Thorns

Kevin wonders why he is in this earth-crevice looking for her lousy bracelet. He hadn’t always admired her, but his love had flourished in secret. When she discovered his intentions, she was not as receptive as he had assumed. He believed that he could prove to her the lengths to which his love reached by recovering this trinket.

In his teens, his friends called him a “chubby chaser” and a “whale watcher,” but they didn’t understand. The current object of his affection is not only a large woman, which has its benefits, but she has not been burnt by life’s scorching flames. He knew she is not like the other women who had burnt him. She is young and full of vitality.

The little silver bracelet, that he now found himself searching for, is a token from her last relationship that only lasted two months. Kevin knew he could be the nice, loving, caring man she deserved. He had decided that he would mean even more than her ex-boyfriends and their tokens of affection that she held so close to her heart. First things must come first; he needs to be her hero.

She probably didn’t even realize that she had dropped her prized possession until it was too late. She no longer wore the bracelet on her wrist; it was hung lightly on a strap of her purse. He was watching her walk down Victory Street when the latch of her bracelet had come loose and the flimsy bracelet fell into the canyon that was about a football field in diameter and a good three stories deep.

Kevin now held a flashlight in his hand and is frantically searching where he thought she had dropped her bracelet. It’s dark now; Kevin has no idea that he had been down in the hole for about 3 hours looking for her bracelet. Well, maybe he wasn’t looking the whole time. He had often stopped to admire the beauty of the landscape he was tearing apart to find her bracelet. It is the Garden of Eden to him, with every possible flower and tree scattered along the sloping cliff face which lead down to Hickory Creek. He would imagine it being their private hideaway. He had noted many times how the flowers paled in comparison with her beauty. He also stopped to write a little romantic poetry for his loved one.

My dearest love of the world,
Time means nothing without you.
The story of life could not be told
Without this love that is true.

His stomach began to growl. He decided that he had to get something to eat. He had rushed home to grab a flashlight and water, but forgot food. Diving into the canyon had also caused quite a catastrophe on his legs. A sharp rock ripped a third of his muscular right calf and a barrage of rose thorns had attacked his legs on the descent.

Yet, he takes a few more steps and discovers that there is an end to this infinite abyss that people called a canyon. He realizes that there is no bracelet to be found. There are only so many times that he can chase after the reflection of his flashlight in the stream. The bracelet could have even been swept away by the subtle current of the creek. He had to find the bracelet to be her hero, but he is hungry, and exhausted, and this was the end. He knows in his heart that she will only accuse him of stealing her bracelet if he returned it to her. That is exactly what she had done when he confessed his love for her by returning a single, lost, rose-shaped earring to her.

He remembers her beautiful stormy green eyes and furious plump red cheeks as he presented her with that earring.

“Kevin, I don’t understand why you took my earring. I trusted you enough to let you feed my dog when I was out of town. And you just sift through my jewelry?” spoke the concerned voice.

“But you told me you lost it a month ago! How could I have stolen it? It doesn’t make any sense,” said a dazed Kevin.

“I don’t know how you did it. But is just too easy. Could you just give me some time to figure this out?”

“Fine, but you need to know that I love you.”

“I don’t love you. And right now, I need to figure out if I can ever talk to you again.”

Her door slammed in Kevin’s face and he knew that gaining her affection just got infinitely more difficult. He knew he could win her back, she would come to love him in time.

A year later he finds himself struggling to climb out of Tree Canyon. He know he isn’t supposed to speak to her again. For months he had sent her letters pouring out his heart. She was not receptive, and soon asked him to cease communication with her. But, he has to show her it was over. That he isn’t her lap dog anymore. For now, he has to climb up the walls of the deep canyon. His torso is as strong as his legs, so he can pull himself up most of the way. For the rest, his left leg alone is able to keep him stable on the ascent. Reaching the top Kevin begins to ponder how driving will be without the use of his right leg.

Driving is not as frightening as it could have been. He is quite agile with his left foot on the brake, and his right is functional enough to slightly push on the gas pedal. He flips off all the drivers honking at him and passing him on his way to her apartment.

He quickly makes his way to apartment number 122. Kevin begins to place his poetry and sketch books on her doormat when he hears a slow, creaking door. She opens the door a crack to see who is outside.

“What are you doing here Kevin? I don’t want you here,” accuses an annoyed voice.

All he can say is, “I just wanted to say its over. I am sorry for all the trouble.”

“It can’t be over if it never started.”

“Goodbye,” is what his broken spirit produces as he leaves his books of poetry and drawings. Kevin walks towards his car and closes his eyes as he sniffs the special golden flower, which he has had in his pocket for 350 glorious days. He wipes a tear from his eye as he stops and places on the ground near a tree and plants his seed of hope by covering it with the fertile soil surrounding it. He will no longer let his love for her bleed him dry.