Writer's Island Peerless

The prompt this week at Writer's Island is PEERLESS.

PEERLESS

Right from the very first moment we were formally introduced, thirty years ago, I’d been dissatisfied… I wanted to know more about you, your life, your circle of friends. So I fed my mind with every book I could find that mentioned your name, Mr Wilde… not only biographies, but also fiction, stage plays, novels. I have even found you creeping into my own work over the years, like a sort of persistent fungus… though definitely not a malignant growth. More a disease of Decadence that just won’t go away. Even though I can’t imagine you alone – just as you said during your life that you couldn’t write except in company – still, you’ve become something of a legend, completely peerless and unrivalled in animated wit and brilliance. Because our friendship blossomed, my obsession remained… and so I chose to resurrect you from the dusty ashes, time and time again… you’ve never been dead, Mr Wilde. You’ve always been fairly bursting with life, colours showering down in a most beautiful incandescent array of not only shades but also textures that live and breathe as they turn, sometimes catching the light. I was immediately inspired when I heard about a competition to write a children’s story based on your life… your life seemed to be such a charmed one, a great, sweeping ark of rise and fall littered with wonderful characters. The whole thing was made for a fairy tale, and this tale would be embroidered with facets of your own character, Mr Wilde, that you may recognise from your own story… I’m confident that you’re pleased with the result. A most charming little story Catching the Light should be available soon, so please don’t hesitate to sample it for yourself.