Both eyes closed.

I once had an idea for a short story whereby a man who is feeling unfulfilled and existentially lost is walking down a dirty street and comes across a notice board. The board is longer than any he has ever seen and is so filled with paper that it is difficult to pay attention to any one notice. Most of the papers are old and it appears as though no one has taken the time to remove them for years. Once white and pristine notices are now browning and curling at the corners. They are starkly contrasted with the few new notices that have been placed haphazardly on top, seemingly in great haste. The papers randomly catch the breeze and move slightly, giving the appearance that the notice board is somehow alive.

Slowly he walks, entranced by this paper chaos, staring at the board and it's colourful mess of words and images. Eventually he stops for no apparent reason and reaches out. He gently moves the papers aside, one after another, deeper and deeper, until one catches his attention. It simply reads "Both eyes closed".

In my story, this simple message sets him on a path that sees him lose even the little that he had but, in the process, gain more than he knew existed. What I find interesting is that this story has a beginning and an ending, but I have never thought of the middle part - the actual story!

I eventually realised that the story has no middle because each of us must write it for ourself - even when the beginning and the end is provided and cannot be changed.

How you complete the story is up to you.