A View From Afar (Part 1)

One day, a few months back, I was getting my morning coffee at my favorite franchise. I always go inside to the counter. (I make sure they get it right, it has been made wrong a few times.)

As I walk toward the entrance, a woman that seemed to be about thirty years old approached me. She looked kept and clean, her clothes in good condition. She surprised me with her first words to me.

"Excuse me, sir.  Can you please spare some change to get a cup of coffee." I saw sadness in those intelligent brown eyes. They told me how difficult it was to ask for help.

The Devil Had My Heart

I remember back to my wasted youth. The time where you did things that seem cool at the time but end up being a learning experience. This was a period of life where I had a love affair with alcohol. While under the influence, I would see strange things. There was one time, after I imbibed the elixir of woe, I met a incredibly beautiful woman, who seemed into me. Her name was Zacaria. She would whisper sweet nothings in my ear, caress my face, said she loved me. I believed everything she told me, that she had my best interests at heart. Well, the funny thing was that she would only show up when I was alone. I once asked her about this and she says " your friends would be jealous and try to break us apart" "I love you too much to let that happen." Again, I believed her. I did anything she told me to do. My friends became concerned, I was becoming a hermit. I stopped going to work. I only cared to be with my woman, and thought all the others were interfering with my happiness. Finally, two of my friends came to my house and tried to drag me out. She told me not to let them take me away from her, so I fought them. My last conscious sight was of her crying face. I never saw her again. I awoke in the hospital two days later, yelling her name, trying to escape. They had me tied down. Why were they doing this to me? I didn't do anything wrong. Let me go! Years later, when I recall this period of my life, I actually laugh at how gullible I was back then. Now I realize one thing.... The Devil Had My Heart