Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Angry (08/02/07)
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TITLE: A New Anger | Previous Challenge Entry
By Rachel Burkum
08/08/07 -
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The look in the other man’s eyes wore a glaze, donated by the whiskey that was now absent from the bottle on the bar. It was a familiar look. I’d seen it when staring into a mirror only minutes before. But any remorse had fled long ago, along with peace that was now a stranger.
“Come on!” My foe staggered backward a step, raising his hands to eye level and taunting me.
I’d been insulted enough. My knuckles met his chin with a dull thwack, sending him sprawling to the floor. But the fight was far from over.
“What’re you in for?”
It seemed like such a trite question. I was tempted to tell my new cellmate that it had been the other guy’s fault. But after six weeks in here, my head was too clear to lie without guilt. Unfortunately, time machines weren’t available for people who channeled their anger in the wrong direction, just to find out they’d made idiots of themselves.
“One too many fights. One too many lapses in judgment. One too many times I let my temper win. Take your pick.” I could have been more specific. But why got into details about someone I’d put in the hospital? I was too tired to put forth the effort.
Funny what time will do to a man. He might claim and even believe with his whole being that his heart is too cold to change. That he can’t help the way he is. That he’s a lost cause, driven by destiny in the wrong direction. But somehow, the passage of time and a gentle tug in the right direction can pull him out of the mire so quickly that it will send his mind reeling. With just a little love and the resurrected glimmer of hope, he can rise above what he once was.
I stared my adversary in the eye, my fists automatically clenched at my sides. Anger surged through my veins like an unrestrained freight train.
My body shook as I confronted the evil that had dragged this man down. The others in the smoke-filled room laughed at his swaying frame. They egged him on, daring him to kick me out. For who was I to be here? Asking for a soft drink instead of liquor was just asking for trouble. But I’d come for a reason.
Compassion and sorrow ran neck and neck with my rage. I had been in this drunkard’s shoes once. I knew how it felt. And no one was helping him. They were only pushing him further down the road of destruction that offered false security and power. There was only one thing that could bring a man from this misery. Only One who could renew a lost soul and allow a second chance at life.
My hand gently met my opponent’s shoulder. I had learned almost too late that there was more to life than this. I only had one chance to show it to him now. I had to make it count.
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