Chicago, Illinois

Intro to Harlen's existence [He will not remember when he wakes up]:

Every story starts out with an idea... Every character starts off as a thought. I watched over her shoulder for many months, her mulling over her notes, outlines of her new story, shuffling through papers. I was merely a cloud, undefined body, gender... I was a thought bubble to be exact. After months of touring, she finally started her new novel, and I slowly became real. She pictured me, dark, mysterious, so I began tall, trench coat and all. At first, she was hesitant if I were male or female, so she kept that at bay. I was merely a speck on the wall.

Then things started to hurt at night as she continued to write, my flesh bubbled out as she began to describe me, eyes shaded over many different times as she rearranged the color of my hair and eyes, trying to find the perfect medium. I cried out as she gave me life, a personality, shoes to walk in, a deep voice to talk with.... Until I became fully real...

Harlen awoke in his apartment, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, "Strangest of dreams..." He mutters, slicking back his hair with one hand and looking out the window to the city of Chicago. It was sunny today, the light radiates off the buildings, pouring into his window. He gives a small half smile and cracks his neck, back and knuckles then stands out of bed. Making his way to the kitchen, he pours himself a shot of whiskey and shoots it down, licking his lips and checking the time.

9:15 AM.

He clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth and hears ruckus from upstairs, the neighbors must be fighting again... He rolls his eyes and makes his way to the shower.

He undresses and hops in, the dream replays in his head, constantly going back to the pain he had felt, now a mere memory sting. He finishes and steps out of the shower, drying off and putting a towel around his waist, making his way to his closet and picking out his clothes -- a dark black t-shirt, jeans, black combat boots and a trench coat. He grabs his keys and his hat off the rack and steps out.

"Good morning, Mr. Harlen." One of the girls from his apartment floor giggles, she was sporting a small red cocktail type dress with big white flowers.

He flashes a smirk towards her, "Good day, Miss. Weathersby." He says, his voice low and smooth, "You look lovely today."

She giggles, "Well thank you, Mr. Harlen." She nods to him, her long blonde hair falling in her blushed cheeks.

He tips his hat towards her and continues his walk, "Have a good day, Miss. Weathersby."

Stefany awoke before sunrise with smile. Gingie gave a loud, excited woof.
"Good morning, pup," she said, pulling the collie into a tight hug. She stretched before she got up. She quickly changed into a bikini and a pair of board shorts. She sauntered into the kitchenette in her beach-side condo. Maybe Harlen should hae blonde hair... I liked him better as a blonde. She opened the fridge and grabbed an apple. Crunching into it, she sat down at the table. She finished it quickly.

She grabbed Gingie's leash and clipped it onto the baby blue collar. The dog practically drug her to door that opened up to the beach. The dog and her ran down the beach in the silence of the morning. Usually, there was no one on the beach at 5:00 in the morning. She was about a mile and a half away when she turned back. The sun had just barely began rise when she made it back. She poured Gingie a bowl of water and gave her some food.
"Good run, pup," she said, planting a kiss on the nose. As Gingie tucked into her food, Stefany headed up to the loft. She began doing a series of long, rejuvenating yoga stretches. After the sun was high in the sky, Stefany went back down stairs. From there, she sat down on the couch. She nestled into the couch with her computer on her lap. An email popped up from her agent.
Stef,
I love the idea of your new character. Let me when you feel like you're ready to reveal him. Also, You have a book signing at Book Nook at three. Please don't be late.
XOXO,
Jane
"You said that about the last five characters I told you about, Jane," Stefany said with a goodhearted chuckle.
Jane,
Thanks. I'm nowhere near ready to reveal him. Sorry. :P And don't worry, I'm not always late.
Love ya,
Stefany

"Looks like there's another book signing to go to pup," Stefany said. She looked up at the clock. It read 9:00. She had plenty of time to go surfing. She grabbed her board and ran out to beach. Gingie bounded behind her.

Harlen made his way down the street, a small, annoying thought popped in the back of his mind.

Maybe I should make him blonde...

Harlen shakes his head, must be his imagination acting up again. Continuing on his walk, he makes his way down to the small convenient store and strolled on in.

"Good morning, Mr. Harlen, sir." The store owner says from behind the counter.

"The usual my good man." Harlen tips his hat off and leans against the counter, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and waits for his carton of cigarettes. The store owner comes back with a carton of Marlboro Cigarettes and rings him up. Harlen grabs his change, putting it in his black leather wallet and tips his hat towards the store owner.

"See you next week, Carl." He flips his zippo open and puts the cigarette in his mouth, lighting it and walking out of the store. Making his way down the alley way, it opens up to a busy street and across was the beach. He takes note of the beautiful blue sky and walks across the street. Reaching the beach, his combat boots sink into the sand and he starts thinking about the dream again, wondering if it meant anything.

Of course, it could just be his strange symptoms of paranoia... He was always worried about small things, almost tendencies of OCD. He shrugged, taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing it out, his blue eyes scanning the beach. Kids screeched across the sand as the water hit their legs, and teenagers wandered down the beach. A couple walks by, holding hands and sharing Eskimo kisses.

Harlen scoffs and lets his cigarette fall and he steps on it.

Love....

He rolls his eyes and chews on the inside of his cheek, lost in thought. His eyes slowly wander and lock on a woman and a flash of his dream comes into his mind and he blinks hard to get it out of his mind.

Just a dream.

He presses his palms into his eyes, he must be tired. Yes... That's it. His hands drop to his sides and he lights another cigarette.

Stefany rode the waves with a grin on her face, until she noticed some stranger lock eyes on her. She quit paying attention to what she was doing and a nasty wave knocked her into the water. The water shoved her deep underwater. Panic began to set in. She wasn't particularly fond of being forced underwater. She was frozen for a minute as she began to feel the oxygen in her system deplete. Was this how Danny felt that night? Refusing to follow the path Danny had, Stefany kicked and swam until she broke the surface with a gasp. She panted as she got on her board and paddled back into shore. The panicked feeling dispersed. She took a couple of gulps of air.

She shook with the leftover adrenaline from almost dying. She dropped her board on the sand. She plopped down on her board. She sat right where the water could just barely tickle her toes. She sighed and stared off into the distance. The gently lull of the ocean was peaceful and friendly. She felt herself grow more relaxed and calmed down. Maybe Harlen should have to rescue someone from the water... But there should be a storm... with big waves.

Meanwhile, Gingie bounded up to the stranger on the beach and gave a soft woof at him. Her tail was wagging as she jumped from side to side. Stefany heard Gingie woof and got up quickly. She picked up her board and sauntered over.
"Come here, Pup," she called. Gingie remained in front of the man. Stefany sighed to herself before she was right in front of the man.
"Gingie," Stefany said a little bit sternly. Still the dog ignored her.
"Sorry about my pup, mate. She tends to be a bit on the... friendly to the point of annoying side," she said, "I'm Stefany." She held her hand out to him in an effort to not seem like a complete and total weirdo.

Harlen was watching the woman for a moment until she got sucked in by a wave, minutes later she popped up. Another strange thought bounced into his head, but it was interrupted by the woman's dog bounding up to her. He puts out his hand for the dog to sniff and scratches her ear a bit. He puts his cigarette out and kneels down until the woman comes over, tries to call her dog... "Gingie" and then she makes her way till she's right in front of Harlen.

Harlen raises an eyebrow as she began introducing herself.

"Sorry about my pup, mate. She tends to be a bit on the... friendly to the point of annoying side. I'm Stefany."

The name striking a subconscious chord in his head, but he shakes it off.

Stefany...

He puts his black leather glove hand out and shakes hers firmly, "Harlen..." He pauses, did he have a last name...

Odd for someone not to have a last name, now that he thought about it. But to be honest, he didn't remember much past the age of fifteen anyway. It was a blur, his parents, his family. Everything. He mentally shrugs it off and clicks his tongue -- a habit of his -- and nods to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Stefany." The name tingles on his lips, but once again he ignores it, "You have a very nice dog."

The stranger shook Stefany's hand firmly.

"Harlen," he said with a nod.

"Harlen," she repeated softly to herself. That was the name of her new character. It was a little bit ironic to her, but she kept a smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you, Stefany," he said, his voice was rich and deep, "You have a very nice dog."

"Yeah, She's a very good pup. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, mate," she replied with a friendly smile, "D'you happen to know the time?"

If it was before two, she planned on writing more on Harlen.

"D'you wanna hear something that's kind of ironic, but you have to keep it a secret?" she asked with a giggle.

She set her board down in the sand and sat down on it. She smiled up at him.

He's just how I pictured Harlen to look in the story. Hmmm, That's funny.