Love

• Tayla Poulton, Grade 11, St Helena Secondary College
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

She finally let go of her fake smile as the tears slowly rolled down her cheeks, as she quietly whispered to herself “I don’t want to be me” but the voices in the back of her head are screaming at her to hold on, to remember why she was hanging on in the first place. She wants to catch her dreams instead of letting the nightmares control her, but her heart is constantly filled with the doubt that had plagued her mind, that has spread through her body as her pain and loneliness turns to desperation. A second of hope, then a minute too late and the moments gone, as time continually fades away, she tries to run away but it only makes tomorrow harder. Her heart is breaking but it is amazing how much a smile can hide. She breaks away from the people who gave her the wings she needed to fly, wishing she could just disappear, hide away, to just give up and walk away. The truth was everyone she had loved had simply walked away from her, leaving her wonder why she was never good enough, why nobody could hold onto her. Though she puts up these walls to hide what no one seems to be able to see, she is simply waiting for someone who cares about her enough to smash down the walls, to find someone who would give up everything to help her. Her teachers tell her she will never pass; she is too stupid to arrogant. Her parents tell her she has never been good enough that she never will be. Her brother and sister have simply moved on, leaving her behind to deal with the baggage of the past alone. But she just simply can’t take it anymore, as the dark thoughts take over her mind…

Until finally the man of her dreams emerges out of the shadows to take her away, and her heart races at his touch, as she smells the sweet scent of Russian aftershave, she can fell the warmth of his body against her cold skin, she can fell the beat of his heart pounding through his chest. Finally, she sees the love behind his hazel eyes as he slowly draws her close and their lips connect. He runs his hands through her hair and whispers the words ‘I love you’ for the first time and finally the walls come down. A small smirk playing on his lips as he comes back to her, she cannot believe the change that has come over her as hope floods through her veins, flowing within the blood. As her heart becomes the soundtrack to the movie that is her life. It was then that he truly believed in fairy tales as her prince took her away, riding into the sunset with their whole life ahead of them, they ventured into the unknown and found what she had been so desperately searching for. It was the day she dared to love.