PRIVATE HELL

Time is one of those things that is rarely thought about unless you're waiting on it like a kid the night before Christmas. You feel overcome with excitement, anticipating for morning to arrive. For some, they hope time will slow down because they fear something terrible is about to happen. In my case, I wish I could've reversed everything and pretended what happened to me never happened. But time is also unforgiving, so I guess I will have to live with how things turned out for me.

Maybe I should slow down so you can grasp a true understanding of what my story is all about. I guess the first thing you need to know is that some people say life is all about situational circumstances, and I guess that could be true, but what I really believe is that timing is the essence of all good things. I mean, it must've been because what are the odds on that particular day? Out of hundreds of women, I would've met the one responsible for changing my life forever. On the other hand, life can be so unpredictable and, at times, unfair, and it rarely turns out the way you dreamt it in your head. Either way, I never expected my life to be such a rollercoaster.

It was the spring of 2010, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect that day. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun sat in the distance so peacefully that it appeared it had been painted in the sky. The wind blew calmly and smoothly, which provided a breeze that made it feel like paradise. It would've been blasphemous to waste such a gorgeous day, so I decided to go to an outdoor concert at Perkins Park. I'd gone to Jazz concerts in Perkins Park before, but on that day, it was old-school R&B. The crowd was very diverse, a blend of people from what seemed like all walks of life. There were young college students enjoying the vibe, some older black couples reminiscing with good music, a few free-spirited hippies snapping to their own beat, and a bunch of single people in their 30s and 40s mingling and looking for a good seat to relax. When I arrived at the park, the Kool and the Gang band was on stage singing Celebration, and it was evident they were years past their prime, but they sounded great nonetheless.

When I entered the park, I got a leaflet from a kid in their late teens wearing a Teddy Pendergrass t-shirt, and according to the schedule, the S.O.S band was next to take the stage. I was excited because although I liked Jazz a lot, I loved R&B from back in the day. I found a spot far from the stage and sat on a hill listening to the soulful sounds from the 80s floating through the air. I swayed and rocked my head back and forth while thoroughly enjoying the rhythm of the music and the smooth sounds of the artists' voices. I couldn't have asked for a better start to a day, but it got even better, much better.

Through a sea of people, this beautiful woman caught my eye. At first, I could only catch a glimpse of her because of the crowd of people, but from what I could see, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was so gorgeous I was almost sure that God himself was in the delivery room when she was born. I couldn't see her as clearly as I wanted, so I adjusted my position to get an unobstructed view. I wanted to make sure my eyes hadn't deceived me. When I finally got close enough to see her clearly, to say she was stunning would be such an injustice. She was tall, maybe five foot ten, and I remembered thinking she must be a model or a movie star. She wore a plain white shirt that clung to her body, with "I'm winning anyway" stenciled on the front and some big silver hoop earrings. She also had on some white strappy sandals and a pair of tight blue jeans accentuating her curves flawlessly. Her body couldn't have been more perfect, even if Michelangelo had sketched it himself. The thing what truly drew me in was her impeccable complexion, flawlessly radiant and irresistibly captivating. Her sun-kissed almond skin seemed as smooth as silk. She had a natural beauty. The kind of beauty that would've made it almost shameful to wear makeup, and as it were, she wasn't wearing any.

I'd always appreciated a woman's natural beauty and seemed drawn to women who didn't wear makeup, so to that end, I felt like the universe shifted in my favor. She had a tiny diamond nose ring that sparkled whenever the sun hit it. She also had the cutest little beauty mark on her right cheek next to her chin. I knew from the time I saw her that I had to meet her. I supposed I could go up to her directly, but as luck would have it, she was making her way through the crowd closer to me. She posted up about two yards to my right, and I ended up slightly behind her.

Intoxicated by her beauty, I just stood there for a moment and stared until I realized that if someone was watching me watch her, they could've made a good case that I was stalking the woman. I was somewhat nervous, but I couldn't figure out why. Meeting women had never been a problem for me before, but for whatever reason, it felt different. Anyway, I stood there trying to come up with a good way to introduce myself. Then I thought, why am I making this harder than it needed to be? All I needed to do was walk right up to her and say, "Hi, my name is Brian."

I was appreciative and flattered that she seemed to be considering letting me keep her company at the concert that afternoon, but there was something that felt off about it. She made it a point to keep her distance, and I mean that literally. She seemed to always be three or four feet away from me, but it wasn't just that. It was also in some of the things she said that made me feel like she wasn't all the way sold on the idea of letting some random guy who appeared out of nowhere into her world. It almost seemed as if she had a reason not to trust guys, but I could've been totally wrong. Even so, I decided to roll the dice and see where it took me.

— End of Sample —