Circumstance

Jack took his bottle of water in one hand and in the other, his towel.
The heat of his body waved across him from head to toe.
As he walked out of the gym, drips of sweat trickled down, following his footprints ever so closely.
He stepped out of the gym, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Silence was his friend at that very moment.
The sound of nothingness seemed to be whispering words of comfort.
He kept his eyes closed as he felt tears swelling up behind his eyelids.
He closed them tight, long enough to persuade his tears back within its rightful abode.
He opened his eyes and released a gentle sigh.
Jack found himself standing in the opening of a vast clear night.

"Give me courage... That's all I asks," he whispered.

Jack seldom gets himself in such position.
There were times, undoubtedly, that he felt incompetent and inadequate but this time, this time it was different.
The load of it all seemed much heavier than before, it seemed to be pressing him down a whole lot harder.
Hard enough for him to feel his spirit within crush.

His spirit was broken.

Jack felt the grip of what he held on to so dearly for that brief moment slip away, spiralling downwards to the pits of discouragement.
His strength totally attenuated by the sheer reality of his weakness.
He feels completely frustrated at himself, frustrated for his lackness.
Truth be told, he is concern about the efficacy of his presence more than anything else.
It seems to him that he is doing more harm than good.
Only He can speak some sense into him at such times.

Jack took another gulp of water.
He could feel the water flow down ever so slowly in his body, gradually, cooling off the heat within.
Jack has never come this close to giving up.
What exactly is holding him back? He thought to himself.

Nothing.

Nothing is holding him back.
Nothing, but only the desire of his heart.
Although the stark reality has somewhat distorted his dream, his desire is still intact.
Though his spirit is broken, his desire is restoring the pieces.
Circumstances have impeded him from moving forth, but only for a little while will Circumstance dance in victory.

Jack stared into the clear night sky.
Stars were shining ever so brightly and he can almost hear them say to him,
“Take courage, my friend. Hope is with you.”
He smiled to himself at the ridiculous thought of Stars talking to him.

“Only a little while will Circumstance dance in victory. And his time is up.”

Jack closed the lid of his bottle, wiped the sweat off his forehead with his towel, turned around, took a deep breath, turned the door knob and stepped back into the gym.