Daniel here. During a time of self exploration and personal growth while out on my own for the first time and away from college, I listened to this cassette almost every day for a month. The only way I could describe myself during this time of discovery is "Unguarded." I had let my guard down to learn, about the world, the people around me, and myself. And each song turned out to be something of a road-map of what I experienced over the next couple decades.



Author's Note: This was originally to be part of the "Musicology Anthology [Closed]"  contest. However after putting the whole story on ice for a couple of weeks, I didn't feel I could do it justice by limiting myself to the word count required from the contest. The story is going to take a while to properly develop with some major rewrites involved. Your patience is appreciated as are any comments you may have on any given individual chapter.

Also, a character of this story is diagnosed HIV/AIDS. The story takes place in 1989 to 1992. If you have any information about the disease and the available treatments during that time that may be useful, please email me directly at my WDC addy. All research help is greatly appreciated.



Anything that is highlighted in any color (not necessarily red) indicates an area that I know needs some immediate work.


Thanks to iKïyå§ama-R.I.P Whitney H. for the great book cover!