The Date
Rose got up after her strange dream. She looked at her clock, and noticed that it was Midnight. She couldn't well wake her mother up, her mother would have a fit, and so she decided to go to the bathroom to get a glass of water.
She went too the bathroom, and picked up a Dixie cup, she turned on the cold water tap, and began to fill the cup with water. As she sipped from the cup, she thought to herself, 'Boy, what happened.I SWEAR, this JUST gets STRANGER by the day!' She shook her head in amazement and disappointment. All she had wanted was to find true love, but now, all she was finding was confusion. She thought to herself in frustration, 'Why does life HAVE to be such a BITCH?' She quickly turned off the bathroom light, and then climbed back into bed.
6:45 A.M.
Ruth walked into the kitchen, and was quite amazed to see Rose dressed up, and ready for school, sitting at the kitchen table eating corn flakes. Usually, Ruth had to drag Rose out of bed, literally, and had to coax Rose away from the ice cream and donuts. Curious, Ruth asked, "Rose, honey, why are you ready so soon? Why are you ACTUALLY EATING healthy food?"
Rose gave her mother a confused look. Then, she looked down at her bowl of corn flakes, as she said in a very meek voice, which was so faint that it sounded to Ruth, like a faint whisper which she could barely hear, "Mom.I had a strange dream last night.one which.one which." Now Rose looked up at her mother, her blue eyes wide with fear as she said, "AND IT SCARED THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME!" "Rose." Ruth responded, in shock, "Watch your mouth!" Then, Ruth, noticing Rose was visibly scared responded in concern, "What happened honey?" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion, as she asked in a meek, and curious tone, "Mom, what's falling in love supposed to feel like?" Before Ruth could answer the question, Rose replied, "Last night, I dreamt that my dream guy turned into an evil monster, and tried to kill me. I mean, Cal, this dream guy is perfect. he comes from a prestigious family, and he's a gentleman. But in this one dream I had, and I could see EVERYTHING in this dream SO clearly, he turned into an ASSHOLE, and then the guy from no where, from the boondocks, was the one who rescued me!" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion as she said, "I don't GET it!" Ruth sighed, it was clear to her that Rose was facing complex quandaries that went far beyond falling in love. Ruth had heard of this happening, but until recently, she had thought it was simply folk tale. She had heard about a certain healing love, which supposedly, emanated from an abstract, and higher power (some call this power 'God', in any case, it's abstract enough to defy ordinary human comprehension), which could be transmitted by human contact. Once a person received this love, this person underwent a profound emotional transformation, and matured in the process. Ruth didn't know how to tell this to Rose, so she simply said, "Rose, honey, sometimes, love hurts! I mean, it seems cruel, but sometimes, the whole point of falling in love is to GROW yourself!"
Rose looked up at her mother in even more confusion, then she got up from the table, and she said, "I guess I'll work on Trig in my room." Rose went up into her room, and began to work out as many Trig problems as possible.
8:00 A.M.
Rose was standing by her locker. There was Cal, staring at her. It happened to her again, Rose was fast and furious in love with Cal. Cal gave Rose a very naughty smile, which made her feel giddy in the head, as he said in a very seductive, and smooth voice, "So, where do you want to go, how about The Slick Cat?" Rose, blindly said, "Ok." Cal walked away. Rose, immediately whipped out her Nokia, and she sent Jack an SMS message reading: CAL AND I ARE GOING TO GO TO THE SLICK CAT THEATRE AFTER SCHOOL. MEET ME AFTER SCHOOL GETS OUT BY THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. Immediately after she had sent this message, she got an SMS message from Jack, on her cell, which read: OK.
4:00 P.M.
School was over, and Jack walked over to Rose, who was standing out by the front of the building. Jack said, "Rose, I can't come with you, but I'll follow you in my car, and I'll watch over you." It was then that Jack pointed to his beat-up 1978 model Cadillac. Rose sighed when she saw it, from her standpoint; it was so plain, that it made Jack look like a pauper. Well, on the surface, that's what he WAS! His socio-economic standing made him a PAUPER, but Rose could never shake the niggling feeling that Jack was really a GENTLEMAN! Rose sighed again as she thought to herself, 'It's not fair, if only life could present the opportunity to show Jack as he really is, which is a Prince, and not what he appears to be, due to his life situation, which is a pauper, and a nobody!'
Rose did not realize it then, but the date that Rose and Cal were going to go on would be life presenting a prime opportunity for showing Rose and Cal Jack's true colours and nature.
4:05 P.M.
Jack disappeared into his car, just as Cal appeared. Cal looked at the beat-up Cadillac and sniffed at it with an air of contempt, he said, under his breath, in an arrogant tone, "Boy.I wonder who would drive that piece of junk!" A hard lump formed in Rose's throat, and all of a sudden, she felt quite nauseous. She could feel her cheeks burning with anger as she thought about Cal's words. In a state of indignity, and a sense of rebellion, she thought to herself, 'Jack is NOT a vagabond, which is what Cal inferred!' Cal looked at Rose, and he said, "So, are you going to come into the car with me?"
When Rose saw the Rolls Royce that Cal drove, what with its slick black interior, and its model insignia perched in an air of defiance on the hood of the car, her breath was taken away. She had never seen something so grand in her life. The car appeared to be saying, "Look at me, I am a work of art." Rose gasped, she was so taken away by the sight of his car that she was breathless, and literally, hyperventilating. Rose got into the passenger seat of the car, and it was then that she began to feel like a prisoner. She may have been like a princess, what with driving in such a high-class, and exclusive car, but she would find Cal's personality to be quite controlling. Immediately, when she got into the car, much to her shock, Cal turned on the permanent locks for all of the car doors, "As a safety feature." Cal told her. Rose tried to reassure herself that Cal was doing this for her welfare, but, somehow, she couldn't shake the niggling feeling that Cal was doing this in the attempt to try to trap her. Rose felt queasy, and she squirmed around in her seat. It was then that Cal appeared to have telepathic powers, or at least, that's the way it seemed from Rose's standpoint, for, without even looking at Rose, Cal said in a very cold, unemotional, and off-beat way, "Rose, stop squirming, it's not ladylike!" Rose felt stunned, as though Cal had simply slapped her across the face, she felt, as though, from hearing the tone in Cal's voice, that Cal did not really care about the way she felt, she felt as though Cal viewed her as road kill, as a simple object, and nothing more. Rose, nervously, looked in the rear window, and was quite relieved to see Jack's Cadillac following them. Somehow, Rose felt as though an angel was following her. Cal did not seem to note the Cadillac following his car, and he, indiscriminately, began to turn on Mediaeval Church music, in Latin. Rose felt quite peeved that Cal didn't even bother to ask her what type of music she wanted to listen to. "Cal." she said in an annoyed tone, "why did you not ask me what type of music I wanted to listen to, I HATE." Cal, violently, turned to her, and snapped at her, "Look, when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you, this is MY car, and you're just a guest here, do YOU UNDERSTAND. Also, I think you're acting quite uppity, and UNLADYLIKE BY COMPLAINING. A TRUE LADY DOES AS SHE IS TOLD WITHOUT PROTESTING!" 'In that case,' Rose thought to herself quite weakly, 'I don't want to be a lady.'
Rose felt a very unsettling feeling rising from her heart into her bosom. For all of her life, she'd been liked, and everyone had treated her like a princess. She'd been Miss. Popular, and she'd been the center of everyone's life, but now, now it was different. Rose put her hands on her stomach, as she was trying to coax a very upset stomach to calmness. Right now, Rose felt like throwing-up, she could 'feel it coming up' she could also feel the acid churning away in her stomach. It wasn't fair, from her standpoint. The only thing she could think of now was, 'what did I do to deserve this?' She'd always heard that love was something that made a person feel good, well, she may have been experiencing love, but it HURT! She felt queasy; she couldn't shake the niggling feeling from her mind that Cal didn't really love her, that he was really using her popularity and social status to simply raise his status. Somehow, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that was simply nibbling away at her insides, not her physical insides, but her emotional and her SPIRITUAL insides, that for Cal, all she was was an object for him to display to others, as if to say, "see, look at what I got, and SHE'S all mine!" It was then that Rose thought to herself, 'BUT I AM A REAL HUMAN with REAL feelings, I mean, I'm more than an object, I AM a person who can think for herself! Why should I even have to put up with this?' It was then that she found herself contemplating a thought that she'd never thought of before, 'WHAT IS LOVE?'
That question was a question that the world's brightest literary geniuses, and intellectuals, from Jesus, to Shakespeare, to Devdas had pondered since before recorded human history. While none had, or have, ever found an absolute answer to the question, many have come up with what they thought were sufficient answers to the question. The only trouble was that one geniuses's idea of 'love' might be another's idea of 'hell'. Einstein's famous equation, E=MC^2, which explains the 'theory of relativity' states that everything, especially ideas, in this universe is relative, and love is definitely one of them. The true answer to this question is that 'love is in the eyes of the beholder, and is what the beholder interprets it to be.' That is something that Rose would eventually learn.
5:00 P.M.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief; they were finally at the theatre! Rose's stomach was killing her, and her throat was parched, but she felt too afraid of asking her date if they couldn't stop by a haunt to get something to eat and drink, because she was too afraid that he might strike out at her. 'That's just it!' she thought to herself in indignation, 'why should I be afraid to ask the man I love if I can't try to get something to eat and drink?' It was then that Cal said in a robotic and unemotional voice, "Rose, before the movie, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by Carls Jr for something to eat." Rose breathed a sigh of relief, and she said, "Yes." Rose breathed an even bigger sigh of relief when she saw Jack getting out of his car. She and Jack made eye contact that instant, and Jack was shaken when he saw the pleading look that was emanating from Rose's bright blue eyes, as though she was in some sort of perverted trap, and she was just crying out for help! Jack had never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before, and as an artist, he'd seen lots of eyes, because he knew that 'the eyes are the gateway to the soul' and it was his job to capture the emotion in peoples' eyes when he painted them. The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes was that of a soul that was trapped in some sort of invisible cage, and was being tortured by an invisible, but omni-present evil force. Jack had heard of such metaphors in literature, but, until he had seen that look in Rose's eyes, he'd never thought that such a concept existed! The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes sent chills up his spine.
5:05 P.M.
Cal and Rose were standing behind the counter at Carls, ordering food, and Rose smiled in relief when she saw Jack trailing them. Jack smiled when he saw Rose smile at him. When Rose smiled, it illuminated her entire face, and made her eyes dance with glee. Somehow, when she smiled, it brought out life and vigour and jest, and a lively spirit in her eyes. Such an expression, from Jack's viewpoint, was memorable. 'She should smile like that more often, and I should paint her when she smiles, she really has life, vigour, and SPIRIT when she smiles!' Jack thought to himself. It was then that Jack conspicuously went outside, and pulled out a newspaper, and began to hide behind it. Rose's heart sunk, because she had so hoped that Jack would accompany them. Cal turned around and saw the look of longing, and happiness in Rose's eyes and on her face, and something told him that she wasn't happy for him, something was beginning to tell Cal, in a very unsettling way that Rose wasn't really into him. Cal couldn't have this, from his standpoint, every girl could be conquered, and was simply more meat for his insatiatiable machine. It was then that Cal said in a very harsh, grating, and caustic voice, "Rose, what are you looking at?" Rose turned around, startled, and said, "I'm a nature freak, and I was admiring the outdoors." Cal gave her a look that said, 'yeah right!' Rose felt very uncomfortable, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, as well as butterflies in her stomach. She could sense that Cal was beginning to sense that something wasn't quite right with this picture, and that she wasn't really into him. 'Well,' she thought to herself in indignant justification, 'If love is something that makes you feel good, and makes you grow, then why should I WILLINGLY fall in love with an asshole?' It was then that Rose caught herself, and began to wonder if she had willingly fallen in love. In any case, they got their order, and sat down at a table, and began to eat. While they were eating, Cal's demeanouor was so controlling, that Rose felt quite uncomfortable, as though she was being watched like a hawk, and being smothered. Also, Cal looked at her with such beady eyes, that she swore that Cal was trying to pierce right through her body with his caustic and piercy looks. Rose squirmed many times as they were eating, because she felt as though Cal was trying to eat away at the essence of her, with his looks. She could sense a red and beady presence and nature in his eyes, and it was making her feel mighty uncomfortable!
5:40 P.M.
Rose and Cal arose from their seats, and Jack, who was the silent observer in all of this, arose as well. He quickly and deftly folded his newspaper, and then he walked behind the restaurant, and into the movie theatre, so that he could be as obscure from Rose and Cal as possible. All the while, he was keeping their view in the corner of his eye. Rose and Cal entered the room, which was screening 'Goldmember'. Jack, quickly followed them. Rose and Cal were sitting in the front of the room, and Jack was sitting towards the back of the room, where his presence was inconspicuous to Cal. The movie was supposed to be funny, but with Cal's constant and smothering presence, it was all that Rose could do to keep from feeling as though the very essence of life was being snuffed out of her. Somehow, she felt as though something that was very essential to her, the lifeblood of her, yet something that was so intangible and ethereal that it could only be sensed, and not seen, or proven was being squeezed of its energy by a dark force, which emanated from Cal. Somehow, she could sense that a very malicious and dark energy, which was invisible, was emanating from Cal, and was contained in some loosely defined and barely felt, force field, was moving out of its very porous, and loosely defined borders, which occupied the space in and around Cal's body, and was moving, with a will and an energy that Rose could neither identify, nor understand, into the force field that was in and around Rose's body, and was somehow, was trying to enter her force field, and was trying to tap the psychic energy that was innate to Rose, and was trying to feed off of it! Rose felt as though, Cal was trying to use bad vibes to feed off of her psychic energy (many people call this a soul) and was trying to use the goodness of her soul to strengthen his soul. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear HE WAS A VAMPIRE! Rose felt very nervous when she made this discovery. Suddenly, she felt as though she was REALLY trapped. She wanted to fly away from her seat, to somewhere safe.
It was at that instant that she, instinctively, and automatically, turned her head around to see where Jack was. She KNEW that Jack was there. While she couldn't see him sitting in the back of the theatre, she could sense his presence there, and this made her feel much more comfortable. All of a sudden, she felt as though an angel was watching over her, and protecting her to ensure that nothing bad happen to her.
The movie was short in duration, and it was finally over, after an hour and a half.
7:30 P.M.
The movie ended, and Rose, begrudgingly, got up with Cal. She sighed, she really didn't look forward to getting into the Rolls with Cal, and she didn't care how swanky the car looked. She thought to herself, 'boy, it would be better to ride with Jack in his beat up Caddy, where, at least I'd be treated like a real human, rather than put up pretences, and feel as though I was in a trap with this ASSHOLE!' It was the last word, 'asshole' which made Rose turn her head up, and look at Cal in deep thought and contemplation. It was then that she asked herself the million-dollar question, 'Is he REALLY the one for me?' She got into the passenger seat of Cal's Rolls, but she felt quite a bit of relief when she saw Jack's Caddy trailing her. Somehow, she felt as though her guardian angel was watching over her.
8:00 P.M.
Rose got out of the Rolls, and she said with a confidence that shocked Cal, she could tell by the look on his face, "Don't call me for the next date, I'll call you!" That was the only thing she said, as she got out of the car, and walked towards her house. She saw Jack's Caddy, parked underneath a tree, in such a way that it remained hidden. She watched as Cal drove away, and as soon as he had driven away so that she was out of eyeshot, she walked towards Jack's Caddy. But she was quite surprised to find, when she finally got to his car that no one was inside. She looked at the windshield, and she was quite shocked to see an image of a young woman, perhaps no older than 25 look at her. This woman was wearing a red wrap, and she appeared to be standing in front of a stair well. Rose saw that she was wearing black pants, with flowers, and that she was wearing an off- green beige shirt. Rose saw that this girl was very pretty. She had red hair, which wasn't quite shoulder length. Rose saw that she had dark brown eyes, and very rich, dark-medium olive skin. This girl said, "My name is Jasmine, and I'm here to protect you." Suddenly, it was just as soon as the image had appeared for Rose that it disappeared! Rose felt very bewildered.
"Rose." "Rose." Startled, Rose looked up, and she saw her mother calling her. Rose thought to her, 'I'd best go inside, I've still got a lot of homework to do.' So Rose went inside. Her back was turned to Jack, so she didn't see him looking at her, in admiration, and with a tinge of love in his heart. He was thinking to himself, with longing eyes, as he watched her walk towards her front door with a sexy jaunt, which would make any man's heart melt, 'My God, what a woman!' Jack got into his car, and quietly drove off..
Rose, gingerly, turned the knob to the front door. Her mother was sitting by the kitchen table. Ruth asked, "So how did the date go?" Rose didn't even look at her mother, Rose felt quite chilled. She said, "Some things just don't work out. I don't know, but I think it was a disaster. I'm beginning to really have second thoughts about Cal, and I'm beginning to wonder if I EVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN!" Ruth mentioned in a nonchalant, and off-beat way, "That bad, huh?" It was then that Rose violently turned around to her mother and said, "Mom, you JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Then she huffed her way upstairs.
It was while Rose was walking upstairs that her mother looked at her with a wry look in her eyes, and a wry smile on her face and said to herself, in a very cunning voice, "Ah, my dear, but I DO understand what you're going through, for I have been there myself. The person experiencing the situation MUST learn some lessons in life. There are some things that just can't be taught to people. THESE LESSONS MUST BE LEARNED THE HARD WAY!" Then Ruth pulled out a picture of Jasmine, which was identical to the image that Rose had seen on Jack's windshield earlier that evening. Ruth smiled to herself as she looked at the picture and she said, "I have met Jasmine, and I imagine, Rose, my dear daughter, you will too. She is the keeper of civilization, and the guardian angel of us all!"
8:20 P.M.
However, Rose wasn't seeing it that way. Rose sighed in frustration. For some reason, she just couldn't get her lima cons to turn out right. 'Great!' she thought to herself, 'I have a Trig test tomorrow, and I can't do my DAMN homework.' It was then that she moved over to her bed, and began to type out her thoughts into her diary. Here is how her journal entry read:
22 September, 2003
Dear Diary:
Life is such a Bitch! I thought I had met my dream guy, but it turns out that he's a dud; actually, he's an asshole. To make matters worse, the guy that everyone paints off as a no one has turned out, so far, to be a real gentleman. I mean it seems weird to me, because the guy I thought I was in love with, turns out to be a loser, and the guy who everyone would write off as road kill, because of his perceived lower social status is the true gentleman. This reminds me of the famous phrase, 'you can't judge a book by its cover.' Everyone told me that love is 'the best thing that happens to you.' Well, love happened to me, but I can think of a lot of better experiences that have occurred in my life. By far, this has been the WORST experience I have had in my life. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that someone was trying to punish me. I mean, I haven't hurt anyone, and I wonder what I've done to deserve this! This has been too much for me to ponder, but it has gotten me to wonder about my entire life, and everything I've ever valued. For all of my life, the only one I've ever thought about is myself. I mean, I was everyone's princess, but that was before I met a guy who couldn't give a fuck about me. The funniest thing is that he appeared to be a nice, romantic, and charming man, who cared about everyone. But, when I got to know him better, I began to get the feeling that he sees people, especially women, ones who are young, rich, and pretty, as objects to be used, to enhance his own standing and status in society. I also got the feeling that he uses people, especially if they've got status, and money, and energy to strengthen himself. I got that impression today, when I went on that 'date!' with him. What a date, Chinese torture would have been more fun than that date was! I mean, as I was sitting by him, I got the feeling that somehow, he was trying to tap into some inner energy that I had, and he was trying to use it. I don't know if he does this on purpose, but I know that he does this! I've heard about such characters in folk tales and legend, and I think they're referred to as vampires, but, come on, get real, vampires don't exist.
It was then that Rose's eyes became wide with an innocent fear, as she, audibly finished the last sentence of her journal entry with, "Or do they?" She resumed her journal entry. Then there was that image, of that girl that I saw in Jack's windshield window. Speaking of which, that reminds me of that dream I had yesterday, when I saw Cal turn into.Dracula? It was then that he tried to get me; he said something about being attracted to my innocence and my beauty. It was then that I tried to outrun him, but the bastard began to develop wings, and a hawk's body, and tried to out fly me, he was getting pretty damn close to me, and my neck, which he looked like he wanted to bite.just like the folk tales and legends say DRACULA did! But then, Jack came and rescued me. Hey, wait, all along, I got the feeling that Jack, was my guardian angel. A guardian angel is someone who protects you, but whose presence you can't really see. All throughout the date, I knew Jack was there, but I couldn't really see him. I mean I know he was trying to hid from Cal, but I can't help but notice that there's a strong symbolic connotation to the events that conspired in the way they did during my date, and.IN MY LIFE! Then there was that image of that girl in Jack's windshield, who called herself, 'Jasmine' and said she was going to protect me. But from who, and what?
It was then that Rose looked up from her laptop, and said, "Well, tomorrow's another day."
Presently, Rose was in a state of sheer and utter confusion. She was just beginning to wake up, but even her mind was too immature, and too young and naive to comprehend the true and full nature of what was happening. It was evident by thee diary entry that she had written that she was finally beginning to come out of her shell and realize that the world didn't owe her anything, and that not everyone in the world would think of her as a princess. Rose was young yet, so it would take her some time to really begin to understand who she was, and to really understand the true nature of sacrifice, growing up, and maturity. Though she didn't quite realize it, she was beginning to understand the concept of 'the soul' and the concept of spiritual awakening and development. Thus far, she had identified it as psychic energy, which is exactly what it is. She had been correct to identify it as 'lifeblood' during her date. The soul is the psychic and ethereal energy, which is the energy of all living things. The soul is the reason why all living things are dynamic, and why they can perceive their environment, and respond to it. Without the soul, life on Earth would be impossible, this is because the physiological nature of the body, as scientists define it only explain the mechanical workings of the body, but it can't explain why humans function as dynamic and vibrant beings, and it can't explain why plants and animals function as dynamic and vibrant beings as well (scientists are now finding that primates and humans share more than 98% of DNA. Furthermore, they are finding that only 50 genetic mutations separate humans from primates, and that those genetic mutations differ in quantity and not quality -meaning that primates share the same reasoning and speaking abilities as humans, but in the human brain, these abilities are much greater than in primates). It was clear that Rose was finally beginning to wake up to the true and vibrant woman that she really was, but it would take several more encounters, and days of spiritual awakening for her to really realize who she really was. She was right to realize that 'Jasmine' played an important part in her spiritual awakening and discovery. Rose was also finally beginning to realize that life is much more than 'having fun', it's about spiritual discovery, and finally learning that other people matter, and that when you undertake actions, you have to think about how they affect others, because that is a true sign of maturity, which was something that Rose so pined to have. Rose also pined to find true love, which she would, but finding true love can only come with 'spiritual awakening', or 'really finding yourself' which leads to maturity. That would take a while.
Meanwhile, Rose was getting out her Nokia, and sending Jack an SMS message, which read, "So, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon, do you want to go out on a date?" She gingerly held her phone waiting for a response, which she got, in the form of SMS text, which read, "Sure, what do you want to do, and what time do you want to meet Rose, I'd love to get to know you better. You really are a very interesting and unique person." Rose chuckled to herself, "Oh, I'm flattered." She immediately transferred Jack's message to her to her computer, so that she could save it.
Rose got up after her strange dream. She looked at her clock, and noticed that it was Midnight. She couldn't well wake her mother up, her mother would have a fit, and so she decided to go to the bathroom to get a glass of water.
She went too the bathroom, and picked up a Dixie cup, she turned on the cold water tap, and began to fill the cup with water. As she sipped from the cup, she thought to herself, 'Boy, what happened.I SWEAR, this JUST gets STRANGER by the day!' She shook her head in amazement and disappointment. All she had wanted was to find true love, but now, all she was finding was confusion. She thought to herself in frustration, 'Why does life HAVE to be such a BITCH?' She quickly turned off the bathroom light, and then climbed back into bed.
6:45 A.M.
Ruth walked into the kitchen, and was quite amazed to see Rose dressed up, and ready for school, sitting at the kitchen table eating corn flakes. Usually, Ruth had to drag Rose out of bed, literally, and had to coax Rose away from the ice cream and donuts. Curious, Ruth asked, "Rose, honey, why are you ready so soon? Why are you ACTUALLY EATING healthy food?"
Rose gave her mother a confused look. Then, she looked down at her bowl of corn flakes, as she said in a very meek voice, which was so faint that it sounded to Ruth, like a faint whisper which she could barely hear, "Mom.I had a strange dream last night.one which.one which." Now Rose looked up at her mother, her blue eyes wide with fear as she said, "AND IT SCARED THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME!" "Rose." Ruth responded, in shock, "Watch your mouth!" Then, Ruth, noticing Rose was visibly scared responded in concern, "What happened honey?" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion, as she asked in a meek, and curious tone, "Mom, what's falling in love supposed to feel like?" Before Ruth could answer the question, Rose replied, "Last night, I dreamt that my dream guy turned into an evil monster, and tried to kill me. I mean, Cal, this dream guy is perfect. he comes from a prestigious family, and he's a gentleman. But in this one dream I had, and I could see EVERYTHING in this dream SO clearly, he turned into an ASSHOLE, and then the guy from no where, from the boondocks, was the one who rescued me!" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion as she said, "I don't GET it!" Ruth sighed, it was clear to her that Rose was facing complex quandaries that went far beyond falling in love. Ruth had heard of this happening, but until recently, she had thought it was simply folk tale. She had heard about a certain healing love, which supposedly, emanated from an abstract, and higher power (some call this power 'God', in any case, it's abstract enough to defy ordinary human comprehension), which could be transmitted by human contact. Once a person received this love, this person underwent a profound emotional transformation, and matured in the process. Ruth didn't know how to tell this to Rose, so she simply said, "Rose, honey, sometimes, love hurts! I mean, it seems cruel, but sometimes, the whole point of falling in love is to GROW yourself!"
Rose looked up at her mother in even more confusion, then she got up from the table, and she said, "I guess I'll work on Trig in my room." Rose went up into her room, and began to work out as many Trig problems as possible.
8:00 A.M.
Rose was standing by her locker. There was Cal, staring at her. It happened to her again, Rose was fast and furious in love with Cal. Cal gave Rose a very naughty smile, which made her feel giddy in the head, as he said in a very seductive, and smooth voice, "So, where do you want to go, how about The Slick Cat?" Rose, blindly said, "Ok." Cal walked away. Rose, immediately whipped out her Nokia, and she sent Jack an SMS message reading: CAL AND I ARE GOING TO GO TO THE SLICK CAT THEATRE AFTER SCHOOL. MEET ME AFTER SCHOOL GETS OUT BY THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. Immediately after she had sent this message, she got an SMS message from Jack, on her cell, which read: OK.
4:00 P.M.
School was over, and Jack walked over to Rose, who was standing out by the front of the building. Jack said, "Rose, I can't come with you, but I'll follow you in my car, and I'll watch over you." It was then that Jack pointed to his beat-up 1978 model Cadillac. Rose sighed when she saw it, from her standpoint; it was so plain, that it made Jack look like a pauper. Well, on the surface, that's what he WAS! His socio-economic standing made him a PAUPER, but Rose could never shake the niggling feeling that Jack was really a GENTLEMAN! Rose sighed again as she thought to herself, 'It's not fair, if only life could present the opportunity to show Jack as he really is, which is a Prince, and not what he appears to be, due to his life situation, which is a pauper, and a nobody!'
Rose did not realize it then, but the date that Rose and Cal were going to go on would be life presenting a prime opportunity for showing Rose and Cal Jack's true colours and nature.
4:05 P.M.
Jack disappeared into his car, just as Cal appeared. Cal looked at the beat-up Cadillac and sniffed at it with an air of contempt, he said, under his breath, in an arrogant tone, "Boy.I wonder who would drive that piece of junk!" A hard lump formed in Rose's throat, and all of a sudden, she felt quite nauseous. She could feel her cheeks burning with anger as she thought about Cal's words. In a state of indignity, and a sense of rebellion, she thought to herself, 'Jack is NOT a vagabond, which is what Cal inferred!' Cal looked at Rose, and he said, "So, are you going to come into the car with me?"
When Rose saw the Rolls Royce that Cal drove, what with its slick black interior, and its model insignia perched in an air of defiance on the hood of the car, her breath was taken away. She had never seen something so grand in her life. The car appeared to be saying, "Look at me, I am a work of art." Rose gasped, she was so taken away by the sight of his car that she was breathless, and literally, hyperventilating. Rose got into the passenger seat of the car, and it was then that she began to feel like a prisoner. She may have been like a princess, what with driving in such a high-class, and exclusive car, but she would find Cal's personality to be quite controlling. Immediately, when she got into the car, much to her shock, Cal turned on the permanent locks for all of the car doors, "As a safety feature." Cal told her. Rose tried to reassure herself that Cal was doing this for her welfare, but, somehow, she couldn't shake the niggling feeling that Cal was doing this in the attempt to try to trap her. Rose felt queasy, and she squirmed around in her seat. It was then that Cal appeared to have telepathic powers, or at least, that's the way it seemed from Rose's standpoint, for, without even looking at Rose, Cal said in a very cold, unemotional, and off-beat way, "Rose, stop squirming, it's not ladylike!" Rose felt stunned, as though Cal had simply slapped her across the face, she felt, as though, from hearing the tone in Cal's voice, that Cal did not really care about the way she felt, she felt as though Cal viewed her as road kill, as a simple object, and nothing more. Rose, nervously, looked in the rear window, and was quite relieved to see Jack's Cadillac following them. Somehow, Rose felt as though an angel was following her. Cal did not seem to note the Cadillac following his car, and he, indiscriminately, began to turn on Mediaeval Church music, in Latin. Rose felt quite peeved that Cal didn't even bother to ask her what type of music she wanted to listen to. "Cal." she said in an annoyed tone, "why did you not ask me what type of music I wanted to listen to, I HATE." Cal, violently, turned to her, and snapped at her, "Look, when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you, this is MY car, and you're just a guest here, do YOU UNDERSTAND. Also, I think you're acting quite uppity, and UNLADYLIKE BY COMPLAINING. A TRUE LADY DOES AS SHE IS TOLD WITHOUT PROTESTING!" 'In that case,' Rose thought to herself quite weakly, 'I don't want to be a lady.'
Rose felt a very unsettling feeling rising from her heart into her bosom. For all of her life, she'd been liked, and everyone had treated her like a princess. She'd been Miss. Popular, and she'd been the center of everyone's life, but now, now it was different. Rose put her hands on her stomach, as she was trying to coax a very upset stomach to calmness. Right now, Rose felt like throwing-up, she could 'feel it coming up' she could also feel the acid churning away in her stomach. It wasn't fair, from her standpoint. The only thing she could think of now was, 'what did I do to deserve this?' She'd always heard that love was something that made a person feel good, well, she may have been experiencing love, but it HURT! She felt queasy; she couldn't shake the niggling feeling from her mind that Cal didn't really love her, that he was really using her popularity and social status to simply raise his status. Somehow, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that was simply nibbling away at her insides, not her physical insides, but her emotional and her SPIRITUAL insides, that for Cal, all she was was an object for him to display to others, as if to say, "see, look at what I got, and SHE'S all mine!" It was then that Rose thought to herself, 'BUT I AM A REAL HUMAN with REAL feelings, I mean, I'm more than an object, I AM a person who can think for herself! Why should I even have to put up with this?' It was then that she found herself contemplating a thought that she'd never thought of before, 'WHAT IS LOVE?'
That question was a question that the world's brightest literary geniuses, and intellectuals, from Jesus, to Shakespeare, to Devdas had pondered since before recorded human history. While none had, or have, ever found an absolute answer to the question, many have come up with what they thought were sufficient answers to the question. The only trouble was that one geniuses's idea of 'love' might be another's idea of 'hell'. Einstein's famous equation, E=MC^2, which explains the 'theory of relativity' states that everything, especially ideas, in this universe is relative, and love is definitely one of them. The true answer to this question is that 'love is in the eyes of the beholder, and is what the beholder interprets it to be.' That is something that Rose would eventually learn.
5:00 P.M.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief; they were finally at the theatre! Rose's stomach was killing her, and her throat was parched, but she felt too afraid of asking her date if they couldn't stop by a haunt to get something to eat and drink, because she was too afraid that he might strike out at her. 'That's just it!' she thought to herself in indignation, 'why should I be afraid to ask the man I love if I can't try to get something to eat and drink?' It was then that Cal said in a robotic and unemotional voice, "Rose, before the movie, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by Carls Jr for something to eat." Rose breathed a sigh of relief, and she said, "Yes." Rose breathed an even bigger sigh of relief when she saw Jack getting out of his car. She and Jack made eye contact that instant, and Jack was shaken when he saw the pleading look that was emanating from Rose's bright blue eyes, as though she was in some sort of perverted trap, and she was just crying out for help! Jack had never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before, and as an artist, he'd seen lots of eyes, because he knew that 'the eyes are the gateway to the soul' and it was his job to capture the emotion in peoples' eyes when he painted them. The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes was that of a soul that was trapped in some sort of invisible cage, and was being tortured by an invisible, but omni-present evil force. Jack had heard of such metaphors in literature, but, until he had seen that look in Rose's eyes, he'd never thought that such a concept existed! The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes sent chills up his spine.
5:05 P.M.
Cal and Rose were standing behind the counter at Carls, ordering food, and Rose smiled in relief when she saw Jack trailing them. Jack smiled when he saw Rose smile at him. When Rose smiled, it illuminated her entire face, and made her eyes dance with glee. Somehow, when she smiled, it brought out life and vigour and jest, and a lively spirit in her eyes. Such an expression, from Jack's viewpoint, was memorable. 'She should smile like that more often, and I should paint her when she smiles, she really has life, vigour, and SPIRIT when she smiles!' Jack thought to himself. It was then that Jack conspicuously went outside, and pulled out a newspaper, and began to hide behind it. Rose's heart sunk, because she had so hoped that Jack would accompany them. Cal turned around and saw the look of longing, and happiness in Rose's eyes and on her face, and something told him that she wasn't happy for him, something was beginning to tell Cal, in a very unsettling way that Rose wasn't really into him. Cal couldn't have this, from his standpoint, every girl could be conquered, and was simply more meat for his insatiatiable machine. It was then that Cal said in a very harsh, grating, and caustic voice, "Rose, what are you looking at?" Rose turned around, startled, and said, "I'm a nature freak, and I was admiring the outdoors." Cal gave her a look that said, 'yeah right!' Rose felt very uncomfortable, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, as well as butterflies in her stomach. She could sense that Cal was beginning to sense that something wasn't quite right with this picture, and that she wasn't really into him. 'Well,' she thought to herself in indignant justification, 'If love is something that makes you feel good, and makes you grow, then why should I WILLINGLY fall in love with an asshole?' It was then that Rose caught herself, and began to wonder if she had willingly fallen in love. In any case, they got their order, and sat down at a table, and began to eat. While they were eating, Cal's demeanouor was so controlling, that Rose felt quite uncomfortable, as though she was being watched like a hawk, and being smothered. Also, Cal looked at her with such beady eyes, that she swore that Cal was trying to pierce right through her body with his caustic and piercy looks. Rose squirmed many times as they were eating, because she felt as though Cal was trying to eat away at the essence of her, with his looks. She could sense a red and beady presence and nature in his eyes, and it was making her feel mighty uncomfortable!
5:40 P.M.
Rose and Cal arose from their seats, and Jack, who was the silent observer in all of this, arose as well. He quickly and deftly folded his newspaper, and then he walked behind the restaurant, and into the movie theatre, so that he could be as obscure from Rose and Cal as possible. All the while, he was keeping their view in the corner of his eye. Rose and Cal entered the room, which was screening 'Goldmember'. Jack, quickly followed them. Rose and Cal were sitting in the front of the room, and Jack was sitting towards the back of the room, where his presence was inconspicuous to Cal. The movie was supposed to be funny, but with Cal's constant and smothering presence, it was all that Rose could do to keep from feeling as though the very essence of life was being snuffed out of her. Somehow, she felt as though something that was very essential to her, the lifeblood of her, yet something that was so intangible and ethereal that it could only be sensed, and not seen, or proven was being squeezed of its energy by a dark force, which emanated from Cal. Somehow, she could sense that a very malicious and dark energy, which was invisible, was emanating from Cal, and was contained in some loosely defined and barely felt, force field, was moving out of its very porous, and loosely defined borders, which occupied the space in and around Cal's body, and was moving, with a will and an energy that Rose could neither identify, nor understand, into the force field that was in and around Rose's body, and was somehow, was trying to enter her force field, and was trying to tap the psychic energy that was innate to Rose, and was trying to feed off of it! Rose felt as though, Cal was trying to use bad vibes to feed off of her psychic energy (many people call this a soul) and was trying to use the goodness of her soul to strengthen his soul. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear HE WAS A VAMPIRE! Rose felt very nervous when she made this discovery. Suddenly, she felt as though she was REALLY trapped. She wanted to fly away from her seat, to somewhere safe.
It was at that instant that she, instinctively, and automatically, turned her head around to see where Jack was. She KNEW that Jack was there. While she couldn't see him sitting in the back of the theatre, she could sense his presence there, and this made her feel much more comfortable. All of a sudden, she felt as though an angel was watching over her, and protecting her to ensure that nothing bad happen to her.
The movie was short in duration, and it was finally over, after an hour and a half.
7:30 P.M.
The movie ended, and Rose, begrudgingly, got up with Cal. She sighed, she really didn't look forward to getting into the Rolls with Cal, and she didn't care how swanky the car looked. She thought to herself, 'boy, it would be better to ride with Jack in his beat up Caddy, where, at least I'd be treated like a real human, rather than put up pretences, and feel as though I was in a trap with this ASSHOLE!' It was the last word, 'asshole' which made Rose turn her head up, and look at Cal in deep thought and contemplation. It was then that she asked herself the million-dollar question, 'Is he REALLY the one for me?' She got into the passenger seat of Cal's Rolls, but she felt quite a bit of relief when she saw Jack's Caddy trailing her. Somehow, she felt as though her guardian angel was watching over her.
8:00 P.M.
Rose got out of the Rolls, and she said with a confidence that shocked Cal, she could tell by the look on his face, "Don't call me for the next date, I'll call you!" That was the only thing she said, as she got out of the car, and walked towards her house. She saw Jack's Caddy, parked underneath a tree, in such a way that it remained hidden. She watched as Cal drove away, and as soon as he had driven away so that she was out of eyeshot, she walked towards Jack's Caddy. But she was quite surprised to find, when she finally got to his car that no one was inside. She looked at the windshield, and she was quite shocked to see an image of a young woman, perhaps no older than 25 look at her. This woman was wearing a red wrap, and she appeared to be standing in front of a stair well. Rose saw that she was wearing black pants, with flowers, and that she was wearing an off- green beige shirt. Rose saw that this girl was very pretty. She had red hair, which wasn't quite shoulder length. Rose saw that she had dark brown eyes, and very rich, dark-medium olive skin. This girl said, "My name is Jasmine, and I'm here to protect you." Suddenly, it was just as soon as the image had appeared for Rose that it disappeared! Rose felt very bewildered.
"Rose." "Rose." Startled, Rose looked up, and she saw her mother calling her. Rose thought to her, 'I'd best go inside, I've still got a lot of homework to do.' So Rose went inside. Her back was turned to Jack, so she didn't see him looking at her, in admiration, and with a tinge of love in his heart. He was thinking to himself, with longing eyes, as he watched her walk towards her front door with a sexy jaunt, which would make any man's heart melt, 'My God, what a woman!' Jack got into his car, and quietly drove off..
Rose, gingerly, turned the knob to the front door. Her mother was sitting by the kitchen table. Ruth asked, "So how did the date go?" Rose didn't even look at her mother, Rose felt quite chilled. She said, "Some things just don't work out. I don't know, but I think it was a disaster. I'm beginning to really have second thoughts about Cal, and I'm beginning to wonder if I EVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN!" Ruth mentioned in a nonchalant, and off-beat way, "That bad, huh?" It was then that Rose violently turned around to her mother and said, "Mom, you JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Then she huffed her way upstairs.
It was while Rose was walking upstairs that her mother looked at her with a wry look in her eyes, and a wry smile on her face and said to herself, in a very cunning voice, "Ah, my dear, but I DO understand what you're going through, for I have been there myself. The person experiencing the situation MUST learn some lessons in life. There are some things that just can't be taught to people. THESE LESSONS MUST BE LEARNED THE HARD WAY!" Then Ruth pulled out a picture of Jasmine, which was identical to the image that Rose had seen on Jack's windshield earlier that evening. Ruth smiled to herself as she looked at the picture and she said, "I have met Jasmine, and I imagine, Rose, my dear daughter, you will too. She is the keeper of civilization, and the guardian angel of us all!"
8:20 P.M.
However, Rose wasn't seeing it that way. Rose sighed in frustration. For some reason, she just couldn't get her lima cons to turn out right. 'Great!' she thought to herself, 'I have a Trig test tomorrow, and I can't do my DAMN homework.' It was then that she moved over to her bed, and began to type out her thoughts into her diary. Here is how her journal entry read:
22 September, 2003
Dear Diary:
Life is such a Bitch! I thought I had met my dream guy, but it turns out that he's a dud; actually, he's an asshole. To make matters worse, the guy that everyone paints off as a no one has turned out, so far, to be a real gentleman. I mean it seems weird to me, because the guy I thought I was in love with, turns out to be a loser, and the guy who everyone would write off as road kill, because of his perceived lower social status is the true gentleman. This reminds me of the famous phrase, 'you can't judge a book by its cover.' Everyone told me that love is 'the best thing that happens to you.' Well, love happened to me, but I can think of a lot of better experiences that have occurred in my life. By far, this has been the WORST experience I have had in my life. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that someone was trying to punish me. I mean, I haven't hurt anyone, and I wonder what I've done to deserve this! This has been too much for me to ponder, but it has gotten me to wonder about my entire life, and everything I've ever valued. For all of my life, the only one I've ever thought about is myself. I mean, I was everyone's princess, but that was before I met a guy who couldn't give a fuck about me. The funniest thing is that he appeared to be a nice, romantic, and charming man, who cared about everyone. But, when I got to know him better, I began to get the feeling that he sees people, especially women, ones who are young, rich, and pretty, as objects to be used, to enhance his own standing and status in society. I also got the feeling that he uses people, especially if they've got status, and money, and energy to strengthen himself. I got that impression today, when I went on that 'date!' with him. What a date, Chinese torture would have been more fun than that date was! I mean, as I was sitting by him, I got the feeling that somehow, he was trying to tap into some inner energy that I had, and he was trying to use it. I don't know if he does this on purpose, but I know that he does this! I've heard about such characters in folk tales and legend, and I think they're referred to as vampires, but, come on, get real, vampires don't exist.
It was then that Rose's eyes became wide with an innocent fear, as she, audibly finished the last sentence of her journal entry with, "Or do they?" She resumed her journal entry. Then there was that image, of that girl that I saw in Jack's windshield window. Speaking of which, that reminds me of that dream I had yesterday, when I saw Cal turn into.Dracula? It was then that he tried to get me; he said something about being attracted to my innocence and my beauty. It was then that I tried to outrun him, but the bastard began to develop wings, and a hawk's body, and tried to out fly me, he was getting pretty damn close to me, and my neck, which he looked like he wanted to bite.just like the folk tales and legends say DRACULA did! But then, Jack came and rescued me. Hey, wait, all along, I got the feeling that Jack, was my guardian angel. A guardian angel is someone who protects you, but whose presence you can't really see. All throughout the date, I knew Jack was there, but I couldn't really see him. I mean I know he was trying to hid from Cal, but I can't help but notice that there's a strong symbolic connotation to the events that conspired in the way they did during my date, and.IN MY LIFE! Then there was that image of that girl in Jack's windshield, who called herself, 'Jasmine' and said she was going to protect me. But from who, and what?
It was then that Rose looked up from her laptop, and said, "Well, tomorrow's another day."
Presently, Rose was in a state of sheer and utter confusion. She was just beginning to wake up, but even her mind was too immature, and too young and naive to comprehend the true and full nature of what was happening. It was evident by thee diary entry that she had written that she was finally beginning to come out of her shell and realize that the world didn't owe her anything, and that not everyone in the world would think of her as a princess. Rose was young yet, so it would take her some time to really begin to understand who she was, and to really understand the true nature of sacrifice, growing up, and maturity. Though she didn't quite realize it, she was beginning to understand the concept of 'the soul' and the concept of spiritual awakening and development. Thus far, she had identified it as psychic energy, which is exactly what it is. She had been correct to identify it as 'lifeblood' during her date. The soul is the psychic and ethereal energy, which is the energy of all living things. The soul is the reason why all living things are dynamic, and why they can perceive their environment, and respond to it. Without the soul, life on Earth would be impossible, this is because the physiological nature of the body, as scientists define it only explain the mechanical workings of the body, but it can't explain why humans function as dynamic and vibrant beings, and it can't explain why plants and animals function as dynamic and vibrant beings as well (scientists are now finding that primates and humans share more than 98% of DNA. Furthermore, they are finding that only 50 genetic mutations separate humans from primates, and that those genetic mutations differ in quantity and not quality -meaning that primates share the same reasoning and speaking abilities as humans, but in the human brain, these abilities are much greater than in primates). It was clear that Rose was finally beginning to wake up to the true and vibrant woman that she really was, but it would take several more encounters, and days of spiritual awakening for her to really realize who she really was. She was right to realize that 'Jasmine' played an important part in her spiritual awakening and discovery. Rose was also finally beginning to realize that life is much more than 'having fun', it's about spiritual discovery, and finally learning that other people matter, and that when you undertake actions, you have to think about how they affect others, because that is a true sign of maturity, which was something that Rose so pined to have. Rose also pined to find true love, which she would, but finding true love can only come with 'spiritual awakening', or 'really finding yourself' which leads to maturity. That would take a while.
Meanwhile, Rose was getting out her Nokia, and sending Jack an SMS message, which read, "So, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon, do you want to go out on a date?" She gingerly held her phone waiting for a response, which she got, in the form of SMS text, which read, "Sure, what do you want to do, and what time do you want to meet Rose, I'd love to get to know you better. You really are a very interesting and unique person." Rose chuckled to herself, "Oh, I'm flattered." She immediately transferred Jack's message to her to her computer, so that she could save it.