One

One

“Untitled”

Written By: Samuel James Gallagher

 

The story began as an attempt to win a scholarship. Like many other hopeful applicants, I wanted to change my life. And it worked, just not in the way I expected.

Now, three years later, I’ve picked it up again, because I know it was never finished. It had been decent; it had been good enough. But never finished.

Minutes away from concluding it, my friends huddled around my computer desk, trying to help me end the story that was as much theirs as it was mine. Because in many ways it belongs to the people surrounding me, the people who are drinking cheap beer and off-brand cheese puffs, because contrary to what we all believed when we turned eighteen we didn’t get rich and at this point in time weren’t sure that we ever would.

“What should we call it?” Chris wanted to know. Brilliant,  insightful Chris, who dropped out of John Hopkin’s medical school to teach literature at our alma mater.  I wouldn’t say he’s happy, but there is an undeniable contentment radiating from him. He has his guidelines to live by, and maybe for him, that’s enough.

“People Who Royally F**k Up Their Lives?” Paul suggests, getting a laugh out of Josie. He smiles at her fondly. With Annabel out of the picture, like the rest of us, he probably can’t help but notice how easy it is to pass the time with a girl like Josie.

The brainstorming halts momentarily when Liam returns from the local pizzeria with two larges, loaded with different meats, fruits, and vegetables. Our tastes are too different to bother attempting compromise, so before we start eating we attack our individual slices, picking off the toppings we don’t want and passing them to someone who is more partial to them. After a few minutes we lick the grease off of our fingers, satisfied with the pizza that’s in front of us. Liam has had an ongoing flirtation with one of the female pizza chefs, so we enjoy the cheesy bread free of charge. He might not be able to get free breadsticks much longer, so we savor it while we can. Somehow in these past few months, Liam grew up. I guess it’s only a matter of time before the rest of us follow suit.

 

I suppose the best way to begin a story like this is with a few simple explanations. For starters, you have to understand that there are many girls in this book, but there's really only one, and her name is Annabel Singer. Annabel is both the heroine and the villian in this novel. It's important to be able to distinguish her dual forms. How can you tell the difference?

If you adore the character for reasons unexplained, then she is the heroine.

If you can't stand the character because she is utterly frustrating, she is the villain.

Here’s another warning: you can never, ever doubt for even one second that this story is a tragedy. It may not seem like one all the time, but it is. You may think this is a story about winning Annabel's heart, but really, it's about losing her completely. Annabel isn't like most girls. She's either everything, or she's nothing, because she's too painful any other way.

This story is not sequential, so be aware of that up front. Annabel follows no pattern. This story spans over many years. It is not linear, so you may have to try pretty hard to keep up. I suppose with some organization it could be told in a linear manner, but nothing about Annabel resembles a simple, straight line. She is a corkscrew, as tangly as the hair on her head.

I suppose you need to comprehend why in the world there could be this much hype over one silly girl. And to be honest, that can't be properly explained just yet. So for now, we can keep it simple. The moment that you realize you love Annabel Singer is a glorious moment indeed. Anything worth imagining can be reality. Maybe penguins really can fly just easily as any other bird. Maybe the world is flat after all, who knows? Maybe your destiny really can be read solely based on the palm of your hand, or maybe we've all got a fairy godmother out there somewhere. Because Annabel is a penguin. She is flat earth. She is a palm reader, and she is fairy godmother. Actually, she's even better than any of those things, because no logic could ever disprove her existance. She is not an extraterrestrial, a ghost, or an angel. She is a human being, our Annabel: Annabel, the film studies major who grew weary of happy endings but still wished for love letters in the mail. She is flesh and bone, full of beautiful, perfect imperfection.

One final suggestion? Assume nothing.

You see, if you go on assuming things, you'll miss everything important. Don't assume this is just a love story, because there's so much more to it than the classic "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back". Don't assume it's got a lesson to teach you. What you're about to read asks nothing of you but your time and your attention. It does not preach. It has no expectations, and neither should you.

So let's sum up.

What you are about to read is a thousand stories, but it's also only one, and there's no rhyme or reason to the way that it is told.

There are many girls in that story, but there's really only one that matters.

Her name is Annabel. She is the girl of your dreams, but she's also kind of a b***h.

Do not try to label what you are about to read. I for one can’t say what this story is, I can only tell you what it is not. It’s a long, complicated, possibly even exhausting story. It contains three weddings, two divorces, four deaths, two babies, five oceans, one God, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Of course, this is a funny story. You may laugh a little. Most likely, it will warm your heart.

Just don't be fooled. This is a tragedy.

We loved her, and also we lost her.

Because she was never really ours to begin with.