A Short Story on the Power of an Oath!
What this short
story is all about.
Where it all started
decades ago.
The Oath and the Old
Oak Tree.
The power of an honest
oath.
A journey through life
after love.
When the dust settled
after it all went wrong.
Where it all
started decades ago.
A short story about two
people (Charlotte and Nathan), and an honest oath. An oath that
was eternally binding to one, but not the other. Then came the betrayal that
changed one life forever, bound to an oath with powerful consequences. A broken
trust that could never again be mended. Enjoy the read.
The Oath and the
Old Oak Tree.
Early morning and the
campus grounds are like anthills, swarming as everyone rushes to classes.
Nathan is late, again, as are his compadres who all had a blast last night.
Being young stupid is a requirement in order to one day be old and wise,
unfortunately.
Being a little more
reckless than “the rest”, but still just a group of young men on
their journey to a career. For Nathan, the “blast” was more of a
pity party though. He had caught his girlfriend of two years “red handed”
and “in the act”.
But no matter how his
campus friends tried to cheer him up, the betrayal had a huge impact on him.
Why would she do that, and how long has that been going on for? When all signs
indicated they were happy! Thoughts messing up his head, as class is the last
thing on his mind.
They make it on time,
none the less and the day carries on. A few weeks later the wounds finally
started healing. But with his “X” on the same campus ground, “happy”
with her new found love is like ripping off the scabs every day.
What he didn’t notice,
was Charlotte. As the idea of getting a “girlfriend” took the
back seat. But Charlotte noticed him, long before Anita’s betrayal. She had her
eye on him for quite a while, and now she has to play her cards just right.
But approaching and
convincing a broken heart is not an easy task, it did however not stop
Charlotte from trying. Slowly she started moving into his “line of sight”,
being one of the girls on campus with beauty beyond comparison. It will not
take Nathan long to notice her.
A couple of months had
gone by, and finally quite a few cups of coffee and visits with Charlotte. She
came in at just the right time, when Nathan who would never admit it, needed
someone like her the most. Kind hearted, caring and just all around awesome!
The pair soon became a
couple and the envy of many, Anita was not as impress because Charlotte was
competition, hands down. But she knew verry well that her chances with Nathan
will never again be. A young man that despises two things in life the most. Lies
and adultery.
To him, it matters not
between girlfriend, fiancé, or wife. To Nathan, these are all the same. He
believes that if you do not love someone truly, and from the depths of your
heart. Then a piece of paper and jeweler is not going to make any difference.
What Charlotte didn’t
realize at the time, was that Nathan had never loved anyone that much. Perhaps
she was his first real love, but she was most likely his last! They became
inseparable, and Charlotte’s father grew really fond of Nathan. The mother not
so much though.
Charlotte’s father saw
something different in Nathan. While her mother only saw a long haired “hippy”
with hidden agendas. She could not have been more wrong, because chances of
anyone else ever loving Charlotte that much was rather slim.
Nathan’s family was
crazy about Charlotte and welcomed her with open arms on every occasion. Nathan
and Charlotte were the typical young couple, deeply in love and admired by
many. No one thought what came next could ever happen!
The power of an
honest oath.
Another crazy student’s
night, out with friends, Charlotte and Nathan arrives back at the campus
grounds. Happy and in love, obviously had a bit too much to drink, as things
often go being young and dumb.
Beneath an old oak
tree, they settle on the wooden bench in the beautiful campus gardens.
Proclaiming their love for each other and sealing it with the oath.
“I want to spend the
rest of my life with you, and if I cannot have a life with you. Then I do not
want a life with any other, I love you that much!” Charlotte said to
Nathan.
He just melted into the
wooden bench, finding himself wondering many times. “What does someone so
perfect ever see in me?” Her words burned into his heart as he proclaimed his
love in return.
“Me too, baby. I
have never loved anyone as much as I love you. If I cannot have a life with
you, then I don’t want to and never will have a life with anyone else!” He
responded, and perhaps sealed his fate.
“If I cannot have
a life with you, I do not want or will have a life with any other!”,
like an old bell it echoed through eternity. Perhaps the old oak tree under
which the oath was made played its part. Being a powerful mystical tree.
A journey through
life after love.
Almost a year had gone
past, and Nathan’s love for Charlotte had just grown stronger. Their lives
together had just entered overdrive as Nathan finished his studies, he was now
a promising young lawyer with several law firms after him. A promising future,
and the two could not be happier. Parents from both sides were over the moon, with
exclusion to Charlotte’s mother.
Nathan accepted a job
offer with a ridiculously large salary package from one of the biggest law
firms. The model couple started setting engagement and wedding dates, and they
couldn’t be happier. But for Charlotte, this was now merely on the surface.
Deep down she started
doubting their future together. But then the mother also played her part.
Filling Charlotte’s head with ideas and lies, just to serve her own agenda. She
had someone else in mind for Charlotte, and slowly but surely played her part.
Nathan went on to have
the most exquisite ring designed, as a surprise for Charlotte. They were to get
engaged in a few weeks’ time. He did not spare any expense, as money was not a
problem for this successful young man with long hair and tattoos.
It all went south so
fast! Nathan arrives at Charlottes’ dormitory, as she was in her final year. A
promising young surgeon, with a bright future with a really successful young
lawyer. The perfect love story, or not!
Two weeks before their
engagement, Charlotte decides to drop the bomb on Nathan. She wanted to break
up, as she no longer saw a future for them together. Perhaps the real cause was
the weekends in tears at home as her mother loved tearing Nathan apart in his
absence.
“I didn’t want to
break up with you before your final exams and jeopardize your chances at
success”, she said. “But this has been a long time coming”. She
crushed him in an instance with those words.
“Please don’t do
this!” he started begging. “What happened to if I cannot have a life
with you?” as he took her hands, while tears ran down his cheeks. Perhaps
his intensity was too much, as Charlotte just shrugged and ran back into the dormitory.
Two hearts lied
shattered on that campus sidewalk that night, or was it really just one? Nathan
did not see a way forward without Charlotte and seeing her with someone else
the next day was the final nail in his coffin.
He had no choice but to
leave because he couldn’t stomach seeing her with another guy. The “new
guy” turned out to be Charlotte’s mother’s choice for her daughter, she
finally succeeded in her plan.
Nathan fell apart,
completely and went on a self-destruct. No friends or family members could stop
this inevitable demise he was about to inflict upon himself. Or perhaps the
demise brought by through a sincere oath.
Nathan left town and
his promising career behind. He could not bring himself to stay and build a
life there without Charlotte. But the self-destruct didn’t end there. What
could have been a promising career, now turned into a shadow of the man that
could have been.
From promising young
lawyer to nightclub owner. Nathan soon had his fill of interested young woman.
But none could break through to him, they were mere “means to an end”.
But to what end, perhaps he would never know.
When the dust
settled after it all went wrong.
Charlotte returned
months later with apologies and explanations, but by then it was too late. The
trust was broken, and for Nathan love meant nothing without trust. But he let
her into his apartment just the same, to hear her out.
Or perhaps he just
wanted to test his own strength in her presence. But as much as he still loved
her, and probably always would, the apologies fell on deaf ears. A trust, and a
sacred oath was broken and can never be repaired.
“I was SO wrong, and
I realized too late what I had. Can you ever forgive me, can we ever go back to
what once was?”. Perhaps she was sincere, perhaps not. It did not matter
anymore. He took her by the hand, and with strange, both cold and warm loving
eyes, he said.
“I love you now, and
probably always will with every fiber of my being. But I will never trust you
again, and you know my value of trust. There can be no true love, without true
trust, that ship unfortunately already left for us…”
Charlotte left Nathan’s
place in tears, never to see him again. Realizing what she’d done, and the
impact of her actions took her some time to recover from. She had learned the
power of a sincere oath, and the consequences of breaking it.
Nathan would never
fully recover. As he watched her leave with tears running down his cheeks.
Wanting nothing more than to be with her, feel her warmth again. He only
realizes decades later; he was unable to ever really love or trust another again.
As the years went by,
Nathan left the nightclub scene and decided to give being a lawyer another
shot. Basically starting all over, as it had been decades since. Only this time
he would be living a life, flying solo.
The two never saw each
other again but might be forever in each other’s thoughts. A stupid decision
and the power of a sincere oath decades ago, may forever echo through the
universe.
The ability to love
someone in such a way, that he couldn’t imagine his life without her had been
lost forever. Tied to a most powerful oath, under an old oak tree.
The End.
If you enjoyed reading this, I thank you for your time. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts so I may improve...
