When Love Is Not Enough

But how could I.....
Change the feelings imbibed within
Erase the scars that caused pain
When I could never see you again
If only I could...then I would
L. A.

It sits there on the computer table, a small and pinkish stuffed teddy bear. It is cute in some generic way but is not unlike many other stuffed animal toys that you would find in an ordinary gift shop or novelty store; the kind you would send as a gift with flowers or a greeting card.

But ordinary it is not, as I learned recently. Because the bear has a story. A tale of unrequited love.

The story is of an intelligent, young man who met an even younger girl some years ago. The man fell desperately and hopelessly for the girl. The girl, of just 16 years, overwhelmed by his passion and ardor, returned his affection. The affair blossomed for a while but in time the girl realized that her affection for the young man fell short of love. She tried to break up the relationship but the man fought back with frenzied wooing complete with flowers, gifts and passionate poems expressing undying love.

The girl relented and the love affair stumbled on for while until the she finally and with great honesty ended it much to the despair and sorrow of our young man. Heartbroken, he has learned to accept the breakup and struggles to live on with the memory of his lost love.

I never have much use for love stories especially those of the fictional kind. But real stories of love have a compelling allure of their own. They speak to the heart and that basic and deepest core within us that rejects the cynical viewpoint of those who deride the idea of romance or the emotion of love as a human delusion or invention.

So whenever I look that stuffed bear, I see not the toy but something else. I see the remains of what was once a man's obsession with love and the tragic story of that love that was freely and passionately given but, unfortunately, was never returned in kind.