A First Step (Sample Short Story)
Eddy was sitting at his computer trying to think of a way to get his working career off to a quick start. He had been reading tons of books on "How To Be A Success", but now all of the information he had compiled was overwhelming him. Eddy grappled with coming up with the main point featured by all of his success books. After several almost sleepless days and nights, he decided. The most significant factor underlying all of his books was " find something about yourself that is unique".
More sleepless nights! Eddy wondered what set him apart from everyone else. He hit it! Eddy was the best person he knew that could keep a secret. Indeed, Eddy had secrets from his pre-teen days that he had kept up to today. Okay, that sets him apart, but how to capitalize?
Eddy, being used to using the internet for all sorts of needs, decided a new site was the answer. "Your Secret Locker" was born. For $5.95 per year, Your Secret Locker would receive and encrypt a secret file for a client. Once a client did not require his/her secret being kept any longer, and wished to release the information, Your Secret Locker would agree to delete or publish the "secret". Should the client want to publish the secret, Your Secret Locker would charge $29.95 for a one-year publication on the site. After the year's anniversary, the secret would disappear.
Who, in their right mind would even think of using such a service? Well, strange as it may seem, there are many times in our lives we are keeping a secret, but don't really want to hurt a loved one. Telling someone today may have really negative effects. Leaving a secret on Your Secret Locker opens the door to an honest revelation down the road. "Sweetheart, I have wanted to tell you something for a long time now, but I didn't think our relationship would stand the truth at the time. So, I recorded my secret on Your Secret Locker in the hope that a time would come for me to be open with you. Here is the code to have my secret published. If you want to keep it for view, you can leave it on there for a year. If you want, it can be deleted right away."
Eddy worked furiously to get "Your Secret Locker" up and operational. The beginning was tough! Hardly anyone was using the service. Eddy hung in there - used his own money to support the early days. After a year, the service began to take off! At the end of the second year of operation, the site had more than broken even financially.
Now - a dilemma! Your Secret Locker received a secret from Eddy's long-time girlfriend. And, guess what? It was about their relationship. She didn't know Eddy was behind Your Secret Locker. Eddy was stunned! What to do? How does he tell her that he knows? On second thought, does he want to continue their association? After deep soul searching, Eddy decides that she is more than worth it.
He can't tell her, because that would be breaking the confidentiality of the website. Eddy, being quite inventive, comes up with a solution. He will publish his own secret, and tell her to visit the site and read his "confession". Oddly enough, his confession makes it easy for her to tell Eddy her secret, so she invites him to enter her code and read her secret.
After the dust settles, Eddy has one more secret to tell his "fiance". "Baby, I run Your Secret Locker". They're still together, today.