The Impossible Choice
In my quest to complete the sequel to Lenten Rose, and also going through the round edits of LR itself, I was confronted again by the story some other ‘me’ seemed to tell. There’s such a dissonance that can sometimes happen with writing because many of us write these stories over a span of years or drink from the well of some dark emotion when crafting it, something that is potentially quite dry when we revisit what we conjured. I find myself in a vastly different season now than what was when I wrote the story. 2026 has been one of the greatest years of my life, welcoming a son into this world. A son I seemingly characterized when I wrote Lenten Rose, imagining who this son would be and how he would feel toward his father, both in the normative sense but also the situational.
And therein lies the crux. I create a situational for the father that is impossible, but at the same time is all too real. I asked him to choose between two members of his family, to see love as a numeral or attribute some value to it. Looking back, those characters in the father and son are me; they are my desires, curiosities, and depravities. They are also that which I harmed. The villain who created this scenario is more than just the villain in the story; he is ‘me’ as well, and perhaps this is something all writers must grapple with when creating stakes and tension within a narrative. All of facets of you are laid bare. Some receive justice, others are maimed, and yet others live their life aimlessly, wandering for a hope that can never be found because another you orchestrated it. What does that say about the many lives of myself that thrive and suffer within?
I say that the ending is what is ultimately important. How do the characters end, how does the theme complete? And that is the question surrounding the sequel. Yes, I gave an impossible choice. But I know that every action has a consequence, good or bad. These characters aren’t stagnate. They aren’t stuck in the whims I initially created. They will react how they should, and like any world with an ultimate judge, I have faith that justice will come to fruition in the end.