**EPISODE NINETY-EIGHT**
**THE AUTHOR WHO BLAMED THE BANANA**
**Part Thirty-Nine: The Sentence That Refused to Behave**
---
The book...
was closed.
Nova stared at it.
Nobody moved.
Not the child.
Not Diana.
Not Milo.
Not the older Nova.
Not even the banana.
Which was impressive.
The banana usually moved when nobody was looking.
Nova slowly reached toward the cover.
His finger touched it.
The book opened.
Immediately.
Nova jumped.
"Stop doing that."
The book remained open.
A sentence appeared.
YOU OPENED ME.
Nova frowned.
"No, you opened yourself."
The sentence disappeared.
A new one appeared.
TECHNICALLY, YOU TOUCHED ME.
Nova stared.
"You're arguing semantics with me?"
YES.
"Why?"
BECAUSE I HAVE NO BODY.
Nova sighed.
"Fair."
The child crawled out from beneath the desk.
"Can I say something?"
Nova looked down.
"If it's about the banana, no."
"It isn't."
"Then yes."
The child pointed toward the book.
"The Author is angry."
Nova looked at the page.
"How do you know?"
The child shrugged.
"The letters are shouting."
Nova looked.
The words were indeed written in enormous capital letters.
I AM NOT ANGRY.
Nova nodded.
"Very convincing."
The page changed.
I AM EXTREMELY CALM.
Nova laughed.
The page changed.
STOP LAUGHING.
Nova laughed harder.
The banana rolled onto the desk.
"I'm with Nova."
The page immediately changed.
NOBODY ASKED YOU.
The banana stopped.
"I have rights."
The page answered:
YOU ARE A FRUIT.
The banana screamed.
"THAT IS DISCRIMINATION."
Milo appeared behind Nova.
"Did I miss something?"
Nova pointed.
"The banana is fighting the Author."
Milo nodded.
"Again?"
"Again?"
Milo looked tired.
"It has happened before."
Nova stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were busy dying."
"That's becoming a recurring excuse."
"It was a recurring event."
---
1. THE AUTHOR'S OFFICE
A door appeared.
It was tiny.
Ridiculously tiny.
Nova stared at it.
"That can't be the Author's office."
The child walked toward it.
"It is."
"It's the size of a cupboard."
The child opened the door.
Behind it was an enormous office.
Endless shelves.
Endless books.
Endless desks.
Endless lamps.
Endless coffee cups.
Nova stepped inside.
"Why does the Author need so many books?"
Milo answered:
"Every possibility requires a draft."
Nova looked around.
There were millions of manuscripts.
Some were thick.
Some were thin.
Some were completely blank.
One was titled:
NOVA - DEFINITIVE VERSION
Another:
NOVA - DEFINITIVE VERSION 2
Another:
NOVA - DEFINITIVE VERSION FINAL
Another:
NOVA - DEFINITIVE VERSION FINAL ACTUAL FINAL
Nova picked one up.
"What happened to this?"
Milo shrugged.
"Author changed his mind."
Nova opened it.
Every page said:
MAYBE.
He put it back.
Another book caught his eye.
MILO __ THE ANSWER
Nova opened it.
The first page read:
MILO WAS A MISTAKE.
Milo snatched it away.
"Don't read that."
Nova stared at him.
"Why?"
"It's embarrassing."
"You're embarrassed by being a mistake?"
"Yes."
"That seems reasonable."
Milo glared.
"Thank you."
Diana walked toward a desk.
There was a chair.
But nobody was sitting in it.
A pen floated above the desk.
Nova approached.
"That's the Author's pen."
Diana nodded.
Nova reached toward it.
The pen moved away.
He reached again.
It moved farther.
Nova frowned.
"Is it afraid of me?"
Milo said,
"No."
The pen wrote in the air:
YES.
Nova stopped.
"Oh."
The child laughed.
The banana rolled beneath the desk.
The pen followed it.
Nova pointed.
"Why is it following the banana?"
The banana froze.
"I have no idea."
The pen wrote:
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
The banana whispered:
"I don't."
The pen wrote:
YOU KNOW.
The banana looked at Nova.
"I may have eaten something."
"What?"
"A chapter."
Nova stared.
"You ate a chapter?"
"It was short."
Diana closed her eyes.
"How short?"
The banana thought.
"Three pages."
Nova looked horrified.
"Three pages?"
"It was a snack."
Milo whispered,
"That explains the missing episode."
Nova looked at him.
"Which episode?"
Milo looked away.
"We don't talk about it."
---
2. THE MISSING CHAPTER
Nova walked toward a shelf.
One section was empty.
A label remained.
EPISODE 0
Nova stopped.
"What's Episode Zero?"
Nobody answered.
Nova turned.
Diana looked uncomfortable.
Milo suddenly became interested in the ceiling.
The child began whistling.
The banana rolled toward the door.
Nova grabbed it.
"Where are you going?"
"Bathroom."
"You don't have a bathroom."
"Exactly."
Nova turned back.
"Tell me about Episode Zero."
Diana finally spoke.
"It was never supposed to exist."
Nova smiled.
"That's what everyone says."
"This time it's true."
"What happened?"
Diana looked at the empty shelf.
"Someone read it."
"Who?"
"The first Reader."
Nova froze.
"Again with the first Reader."
Milo whispered,
"You're getting close."
"Close to what?"
"The beginning."
Nova looked at the empty shelf.
"What was in Episode Zero?"
Diana answered:
"Nothing."
Nova frowned.
"Nothing?"
"Not even words."
"Then why was it an episode?"
"Because the first Reader saw something."
"What?"
Diana's voice became almost inaudible.
"An absence."
Nova stared.
"That doesn't make sense."
Milo smiled sadly.
"Welcome to Episode Zero."
---
3. THE FIRST READER
The office lights flickered.
One by one.
Then all at once.
A chair appeared at the end of the room.
Someone sat in it.
Nova couldn't see the face.
Only the outline.
The figure held a book.
Nova whispered,
"Is that the Reader?"
Diana shook her head.
"No."
"Then who?"
The figure stood.
It walked toward them.
Slowly.
Every step changed the shelves.
Books became trees.
Trees became cities.
Cities became memories.
Memories became pages.
The figure stopped.
Nova stared.
It was—
an ordinary man.
No glowing eyes.
No cosmic armor.
No divine power.
Just an ordinary man wearing glasses.
He looked at Nova.
"Hello."
Nova blinked.
"That's it?"
The man smiled.
"What did you expect?"
"I don't know."
"Lightning?"
"Maybe."
"Thunder?"
"Possibly."
"Ancient prophecy?"
"Definitely."
The man shrugged.
"Sorry."
He looked at the banana.
"Is that real?"
The banana proudly raised itself.
"Unfortunately."
The man nodded.
"Interesting."
Nova stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man sighed.
"I was the first person to read."
Nova's eyes widened.
"You're the First Reader."
"Yes."
"Then you started everything?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I wasn't first."
Nova stared.
"But you said... "
"I was the first person."
A pause.
"But something had already been reading before humans existed."
Nova looked toward Diana.
"What?"
Diana whispered:
"The universe."
Nova frowned.
"The universe was reading?"
The First Reader nodded.
"It was reading itself."
Nova stared.
"And what did it see?"
The First Reader smiled.
"Confusion."
Nova nodded.
"Accurate."
---
4. THE UNIVERSE THAT READ ITSELF
The First Reader opened his book.
Inside was a blank page.
He pointed.
"This was the first story."
Nova looked.
"There's nothing there."
"Exactly."
"Then what did the universe read?"
"Nothing."
Nova frowned.
"That's impossible."
"No."
The First Reader smiled.
"That's why it was interesting."
He turned the page.
A single dot appeared.
Nova stared.
"What is that?"
"The first observation."
The dot became a line.
The line became a shape.
The shape became a world.
The world became another page.
Another page became another world.
Nova watched billions of realities unfold.
"All because of a dot?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Because something noticed the dot."
Nova slowly understood.
"Observation created meaning."
The First Reader nodded.
"Meaning created stories."
"Stories created characters."
"Characters created questions."
"Questions created answers."
Nova looked at Milo.
"And answers created problems."
Milo nodded.
"Usually."
The First Reader smiled.
"Exactly."
The banana raised its peel.
"So where do I fit?"
Everyone looked at it.
The First Reader thought.
"Comic relief."
The banana gasped.
"I knew it."
---
5. THE AUTHOR WALKS IN
The door opened.
Someone entered.
Everyone turned.
Nova expected something enormous.
Instead...
a tired person walked in carrying coffee.
They looked at the room.
At Nova.
At Milo.
At Diana.
At the child.
At the banana.
Then at the First Reader.
The person sighed.
"I leave for five minutes."
Nova stared.
"Are you the Author?"
The person drank coffee.
"Yes."
Nova pointed around.
"You created all this?"
The Author looked around.
"Unfortunately."
Milo raised his hand.
"Why did you create me?"
The Author looked at him.
"I didn't."
Milo froze.
"What?"
"I inherited you."
Nova stared.
"Inherited?"
The Author nodded.
"From the previous Author."
Nova's face changed.
"There's another Author?"
"Of course."
"How many?"
The Author thought.
"Depends on which edition."
Nova groaned.
"There's an edition?"
The Author shrugged.
"Everything has editions."
The child raised his hand.
"Even Beginning?"
The Author looked at him.
"Especially Beginning."
The child looked offended.
"I don't like editions."
The Author smiled.
"Neither do I."
Nova stepped closer.
"Who created the first Author?"
Silence.
The Author stopped drinking coffee.
The First Reader looked away.
Diana whispered,
"Don't ask."
Nova smiled.
"I'm definitely asking."
The lights went out.
The Author's coffee cup shattered.
The book closed.
A single voice came from the darkness.
NO ONE.
Nova froze.
The Author whispered:
"That's impossible."
The voice answered:
I KNOW.
---
6. THE AUTHOR WHO WASN'T THE AUTHOR
The lights returned.
The Author was gone.
Only the coffee remained.
Nova looked at the First Reader.
"What happened?"
The First Reader shook his head.
"The Author was removed."
"By whom?"
"The story."
Nova looked at the book.
"Can the story remove the Author?"
"Yes."
"Can the Author remove the story?"
"No."
"Why?"
The First Reader smiled.
"Because the story has readers."
Nova stared.
"And readers have choices."
Diana whispered,
"And choices create uncertainty."
Milo added,
"And uncertainty keeps the story alive."
Nova looked around.
"So the Author isn't in control."
The First Reader shook his head.
"Never completely."
Nova smiled.
"That's hilarious."
"Why?"
"Because everyone thinks the Author controls everything."
The banana nodded.
"Classic management problem."
The First Reader looked at it.
"You understand more than you should."
The banana smiled.
"I contain potassium."
Nova laughed.
---
7. THE SENTENCE THAT ESCAPED
The book suddenly opened.
A sentence appeared.
NOVA WILL DIE.
Nova stared.
"No."
The sentence remained.
NOVA WILL DIE.
Nova picked up the pen.
He crossed it out.
The sentence returned.
NOVA WILL DIE.
He crossed it out again.
It returned.
Milo grabbed another pen.
"Try changing it."
Nova wrote:
NOVA WILL LIVE.
The sentence disappeared.
For three seconds...
nothing happened.
Then:
NOVA WILL LIVE.
Nova smiled.
"I did it."
The First Reader shook his head.
"No."
Nova's smile faded.
"What?"
"You didn't change the story."
"Then what did I do?"
"You created another version."
Nova looked at the page.
Two sentences appeared.
NOVA WILL DIE.
NOVA WILL LIVE.
Then a third:
NOVA WILL DO BOTH.
Nova stared.
"That's cheating."
The page answered:
THAT IS LITERATURE.
Diana laughed.
Milo laughed.
The child laughed.
The banana laughed.
Even the First Reader laughed.
Nova looked offended.
"This is my life."
Milo smiled.
"Technically, it's several lives."
---
8. THE OTHER NOVA
A second Nova entered the office.
Then a third.
Then ten.
Then a hundred.
Then thousands.
Every version looked different.
One wore armor.
One wore pajamas.
One wore a lab coat.
One had a beard.
One had no hair.
One carried a sword.
One carried a banana.
One was crying.
One was eating.
One was asleep.
One looked exactly like Nova.
Nova stared.
"Which one is real?"
The First Reader answered:
"All of them."
Nova pointed at the sleeping one.
"That one?"
"Yes."
"He's asleep."
"Still real."
Nova pointed at the one eating a banana.
"That one?"
"Yes."
The banana looked at him.
"Don't judge."
Nova sighed.
Then one version stepped forward.
He looked older than all the others.
He had no pen.
No book.
No weapon.
Only a blank expression.
Nova recognized him.
"You."
The older Nova nodded.
"I've been waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to remember."
"Remember what?"
The older Nova smiled.
"That I wasn't your future."
Nova froze.
"You were…"
"My past."
Nova's eyes widened.
"Then how are you here?"
The older Nova answered:
"Because you haven't reached me yet."
Nova stared.
"That doesn't make sense."
The older Nova smiled.
"Neither did you."
---
9. THE REAL BEGINNING
The First Reader walked toward Nova.
"There's something you need to see."
He opened the smallest book on the shelf.
The cover had no title.
Inside...
one page.
One sentence.
Nova read it.
A BOY OPENED HIS EYES.
Nova's heart stopped.
He turned the page.
Blank.
Another.
Blank.
Another.
Blank.
He looked at the First Reader.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"Where's the rest?"
"There wasn't any."
"Then who was the boy?"
The First Reader looked at him.
"You."
Nova frowned.
"Me?"
"Before Nova."
"Before Milo?"
"Yes."
"Before Beginning?"
The First Reader smiled.
"No."
Nova froze.
"Then who?"
The First Reader pointed at the child.
The child looked terrified.
Nova slowly turned.
The child was holding the pencil.
The same pencil.
The one that had appeared beneath the desk.
The one that had written beginnings.
Nova whispered:
"You."
The child shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
The child looked toward the blank book.
And whispered:
"I don't remember."
Nova stepped closer.
"You said names belong to stories."
"Yes."
"And you said you don't have a name."
"Yes."
"Then what are you?"
The child looked directly into Nova's eyes.
"I am the thing that was watching before there was anything to watch."
Silence.
The First Reader lowered his head.
Diana whispered,
"First Mind."
Milo stared.
"The First Mind?"
The child nodded.
But then...
he laughed.
"That's what they call me now."
Nova frowned.
"Now?"
The child pointed at Nova.
"But you called me something else."
Nova's blood turned cold.
"What?"
The child smiled.
"You called me…"
He leaned closer.
"…Dad."
Nova froze.
The universe stopped.
The banana dropped from the desk.
Milo's mouth fell open.
Diana went completely silent.
The First Reader stepped backward.
Nova whispered:
"No."
The child nodded.
"Yes."
Nova shook his head.
"I don't have a child."
The child smiled sadly.
"You don't."
A pause.
"I have a father."
Nova stared.
"Who?"
The child pointed at the book.
Then at Nova.
Then at the blank page.
And finally...
at the pen in Nova's hand.
Nova looked down.
The pen was writing.
He hadn't moved it.
A sentence appeared:
THE FIRST MIND WAS NOT CREATED.
Another:
IT WAS REMEMBERED.
Another:
BY NOVA.
Nova dropped the pen.
The child picked it up.
Then he looked at Nova.
"Now you understand."
Nova swallowed.
"Understand what?"
The child smiled.
"Why you were never the Reader."
Nova waited.
The child whispered:
"You were the memory the Reader forgot."
The book slammed shut.
The entire office vanished.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
a sound.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Nova opened his eyes.
He was back at the desk.
The book lay open.
The banana was beside him.
Milo was standing behind him.
Diana was nowhere to be seen.
Nova looked down.
The page contained a single sentence:
EPISODE NINETY-NINE IS WAITING.
Nova reached for the pen.
The pen moved away.
Nova frowned.
"Not again."
The banana whispered,
"Maybe it doesn't like you."
Nova looked at it.
"Why would the Author's pen hate me?"
The banana shrugged.
"Maybe you're bad at writing."
Nova stared.
The pen suddenly flew into the banana's peel.
The banana screamed.
"I TAKE IT BACK!"
Nova laughed.
Then...
the book wrote another sentence.
THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN FOUND.
Nova stopped laughing.
Another sentence appeared.
THE AUTHOR IS NOT THE ONE YOU THINK.
Another.
THE AUTHOR IS READING THIS.
Nova looked up.
The room was empty.
The lamp flickered.
Then a final sentence appeared.
Not in the book.
On the desk.
Written in wet ink.
LOOK BEHIND YOU.
Nova didn't move.
The banana whispered:
"Don't."
Milo whispered:
"Don't."
The child whispered:
"Definitely don't."
Nova smiled.
"I've learned my lesson."
He turned around.
Everyone screamed.
Because behind him...
there was no monster.
No god.
No Reader.
No Author.
No universe.
Only a mirror.
And in the mirror...
Nova wasn't standing alone.
Someone was standing behind him.
Holding a book.
Holding a pen.
And holding...
a banana.
The figure leaned toward the mirror.
Nova whispered:
"Who are you?"
The reflection smiled.
"You already know."
Nova's face went pale.
The reflection raised the book.
On its cover were three words:
EPISODE NINETY-NINE
Nova stepped backward.
The reflection stepped forward.
Nova stopped.
The reflection didn't.
It walked straight out of the mirror.
And stood in front of him.
Nova stared at his exact duplicate.
The duplicate smiled.
"Finally."
Nova whispered:
"Are you another version of me?"
The duplicate shook his head.
"No."
"Then what are you?"
The duplicate looked at the book.
Then at Nova.
Then at the banana.
He sighed.
"I'm the version that reads the version that writes the version that reads the version that…"
He stopped.
Nova waited.
The duplicate rubbed his forehead.
"This is exhausting."
Nova nodded.
"Agreed."
The duplicate handed him the book.
"Your problem."
Nova took it.
"What problem?"
The duplicate pointed toward the first page.
Nova looked.
A sentence appeared.
THE STORY HAS NO AUTHOR.
Nova frowned.
Another appeared.
THE STORY HAS NO READER.
Another.
THE STORY HAS NO BEGINNING.
Another.
THE STORY HAS NO END.
Nova smiled.
"So it's free?"
The banana whispered:
"Don't joke."
Nova turned the page.
One final sentence appeared:
THE ONLY THING THE STORY HAS…
The page trembled.
The letters rearranged themselves.
…IS YOU.
Nova stared.
The child suddenly shouted:
"RUN!"
Nova looked at him.
"Why?"
The child pointed behind him.
The mirror was opening again.
But this time...
something was coming through.
Not a person.
Not a creature.
Not a Reader.
Not an Author.
A sentence.
A single enormous sentence.
It crawled out of the mirror like a living thing.
Its words moved across the floor.
Its punctuation had teeth.
Its final word stopped directly in front of Nova.
CONTINUE.
Nova stared at it.
The sentence opened its mouth.
And screamed.
The book flew open.
Every page began turning.
Fast.
Faster.
Faster.
Until the entire story became a storm of paper.
Nova grabbed Milo.
Milo grabbed Diana.
Diana grabbed Beginning.
Beginning grabbed the banana.
The banana grabbed...
nothing.
"I HAVE NO HANDS!"
Nova shouted:
"JUST ROLL!"
The banana rolled.
Everyone screamed.
The pages swallowed them.
And somewhere inside the storm...
the First Reader laughed.
Then the Author whispered:
"Now…"
A pen scratched across reality.
"…let's see who writes Episode Ninety-Nine."
The storm stopped.
One page remained.
Blank.
Waiting.
Nova opened his eyes.
He was lying on the page.
Beside him...
a pencil.
A banana.
And a small handwritten note.
Nova picked it up.
It said:
DEAR NOVA,
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, THEN I HAVE FAILED.
Nova frowned.
Below it was a signature.
He recognized it immediately.
His own.
... NOVA
He turned the note over.
On the back was another sentence.
AND IF YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WROTE THIS…
Nova stopped breathing.
The final words appeared slowly.
…WHO WROTE YOU?
Nova looked up.
The darkness smiled.
And somewhere beyond the page...
a child began laughing.
Not the child beneath the desk.
Not Beginning.
Not the First Mind.
A different child.
A child who had never appeared before.
A child who whispered:
"Dad?"
Nova froze.
The pencil rolled toward him.
The banana whispered:
"Oh, this is going to be complicated."
Nova picked up the pencil.
And for the first time...
the story waited for him.
**TO BE CONTINUED…**
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved