By Owen Townend
You go to the self-service machine.
A message flashes: THERE IS A MATTER ON YOUR ACCOUNT. You instinctively press OK, and find me at the counter.
I take your card and blast the barcode with my gun. A red note appears right at the top corner. That little red note simply says ‘I love you.’
I make something up about renewing your card allowances. I say it is cleared, but I will really clear it later.
You chuckle, tuck hairs behind your bright red ear, and leave.
You feel a little inconvenienced but that can happen when you visit the library.
I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure I got this one.
I wasn’t sure who the message was from, who it was aimed at, or how much the “you” in the story knew about what was happening. I wasn’t even sure if the red note was appearing on the card or on the screen. I’m not sure the second person worked, and this can be a tricky one to pull off.
I liked the setting, like the idea of secret messages sent in mundane transactions, but I’d need more to get something concrete out of this.
It could be that this is my failing rather than that of the story, but I felt like something had been left out. Sorry.