How Do You Live?

Stacy marched into Gulliver’s Garden, a classic French restaurant, where her two best friends were dining in. Glancing around to find their table, she stormed towards them, slapped her oversized pink purse on the table, and shouted, “How the hell did you know that Steven was rotten to the heart!”

Kaliqua and Jean, stared at her, one hand holding onto their wine glass, which had already spilled some wine on the beige tablecloth. Thank God plastic covered it.

Kaliqua, released her hold on her glass as Jean cleaned up the spill with napkins on their table.

“Do you always have to make a ‘look-at-me entrance’ everywhere you go?” Kaliqua threw at her.

Stacy threw back her long, store-bought blonde wig, swayed her upper body, and said, “You are Miss Perfect, I am Miss Always-got-it-going-on!”

Jean taunts, “Is your expensive iPhone in the bag you just used to hit this solid wooden table?”

She yanked out one of the two empty chairs, plopped down, and quickly searched her bag. She took out her phone, examined it, and then kissed it asking, “Baby, you are ok?” She turned it on and then examined it thoroughly.

Satisfied, she demands, “How did you know that he was a dog?”

“All men are dogs,” Jean remarked.

“Not all of them,” Kaliqua defends many of the males she knew and grew up with.

“Ok, ok, answer the damn question,” Stacy rushed her.

Kaliqua sighed, eased back, easing her half-finished meal from the edge of the table, and inquired, “Why do you call me Mis Perfect?”

“You are boring and do nothing illegal,” Stacy answered.

“She means you do nothing wrong and never get into trouble,” Jean explained, kicking her under the table.

“Ouch,” Stacy cried out, glaring at Jean, rubbing her left foot under the table.

“I make mistakes like all of you,” Kaliqua defends.

“You do that when no one is looking,” Stacy said. “Now, back to that dog Steven!”

“I was raised to be kind and be good. I have managed to maintain that despite the cruelty of humanity. By being kind, I was introduced to cruelty by humanity. So, I know cruelty, can identify it, can see it coming, and can see it under all of its disguises. I know love and was introduced to hatred again by humanity. The same thing for pain, thoughtlessness, dishonesty, deceit, etc.”

Both friends stared at her, their mouths agape.

Kaliqua smiled and went on, “My parents refused to teach me hatred, cruelty, or anything in life that could directly harm me. They didn’t have to, because they knew humanity would!”

Both friends gulped quickly, then each grabbed a glass of water off the table, taking a big drink.

Kaliqua stared at them, smiling, and continued educating them, “Instead, they teach me how to live and survive in a world plagued with cruelty, hatred, jealousy, dishonesty, deceit, envy, betrayal, etc..”

Stacy sighed, then said, “So, because you were raised to be good, you can spot the difference when evil is coming towards you?”

“See how simple life is,” Kaliqua explains. “By being aware of all of the good things in life, it’s easy for me to see the bad things.”

“But what if they don’t show it?” Jean questioned.

“That’s when my instincts or intuition kicks in. And I always listen to them,” Kaliqua informs them.

“Damn!” Stacy cried out, stealing a piece of Jean’s coconut chicken off her plate. “Why couldn’t you be a male? You would be perfect for me.”

Jean slapped her on her hand as she attempted to steal more, saying while giggling, “Order what you want.”

Stacy inquired while chewing the piece of delicious coconut chicken she stole from Jean’s plate, “How did your parents teach you all of that?”

“By example. They live it. That’s the best way to teach children by living and doing what you want them to do,” Kaliqua informs.

I couldn’t teach my children cruelty, hate, thoughtlessness, greed, or anything negative in life that would harm them. Life showed me that I didn’t have to because humanity would. But I should teach them how to live and survive in a world plagued with evil actions, choices, decisions, and intentions.

If your heart could speak, what would it say?

Life can be simple if you know how to live it. Annelise Lords

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.