The Ultimate Truth

During the first Friday that he and Mark promised to meet, the first question his best friend asked him was, "When did you start smoking?"

The bartender asked for their order. Since Mark has to work from eight to five, sometimes eight to eight, they agreed to meet at nine o' clock and stay there until eleven. Melvin, as far as Mark knew, drinks only beer. And he can handle as much as two bottles only. You can imagine the look on his face when Melvin said, "This time I'd have tequila, then whisky, then bourbon."

They talked about how Melvin was doing and Mark kept saying how it was at the office. He would soon get the promotion promised to him with a hint that Melvin would have been in the same position if he did not resign. He talked about the raise he would get and other perks of the position. Melvin did not seem to listen. In fact, he was eyeing the dance floor.

Melvin decided to become a writer. The idea crossed his mind one day when his phonepal told him that he "could catch words in the air and make sense out of nonsense". On the long wait for the morning, Melvin found it an easy escape to talk to strangers on the phone. He met this girl who refused to reveal her real name. Instead, they created code names to hide who they really are. Melvin would call her Love Song and she would call him Blue Light. Not much significance in their code names. Blue being her favorite color and Love Song because she's the only person he can remember who sang him a song. Anyway, they just thought it was cute.

Melvin, being the impulsive person he has become, bought a computer from his savings and started to "scribble" words in the word processor. He liked it. He discovered in him an innate passion to write. It was a practical choice as he himself thought. Most of his life he typed things for other people not really writing what he wants. More than ever, he can now put his ideas in his work plus the freedom to say what he wants.

It was an easy task for him. All he had to do was to connect things and make some sense on how they are linked. He felt the lack of restrictions from his old life. He got his ideas from observing people and making a story out of them. With this at hand, he set out with his goal, which is to create his first novel.

The third Friday that Melvin and Mark met, Mark's reaction came with a question. He said, "So now you're a writer. I wonder what you'll turn up next time we meet." But Melvin wasn't really listening. He was walking towards the dancefloor. His bestfriend's face stared in disbelief.

The first few months flew and by this time, he had the first draft of his novel. It was about an ordinary man given extraordinary twists in life. The title was "The Spring Lies Eternal." It was not much as he himself thought. But what made him satisfied is the contentment he has while writing this book. Being a neophyte in the publishing industry, he took the services of an old lawyer he knew back at his office days. He wasn't really worried whether it would be published or not. For him, his part has been done. Now it's time to write another book.

In just two weeks, he could not believe that some publisher actually took notice of his work. His attorney called him up so that they could arrange a meeting with the publisher. Even the negotiations were simple enough. His lawyer, which acts as his agent, would get ten percent, the publisher fifty, and to himself forty percent for every book sold. If - the book would sell.