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Part four
Part five
Part six
Behind the scenes!
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* * * Part two * * *
Susan was born when her parents were both eighteen. 'Life turned us towards love, and the love we shared blessed us with you. We'll always be there to protect you, just as we have been protected by God Himself, through love.' her parents said when she was little. She would never forget that, because, when she heard it the first time, it was like a glimpse of heaven. Even now, she encouraged herself, thinking: 'After all, love gives us hope. And hope is what makes every human being get up in the morning'
Life was good. It was great, in fact, and the more time passed, the more certain Susan was that happiness lasts forever.
There was a beautiful sunshine that day, and the feeling of waking up near her parents was marvelous. Her father was a tram driver, and he loved his job enormously. Her mom was a waitress, but, whatever one might think, they lived in a unimaginable happiness. Her folks said it was through love. They said everything in their lives was written with love.
Susan's family lived in a small flat, in Point Place, near the park. Her parents spent a lot of time with each other, talking about things unkown to her, at the time. But she was not curious - she knew that, if she were supposed to know, she'd be told about it. So years went by, and Susan grew up a beautiful, kindhearted girl, with the love inherited from her parents in her. She came to believe much of her parents' philosophy, such as the certainty of happiness, and belief in the power of sharing. Although her life was becoming increasingly busy, with boys being attracted to her, or girls envying her looks, or school getting more and more difficult, she did not feel any of this - she remained a child, her heart untouched. Until one day...
When she was sixteen, Susan's parents mentioned she has to learn something very important about their lives. 'What could it be?' she couldn't wait.
'Sweetheart, I want to speak to you about the world. See, I believe we can change it. And what I mean by that isn't concerning just us, as a family, but the entire human race. It's a cold world out there, without feelings. And, see, people have taken a lot of time to understand that feelings alone can't be a way of measuring and understanding things as they are. It made the world think that man is a rational being - which was never more wrong. I want to explain why I am who I am, and how does this world work. Listen to what I and your mom have to tell you' he said.
'I'm all ears, dad.'
'As a drop of water in the ocean creates circles, that run away, faster and faster, and shake the whole surface, even by a bit, love from one person spreads around into wonderful waves of happiness and warmth. Your father and I have never thought, before we met, that love could change that much. Each day, after work, we take long walks into the city, and looking for the right moments to help. Both of us have learned, the hard way, that help is not to be given with force - it must be asked for. Therefore, we search for any soul asking for help can, any heart wandering without end. We've been doing this since you were born, and we believe it has something to do with you.' said mom.
'Our lives have changed since you were born. And they are based, ever since, on what we feel, not think. We've never restricted you from anything, and yet you have never had a serious problem to discuss with us, you have never slipped your way, and you have been as freely raised as a daughter can be. We've never tried to force you into anything, but you were happy with everything about your folks', said that, anxiously.
'Yes, I was. I am!' she confirmed.
'I feel the world, and the world feels me. And what I feel inside made me lead a life this way. After a while of taking these walks, your mother and I started to notice some changes. Firstly, the newspapers kept talking about us, calling us "the people always at the right time". Everyone seemed to smile at us, knowing and admiring that we did not ask for anything, but given help. It's hard to describe, der, but what I feel when I'm out there is always connected to love, and to you. I see your mother's smile, full of innocence and happiness, and I cannot withhold from doing that myself. And then I see the world. I see my neighbor, returning my smile. For years after you were born, we have wondered what makes our look different from any other. I always thought "Why didn't people return smiles like that to each other, but always to us?". Was it because we were in love? But weren't they? If so, why? And how come?'
'It took some years of adventure, really', her mother said, 'but during this time, our love always grew. I stood at home with you, while you were little, and when your father came home we always had a wonderful dinner and then we took you to the park, remember?'
'Yeah', she whispered, thinking back 'tell me what you mean by all this, please', she was increasingly anxious.
'And after that, I took you from school, your father took you home, and in the evening we were all together. It is said that ignorance is blessing, and maybe that was true for us. We did not know much about the world when we met. We felt we want a place in it, and that - most importantly - we wanted the world to be happy when we were happy, why weren't they all happy? Whenever we asked, we got these scarce responses, like "My career is going down the drain", "I hate my life", "I hate my friends", "Nothing works out the way I want it to be". And what could I understand? What makes people sad? We had long talks with people, and they always told us we should become psychologists, or therapists, or something. What we always told them was this:
If the past doesn't satisfy you, if it empovers you, forget it. Go on without the past. Build a new life to believe in. Focus on what you want, and that will give you strength to succeed.' mom said.
'And after that they usually asked what makes us do this, talk to them, help them... And we didn't know why, we felt it. But if we stop to think of that, we'll never get to actually do it, I always told them. I guess we want to make a difference, in a way. Your mother and I believe that there's room for change in this world, and that people are only meant to help people, not themselves. Whenever they try to do something for themselves only, they tend to fail...'
Susan felt this. It was beginning to get interesting...
'Kids don't ever have a past. That's why they're so happy. And they get what they want. Whenever something bad happens, it just hits them without a harm - they are protected. By parents? Perhaps. By happiness? Quite possibly. By love? Certainly.' said mother.
'Some people may be inventors, some repairmen, some secretaries, scientists, artists, sailors... but every single one of them works not only for himself, but for others as well. We believe just a little change in ourselves can bring a little change in the world, too. Just as...'
'As a drop of water in the ocean creates circles, that run away, faster and faster, and shake the whole surface', Susan said.
'Great, you understand!' said both parents enthusiastically.
'Certainly. And it's so nice!'
'But, be careful, dear, because, however ready you might be for the world, the world might not be ready for you. You always have to wait, and be there, whenever needed. Because, as you cannot expect someone to listen while he's sleeping, and wait for that one to wake up, so you must wait for the world to embrace your presence. Your will never be unneeded if the world thinks you are. And the world is in need for more love...' father said.
'What a long evening that was!' thought Susan to herself. Her parents told her about the difficulty of being recognized and appreciated for what you really are, and the often case of being loved after you are gone from this world. She felt the world - a cold place in appearance, but always ready for love. 'Just like grass', she thought. She loved the grass. She couldn't tell why, but she loved to lie down and pretend to hug it, and somehow felt she was being hugged back. 'Although you couldn't see any love, it's there'. So, they told her more about their beliefs, their hopes, their dreams - and none seemed impossible to her. She loved every bit, and wished to carry on her parents' doings. What her parents didn't know was that she had written down all she could remember, since that day.
After a month or so, she told all this to Andrew.
'And where's that notebook now?', he asked.
'I lost it, about a month ago', Susan cried.
'It's okay. Please, don't cry. I don't want to see you upset, I hate it when people are sad; my father is, all the time.', worried Andrew.
She felt comforted. He sighed: 'But what about the accident?' he wondered. He couldn't ask her now, not while she was like this. He had to wait, he just had to wait. She promised to tell him.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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