The writer Sophocles once said; "Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse." A terrific way of saying that excess is never good. That is why in the sayings of Agur in the bible, he asks of two things from the Lord; "… give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." This is certainly a piece of advice to take heed especially when we are in a position of power. But Leon was the kind of person with insatiable wants and obsession to always win or be right. That is why he didn't notice the recoil of having too much. Too much of something your body can't support. Too much of something that your body needs in moderate quantities. With all the expectations he has been stealing and stockpiling, he lost his sense of judgement and reflection. He lost every human common sense. He counted solely on the science only he had the secret. In that state of overconfidence and ecstasy, he didn't see the pit he was digging. Met with any kind of urgency his reflection was comparable to that of a kid. Even in his education, he just thought of using his methods. There wasn't anything left of the little boy who had dreams of greatness, growth and impact. Just an empty shell trying to survive and not even trying to live. Leon was tired of this way of life but couldn't stop. He had become dependent. One day he entered a little pub for a little refreshment. He was just from validating a very long and stressful day and needed to sink his fatigue in some blackish beer. He was dressed very neatly and his refresher immediately filled the space where he entered. The pub did not only offer drinks but some tasty food to accompany the drinks. He ordered a plate of roasted fish and a bottle of GUINNESS. Such places were his hunting ground, but that day he wasn't in the mood. He ate his plate while planning the next day. Before he knew it, his plate was finished and he asked for another one, then another one and another one and another one. He attracted the attention of a very pretty woman. The lady rushed to his table and before her tush could touch the comfy chairs, she picked up Leon's bottle and emptied it. That action caught Leon off guard, making him react promptly.
"That's a bold move, miss?"
"Miss Ornella. And you Sir?" She said, making herself comfortable.
"Leon." He answered. "Your beauty is one of a kind."
"Yeah, I have heard that many times."
"Is that why you feel like you own the world?" Leon inquired.
"Well, don't I? I mean who can resist me? I am sure if I was a little ambitious, I could even reach the president." Ornella answered, lifting up the empty bottle. Leon ordered two more.
"So, what do you want?" Leon asked.
"Nothing but good company," Ornella answered, picking up the beer opener.
"Oh really? Then you picked the wrong horse. I need a little bit of privacy and calmness."
"Pfft," Ornella laughed. "You are searching for privacy and calmness in a pub? You too are one of a kind."
"Ok. You got me good. I am not in the mood of discussing with anyone."
"Well, you don't need to talk to me. Let's just enjoy each other's company, silently, sipping our beer." Ornella answered, lifting her beer for a toast but Leon didn't grant her the toast. They sat silently, not coughing any word. Leon dipped his eyes into his tablet, coursing through enterprise work and several other images. Ornella kept looking at Leon, throwing her eyes at all the corners of the pub. Seeing that Leon was deeply concentrated on his tablet, she discretely picked up his bottle and emptied it. When Leon blindly tried to pick his beer, it was no more. He looked at Ornella and sighed, put his tablet in sleep mode and folded his arms. He keenly looked at her and began imagining deviant stuff. After all, she is very beautiful and could be used as a good destressing agent.
"You have earned my attention."
"Oh yeah?" Ornella sarcastically responded.
"What do you want? If it is money, I can give you." Leon tempted her.
"Just like that? You are ready to give me money freely?"
"Not freely. The cost will be your life essence." Leon answered, observing her reaction.
"If I give you my essence, will it stop your heart from crying?" Ornella asked. That question pierced Leon deeply.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I am attracted to all those who are broken. Generally, when someone is stranded and broken beyond repair, I feel it. Well, I can say, I smell it instead."
"And how do I smell?" Leon inquired.
"A very foul smell. Putrid. Like a corps in decomposition. It was so strong that I had to pull beside and know why." Ornella answered leaning toward Leon.
"I wouldn't expect a different odour." Leon sighed sadly.
"So, care sharing what is breaking you as such?" Ornella asked.
"The story is long and my mouth is dry," Leon said, ordering other beers. When his beer bottle was half empty, he began his story. Detailing everything that contributed to his recent state. When he was through, he gulped down the remaining beer.
"That was indeed something else."
"I didn't intend to hurt them, especially Risa and Joseph. But erasing things became very normal compared to discussing and I started being scared of everyone around me that I couldn't control." Leon answered.
"And what are you going to do now? How do you think of proceeding?"
"I don't know. But discussing with you has given me some hope for tomorrow." Leon answered, with his face lightening a bit.
"That's good to know."
"Won't you also tell me who you are?"
"Yeah, that won't be polite indeed," Ornella answered, ordering more beers. "My story isn't as long as yours, just that when I was still alive, this used to be my favourite place. I would come here 6days out of seven. And it is in this same place that I died."
"Stop lying. What do you mean?" Leon asked, surprised by the turn of events.
"Don't worry. You will soon wake up to your reality. This is just a dream. Your body is deeply asleep at the pub."
"Strange…"
"Indeed. Being conscious of dreaming is indeed strange. As I told you, I died in this area. It was at first very fancy and expensive and during an intense party, a spark from one of the cables lit the decorations on the roof. We all thought it was a different type of attraction. And before we could notice it, we were all burned to a crisp."
"I don't know what to say," Leon said sadly.
"You need not say anything. It will be inappropriate by the way. Anyways, compared to you, you can still make things look better."
"Being encouraged to live by a dead person. I really have hit rock bottom." Leon smiled.
"Wonders shall never end right?" Ornella laughed.
"I couldn't say better."
"You smell better now. Seems like you want to keep on living." Ornella spoke standing up.
"Indeed. I feel like I haven't received all my punishment. So, I need to keep living." Leon explained.
"That's a motivation too."
"Before you go, tell me one thing," Leon begged.
"Why not? I am listening."
"D—" Leon began, and before he could complete a word, Ornella snapped her fingers; waking him up. When he came to himself, his tablet was ringing and the waiter was struggling to get him up.
"Sir, you were indeed deeply asleep."
"Really? Did you try to wake me up?" Leon asked.
"Yes, and several times. But it did not work." The waiter responded.
"I see," Leon answered. Leon noticed several bottles on the table and wondered if he drank all of them.
"Hey, boy." He called back the waiter. "Was I sitting with someone here?"
"Yes sir. A very beautiful girl." The waiter answered.
"Ok. Thank you. Thank you very much." Leon answered, with tears beginning to form in his eyes while paying his bill. The waiter was confused by his expression and wondered if Leon was crying because he had planned to do something raw with the lady or maybe because the bill was equivalent to the school fee paid in government universities. Leon left the pub refreshed, despite the fact that his body was still plagued with fatigue. He gazed at the starry sky and whispered to himself; "So, that's it." And indeed, that was it. He had just been reminded to continue living, for living is good. That was the same principle used by Joseph's parents, who were seen as the source of all troubles in their respective families. They kept on living. They kept on struggling, pushing, fighting and thriving. Joseph also kept on living. With his renewed relationship, he wasn't gullible enough to stake his heart on it. As the proverb goes; one should protect one's heart for it is the centre of one's well-being. Joseph held strongly to that proverb. Though he received many stray bullets, coupled with many more arrows, he didn't lose his composure. He did his best but lost Risa several times again before finally giving up. Risa on her own part converted herself to a more Solomonic pathway. She had very deep wounds buried beneath that beautiful skin of hers. Despite the fact that her heart kept crying all day long, no one around her heard it. Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, a certain pastor pretended to dry those tears and touched Risa's sensitive node. She ended up, like many others, a full-time worker for the church.
"Love is everything but generally not what it seems to be," Joseph said. He was graced, for someone saw the tears of his heart and those tears worked for his good. He was teaching his students, conics and plotted the graph of a cardioid. As its name says, it was a heart-shaped curve plotted in polar coordinates. When he saw that graph, he felt compelled to discuss such things with his upper-sixth students. As he explained how to sketch such a curve, his life with Risa resurfaced. With each point he plotted, he saw several different routes he could have taken in order to reduce the hurt. When he linked all the points, he remembered the good times as well as the traumatising times. When he finished sketching, he felt like his heart was reborn. Though he had seen the tears of his own heart while dating, there was still plenty of room for love; plenty of room for newer and better relationships.