Chermaine's Story
Chermaine's story begins with a time and place, a song and a dream. Chermaine's story starts with the beginning of space, and the end of dreams.

I walked on the stony rocky path, and it hurt. I learned to wear shoes. I scaled the highest mountains and swam the deepest seas. I learned that there are other things worth living for. I flew above the plains, and under the rain. I learned that there are better things in life to dream about.

I realised that everywhere I turned, there was something to be done. Something to achieve. Something to dream and hope for. Something I couldn't turn my back against. Something I couldn't turn away from. I realised that with every dream came a wish, with every wish came hope, with every hope came aspirations, and with aspirations came failure.

I realise that I lived not for the moment, but for living itself. I realised that I lived because I wanted to, not because I had to. I realised that I will never truly comprehend the real value of Life. I realised that I couldn't appreciate it, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't know how to. I realised that things had to be taken away from me before I realised that Happiness was standing right in front of me, staring at me all this while, waiting for me to open my blind eyes and see her at last.

I waited for the dreams to come. And after it came, I waited for the hope that came with it. And then the goals. And then ultimately, failure or success.

I waited for failure, because I never knew what it truly meant to fall. I realised that success doesn't mean winning, it means understanding the full value of failure.

I realised it the day my world collapsed at my feet. I realised that people come and go, and emotions come and go. And Life. Life comes and goes. I realised I let happiness slip by, because I couldn't be bothered to find its value. Before it was too late.

I realised it was too late to turn back time and space. I realised that it was too late to write a song, or remember a dream. Because all I would have would be faded time and space, broken dreams, and wasted songs. Songs about dreams. About the Life long ago.

This is Chermaine's story. It has a long while more before it closes its chapter, a longer while before the story ends. But Chermaine's story will always sing the same tune. Because she knows now what it means to be really happy, but she knew it too late.

She regrets she didn't hold on to her happiness, regrets she didn't fly higher, laugh harder, smile wider. She knows that it will not be the same again.

She tells this story, because she hopes that others will never take too long to realise how Life plays tricks on us, but only because we allowed it to.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on." Franklin D. Roosevelt

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