20160113 (fiction)

Dear Diary (journal, notes,

Blog, etc.),whatever is the 

Point of records like this

If no one else reads them?

Are they anything more

Than thoughts moved from

Our brains to paper or now,

Electronic documents, where

We, possibly others, review

Them for errors like children

At a blackboard showing the

Rest of the class how they

Derived an answer in math?

Blackboard explications get

Erased. We wouldn’t want 

These thoughts lost. Not that

We couldn’t reproduce them.

Maybe we could or perhaps

We’d get it wrong, differently,

Having to tell the story over

Repeatedly. “Listen, Sammy,

I want you to tell me again

How it happened—every part

You can remember. Don’t

Leave anything out. Start 

with why you were in the

Bodega last night at 9 PM.”

So when we put it in writing

It doesn’t change. “That’s

Not what you told me the first

Time. You said you went 

With Mercedes to buy some 

Wine for a late dinner. Now 

You say you needed condoms.

Come on, Sammy, what’s the 

Truth?” You have to rely on

What you remember. No, you

Can dress it up. After all it’s

Your story. If I say my uncle

Did it that way, who’s going

To say no? “But you were on

The wrong side of the counter

To to grab his gun. Mr.

Rivera shot three times. You 

Say you shot the robbers as

They came after you. Three

Robbers dead with the two

Bullets left in the clip. Come

Again, Sammy, where did the

Magic extra bullet come from?”

In fact nobody needs to know

It didn’t happen like that at

All. You can say it was all a

Dream. Lots of authors get 

Away with murder with the 

Dream device. “Who says

I wasn’t behind the counter

With Rivera?” “The video

camera up in the corner that

Has a full view of the aisles”

I gotta get out of here. I wrote

My character into a corner.

“Okay I lied about Rivera.

I was in the store when the

Robbers came in and I 

Panicked. The camera will

Show I panicked. The guys

Were going to kill him. I 

Had to stop the whole thing

Right there.” If the story

Doesn’t pan out, you can

Always hit delete, pour 

Yourself a stiff one,

And start over. Maybe 

This time they shoot out the

Surveillance camera.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016