Next [Nav Staff Page]

Second Chances

 

She was given this room by mistake. Two days earlier I had been given this room, made myself comfortable and decided to stay for a while. The inn keeper must not have been all there. The only part I can’t grasp is why they had another key.   

That night, as she stood in the door frame, she stared at me. Her red dress was only down to the bottom of her knees. Flat bottom cut, but a couple strings had been pulled out. One of her heels had been broken off, so she stood bare foot on the tile floor. She must have fallen into a pile of rocks, her legs were cut, and a few pebbles were still in entrenched in her ankles. The dirt cut off directly at her shins. The line was cut to where you saw filth, then beauty.

Her dress was a simple dress. The kind of dress you wear when you have won a date with the man you’ve forever been in love with. Her lips were dark purple, as the dim light portrayed. And her eye lids were bright blue. She didn’t match. She was in a hurry for whatever she had been attending. Her hair was long and black, a couple of dark red streaks in the back. Her mouth was half open. I could tell by her walk that she was in pain.

She didn’t say anything, and I was glad. My lips were glued together, and words wouldn’t even form. She walked into the room as if I weren’t there. Whatever had happened to her that night had scared her both physically and mentally. I searched around for a chair, a stool, anything that I could give her to sit on. She sat on my suit though. My new suit that I just bought, ironed, and almost put on.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to escape somehow to get away from the awkwardness that had filled the room. It didn’t even seem to bother her. She just sat there staring at the blank television. She started to cry. Her cry wasn’t a heavy tear dropper, but more of a deeper sobbing and weeping. She didn’t cover her face or turn away from the television. I was half amused and half scared. Half of me wanted to go question the manager about how we both got the same rooms. Half of me wanted to forget that everything was happening and walk away. That night was important. I had a job interview scheduled in the next hour. I didn’t want her to ruin my night.

            I unglued my lips and asked her to please move off my suit. I thought I said it nicely. I guess I didn’t say it nicely enough because she didn’t move for another two minutes. When she didn’t move, I walked to the bathroom and prayed. I prayed for this woman to leave and to carry on with her life, so I would be able to make the job interview that night.

Immediately after I had prayed my selfish prayer something changed. I felt as if the job interview wasn’t important anymore. I had been looking forward to this job interview for months and the chances of changing this meeting were extremely slim. God put a burden on my heart to help her. I didn’t know how, but I just knew I had to. Somehow I had to show her God’s love and compassion.

I looked around and noticed the coffee that I was making was done. I poured a cup and walked out of the bathroom and into the room. She was off my suit now, but on the floor. She was sitting with her back to the bed and was still facing the television.

I walked over to her, sat down, and handed her the cup of coffee. She took it, but she never drank it. For a while I was uncomfortable and wanted to leave. We started to talk twenty minutes after I sat down. The conversation started about how funny it was we both got the same rooms. We wondered how the manager could have mistake that mistake. We talked about her family and how her father is starting a business and is in need of employees. Then the topic came; religion.

            I found out she was Agnostic and wanted to live her own life rather than live a life of allegiance to God. She knew about God. She told me that she used to attend church with her family, and how her parents constantly remind her they are praying for her to return. But she doubted they would give her a second chance once they knew all she had done. I told her about how much Jesus loves her, and how His love runs through the love of her family, and that love forgives and true forgiveness doesn’t remember. We talked for a few more hours and after goodbyes, went our separate ways.

            The next day I called the man that I was scheduled to meet last night and asked him for another chance to meet with him. He told me that I could see him that day at noon in his office. Before I entered his office I prayed a quick prayer for God to help me and give me the words to say. 

            The first words that came out of his mouth were, “Why should I hire you? You already missed our first meeting. Why should I give you a second chance?”

I told him he wouldn’t believe me, but couldn’t help but tell him my story of why I missed the interview. As I finished the story, he smiled, and without another question gave me the job. Perplexed and shocked, I stood to shake hands and then noticed a picture on his desk. It was a picture of a girl; a girl in a red dress and purple lip stick.

---

A Forest of Thought

Kylie Nelson

 

Within each man an ancient forest lies,
Perhaps strewn with singing thoughts ‘neath the trees,
Where fancy builds what belongs in the skies –
A faery-realm touched by euphoric breeze.
Or, is the lone forest unkempt and decked
With mossy thoughts on darkly brooding boughs,
Where dying dreams will fade in sad neglect
As weary lines adorn a frowning brow?
Perhaps love and joy cast a gentle gaze
Through leaves untainted by a doubt that frets,
Or does the dusk shed such sorrowful rays
That peace cannot comfort tired regrets?
Has man yet learned to let the Gard'ner in –
The loving Vine who grows His fruit within?

 

 

Teacher's comments:

        This is an excellent example of an English sonnet:

It has fourteen lines of iambic pentameter with the correct rhyming pattern

The last two lines act as a commentary on the theme and are also an epigrammatic close. (summary of the main point of the poem)

The student poet uses enjambment very effectively to create smooth flowing ideas/thoughts while still maintaining the strict rhyme pattern.

The diction (word choice) is full of imagery and wonderful description. This also creates a smooth flow of sound (alliteration, assonance, consonance and cadence).