still had use of some of their senses during their initial moments of being deceased. Of course, she was not in a hurry to find out: after all, she still had many goals to achieve in life, not the least of which was becoming a successful writer. Tonight would be the night that Emily would share some of her stories during the annual Amateur Writers ceremony, and thus she spent the entire day preparing herself for what could very well be the moment that she might yet become famous.

The ceremony took place at a local bookstore, and as Emily waited for her turn, she felt nervous. She had written poetry and stories based on current issues...would the public enjoy them? What kept her going was that she had spent her whole life up to this point preparing for the day that she would share some of her best work. Finally, it was time for her to step up to the podium and tell her tales to the audience. In spite of her anxiety, Emily kept her cool as she combined current affairs with her own imagery, such as turning greed into a beast and picturing selfish, greedy individuals as modern day Sheriffs of Nottingham. When it was all over, she smiled at what she saw and heard: the entire audience was giving her a standing ovation.

Then something extraordinary happened: a local publishing company, moved to tears by Emily's stories, decided right then and there to give her the honor that only one writer per year could have at this ceremony: a publishing contract. Needless to say, Emily was all too happy to accept. Just as she was about to sign the contract, however, a masked man suddenly entered the bookstore, wielding a gun. Emily had recognized the person from local TV newscasts: he was a mass murderer who only killed young children. She spotted a young boy, just three years old, in the crowd, and the masked criminal pointing his gun at him. In an instant, she knew that he was in great danger. Acting quickly, she threw herself in front of the innocent child just as the killer fired the gun. As a result, the boy was spared, but Emily had been struck by the bullet instead.

Shocked that he had failed to murder a child, the masked man stood in awe long enough for a police squad to rush in and fatally shoot him. The killer would terrorize the city no more. As for Emily, she lay on the floor, blood spilling out of her body. The crowd was doing their best to aid her, hailing her as a hero for saving the boy's life. Emily struggled to remain conscious, but then her eyes closed...and they would stay closed forever. She was now dead, but she could still hear the people around her...

"She gave her own life to save my son!" she heard the boy's mother cry.

"A promising young writer, whose life was tragically cut short," said the voice of a man.

"Such an unselfish girl...she would have been an ideal addition to our business," remarked the president of the publishing company who wanted Emily to write for them.

Her dream had tragically came true...Emily had been fatally shot, but she could still hear everyone around her even though she was dead. A promising goal had been in reach, but now it would never be fulfilled, nor would she be able to tell anyone about the fact that, at least for a brief time, she could hear other people though she had passed on. A dream of one type ruined, and a dream of another kind realized...such was the tragic story of Emily, the writing superstar that would never be.