I Am Ruled By Fate.

• Grace Duiker
• Short Story
• 2015

Fate can be a cruel thing, or so people say. Some people believe that they are ruled by fate, others believe that any chains of life do not bind them and decide how they live. They believe they live on their own accord. However, I believe that I am indeed ruled by fate. Time provides us all the tests that allow us to prove to us that we dream. Often we dream big, to high distances that should really be fettered by fear. And every now and then, humans are able to pass that test of determination and stubbornness. Some dream big, but choose to let fate draw out the path under their halted feet. Fate determines where they go, how they get there, and even if they shall get there at all. These tests may be divided into their own groups, with each individual belonging to their own group. And yet, there are people that don’t fit into any kind of label. Some individuals choose not to dream, for they do fear the heights of their dream and where fate will decide to guide them with his hand. I do not dream, I allow destiny to speak to me “this way.” The non-dreamers have not seen, that maybe that alone is its own test. This test of fate proves to us if we dream. The dreamless are not moved by fantasies that may take us to some undesired situation. That being said, there are individuals that are trapped in their own prisons, dreamer or not. Today we call it our comfort zone. All beings decide how far the walls of safety shall allow them to go; nonetheless they remain entombed by their own satisfaction. So if hope may not lure us, it must be fate that pulls us through the walls of protection. Once we pass our own boundaries, fate takes full control. Some see dreaming as a way of trying to escape their own shell. But we needn’t try to escape, for we are free people. We are all free to dream, to make the choice of what we do, where we go. Dreaming gives hope, but that hope may duplicate as a false. Dreaming can be a dangerous thing, wherein harmless thinking can open paths for fate to strike. My own test is to perceive how far fate will take me, before I decide to take hold of my own life. This test has gone for 15 years, and it will continue to do so as long as I give it the chance to. We may not dream, but fate can grant us our own dreams, to make the test interesting. Until death may break these chains of predetermined life, we live according to how our walls will let us. It would seem that the more we live the same, our worlds lose bright colours. But darkness is often perceived as something beautiful, comparing to the night. Each human reaches a point in their fate-ruled lives where night shall sink on their soul, blinding them too much so they are unable see the light that saves us; the sun. But even stars can’t shine without a little darkness. It builds perseverance, determination. The night chapter in our life stories benefit us with necessities that will keep us alive as long as fate holds us by his side. The night gives us the chance to dream for ourselves, not to dream about the fear-fettered fate. So if we dream that distance that appears so far above us, past the shadows that make it appear higher than fact, we are being lured by hope. But if one day we wake, for it to be for nought, we can choose to hate or to love. If the darkness still were there, thoughts of hope will lighten the dark, where the supreme presence of death shall assure us of our place. Either way, it proves to us we dream.