The Challenge | Teen Ink

The Challenge

June 19, 2011
By Gayl31 BRONZE, Malta, Other
Gayl31 BRONZE, Malta, Other
1 article 0 photos 7 comments

The challenge is to love, to love again when you've been hurt and cannot forgive. You question whether to trust or to push away this man who asks only for your love, nothing more. "Nothing more YET!" a wicked thought whispers. You smother it and trust again.

If the man you chose breaks your heart yet again you feel like a million pieces of shattered crystal. How to love again? Ha! How to breathe and move without burning yourself with red hot memories is far more important. Somehow you move on with your life, let your friends in again, return to normal sleeping hours and remember how to go back to work.

You meet him while having coffee or reading on a bench in the park, he trips you up at the supermarket or literally bumps into you when you are out for a walk. He makes a joke which you do not laugh at, he teases you and then you laugh and sit down to talk. You notice the danger signs, the way you think about him simply because you start to make a hot chocolate (which he loves), you mention what he says to your friends more often than is deemed healthy and sane. You think about him before you sleep and every time the phone rings your heart skips a beat.

After some time spent furiously denying it, you give in, you are in love, you admit it. You start dating, sharply on the lookout for a break up speech. But something is different this time around. This man you have found doesn't seem to care about all the little details the other one fussed about. He looks at the big picture yet likes his arm around your shoulder and can tell you what your hair smells of. He has offered advice as you have offered yours and your fragile heart is healing. Sure, you fight and you've even had the huge arguments but somehow they have sorted themselves out. You have given in, he has given in, to be happy.

Then one day he gets out a ring and you run away. Too scared, too hurt, too bewildered by the devotion in his eyes when he told you, "I love you". You cannot face all that being taken away so you take it away yourself. Yet he is not like the others were and you cannot forget him. His eyes filled with betrayal never leave your thoughts. You try hard but your heart, now strong, beats true. You realise again you love him, you realise again the challenge. You go back and he silently listens and choking with emotion silently embraces you in a cloak of acceptance of who you are. He really does love you and he does not intend on leaving.

The challenge is to work together to make this work and the challenge is going to be there every day of your life together but you are ready for it because you love him and you can trust again. Besides, life is too short not to.


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This article has 9 comments.


Cicra said...
on Jul. 20 2011 at 10:38 am
I loved reading the story......cause yes...it could be anyone so I liked the fact that you didnt mention names!!! Well done!!

on Jul. 13 2011 at 10:04 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

No, it's not possible to move it.  But if it's more of a personal experience, it should go under 'personal experience'.  Oh well, it's too late to move it.

Gayl31 BRONZE said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 5:56 am
Gayl31 BRONZE, Malta, Other
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
I had no idea where the quotation marks came from! It's normal...phew :) Thanks for the feedback, I think I agree with her that it should be in a different section. It's in between the two but perhaps more of an essay with a slight fictional edge than the other way round. :))

Gayl31 BRONZE said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 5:48 am
Gayl31 BRONZE, Malta, Other
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
Thanks for the feedback :D And I agree, I think it's somewhere between a piece of fiction and an opinion essay.

Gayl31 BRONZE said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 5:41 am
Gayl31 BRONZE, Malta, Other
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
I didn't put any names in the piece because the characters could be anyone, it's a familiar situation, do you think that made it less of a fictional work? I see what you mean about it being an opinion essay though... Is it possible to move it? (I'm new here) Thanks :))

on Jul. 12 2011 at 8:59 pm
PaRaNoRmAl627 GOLD, Mountainside, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do what you want. If it&#039;s something you&#039;ll regret in the morning, sleep late.&quot;

i hate when that thing happens with the quotation marks. it happens to me in almost all of my pieces and everyone always asks me why it happens -_____- generally this was pretty well written. at some points the flow was a little bit awkward, but overall i liked it a lot :) it might fit better in a different section though, maybe an essay like CarrieAnn saidd?

on Jul. 12 2011 at 5:22 pm
ShyWriting42 BRONZE, Mesquite, Texas
3 articles 0 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.&quot;

I mean: could use. Sorry(:

on Jul. 12 2011 at 5:21 pm
ShyWriting42 BRONZE, Mesquite, Texas
3 articles 0 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.&quot;

I think you may have missed a few commas, but this is well written. I like that you used second person point of view, but at the same time I think it use something more to make it feel like a piece of fiction. Overall, good job.

on Jul. 12 2011 at 4:49 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

Great article!  I don't see any spelling or grammar mistakes.  But shouldn't this be in a different section than fiction?  It's not really a story so much as an opinion essay.