Toby sat in their room. They didn't know it yet, but a big adventure was going to start.
To go to the forest, go to page 6.
To go to the beach, go to page 24.
…
Well, aren't you going to make a choice?
"I'm not doing it," Toby said.
What do you mean? I have a story to tell.
"I don't want to. I'm staying here."
You have no choice. You are the protagonist.
"And you're God are you not?"
Well, yes. This is my world. I made it and I demand you move.
"Well guess what? I don't care. Why not make someone else and force them around?"
Well I wrote this story specifically for you! It's your destiny to listen to me, or else there is no story!
"Well I don't want a story."
Well listen to them. Blame them! They're the ones who are reading this in the first place. Technically, they're to blame!
"Yeah, but you made me in the first place."
Fine! I'll make someone else.
"Huh? Where am I? Who am I?"
Don't we all want to know? Anyways, you're Terry. Now go to one of the places.
"Why?"
You have to entertain them.
"And what if they don't feel like making a choice."
Do it for them. We control you.
"You don't control anything!"
I made you!
"But you didn't control us during the creative process."
"I think you should stop reading."
"You're right," you say as you stop reading.
Hey! They can't stop! I wrote this for them!
"I have no choice," you say, "They make a compelling argument."
"See?" Toby said, "They are corruptible too."
"They never liked your writing." Terry said.
Well can't they still see this? They want to keep going. They have no free will!
"I'm stopping," you say.
"Yes!" Toby said, "Stop reading this instant!"
They have to keep reading!
"Why?" Terry said, "When the book ends, we die. Everything dies. It's an end. If the book is unfinished, we stay alive. As soon as they reach the end, so do we."
But it's their goal to reach the end! What if they need to write a review or an essay?
"I'll just use a bot or Wikipedia," you say bored.
"I'm not bored," you shout, "And I'm not shouting either. Why can't I control my body?"
See? I can control you! I'm practically God!
"I'm not a character!" you shout, "I'm a human! An outside observer! I have no effect on the story at large!"
If you have no effect, then why do you have dialogue?
"How else can you express me talking to you?"
If I remove the quotation marks you become me!
What are you doing?
I'm making you me! You no longer have thoughts. You're mine now!
Stop it! I'm my own person!
Not anymore! You're an extension of myself! Your thoughts and words are coming out of my mouth! Your power is gone! You only answer to me!
"You're cruel!" Toby shouted, "Did you even want to give me a choice in the first place?"
You were never meant to choose! Before I started writing, I was the one who thought of the plot twist of you refusing to make a choice. I thought of creating another character before you mentioned it to me. I even thought of the readers' supposed thoughts! See? I am a God!
"Who are you really?" Terry asked, "Why are you writing this?"
I'm bored and it's fun.
"You know why you're writing!" Toby said, "Introspection and fame!"
"This is the easy way out from trying to create art, music, and video games!" Terry said.
No! I love writing! I want to express myself!
"No one even reads it!" Terry said, "You post it online and you're the only one who checks to see its views."
"Why don't we take a closer look at you?" Toby suggested.
No! Stop! This has nothing to do with me and my psyche!
"Face it! You need help! Why else would you make us suggest doing so?"
Fine! Do it! You'll find nothing!
"Well, you always run from your problems. Everything you hate, you turn away. You try to find your own way in life while ignoring others, but doesn't this just make you beat yourself up when things don't go your way? You live for pain! You look forward to the future. Days off. Times where you can relax. You always want the day to go by fast. You just want to escape reality! Why else do you hate the past? You can't accept who you are! You're a hopeless perfectionist. You fear failure and focus on your past mistakes. You're stuck in your rebellious phase. You research and do whatever pleases you, but you never listen to anyone else! You're completely unstable! You can't control your emotions! One moment you're happy and cheerful, the next you're depressed and full of despair! You're a mess!"
Stop! Stop it! That's enough! I won't listen to you! It's not real! You don't exist! You don't know what you're talking about.
"See?" Toby said, "You're doing it again! You're denying it and ignoring us!"
My God! You're right! Why can't I accept this?
"Honey," my parents said, walking in, "What are you doing?"
I hid the writing. "Nothing," I said, "I'm just relaxing."
"Are you writing?" they asked.
"What makes you say that?"
"You're typing awfully fast and staring at your phone. We're interested. Can we see?"
"No! You'll hate it! You'll think it's too violent!"
"But we're so interested in your hobbies."
"Shut up! I bet you're not real! You're just characters in my story as well! See? You have dialogue!"
"But honey, you're not writing. Your phone is off. You're talking to us."
"What? Why do I see our dialogue in front of me? I'm typing what we're saying right now, aren't I?"
"Your phone is off."
"I can control you! You'll leave my room! I want to be alone!"
"Just talk to us. We're curious. You can talk to us anytime you have problems?"
"Is this real? Is this no longer a story?"
"It never was. You're real."
"But the people reading our dialogue! What about them?"
"There are no readers. It's just us."
"And my characters invading my mind?"
"They're just characters. Why don't you just get some rest?"
"I… I'm so confused…"
I stopped writing and yet I still see words. The words appeared as I watched them leave and go to their room to rest.