This story has a special place in my heart, it was my first ever proper story and in a way, symbolises my birth as a story writer. Further, despite it being quite low in term of quality and plotting, I have a fondness for this tale. (I know the truth, there are certain descriptions which are cringe worthy and almost lifted from a thesaurus, which appears to be the only creativity that I exercised).

However, that is not the only reason I like this story, this story gave me so much love and appreciation that I continued to write and still do to this day. I made wonderful friends who never hesitate to encourage me and inspire me to write. In fact my favourite part is when I got requests to extent the Arkaan - Archini tale into a full fledged story.

Overjoyed and completely oblivious to the skill needed for that story, I tried. After setting the titles and the bare plot line in place and writing out a total of around five thousand words, I admitted defeat. In response to a dear friend's query as to how the tale was progressing I confessed that I was writing out a requiem, which I reproduce below.

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Today I bid adieu to one of my work-in-progress FF. The idea was good, but then the world building it needed is currently beyond my present capabilities, it needs far greater time and effort that I can spare.I have fond memories of it though, the characters were first introduced in my very first FanFic story, the OS "Love - across space and time" and were the fantasy avatars of my only OTP. Quite a few of the readers did like them the most and a couple wanted to read a full fledged story featuring only them. I too felt they had potential, but after an outline covering 30 chapters for which I could write only around 16,000 words, I put the story in cold storage. And when one friend asked how I was faring, this is what I had said then:

My Aakrand- Archini-Anubandh-Agrini tale is the the one that has run amok. I tried my best, I really did, I even had a meeting between, I,me, myself and all the characters of the tale. Lovely meeting room with wide windows and a long rosewood table. (Now as our good friend Albus Dumbledoor says, "Just because it is happening in my head , why on Earth should it mean it is not real?)

Where was I ? - yes the meeting.

One side of the table, all of the me - the creative me, the dreamy me(drooling over the main ML, he is quite gorgeous), the realistic me (trying not to fall asleep), the optimistic me (already visualising how many pages the finished SS would be) the pessimistic me(staring at clock wondering how long it would take for the meeting to come to the inevitable end) a couple of other mes (I cannot identify those traits) and finally the belligerent me (with a mean looking axe that had a very shiny sharp edge)

On the other side, the lovely and the not so lovely, the nice and the not so nice, the good and the mean characters, along with a few unnamed ones, a few horses and a cat (!!!where the devil did the cat spring from, I remember a reference to a panther, guess my writing skills were at a all time low when I described that panther) - centre seat - none other than our Aakrand (damn, did I have to make him so irresistible, I think I am drooling a little on him - OKAY - drooling a lot!

He calls the meeting to order (the temerity of him) and raises the question - "Just what do you plan to do with us?"

"Write a story, what else do I do with you, take you home?" (that was the sarcastic me - how could I forget her), which promptly got a reply from the dreamy me, "please, can I take him? I would love to do so"

One raised eyebrow and he continues in a condescending way, "Let me understand, you have already written a draft as to how the story has to go and have determined the end - so why this wild goose chase, kill off whomever you want right away and leave the rest of us alone, we can manage quite well without stumbling our way through your inane quest. And who says every story needs a quest or an adventure?"

Silence - for once all of me is silent - till the googling me

(that was the other one I failed to identify earlier) says - "but how can you have a tale without a quest, it is needed to develop the character's arc, that is what every writer worth his/her salt says, I know, I have googled every possible aspect of story writing. A quest is needed for a character's development."He shakes his head "it is need to prove your idea of the character to the readers, you know me and the readers know me -even if they give us weird nicknames - SwaSan and RagLak. Scrap the quest, tear up your notes. We are not going to be put through the hoops for an ending that has been predetermined by you. So we take our leave of you"

And before we could recover, they simply filed out of the room. He, ever the gentleman, is the last to leave and gives me a wink.

The long silence was broken by a thud - it was the belligerent me, who had fallen on her axe, wrong side up, yet again.

And that is my sad tale - I pondered for another SS (drafted it for a few pages), scribbled a few lines for an OS before I started Sweet Deals (now you know the secret- why that SS was a sweet and cliched tale with very little angst - I was drowning myself in coffee and chocolate).
I still have not worked up the courage to revisit those pages - maybe once I am done with this SS and am able to get through the current ML track I shall dare to step into their world again.

That was over an year ago, I have written quite a few stories and now know that I will not be revisiting those pages, at least with a view to writing the story. I know that this time it is final and hence this is a requiem to that story, not the idea. I have already lifted the poems and paragraphs from this tale to form another new story.

Rest in peace, my lost tale. Someday, when I have matured enough to build a world worthy of you, I shall welcome you, my story idea. So maybe, it is Adieu for the tale but Arrivederci for the story.

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And so in hope of finding my lost tale, I bid adieu to this short story of mine. Thank you, all of those who read, voted and commented; they mean the world to me.

love,

Nyna