I took another drink from my pint. The tavern was busy as usual, and the main character was in the middle of it laughing with mirth at something a friend of his was saying.

‘I want that’ I said out loud. Nobody heard, which wasn’t surprising. At the end of the day I was just a background character, only to be mentioned in passing. I sighed and realised my role is to always be present, in the background of the main character’s life. I was the ‘blond, snotty child’ when he was of school age, I was the ‘a single character at a table’ and I wanted more.

I have always been envious of Main Character. His words had power, others heard his voice…

I took another drink from my pint and rose to my feet. I knew what I was expected to do: go into the backroom and be ‘a mysterious figure by the fire’. But what if I didn’t want that?

I felt the push of the Narrative and took a step forward. What if I want to do something else? Another forced step. What if I want to be somebody else? I took another step towards the backroom. What if I want to be someone? I stopped dead in my tracks.

I noticed a dog looking at me. It was the first time anyone or anything even looked in my direction. What if I disregard the Narrative?

I took a tentative step towards the exit. The direction was opposite to the one I should’ve taken. I felt the slight push of the Narrative in the back of my head but decided to take another step. I felt nothing. It was like the ink itself stopped writing to see what direction I wanted to take.

I rushed towards the exit and went into the fresh air. And now what? What was my purpose if not to fill in the Narrative? What was my purpose if not to be a background character.

I heard noise behind me and seen the door to the tavern open. ‘Great’ I thought. ‘Now I am going to be ‘confused man on the street’’. I sighed again. It seemed like no matter how much I struggled the Narrative would always find a way to put me in the background. I was doomed to always be nobody, to never be my own person. Unless….

I had an idea! It was an incredibly dumb move which could might just work. I stood straight and turned towards the tavern. With a confident stride I went towards the Main Character. I noticed he stopped and looked at me. Seeing an opening I extended my hand towards him and said: ‘Hi, I’m Rowan! It’s nice to finally meet you!’