A Sad Past, a Bight Future
Story by Sandra Louise Benedict*
A few years ago, there was a young boy named Reo. He had light brown shaggy hair with pale skin. He had ash blue eyes that seemed to go right though you when he looked at you. Reo often wrote poetry and would lock himself in his room whenever he was at home, which was most of the time. He wrote about other boys' lives that he made up with his vivid imagination but he would never write about himself or a girl.
One day, after a lonely day at school, he came and locked himself in his room. He grabbed his paper and a pencil, sat on his bed and began to write.
Reo wrote about a girl for the first time. She had a dark and lonely past and needed someone to help her. He looked at what he had written and instantly fell in love with the girl. He had never cared for friends or girls before but there was something about this girl that enchanted him. He wasn't happy to fall in love with his made-up character but it couldn't be helped.
Something came over him at the very second that he had been missing out on the world by locking himself in his room, so he decided to get out and meet some people.
At the very second when Reo decided this, a girl named Jamie dropped the knife that she was going to kill herself with. Jamie’s hair was a dark blonde, her eyes were bright green, and she was a very beautiful girl. But she had a dark and lonely past. Also, at the same time Reo realized he needed friends, she realized that killing herself wouldn't solve anything. Many people did not like her because she was so independent. She realized that the world could be so much better if she just lived.
She left the knife lying on the floor and went out to make some friends. The only place she knew she could do this was the mall so she took a cab there.
When Jamie got there, she walked around for a while. Suddenly, she passed a boy with tear-stained eyes and Shaggy hair. He was handsome, but Jamie felt sorry for him. She did not know what he had been through but she could tell it was hard.
That's when she realized that other people had problems but they got through it without killing themselves. The boy saw her too but they didn't stop. They both kept their eyes open for each other all day.
Later, as she was walking past a Starbucks, Jamie saw the boy at a table, staring into his coffee with a sad expression on his face. She stopped and walked in. She ordered a Cappuccino and pretended to look around for a table. There were none so she walked over to the boy's table.
"Anyone sitting here?" she asked. The boy shook his head but didn't look up from his coffee. Jamie sat down and started drinking her drink.
"I'm Jamie, by the way," she said quietly. The boy finally looked up.
"Reo," he said sadly.
Jamie looked by Reo's feet and saw that he hadn't bought anything.
"Didn't find anything you wanted?" she asked.
He shook his head. "You didn't either," he pointed out.
"I didn't come to shop."
"Why did you come?"
"To save myself."
"Save?"
"Why did you come?"
"To find someone."
Jamie raised her eyebrows. "And did you find them?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. Odd question but what was your childhood like?" Reo asked.
Jamie looked down and felt tears come to her eyes. "When I was seven, my brother killed my parents and was sent to prison," she whispered.
"It was always you," breathed Reo.
Jamie looked up and the tears that were being held back now flooded down her cheeks and made a puddle on the table. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I was looking for you," he replied and then explained his poem to her when he saw her confused face.
When he was done, she smiled. "Maybe I was looking for someone to help me," she said. "I was going to kill myself but something came over me and told me to come here."
"Like fate," whispered Reo.
From that moment on, Reo and Jamie were a couple. They now are married and are living in New York with their two kids, Nina and Dante. And dog, Makita. Every day, they remember that day when they met in the mall: The day that saved them.
Many People don’t believe that you can find your one person in the midst of the world of people. Sometimes it’s hard to just listen to your inner being, but if you do, you may find the one that is for you and only you. If you go looking in the wrong places such as bars, you will only find false people.
People understand life is hard, you have to understand, or you will never survive. So, if you are alone, go out there and make some friends, Go find your true love, but just remember, never give up, hang in there. There is always someone out there ready to help and care, you just need to find them.
* means real name changed
