THANK G_D FOR WORD PROCESSORS!
The little full stop was suddenly restless. He felt lost; and alone. It seemed just a moment ago that he had been marching along gleefully on the heels of that swishy g, whose skirts swept along beside her and ruffled the hair on his little face. His face had crinkled up each time, and his eyes had squeezed shut and a little whee of joy had passed his lips. But the memory only served now to fuel his panic, and his eye darted from side to side in a hysterical, almost eyeless fashion. He could feel a tiny little tear making its way inexorably up to the corner of his single eye, and if that happened, how would he control the tearburst that might follow? Why, he might smudge himself, and that wouldn�t do, would it?

To tell the truth, there was no place in this world for ill-behaved characters, as that nasty T that had come into being moments after him had kept saying. But even the T was missing. The full stop had now reached a state where even the T�s horribly preachy voice and presence would have been welcome.

And whoooosh! he was suddenly dragged along in a whirlwind of motion, and had only time to respond with a gasp before he slammed into position beside a little e; short, pretty, and with a mischievous glint in her eye. He looked sharply around as an I slipped into place on the other side, a little stern and regal but with an unmistakably twinkly air about it. The full stop settled back into position and breathed a sigh of relief. He knew with sudden certainty that he would fit very well into his new world.
Written in a 250-word challenge story session for the Writers Circle in Madras, 2000.
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