KEEP THE FAITH
(A
song fiction)
Keep
the Faith
Song
written by Jon Bon Jovi, Ritchie Sambora and Desmond Child.
Song
performed by Bon Jovi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
boy. A teenage boy. Lurking in the shadows. He’s on the run.
His
mother doesn’t understand him. His father won’t believe him. He’s on his
own.
Mother
mother, Tell your children
That
their time has just begun
His
siblings would sure have known he was gone. He knew they would try to find
him…
But
he didn’t want them to.
He
wanted nothing more than for them to forget about him. Pretend he never existed,
because that’s how he thought of himself. He thought he was nothing. Just some
weed that always seems to get in the way. He didn’t want his siblings to pay
for what he had done. Unlike him…their time has just begun.
I
have suffered for my anger
There
are wars that can’t be won
His
life was a constant battle. Always running and hiding and looking for a way
out…and now at last he found one.
He
walked through the dark ally. The street lights not far from view. He was nearly
there.
A
nearby driver let out an ear-piercing screech from his tiers reminding the boy
of that night that changed his life forever. The screeching tiers, the ghostly
looking girl, and the shit load of blood that stained the front of his
father’s car.
Father
father please believe me
I
am laying down my guns.
He
emerged from the shadowy alley. The light shining on his short blonde hair. A
reflection of the streetlight shone in his eyes. They were sad eyes. Full of
sorrow and despair.
The
words of his father started bellowing in his mind. He closed his eyes trying to
shut it out, but it persisted.
“How
could you do this to us?! I thought by now you would have learned something! I
thought you were more mature than that!”
“I…I’m
sorry dad. I…”
“I
don’t want to hear it Sean! You were DRINKING! Your underage Sean!”
“Someone
spiked the drink! I didn’t know!”
“Don’t
lie to me Sean! You were DRINKING! I let you go to that god forsaken party
because I thought you were smarter than that!”
“But
dad…I…”
“ENOUGH!
Enough Sean! And to top it all off, you were DRIVING! Haven’t your mother and
I taught you anything?!”
“It
wasn’t meant to be like this! I’m sorry!
I
am broken like an arrow
Forgive
me
Forgive
your wayward son.
“Why
are you saying sorry to me?! It’s that poor little girl, whose skull you
busted open is whom you should be saying sorry to! She’s probably has brain
damage or something thanks to you!”
“The
doctors said she would be fine!”
“That’s
not the point Sean! You could have killed her! Don’t you understand? You have
definitely crossed the line with this one boy! Not only do I now have to pay for
that lousy fine, but also I have to pay damages to that little girl’s parents!
We are not made of money! You, your mother, Brad, Shelly and I can barely live
off my paycheck alone, but now we have this too!”
Everybody
needs somebody to love
(Mother, mother)
Everybody
needs somebody to hate
(Please believe me)
Everybody’s bitching ‘cause they can’t get enough
And
it’s hard to hold on
When
there’s no one to lean on
Days
worth of unshed tears filled Sean’s eyes. Blurring his vision. He hastily
wiped them away.
Crying
is for the weak. Crying is for the weak.
He repeated over and over until the tears stopped coming.
He
wished those memories would go away. He had not wanted it to happen. He wanted
things to be back to the way they were.
Well
you’ll have one less person to pay for from now on dad,
Sean thought bitterly.
He
looked up at the sky. Pleading for answers. But he got nothing. Even the heavens
could not help him. He had no one. The realization had dawned upon him. He was
on his own.
He
sighed and continued to walk along the dark streets not caring that he felt
drops of water on his exposed flesh.
Faith:
You know your gonna live thru the rain
Lord
you got to keep the faith
Faith:
don’t you let your love turn to hate
Right
now we got to keep the faith
Now
the thought of his loved ones at home made him feel repulsed.
They
don’t care about me! They don’t care about my side of the story! They
don’t care! His mind raged. All they’re worried about is their own asses!
All they care about is what the neighbors think! Well they can all go to HELL!
When did they ever care about ME?!
Tell
me baby when I hurt you
Do
you keep it all inside
Do
you tell me all’s forgiven
And
just hide behind your pride
His
thoughts wondered to the little girl. Her name was Amanda. He had gone to visit
her in hospital to say sorry to her and her family for his carelessness and was
happy to hear that she was going to be okay. He came to the hospital everyday
after school to check how she was going. He told the 12 year old what had
happened and apologized many times. To his surprise she forgave him. But still,
Sean had doubts.
Everybody
needs somebody to love
(Mother,
father)
Everybody
needs somebody to hate
(Please
don’t leave me)
Everybody’s
bleeding
‘cause
the times are tough
Well
it’s hard to be strong
When
there’s no one to dream on
The
young and innocent. So little, so frail, so trusting. Sean thought. I thought
she would’ve hated me for sure, yet she forgave me almost thanking me for what
I done to her. He was puzzled. Children. Such an enigma.
A
while later, his depression surfaced once again as he was getting closer and
closer to his destination…the bridge.
Wait!
I don’t have to do this! If she forgave me then maybe the rest will too!
Faith:
you know you’re gonna live thru the rain
Lord
you got to keep the faith
Faith:
now you know it’s never too late
Oh
you got to keep the faith
Faith:
don’t you let your love turn to hate
Right
now we got to keep the faith
As
he was about to turn around and go home, something caught his eye. Through the
rain he could see inside a window to an electronics shop. Inside that window
were many TV’s all bearing the same channel. A news program. He cautiously
walked to the window to confirm what he saw.
I’ve
been walking in the footsteps
Of
society’s lies
I
don’t like what I see no more
Sometimes
I wish that I was blind
There
was a picture of himself on the TV! They were talking about him!
Suddenly
popped up an interview with none other than his nosey neighbor Mrs. Willkinson!
He
pushed his ear to the glass so he could hear what they were saying. Though he
could only pick up a few words he knew what they were talking about. “That boy
was always misbehaving. But running over that poor girl was the worst! Well,
I’m not surprised. That boy was a heartless S.O.B!”
He
felt sickened. “WHAT A BITCH! She’s such a liar! Why doesn’t she mind her
own GOD DAMN business!” He screamed hysterically.
Sean
was so blinded by his fury that he did not see the man walking up to him.
“Hey!
You’re the boy! You’re the boy on TV!”
Sean
spun around at the sound of the man’s voice. He panicked and ran ignoring the
man’s calls. He was heading…for the bridge.
Sometimes
I wait forever
To
stand out in the rain
So
no one sees me cryin’
Trying
to wash away the pain
He
was wrong. He can’t go home now…not ever.
As hard as he tried, he could not hold them back any longer. At last the unshed tears flooded down from his tear ducts and mingled with the rain on his face.
Mother
father
There’s
things I done I can’t erase
In
his tear blurred eyes, the bridge seemed inviting. He ran to it until he was
overlooking the cold, choppy water below.
Every night we
fall from grace
It’s
hard with the world in your face
He
thought there could have been a chance for him to start anew. But after what he
saw earlier, it seemed he had only one choice left…
Trying
to hold on, trying to hold on
He
eyed the railing of the bridge. It wasn’t that high. Easy to climb.
Faith:
you know your gonna live thru the rain
Lord
you got to keep the faith
Faith:
don’t you let your love turn to hate
Right
now we got to keep the faith
Without
hesitation, Sean climbed up onto the railing of the bridge…
Faith:
now it’s not too late
Suddenly,
a wave of terror washed over him. He knew what he needed to do…but was he
ready? He started to shake and wobble. He was loosing his balance! As the
railing left from underneath his feet he acted on reflex and his hand grasped as
tight as it could to the metal bars of the railing.
Try
to hold on, Trying to hold on
He
wanted so desperately to let go and end his lifetime of suffering there and now,
but his hand wouldn’t obey his command. It still grasped the bar tightly, but
he could see that it was slipping.
…with
a un-humorous smile on his face
…into
the same waters
…that
are now his grave.
Keep
the Faith
(c)MedinaHasic2002