The room was dim, the air heavy with the weight of unseen emotions. A figure stepped out of the shadows, their presence both familiar and unsettling.
“Do you know why I am here? Do you know what I need you to do?”
The words echoed in the silence; each syllable laced with a haunting familiarity. The other person, trembling, looked up, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and resignation.
“You are here to get revenge because I killed you.”
The figure shook their head slowly, a gentle, almost sorrowful smile touching their lips. “No, I am here to remind you of something you’ve forgotten.”
The other person blinked in confusion, struggling to grasp the meaning behind the words. “Seven years ago,” the figure continued, “I came into your life after you lost your loved ones. You were depressed and didn’t have any desire to be happy.”
Their eyes softened, a hint of sadness mingling with understanding. “I came into your life to remind you that life can even get worse, and you need to try harder to just pass by. Life is not a given; it’s earned. You need to want it bad.”
The person whispered, “And now why are you here again? Why do I have to suffer again?”
The figure responded, “Don’t you know who I am? I am not just any disease, so you take some pills to get better and forget about it. I am here because you need me again.”
The person replied with wide eyes, “I don’t need you; I don’t want to suffer and go through the pain. I never needed you before.”
The figure looked deep into the person’s eyes and said, “You need me bad because you have forgotten to be. You have forgotten the lights and desires.”
The realization dawned slowly, the words striking a chord deep within. “After one year of your father’s death, I am paying you another visit, to remind you what was forgotten. Happiness is not given. You don’t wake up happy every day.”
A small, hopeful smile formed on the figure’s lips. “You get to choose to be happy.”
“But how can I be happy with your presence? You are a disease, you are cancer! I need you to be gone.”
The figure’s presence felt suffocating, like a dark cloud hanging over every moment of potential joy. The person felt a surge of anger and desperation, their heart pounding with a mix of fear and defiance.
“I don’t want to feel this fear again,” they whispered, voice cracking. “I don’t want to relive the pain and uncertainty. How can I find happiness with you looming over me?”
The figure’s expression remained calm, almost compassionate. “I will go if you want me to go, but you have to fight for it. You have to fight harder than ever before.”
The room seemed to breathe with a newfound clarity, the burden of the past beginning to lift. The person felt a flicker of hope, mingling with the raw determination surging within them. “I understand now,” they whispered, their voice growing stronger. “I thought I was cursed to suffer, that happiness was a fleeting dream.”
The figure nodded, stepping closer, their presence a comforting balm. “Happiness is a choice, a daily decision to find joy even in the smallest of things. It’s in the effort you put into healing, in the love you give and receive.”
Tears streamed down the person’s face, a cathartic release of years of pain and guilt. They took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. “I’m ready to choose happiness,” they said, their voice gaining strength. “I’m ready to forgive myself and move forward.”
The figure’s smile widened, their form beginning to fade. “Then my work here is done. Remember, forgiveness starts with yourself. Embrace the life you have and make it a journey worth living.”
As the figure disappeared, the room seemed brighter, the weight of the past lifting. The person took a deep breath, a renewed sense of purpose filling their heart. It was time to let go of the past, to embrace the present, and to create a future filled with hope and happiness.
Marzieh B blog 