There was such a nice day in the small town of Avalon, set right by the ocean during summer. It was evening, and the sunbeams appeared on the beach with a golden hue. Sarah was sitting all by herself, and her mind was free, floated in the rhythm of waves. In her mind, Avalon had been that haven and relief from the storm that had been abuzz with her life. Tonight, even the beauty of the ocean could not console the raging storm in her heart.
She thinks of how Jake once swept her into a dance, promised an eternity of love, and then disappeared in a sea of denials and deception.
It was at a party at their mutual friend's house that they started going together two years ago. Sarah had never believed in stuff like love at first sight until she had looked across the room at Jake. The easy smile, the way he'd make her laugh without trying-just knowing exactly what to say had her fall hard and fast. For months, they were inseparable: talking into the wee hours of the morning, making spontaneous road trips, sharing dreams for the future. It all boiled down to what Sarah got to hear last month of a conversation between Jake and his best friend. The phrases "cover up" and "don't tell her" were still ringing in the ears of her when the conversation finally came to an end. And once she did accuse Jake, the latter strongly negated it. He WAS good at it-so good that for a moment Sarah could not feel sure of herself. But the more Kumudhini pushed, the more he got tangled in a web of lies. Tonight she had no interest in the lies. She had called Jake to meet her at their favorite spot, that small cove seeming to shut them off from the rest of the world, where they sat and talked about the future. He would assure her that she needs to know the truth, but the truth sometimes is bitter.
Jake entered; he had changed from a normally full-of-himself man to a doubting man. He sat next to her, where a heavy cloud of tension lay heavily upon them.
He was going to explode something out when she promptly cut him off. 'Hello,' he said softly, 'Sarah,' but she turned to him and put her finger on his mouth to shut him up. 'Jake, I want you to be honest with me,' she said softly, yet the words caught her chocked by the pain which ravaged within her. "No more lies. I deserve the truth.
Jake now turned to her; his eyes pleaded for forgiveness. A glance at him, and there-that boy with whom she fell in love, that one who made her feel as if she were the core of his world. Now that boy was a stranger, hidden beneath thick veneer of dishonesty.
As he spoke, his voice was almost clear over the breaking waves that night: "I'm so sorry. None of this is what I ever wanted to happen. All I wanted to do was never hurt you."
Teary-eyed as she waited for him to continue, everything seemed to be a weight on her chest as Sarah stared on.
"I did lie," Jake said, his voice catching. About who I was with and where I was. I was scared, Sarah. Scared of losing you, scared of being honest because I didn't want you to see the mess that I am.".
She shook her head, the feel of his betrayal stabbing through her heart like a knife. "Jake, it's not your identity that made you lose me. Because you couldn't rely on me to tell you the truth, you lost me."
She stepped back from Jake's outstretched hand. She was done listening. And the truth wasn't what she had counted on-some fabulous secret affair or some huge epiphany. The simple truth was that Jake couldn't be honest with her. Besides which, love and trust were impossible without honesty.
She rubbed the tears off her face and stood up. Heartbroken for the boy she had once loved, she took one last look at Jake.
She said, "I just can't take any more." "I just can't keep putting on this flimsy act anymore that we're going to repair something made on a lie."
And with this, she turned and walked away, leaving Jake in the fading light of setting sunbeams.
She started to walk back toward the town; the heaviness in her chest began to lift. That hurt, but it was sorely needed, and it gave me the kick I needed. For the first time in many years, Sarah felt free-free of lies, free from doubt, free to start again.
She didn't know what was to come, but one thing was for sure: she wasn't going to let that kind of treatment continue beyond that day, and she did want the whole truth.
As shades of red, orange, and pink set upon Avalon, Sarah felt prepared for what was to come.
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