The Story I'll Never Share

And the reasons why

Given how much content I like to share here on Substack, I always like to have a couple of stories in my back pocket. I always fear that the well will run dry, so it makes sense to me to have a few things lined up in order to maintain a posting schedule. I have a short story set aside that will never see the light of day, and it actually pains me to write about it, but here goes.

Four years ago, my wife came home from work all giddy an upcoming work trip that I would be allowed to go on. It was a trip to Hawaii, and all that we had to do was pay my flight. The hotel, which was a luxury resort, was covered, as well as a small meal allowance that would help offset some costs. Call me crazy, but I was not enthralled with the idea. Heading out for groceries or a meal is an exercise in anxiety abatement for me, so imagine what a trip halfway around the world felt like in my head.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and a night of drinking, and I found myself saying that I would go. Penny, unwilling to wait for sobriety, booked my flight immediately. As the date grew closer, the nerves kicked in, but there was also some excitement, as Hawaii was a place I always wanted to visit.

As always tends to happen, I was fine once we got on the plane and arrived at our destination. From the moment I set foot on that soil, things began to change. I felt a level of relaxation unlike anything I have ever felt. Most of my days were spent alone, since Penny had work stuff to attend to, but rather than getting in a panic, I settled into the calm of the islands.

Our 8 days in Maui became a life changing situation for me. Anxiety floated away as I embraced the Aloha spirit, and I found myself not wanting to ever leave. As our time there was coming to a close, we booked a romantic dinner cruise out on the ocean that was nothing short of astonishing. The music being played was lovely, and one song in particular left me choked up. I’ll share it below. The highlight was the captain cutting the engine, turning off the lights, and telling us to look to the night sky. Writing is my thing, but I don’t have words to describe what it looked like and how insignificant I felt looking up at the Milky Way. It seemed close enough to reach out and touch, and it brought with it a story idea.

The story was called “By Land, By Air, By Sea,” and it told of an alien invasion on 3 fronts, starting in the town of Lahaina. When I returned home, I wrote it and planned on adding it to short story collection. Not long after, I looked on in horror as wildfires tore through the town of Lahaina and essentially destroyed it. The story, which was in the vein of disaster movies, felt a little too real at that point, but that was not the only reason for setting it aside forever.

Leaving Hawaii was brutal, and I am not ashamed to admit that tears were shed. When I returned home, it felt as though I had left a part of myself there, while bringing a little piece of Lahaina back with me. Watching it burn on TV was heartbreaking, and I couldn’t help but think of the people I had met there, including one I have kept in touch with (thankfully, he was safe from the fires and got out in time).

So now, the story sits on a hard drive, and while I could change the location pretty easily, I would know the origin. Putting it out would feel like an insult of sorts, and I am simply not prepared to ever do it. We will be returning to Hawaii in late September this year, again on the company dime, and my hope is that I find more stories to tell, perhaps of the kinder, gentler variety. If I so, those I will share.