quick sketch and surprise story...

Another Forest Sketch

This is another sketch of a forest for that super secret project that I'm working on. I like the perspective and the the trees on the left, but the trees on the right needs more work.

Also, I thought I'd take the liberty of sharing a short story that I read at a open mic for my Creative Writing class. A lot of people said it was really good, as do I think so, so I thought I should share a late Christmas present. 

There once was this man who had no name. 

As weird as they may sound to start out with, but that’s how the story began. Ever since the day he was born, his parent had never decided on what to name him, so he wound up being a person with no name. 

As he got older and went to school, he would hand in his tests and assignments without any signature; when the teachers confronted him about it, he simply replied, “I’m sorry-- I have no name.” 

After he left school and moved up to college, he became the most popular guy around. The problem was that every girl that wanted to go on a date with him knew about him but were terrible at knowing his name; in his defense, he remarked “It is okay-- I have no name.”

After college, he settled in his career as a freelance writer for a weekly journal. Whenever he handed in an article, the editor would approach him and ask him why doesn’t he give himself credt; once again, his comment is “I am sorry-- I have no name.”

And then one day, when he was driving home from work, a huge truck zoomed out of nowhere and totally demolished his car and took his life. At a sudden turn of events, the man with no name was traveling through this state of mind and eventually found himself at the gates of hell. He saw Satan laughing with delight, as he sat by the entrance. 

“And what is your name, my dearest friend?” He would remarked. 

But the man would response, “Sorry my good man-- I have no name.”

At first, Satan was surprised but convinced himself that it was all a joke. So, he quickly turned to the book of the dead who belong in hell, trying to check up on our stranger’s name. The poor bastard couldn’t find his name in the book; he was so mad that he cursed himself. 

Just when the stranger thought his life was about to be turned into a living hell, he saw himself transported again and found himself at the gates of heaven, where St. Peters was sitting at the entrance, with the book of life at his desk. 

“Why hello, you fortunate soul. What is your name?” St. Peters joyfully asked.

Once again, the man remarked “I said it once and I’ll said it again-- I have no name.”

This caught St. Peter off guard that he decided to check up on this man to see if his name was in the book of life-- as before, his name wasn’t found. 

Suddenly, Satan appeared before St. Peter and told him the stranger belongs in hell with him. But St. Peter argued that even if he has no name, he certainly belongs in heaven. So, the two fighting sides decided to flip a coin-- heads: he stays in heaven; tails-- he stays in hell. 

And so, St. Peter took out his coin, flipped it in the air to see how the stranger’s fate would end up. Coincidentally, when the coin landed fell right through the clouds of heavan. It heavily surprised both arguing parties, so they continued to argue back and forth with each other.

Frustrated, the stranger grew in a fit of anger and yelled at them both. “Now see here you too. How many times do I have to tell you that I have no name?”

Just then, a loud thunderous sound silenced the atmosphere and everybody was immediately caught off guard. Before they could wonder what was going on at that moment, they saw that it was God who had appeared before the small trio. 

“Now see here-- both of you! If this man was born with no name, he was born with no name. That doesn’t mean you have to argue over when his time and destiny resides. After all, it isn’t his time.” 

The stranger was amazed at how God was generous and merciful towards him. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how happy I am.” He shouted out with glee. 

“What do you mean ‘I don’t know?’-- I DO know. I am the God of everything-- the universe, the human mind, and second chances.”

After the man with no name finished thanking God, he saw himself transported right back to life and woke up in a hospital bed. His entire body was bandaged up and was covered in scars. The female doctor at his side was happy to see him and approached him about his condition. 

“You’re body is in bad shape, but I believe with our help, you’ll be in great shape in no time. By the way, what is your name again?”

The stranger thought about it for a moment and ultimately decided to name himself. “Ben...The name is Ben.”

Nuff said.