I wonder how many other people have been in a similar situation to Iain. How many times do they plan on telling someone, but pull out at the last moment -- leaving it for another day?

Chance plays a large part in who we end up with as friends. Iain and Bryan became friends because of a coincidental encounter. Iain wanted to fix something, and Bryan needed a place to hide. The two just happened to coincide, and the relationship developed from there.

I had to smile at Iain's mania. I have a nephew who showed similar tendencies when he was young. He didn't pull things apart, but was always keen to try to fix things, or put them back together. It seems to be a trait that appears around the age of eight, because my eldest boy has started to do the same.... (Note to self: keep my son away from the stereo).

Secrets can be tough. Iain has his big secret that he wants to share, but he's scared. Iain and Bryan had a shared secret about Bryan's father, too. The age isn't clear in the story, but I can appreciate how Iain wanted to help Bryan, but felt he couldn't tell his parents. I'm glad that Bryan didn't use that vial, but it showed the depths to which he had sunk that he felt that it was the only solution to his situation.

I wonder if we'll find out how things go for these two in the future? I suspect not, but I'd like to think that Bryan will remember that Iain was there when he needed him, and will return the favour when Iain finally steps out of the closet.

Thanks, Bardeara, for a beautiful tale!

I too had to smile at Iain's penchant for taking things apart, becuase it's very much one I shared. I took apart the TV when I was 12, and a dishwasher when i was ten, and a bunch of other things. My parents never bothered to lock up the liquor or medicine cabinets, but they sure locked up the tool chest! LoL

Ummm, Graeme, If your son has this same interest, I'd suggest you not worry as much about your stereo and worry more about your car. One of my earliest "investigations" involved figuring out how to use a tire-iron. I wanted to see if I could get a wheel off, but I was too young to know how to use a jack. Then I got distracted (probably by cartoons, I was in first grade) and forgot to put the wheels nuts back on, and then Dad didn't notice before he drove off. He noticed real soon thereafter, though (fortunatly, it was only one wheel I'd been fiddling with). Then there was the time a few years later I tried to figure out how a distributor works (on Dad's car, again), and ended up finding out the hard way that spark plug wires go in a specific sequence for a reason...

Bard, I really loved Iain's tinkering. I also thought the murder plot was very well done, and I was glad to see they didn't have to go through with it. I thought for a while though that that was "the secret".

Well done!

By the age of two I had discovered a taste for dismantling things and trying to figure out how they worked. Sadly to say I never quite mastered on how to put things back together.

In regards to the title, if I were to have redone this story I would have probable called it "Secrets" because first I've realized how many secrets there are in this story, but also I completely forgot that there is a movie that came out not long ago with the very same title. Also only a few days ago I discovered there is chapter story currently being posted here with the same title. I was a bit uneasy on that notion, but I know there are many books out there with the same name but about totally different tales.

I guess that's what happens when I actually finished the story at the very last possible moment.

Happy reading.

I've got a short story called "Secrets", too -- don't worry about things like that. Simple titles can be very effective, but they also tend to be repeated. As long as the title is appropriate to the story, that's all that's important.

My boys got Lego for Christmas and have been busy with that instead. Hopefully, that will keep them away from everything else... at least for a time.

i hadnt realized there was another story called the secret. So im sorry for posting mine with the same title.

Don't be sorry DLP actually your story was posted up already before this was, I just was uneasy that two current active stories with the same title might confuse some readers out there. Now that reading Graeme response, I've realized that it happens more often then we think. So please don't feel bad, it was only something I didn't pick up on until a few days ago which was long after my story was submitted for the anthology.

I enjoyed Iain's tinkering, although I did was not as adept as he. I was good at dismantling, but very poor at paying attention to how the thing came apart.

The agony of having a secret and a best friend you want to tell. How horrible can it be?

Yeah, I did enjoy this story from a lot of angles. I'd like to see Iain say the words to Bryan, but maybe that is another story. This was good story about best friends and the secret you don't want to share in case it destroys that friendship.

Thanks Bardeara for a great story.


Carl

I loved this story for many reasons. Iain's fixation with tinkering, the friendship that developed, the drama and the humour along the way.

I was expecting this to be one of those stories where the main character reveals his feelings for his best friend and the best friend swoons and reveals his feelings and they kiss and live happily ever after. But this story was much better because it was closer to real life. Iain never once said that he had romantic feelings toward his best friend. And when he had done all the soul searching and preparing his little speech, he backed out at the last minute, deciding it could wait another day.

This story was not at all predictable or clichéd at all and that is what appealed to me. In fact, I can't remember one of Bard's stories where it was clichéd.

Thank you Bardeara for writing this story and posting it.

Bev

That was a really nice story. I wasn’t expecting that ending. But it’s very realistic. I like that. And Iain’s tinkering…was really sweet. I loved it. But I was never that type (unlike most of you )

But great story!

Ieshwar

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~cries~ You're torturing me! I can't take it! It buuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was good. Really good. I WANT RESOLUTION! ~sobs and kicks and throws a fit~ Make it all fixed and better! Okay, so yeah, I didn't see that coming, and it WAS extremely realistic. I just don't like reality. Good job, very nice story.


Editing to add:

Yeah everybody's right and I'm being a dork... it was perfect. If you'd made it all wonderful and cute and cuddly and snuggly at the end I'd have sneered at it and not commented at all because it would have been the most godawfully predictable mess ever. As it is, though, the ending is a slap in the face. It's just right. ~grumbles~ I still don't like it being all unresolved... should've said his lil speech... then they could've gotten freaky in the clock tower... but nooo, someone had to write a good story and ruin all of that...

Quite simply beautiful. I admit I did expect the mushy ending, but unlike Jamie, I found the stark realism of your ending beautiful. How often to we psyche ourselves up to tell someone something only to back out at the last minute?

Thanks for the great story,

Menzo

It was great. It's easy to relate to both when it comes to keeping secrets and the dismanteling part. It seems that most kids want to know how things work. I was taught very early that taking things apart would anger my parents so I turned to picking locks.