Friday the 13th Horror Story

Usually on Friday the 13th I curl up in front of the TV, watch horror movies all night and pig out, but this September the 13th I managed to experience first hand what it is like to work so very hard on something and then have it quickly taken away.  My son who is an avid Xbox player decided to take my flash drive and place it inside his Xbox so he can save his games. This may not have been a big deal, but all of my hard work was wiped out or hidden from said flash drive and my graphic covers, and book I've been working on diligently for the past year is now out of sight.  The only thing I can hope is that my IT guy at work can retrieve all hidden docs and I wouldn't have to start over from scratch. 

Needless to say at the time I was outraged and my son for the very first time saw and realized how important it is and shall be to stay clear of my writing tools from now on.  That night I couldn't look at him without wanting to cry, and even though we both did enough crying over it as he felt guilty and I felt lost, I couldn't forget it as easily as I could forgive him for it.  He is after all only eleven, but smart enough to have known that all flash drives in the house belong to me and have either my reviews, pictures, short stories or past and present books stored in them. I remember one evening he even asked if he can take one and I had specifically told him he couldn't as they were all in use. 

I managed to find the first five chapters but the sting of having to start even from there is frightening to say the least.  I was after all two to three chapters away from finally completing a full length manuscript, close to 60,000 words gone and plots and twists although still fresh in the mind will never come out the same again.  Today, my IT guy picked up the flash drive and said he would do his best but of course I am still unsure anything can be saved.  It is all in the hands of the one above and hope he can allow my IT guy to manage a miracle.  If he does I'd say this book was definitely meant to be released, and I will undoubtedly be a very, very happy writer, that continues to be extremely blessed. 

As for the kid I will have to buckle up and get him his own flash drive and wish the child that shared the amazing secret of being able to save your games if you had a flash drive an Xbox system malfunction.  Well maybe not, but the thought did make me smile a bit during the now dreadful waiting period before I hear back from IT.