Of Sinners and Saints:
The Gospel According to Chuck
It's funny how often we take for granted the little things in life. You don't go around hearing your neighbour nattering about how the cashier at the grocery store politely smiled and packed their bags, or even how particularly beautiful the flowers looked today. We have come to expect these everyday niceties. Every day the wind rustles the leaves, lovers steal kisses from one another, and mothers rock their children to sleep every night in their arms. These things happen all the time but no one really, and I mean really, takes a step back to just say wow.
But; there is a rather, special, group of people who stand back and really sees what is going on. We have all most likely seen at least one of these people in our lives. Whether it be the father that comes home from serving overseas or the daughter who survived cancer treatment. There is a certain look in their eyes, a look so subtle but so unmistakable. It's the look of someone who has seen death; has seen mayhem, carnage, and destruction but has somehow been able to walk away and survive.
Now, I was going to start this next sentence with; "And this is the story of one such person." but that just seems…wrong. I guess my biggest problem with that sentence is the word story, because it's not a story. It's their lives, her life. The life of someone who has carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, fought her way tooth and nail through hoards of monsters, and looked evil squarely in the eye. She has seen every horrid thing you can imagine and more, but she still smiles. She's managed to walk away and survive – and I know what you're thinking, 'well thanks for ruining the ending,' but to that I will remind you that nothing ever truly ends. As much as we try, we can never end the threat of there being monsters underneath our beds or the shadows in the bushes. Sure, when we're older and all grown up we shrug away the notion of such childish things. But that doesn't make them any less real.
So here it is, the life of the woman who has fought away all the monsters from underneath your beds. And in the best literary way I can, I will tell you of all the gruesomely horrific events in her life and the too few tender moments in between. But most importantly, I am going to tell you how she truly and fully lived her life. How she lived to fight, lived to love and lived to die. This is Arianna Davidson
-Chuck Shurley