Forever Town

In Forever Town, I saw those who were content and happy, and those who felt overwhelmed and burdened by life. I felt each of these, unpredictably, at different times.

When I was young, in my teens, my family had business in other places. So, I would stay in Forever Town, trying to be an adult, all on my own. Paying bills; feeding my brother, boyfriend, and whoever else was around; caring for the house and property; gardening; and mowing grass, because it does grow endlessly in Forever Town. Trying to be a good person, as that also goes.

Soon I found that people who seemed to be my friends, even my boyfriend, really all had problems of their own. I was just a little girl, in a rather small Forever Town, hoping for the best, and trying to prepare for the worst. My investments took the shape of friendships, because none had any money in Forever Town. Sometimes I would buy friends items, sometimes I would feed friends, and often times, when things were tough, I was alone. Alone in Forever Town, trying to fend for myself without a family.

As I got older, I grew wings, and I learned to use my wing to go other places. Places where I could sing and dance, be myself, and become who I felt I wanted to be. Sadly, this person was pretty two-dimensional. I was skin and bone, but never skinny enough. I was friendly and nice, but I hated hard work. I kept the house, took care of the garden, and everyone else, but I didn’t take care of myself. I didn’t question my own presuppositions. I didn’t ask. I didn’t ask because if I had, my little world would have fallen apart.

Then one day, I was flying high, around the garden, around the sky. The last thing I thought was that I would fly too high. Up almost to where I could touch the clouds and moon. I lost my way out there for a while, and when I finally returned, I realized I had broken my wings. They were all tattered and broken. There was nothing I could do but wait and hope that one day my body would heal. Maybe I would even grow new wings and learn to fly again. But this did not happen, and many years passed, and all people could say was Becky why are you so frail and sad.

I was frail and sad see. I felt I would never be the same. One day, many years later, in Forever Town, I found a friend. He was much older than me, in fact, he was an old man. He took me under his wing and taught me the lessons of the world. I had only lived in Forever Town, and I knew nothing of the world outside. He told me of the things. He was patient and kind, and always said, “It’s not about whether it was right or wrong, but whether it had good ends and means”. I started looking at the world differently.

I decided I needed to change some of the things in this big world. But I also knew that without wings, it was going to be hard. I knew that I would need to look inside. Do some soul searching, some self-analysis. I took it all in stride. I learned to walk and swim, and soon I was running again.

When the time for my old friend to leave came, I knew I was never going to be the same. He had helped me through so very much. Had helped me see that the future of the earth was not about me and my wings, but about so many other important things. I had to learn the hard way.

I had to learn that life sometimes accepts our mistakes, but sometimes it doesn’t. I realized that if I was going to make some important changes, I had better also change. And I did.

by Shayla Dodge