leap of faith

               “I promise,” the man says to the girl. Though they are the same age, they have not lived the same amount. He is a man at the young age of twenty-two, but has lived as much as someone who is thirty. The girl stayed in her sheltered world and refused to grow up. She looked at him and bit her lip. Her eyes threatened to burst with tears. He was asking her to do something she swore she would never allow herself to do, and he was promising to do something he never thought he would. “Just come with me,” He whispered.

               They had known each other since childhood, and the girl knew him well. A part of her wondered if he whispered this to all girls he made into women. She turned away. “I…I can’t,” She said with a soft whimper. It broke the man’s heart to see her cry. It was true that her rejection hurt him in a way that he wasn’t used to, but the pain was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. The girl had always loved the man, but never thought anything would come of it. However, when the two came together one night everything changed. Their worlds were no longer separated by the wood of the fence, but intertwined forever.

               He had never denied that it happened, and she avoided the memory. She didn’t avoid it because it was something she was ashamed of, but because it was something she didn’t want to tarnish. It was a perfect night, and she didn’t want it soiled by the lies she expected to follow. He gently ran his hand down her arm. She bit her lip a little bit harder. The man only had to glance at her and her heart raced, and yet his touch made everything slow down. Was she willing to throw away the life she had? “I promise,” He repeated, “I promise that I’ll go to church. I swear that I will work every day to show you that I respect you.”

               It was true that he was very open about how idiotic he thought religion was, but he knew it was important to her. He knew that if he wanted to be with her he would have to give up that part of himself and expose himself to some of her light. The girl knew that if she agreed to be with him she would be throwing herself into the shadows. She wasn’t afraid that he would corrupt her; she was fearful that she was already corrupted. She hugged her stomach, and knew that she was. He was the first person that she whispered the truth to.

               Unwed and pregnant she knew that her parents would disown her. Ever since she was a young child she was always warned about such events. She didn’t want to be a burden to her parents or force the man to change who he was. Perhaps she was being suborn and afraid. Afraid that she would ruin his life with the one growing in her. “You are not just another girl,” He admitted. “You are someone that I would be willing to die for. Please, just come with me. I promise that I will do everything you need me to,” He said. He wrapped his arms around her. She quietly sobbed with her back to him.

               “I…” She choked out. “I can’t do this to you. I don’t want you to do this because you think you have too.” The man tried to be patient, but the girl’s stubbornness and his heart were causing him to grow tired of this game they seemed to be playing.

               “I wouldn’t be promising this if I didn’t want to.” He said. He let her go and let out a sigh. The girl thought she was going crazy. She couldn’t decide what she wanted. She knew what she wanted; she wanted to be with him. However, she couldn’t decide if she was ready to take that leap into uncertainty.

               “Ok…” She finally said. She turned towards him and gave him a worried smile. “Ok. I will go with you. I will tell my family today.” A part of the girl wished he would offer to go with her, but she knew that he would be the person they would blame if he did go with her.

               “I’ll go with you,” the man said. She smiled and shook her head. This time her smile was warm and loving.

               “No, I have to do this on my own. Will you wait for me outside though?” She asked. He gave her a small nod. She wrapped her arms around him. She tugged at his shirt never wanting to let go. She was taking her first steps into adulthood. The man was finally going to be able to slow down and grow younger.