JET WARS A New Hope: Special Edition
A drowning man may clutch at a straw. Desperation calls for desperate measures. And desperate measures were taken in those times when the air was thin and the water was engulfing. JET drowned and gasped for air. The last of breaths were taken as the bedeviling flood pulled us under. It was bent on killing us. Bent on utter destruction and bent on annihilating the love that we had cherished and nurtured over the months. Such were the stormy days of JET; the days when Turi and I sailed alone with His presence.
The comments grew to titles. The titles grew to self-acclaimed positions that eventually drove J out of the picture.
“You guys are the best!”
“You’re a match made in heaven.”
Yet despite these echoes of truth, mankind’s desire for self gratification was our imminent downfall. We depended less on J. He was present and prominent alright. He just wasn’t preeminent anymore. We faltered and we saw the consequence.
The tousling gales and the powerful tides weakened our resolve to fight the flood and save our relationship. We would be swept to the jarring rocks and it would be the end; gone in an instant. Yet a drowning man may clutch at a straw. He wouldn’t necessarily clutch at the straw for fear of disappointment. Or rather for a bigger reason; pride.
Turi and I are alike in many ways. We are both social beasts and we both love people. These two facts were almost the undoing of JET. We allowed people into our lives and they chocked the air out of us. We opened the windows to the room and the water came pouring in. It flooded our space and we were both too proud to admit our mistake and shut the calamitous source of discord. People.
We learned a vital lesson in all this. Not everyone that smiles with you is for you. People are bold when they see a good thing they desire. You’d figure that the fact people know you’re in a relationship, they would steer clear.
Quite the contrary.
If girls liked the way I treated Turi, they would only desire the same treatment and pursue a taken man. And if men loved the way Turi gave me attention, they would come after her equally. The daunting thing about it all was that Turi and I were nonchalant to it all; sheep headed to a slaughter. But we did discover it eventually and we both ignored it.
So when the attractive lady would greet me with a kiss on the cheek and pour her heart out of the trouble she’s having with her man, I foolishly sat her down to give advice not knowing she was making a statement of I want you and not that jerk. When the heart-broken man approached Turi to ask for help from a hurt ego, she would hear him out and soothe his ego. Deep down, we knew it was wrong but the carnal man took preeminence in both of us and hid behind the masquerade of being social and helping others. When the ladies called me their hero, it felt good and I wondered if Turi ever said something to make me feel equally good.
When they pecked me on the cheek it sent me to heaven and back and I resented that Turi saved her lips for marriage.
So I had my selfish ego combed and slowly drove a wedge into the relationship. I saw the same happen with Turi and It angered me that she would give another man that kind of attention. I never made myself that vulnerable to her. She found vulnerability in men she could help. It fueled her pride.
The ego and the pride soared high like the eagle and the tide. It weakened JET. If this was what love was, I wanted out. I could see the look in Turi’s eyes. She had had enough fights, enough pain and enough lipstick on my cheeks. We were destroying each other without even knowing it. A truce had to be called. JET had to come to an end. The relationship had reached its sunset days.
The last straw sealed it. Turi and I had just fought. She was having trouble with the boundaries I was having with other ladies. I was sick of her not giving me attention and bringing up the same issue. She ranted. I raved. We destroyed each other with our words, our pride. I saw the tears trickle down her eyes. She saw the anger seethe from my ears. It was at this point that a divine sobriety checked in. I saw her, pride wounded. She saw me, vulnerable. What were we doing to each other?
Is this the woman I first loved? What could have gone awry?
My soul bled that night and I was faced with decision; a peck on the cheek over a wait till marriage. Turi was undergoing transformation behind those dripping tears and she too was faced with decision; a prideful spirit over a surrendering heart. J revived steadily that night. He spoke a word in both of us that was impossible to ignore.
Love chooses. Love chooses.
All the anger, defeat, selfishness, pride and animosity began to fade. A choice had to be made despite the ugly feelings within. It was the way J loved; unconditionally. Love chooses. Volition over emotion. And that choice wiped the pain away in just two words.
“I’m sorry.”
The night seemed to still with the words that spilled from my lips. They were said so softly but contrite and truer than ever in the one and a half years of having dated the beautiful girl that was seated right across me.
“I’m sorry too Ernie,” Turi managed.
It was the healing water of J that night; the restoration of souls and the washing away of hurt and unforgiveness. He opened the door and the water gushed out. Turi and I were quick to shut the windows and not let any more water in. JET was rekindled and it took a new fresh breath. I reached for Turi’s face and wiped away the tears. She looked into my eyes, smiled and wiped away my frustration. My eyes were open anew. All this time in my carnality, I had missed the beauty that was right in front of my eyes. The beauty called Waturi. The beauty I was to wait for. And I would wait. I had replaced it with a selfish gratification. Turi saw the man she once loved; the one she loved now more than ever and the pride subsided.
Never again, we both said to each other. And with an embrace we re-invited the presence of J to craft our stories once more and to fight the flood if it ever returned. The JET wars didn’t have to pillage this relationship. If we made a choice, we would use the wars to grow the friendship we had. It was the lesson of all time.
Love chooses.