Maybe I'm not so stupid ...

Simple things keep me happy. Listening to music ( normally by you- know-who ... ) , sitting on a deserted beach watching the waves rolling in ... seeing a winter morning start with a flaming sunrise ... losing myself in a book. As I have mentioned before, I enjoy reading. It is an escape route from my sometimes dull life, part of a continuous learning process ... a way of travelling without moving.

Another pleasure is wasting an hour or so wandering around a library or bookshop .... all those books, all those possible alternative lives, places, realities, just waiting to be discovered. It was while doing that one day in Waterstones ( a UK book retailer ) that I noticed something interesting ( well, to me ). They were promoting a competition. They wanted customers to send in their stories, tales, recollections. The best 3 would be published in a small book, with similar short tales from established authors. There was a catch though - the story/ tale had to fit on one side of a large postcard, so it had to be a short story ( or written in VERY small letters ... ). Something in my head just went *ping* , like a light bulb switching on ... so I thought I would have a go, and enter. I didn't think I would win in a million years, but if I didn't enter, I wouldn't know if I could would I ?

That was all a few weeks ago. I hadn't heard or thought anything more about the competition until last weekend. I was out shopping with Mum when we walked past our local branch of Waterstones. In the store window, there was a feature about the competition ... a selection of the postcard stories that had been sent in. There must have been about 40 or more postcards there ... and near the centre was one I recognised - MINE! . I haven't won ( at least, I don't think I have - Waterstones said they would only contact you if you had won, and so far nothing ... ), but just finding my effort in the store window with all those others ( some which are very good indeed ) brought a huge smile to my face. Maybe I'm not so stupid .... not that actually I believe I am, but after being treated as a brainless fool for most of the week @ work, I can start to doubt that fact by the weekend ... this was a pleasant surprise, a small conformation that when I try and use it, my brain isn't completely dead ..... yet.

What follows is my entry. It is no great novel ( I'm not even sure it is a story ... ) , but I'm happy enough with it. Read it and see what you think of it ..... .

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THE KEY:

A.
It is just a letter, the first in our alphabet. There are many other letters, from B to Z. They are all different but they are all same; they are just letters. But I know a secret about them : a special, magical, amazing secret. I know they are part of a key that opens the door onto an endless, wondrous world.

One letter alone normally doesn't unlock the secret door. You need to combine them to release their power. Individual letters become words, then words become sentences, and sentences become paragraphs, and paragraphs ... well, paragraphs can become whatever you want them to be - a chapter of a novel, the essence of a love letter, the core of a treaty ... anything.

Letters and words are a magical force. They can show us our past, our present, our future. In their many combinations they can transport you to a fairy wonderland, or a war zone ; to another country, another culture, another world ... another universe. There is no limit to their power other than the limits of imagination itself.

So, I know a secret. A magical, wondrous secret. I can travel through space and time at will. I can go anywhere in this world or any other of my choosing. All it takes is for me to open a book and start to read. To read the letters and words, sentences and paragraphs .... and now you know the secret too !!!