Dear Find Me Readers –
Wellp. It’s been a while. If you’re reading this, then you’re probably a very dedicated reader of “Find Me.” If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably been on standby, patiently and loyally waiting for the next chapter. And if you’re reading this, then you’re probably really annoyed that this is not a chapter and instead some kind of stupid note from the author. Before another word is said, here, know that in the moments after I post this note, I’ll be posting the next chapter, so that will be happening! Before I do, however, I wanted to take a moment and communicate with you about what you can expect from “Find Me” between now and the end of the story. I also want to provide a much-needed reminder of where exactly we are in the story.
I began “Find Me” back in – gulp – 2011. That’s right, 14 years ago. Stephen and Mary Beth had just been written off of the show in the lamest non-satisfying way by one of the revolving doors of writers who may or may not have treated their legacy like most Steve & Kayla fans felt they deserved. Right when this happened, I started feeling compelled to write for these characters. I wanted to tell so many different kinds of stories. But I always ended up going back to wanting to do something epic. Something important. Something that righted wrongs, explored important moments in their lives that lacked attention, filled in gaps that should have been given to us, examined the fallout we didn’t get, and provide moments that could have been made truly gorgeous on film. And I wanted to tell a story that was authentic – which meant it wasn’t, necessarily, all good things. Some of Steve & Kayla’s canon has been heartbreaking. Some of it has been out of character. And some of it has been controversial. Some of it has also been beautiful, though. I wanted to explore all of those things. So, two years later, I started writing and set it exactly where they left off the last time they were on screen. When they came back for the third run, Steve & Kayla’s story went places this story would not, because when they began jumping in 2009, none of that had happened yet. So writing around that was a challenge, but I hope I rose to it, because I took it very seriously. My life also went places that made my ability to write this story more challenging. As with all of us, life happens, and it became increasingly difficult to prioritize writing over the responsibilities and commitments I had to fulfill, so things got slow. Readership fell way off, because when you aren’t posting chapters regularly, people get tired of waiting. When chapters go up a few times a year it gets REAL challenging to retain readers.
And now here we are. With you here right now being one of those readers who have stuck with me no matter how long it took. And I’m grateful. I’m so very, very grateful for you. I have loved and appreciated every single one of the comments loving the chapters I did post and asking where I was. I cannot tell you how important you are to me, and I thank you so much for being that reader. I care about getting this right, so when I can’t get it done fast, know it’s because I’m trying to get it done right.
We are in the endgame of the story. My goal is to finish it this year, but I’ve been saying that for, well, years. But I think I now have the bandwidth to really do it. But this portion has to be right – it has to be authentic. And I won’t settle. I care about these characters, the universe of this story matters to me, and one day in 100 years when no one remembers it at all, that’s ok, it will have happened, and I want it to be what it is supposed to be. So, in the next several chapters as we wrap things up, know that I’m not making it up as I go; I don’t stockpile chapters, but I’ve known what this story would be front to back for over a decade. So, let’s start the end of the ride now!
Before we do, I want to give you a reminder of where we’re at in “Find Me.” As of this point in the story, Steve & Kayla have been in a bit of a difficult jump arc that was driven by the vast changes made when they lived in Los Angeles in the early 2000’s. The slipstream is in pretty dire condition as a result, and spoiler alert that should be a surprise to no one, it will not be improving. This is the lay of the land:
- In this arc caused by the changes made during their LA 2000’s jump, Steve & Kayla jumped very close to their own time right after Joey came home from the hospital. This lasted less than a day.
- They then spent six months separated by age, because they jumped into their childhood when Steve was 15 in the orphanage with Marcus, and Kayla was ten-years-old. They had a shared ally in Alice Horton. Kayla had an extremely difficult time coping with this as literally someone held hostage in her childhood.
- They then jumped to the time that Kayla was deaf, which lasted about three months, during which they did not stay in Salem.
- From there they jumped to their first wedding, found Rolf in Copenhagen, and came to a handful of truly terrible realizations: A) Rolf didn’t actually have a clue how to control Time, B) he only really cared their well-being within the slipstream as it related to his own need for the experiment to succeed, and C) there was no guarantee to Rolf’s promise that when their 16 years were up that they would actually snap back to their original time and, in fact, they might be stuck in the slipstream jumping around for literally ever. Deep fear permeated this revelation, and their mental emotional damage was apparent.
- Rolf watched the jump take them from Copenhagen. They landed in Cleveland in the early 80’s with a two year gap between Steve’s arrival and Kayla’s. This added to their emotional struggles, especially Steve who had a hard time coping while waiting for Kayla. Once she got there they had some time to recover.
- But then they jumped to a time that neither of them remembered. During this most harrowing jump of their entire lives, they learned that Ava stole Kayla’s eggs in their real timeline and possibly created a child. Did that happen in canon? Well, not on screen, but I’ve always been of the opinion that Tripp is Kayla’s. And if I had my way, I’d make that storyline happen. So, I did. They spent about a week in a safehouse, and make no mistake, they are damaged.
- They jumped in their sleep to, once again, a large gap between arrivals. Kayla jumped into prison after Marina’s murder, and once released, she lived with Destination Steve for eleven months during which she told him everything about the fact that she’s from the future, and he believed her.
That brings us to this next chapter! I hope this Interregnum between Chapters 165 and 166 was a helpful reminder of the current “Find Me” canvas.
Again, I thank you so much for sticking with me. I cannot promise you that the chapters will be coming as fast as I want them to, but I can promise you that I’m writing as fast as I can and hope to have a complete story for you before 2025 is over. Now, without any further ado, let’s move on to Chapter 166 of “Find Me.”
With much appreciation,
— Ayalla