Based on the true story of a girl I felt I loved, and her faith.
The Cathedral was just as beautiful as ever. The sun filtered through the windows in the strangest colours, but that wasn’t what I was focused on.
At the front of the Cathedral was the perfect girl. Beautiful, intelligent, spirited, and the kindest soul in the world. I couldn’t believe it every time I passed her. I was taking a giant risk to put my hand out and ask her to come with me to the world, but you could feel her confidence as she said yes.
She took my hand and we began walking, but she heard the rattle of the chain around my ankle. She knew what it meant; it meant that I was more of a stranger to the Cathedral than would be allowed. People like me, the chained, weren’t usually taken any different for that weight around our ankle, and the girl in the cathedral…she did. She knew that the cathedral wouldn't stand for it. She let go of my hand and stepped back.
"Please, don't leave", I say to her, "This ball and chain isn't my choice. I want it off every day. If you stay with me, you can even help me saw it off, like I try every day"
She took a seat to take in what I said. I started to worry that I may have asked her to throw away her faith in the cathedral just to be with me, some heart struck boy. I might be just the most selfish person in the world for this whole situation, but she's the only person who has ever done a thing different with me, just because I had that ball and chain.
I didn't know what would happen next. I wanted her to say yes, I wanted her to be my girl. Unfortunately, it's not my decision of how strongly she wants to be in the cathedral. I was a fallen, dirt covered star. When I first asked her to take my hand, the ball and chain didn't come up. I didn't think it would, for some reason. I just worried whether she did or didn't think the way I did. I've never been a good judge of that.
I took a seat too. I would wait. I did all I could. I just had to wait. And that's what I'm doing right now; I'm waiting for her answer. She's the one who tells me to be an optimist, but can I really be in a situation like this? Will the happy ending come?
I glanced at her again. She was still staring into space with her consideration. I wish I knew what she was thinking at times like this. But unfortunately, I'll never have that skill. For now I'm just waiting and waiting for her answer.
And after enough time, I saw a tear run down her face. That instantly told me her answer. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset. But she didn't just say no and leave. She did something I'd never suspect.
She got up from her seat and pulled a key from her pocket. She went down to the cuff on the ball and chain, and unlocked it. She took it off of me, and picked it up and put it in my hands.
"The ball and chain isn't the reason I'm staying here", she told me, "I just can't leave my home. It's too important to me right now, and you're not the one who I need to take me away. It's not the ball and chain, it's just...I don't know"
How could I say I was upset at this point? She didn't want to answer the way she did, but she knew she had to. This Cathedral made so much of an impact on her that I didn't think possible. It wasn't something I could hate; I could only respect.
"I'm sorry", she said.
"I know"
I slung the ball and chain over my shoulder. It really was lighter than it looked. I opened the door and left to the outside. I took a gulp of fresh air and took a look back at the cathedral. It was massive and beautiful with it's windows and stone walls. I could almost see why she wanted to stay.
It may not have been the happiest ending, but it had an ending. I've lived a long life, or so I like to think. So many stories go unfinished, incomplete, and it makes the tragedy even stronger. I wish that this ended with her hand held in mine, but I really couldn't be happier with the way that this ended, even just for the sake that it did.
I pulled out my headphones and turned up the volume. "Plug in Baby" by Muse. I always say that shuffle mode is the key to finding the right music for the moment. It couldn't be any more right this time around. I sang in a whispered with the music to myself as I walked away from the Cathedral, into the woods, going nowhere in particular. Just walking, and singing. I disappeared into the forest and into the music, with one thing going through my head.
It ended, and it happened. A titanic risk was taken, and the fact that I saw it through until an ending. If I can do it once, then I know that I’ll be able to do it again.
