Wham, his head hit the keyboard. Hopeful, he looked up to the screen. Perhaps his forehead was more inspired than his hands. It wasn’t.

The music floated from the sad built-in speakers, ”..._When the dawn light wakes up a new life is born…”

Wake up, he thought. That’s what it’s all about. He slapped his still tender forehead for having forgotten. Fingers flying he spilled everything he could as the song went on.

”...If I could make you smile, if I could only reach you, that would really be a breakthrough…“

This was not about glory, what little there was to be had. This was not about adoration, removed as it was. This was bigger, and he’d lost that in the petty competition. So he wrote, just wrote.

”...Make my feelings known towards you. Turn my heart inside and out for you now. Somehow I have to make this final breakthrough…“

He smiled, the block removed and a story flowing, hope rekindled for evoking a response, making that connection.

“Your smile speaks books to me…“