A silence fell as heavy as snow and embraced all of us with its cold touch. I was convinced that a storm was bound to follow in its wake.

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than did K recover his wits, shocking as it was that he would be the first one to do so.

"Dude, I know you're old, but you are not THAT old. You can't be Shakes. He died a long time ago, even I know that." K said, clearly doubting the soundness of my mind.

"It is understandable that you would consider this news shocking. However, that does not alter the truthfulness of what I am saying. Sadly, that is the least improbable part of the whole tale that I am bound by my honor to share with you." I said.

"Shawn, my dear, you might have caught a fever. Why don't you let me check your temperature?" Marisol uttered kindly.

"My fairy lady, I do appreciate your devotion. Furthermore, I do wish it was an illness speaking. However, I am of sound mind, as sound as I have ever been," I said.

"Then, you must've been born bonkers!" K exclaimed exasperatedly.

"K! That's not a nice thing to say!" Rebecca reproached him.

"I am sorry, my love. It's just trippy to believe what he's saying. That's all." K said, embarrassed by his honest reaction.

"I understand, but I think that Shawn deserves for us to listen to what he has to say before we judge him so harshly. It might just be his belief, but it doesn't cost us anything to hear him out if it will make him feel any better." Rebecca said kindly.

What I did not expect was for her kindness to feel like a sharp knife piercing through my heart as I recalled what my pride had caused her to suffer.

Would she still provide me with the same amount of respect once she learns the horrible truth about ways in which my actions had changed the course of her life? Would any of them?

"I agree. The least we can do is hear you out, no matter how incredible it may sound to us." Marisol said, looking at me with those eyes which warmed my very soul.

"As I was saying, I am William Shakespeare, though what you believe you know about me is not completely true. Even so, most of it possesses some elements of truth. However, when it comes to my death, I am afraid that it was far more complicated than me simply dying in my pleasant home," I said.

My voice trembled at the remembrance of the time long gone that was but a few months away in my mind and heart.

"Instead of being reunited with my son, who resided in heaven, I was carried away to another place. Or at least my spirit was swept away as well as the oddest quill I had ever encountered," I said.

"So you're what? A ghost of a Shakespeare past? Come on!" K rudely interrupted.

"K!" Rebecca said warningly.

"Sorry, sorry," K said, raising his hands in surrender.

"As I was saying, I was carried away, but instead of encountering celestial angels, I ended up in a place that was far too loud to be heaven. It was clogged with odd contraptions, buildings that were far too tall, and people who were far too scantly dressed to be decent," I continued.

I could clearly recall my dismay at being accosted by such strange beings.

"I had no notion of where I was or why everything was so utterly different from what I was accustomed to. For a few moments, I even contemplated if I had been sent to hell for all the sins I unconsciously committed. However, it soon became apparent that the place I found myself had both pleasure and pain, therefore eliminating the possibility of hell," I said.

"How did you manage to get the money for the apartment if what you're saying is true? You're just pulling my leg." K exclaimed.

I was uncertain why I would perform such an action. However, that thought was fleeting as I concluded that K's utterance must have been yet another phrase I was unfamiliar with. '

"K! Don't interrupt him, please," Marisol urged him this time.

"Fine, fine, but I just want to know the details," K said defensively.

"You shall," I said.

Upon saying that, I took a few deep breaths to gather my patience that was almost scattered away by K's abrupt interruptions.

"Initially, I was unaware of what had occurred to me. Thus, when someone inquired of me to provide them with my name, I delivered a straightforward answer. As you can imagine, that led to them deeming me mad and scarcely allowing me the opportunity to explain myself," I stated, looking at K pointedly.

"It was rather challenging for me to comprehend everything around me. As follows, I decided to invest more time in scrutinizing my new environment and less conversing with those around me. That provided me with enough knowledge to realize that I was by some miracle transported to a time far away from my own.

"Since I had no notion of how I could return to my own time and if that was even a possibility, I decided to attempt to assimilate myself into society. Naturally, residing among the homeless did not appear to be a proper way to accomplish that since they were the outcasts of the society I wished to join," I said.

"Shawn, you were homeless? You poor dear," Marisol interrupted me.

Pity was not what I desired to behold on her attractive face, yet I could not attain enough strength in me to chastise her for the interruption. After all, I wished for the moment of truth to be postponed, to never have to confront my demons.

However, as I long ago said: "An honest tale speeds best being plainly told."

I needed to inform them about everything that has occurred, as plainly as possible.

"I interrupted, I am sorry," Marisol said, flustered by her behavior.

"It is not a problem, my lady. I can understand your incredulity. However, I must say that as long as I stopped claiming I was the deceased playwright, the destitute people were rather kind to me. However, I had to undertake all in my power to adjust. Therefore, I embarked on a journey of finding work," I said.

"As you might imagine, the only skill I could rely on was my writing prowess. Consequently, relying on that one skill that was inevitably the most prominent one in my heart and mind, I was able to acquire a few 'freelance jobs' as you refer to them. As might expected, my employment was fraught with difficulties at first. However, in a brief amount of time, I got accustomed to the most cardinal rules of this place. Furthermore, my editors got used to my odd 'creative ways'." I said.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted.

I was uncertain if that was only my perspective that changed since I knew that the darker revelations were about to be made or those present had a presentment of what was to come.

"All was going well for me. Not surprisingly, that was the moment that I discovered the power of the quill that came to this world as a pen," I said.

"What do you mean?" Marisol asked.

I explained to them how I had started pondering what might have occurred to me. I divulged all the information about Destiny and what fate befell her. Moreover, they had allowed me to continue. It was as if they were entranced by my story and dared not interrupt, be it a mere tale or a genuine truth.

"That was when I committed the dreadful mistake of attempting to improve your lives," I said, words as heavy as a rain cloud in the stillness of the room.