I really don’t know what genre to put this under, i’m having a hard time removing myself from the Narrator (who would love to put this in romance). Please read the whole thing and leave feedback as I would love to develop this character.
You are the rising star, to my latest masterpiece. To say I am obsessed with you would be a crass injustice to what I experience when I whisper your name to myself. There are so many dull creatures who can barely move me to blink. But you, you leave me breathless with your beauty. Lara, they don’t know your name like I do. You are not Laura, a laurel, a crown to held by another. You are Lara, the nymph struck speechless by betrayal. But you will not betray us Lara. There is no way for you to let us down. You inspire me.
And now we set the background to your character. I struggle to call the place you were raised “A home”, that trailer, the alcoholic mother, and cherished father figure who would come and go until you no longer saw him. That is our motivation isn’t it? Your insatiable desire to fill the void left by your father. To chase down a targeted man and hold him accountable. I wish there was a way to write this without you having to have endured such pain, but how else would we have our Fiery Irish Rose?
Lara please don’t try to rewrite our play… Well, when we deviate from the lines, we improvise. And I can still make this work. In your desperation you resorted to swiping right on a dating app. You are better than this Lara. No, this is good. This base act makes you human, relatable to the common folk. We can use this for character development.
Enter the goofy side kick. Braiden… FUCKING Braiden. Nothing more than a common fish. Could you have picked a more depraved caricature of a degenerate millennial? That Greasy hair tied into a man bun, that unkempt facial hair, and the way he dresses, he might as well be homeless. But he is a good supporting character for you. He performs well in the bedroom, I couldn’t allow the show to go on if you were not satisfied there. It’s nice to learn you like to use your handcuffs, the department wouldn’t approve if they found out. Braiden isn’t the kind of man that would take the time to improve his sex act. I know, I record every session between the two of you. I watch the way you move so that I can think of ways that I would better service you. Humbly, I must admit when it comes to passionate love making, I am by far the best. Lara, this is the only arena where I will admit you are a distant second place.
You take him to mass with you on Sundays. You cling to your Irish Catholic roots. Is this the way you remember your father? Braiden claims to be an atheist, how adorable, you are always looking to help people. They quote the scriptures, “But who do you say I am?” See Lara, even the Bible is telling you to decide for yourself. And yet you still want to let someone else decide divinity for you. To me though, you are my goddess. They should be worshipping you. I sacrifice myself on the alter of Lovely Lara.
Braiden manages and owns rental properties through his computer, allowing him to earn a steady income and stay at home. Your home Lara. Did you really think it was a good idea to move in the boy toy? I can’t stand the way he runs with you in the morning. Your body glistens Lara, if I were a weaker man I would stop the show and lick every bit of sweat off of you in the middle of the streets, and expose you for the filthy whore you want to be. But that is not your role, you are the valiant hero. I am starting to worry about the way he cooks for you (too much salt in the potatoes by the way), the way he rubs your feet and is constantly checking your temperature, claiming that he is worried that you are working yourself sick. I fear that you are planning on altering the play yet again. He talks about how uncomfortable condoms are while your doctor switches your birth control, what a base creature. No Lara, it’s time for me to enter conflict and drive the story forward.
I take action, and you are called into work. Finally, we can build upon your role in the police force. Police are not liked right now Lara. You are despised by the people you hoped to help. To top that off you are a woman struggling in a man’s world, surrounded by crooked cops. Our love story shall transcend your typical feminist empowerment trope, but I don’t need to mansplain that to you. Several wealthy individuals with ties to criminal organizations have been mutilated and their bodies have been put on display. The displays were works of art, some of my finest work, their beauty is still nothing when compared to you. The department reaches out to all divisions, they need help in this high profile case. Do you catch that Lara? We are high profile. Don’t worry about the corrupt officers Lara, we will expose them in the acts to follow.
You stress as you go over the details. Finally, I have our doofus sidekick contribute something to our story. A property was recently rented to 3 individuals, 2 of the names are pseudonyms of men killed in our case, the third is a human trafficker. It wasn’t hard to manipulate that into our story. You bring it to your higher ups. Some undercover work reveals that they plan on using an abandoned theater to sell some young girls. Those girls were a small price to pay for your story Lara. I shall break the mold Lara. I will be your journeys guide, your villain, and your destined love.
Our buffoon sidekick has supplied the department with blue prints to the property to help you in your hunt. He let’s out a performance of woe and worry. He pleads with you and sets an ultimatum. If you push forward with the case he can’t stay with you, he worries too much. You upstage him Lara, you cast him off. Not to worry, we have outgrown him. He has played his part and his story ends with mediocrity. Out story is fast approaching it’s thrilling climax.
You are among the highly armored individuals who are to storm the theater. They have practiced the raid dozens of times. But this is our fated night and I have set the stage and rehearsed hundreds of times. It’s time for me to take the stage Lara. I hope you don’t mind, I bought your favorite Roses to give to you following the performance. 24 inch Multicolored roses with the name “Peace” scattered throughout our theater. These are the rose petals that should adorn your beautiful naked form. Not those cheap store-bought reds sprayed with chemicals that you were forced to endure in our previous scenes. Unfortunately, another scene with you naked can not be written in.
I can sense you about to join me up here on stage, I don a mask and my most extravagant outfit, I will be your Phantom in this Opera. On stage I sit to play a song, what is a good play without a musical performance? As you enter, I make sure that you are where they normally have you during training. The second person to enter, the most likely to be killed.
Dozens of individuals come with weapons drawn demanding that I surrender. The only voice I hear is yours, it is the only one that matters. I think it rude that you don’t mention the roses. I finish my sonata and with the final note the theater is filled with the bang of black market explosives and automated gun fire from drones. I took into account the fact that there would be the occasional flat note sung by a choir of dozens. So I pull out my black powder weapon and correct the few quivering individuals who failed to execute their part. There story is no longer one of domestically violent sociopaths, but of valiant heroes who have been sent to Valhalla through self-sacrifice in a splash of crimson.
But not you Lara, ringing ears are the only thing I would give you in this act. You draw your weapon and fire. You missed your mark. I made sure to fix the sites to your prop this morning. I feign being wounded and begin to flee. You give chase. YES, a chase scene, a little overplayed. But this is our dance, the only way for me to make love to you in my most genuine form. I turn a sharp corner and you hear a loud thud. I have made a blunder in my otherwise perfect play. You turn the corner to see my frills and mask on a broken captured form. A twisted ankle and a little too many opiates have caught this villain. And you have finally held accountable a man that would abuse an innocent child.
And now for the resolution, A week later I can hear a news caster in a distant television screen singing your praise. They describe a 52 year old immigrant who has been manipulating and trafficking people for years. They say he has finally been brought in by a “Rising Star” Lara Dograw age 27. I am stuffed in this tight space with the dregs, an inconvenience for a man of my refined tastes but a small sacrifice to see you shine Lara. Corruption has been exposed, several fellow officers who were holding you back in your career have been tied to a scandal related to this case. Unfortunately, they will be quietly forced into retirement. You will be promoted, and everyone will know your name. 7 months from now you will shine as an example to others who struggle to make the climb up the ladder of life as a single mother. Your conservative views will keep you from aborting, and Braiden is too immature to be counted on. You know about the pain of a on again off again father, so why bother? Are you surprised? Your new birth control was nothing but shaved candy, and I have been monitoring your body temperature to capitalize on periods of ovulation.
The only thing I would have done differently is I would have checked the padding on the trap door. It made too much noise as I called upon my stunt double in the final act. Lara, you really did bring a foul human to justice. It took quite a bit of effort to finally capture him and proxy his business until the time was right.
I politely ask the young man to turn down his cell phone, despite it being the sweet song of “Praise to Lara”. As I stare at my reflection in the window to my grey hound bus, I indulge in finally being able to throw off the costume to our play. No more greasy man bun, a clean shaven face, and my favorite custom tailored suit. Of all the characters that I have played, I would have to say that taking on this role was far below my talents. But I would play a dog, if that meant bringing our play to life Lara, it was necessary. If I got to pick a name it would have been something other than Braiden, but that’s the name of the man you swiped on. Improvising the telephone switch and intercepting you at the bar was a work of genius on my part. It has been a long and arduous journey, and I need my rest before I start to write my next play.
Short Stories