The Worrier's Tale

The Prologue

From a quiet, scenic world she came

Searching for creativity was her aim

It seems as if her reserved disposition holds her back from fun

But seriousness aside, she's far from none

Her long brown locks provide a shield

For she'll leave her true feelings concealed

She will always be there to listen to all your pains

But her own advice will be her chains

Always offering a polite, patient presence

Helping others is her very essence

Friendly to all she meets

Some say she's quite funny and quite petite

Stressing over every little thing

Often causes the decrease of her zing

When in the spotlight, she's quite jittery

For worrying leads to misery

The Tale

Blond, curly locks blew in the cool breeze on a sunny October day in Oakland's small town. As the school bell rang for dismissal, Ryan rushed home with glee to show his father his report card. Long nights of studying had earned him high marks in all his classes. With his school bag trailing behind him, Ryan's sprint mastered one of a marathoner.

"Dad! Dad! Dad, you'll never guess what I got today," shouted Ryan as he slung his school bag at the front door's entrance and galloped up the stairs by two.

"There you are. Look! I got all A's on my report card!" Ryan excitedly handed his report card to his father for verification. 

Bill, Ryan's father, grabbed the piece of card-stocked paper with annoyance. "Quit your hollarin'! The neighbors will hear ya!" 

Bill's stocky 5'9 frame showed the remains of a former athlete whose life went down the drain after constant rejection from the big leagues. He had developed the all too familiar lifestyle of a couch potato with a five o' clock shadow in dire need of a shave.

"So, what do you think dad," Ryan questioned with anticipation. 

"You want me to throw you a bone for getting all A's for once in your measly education," Bill barked at his retreating son. Ryan whimpered away like a dog who was reprimanded for chewing on the daily newspaper. "A few A's here and there won't get you anywhere in life. It's time you learned that you'll never amount to anything in your life. Take me for example. I worked my tail off to be scouted into the big leagues only to learn that I wasn't good enough and never would be. What makes you think you have a better shot?" 

With no response to his father's probing question, Ryan raced to his neat room only to tear apart his report card into a billion pieces, and cry himself to sleep.

Ten years later, Ryan had matured into an outstanding man with long, lean legs, and an astonishing college education with a consistent 4.0 GPA. A 22-year-old fresh out of graduate school, Ryan was nothing of a confident man ready to take on the world. Ryan was a reclusive hermit. Although his long, blond locks had grown out from a short crop, his confidence was stunted. Women drooled over him, but his lack of self-esteem prevented him from acknowledging the attention thrown his way. 

However, a girl was successful in claiming him as hers. Her name was Faith. She was always adorned in bright, girly outfits with her long, wavy, auburn hair falling just above her elbows. A heart shaped face with captivating light blue eyes one could get lost in for centuries, and an hourglass body just shy of a 5'6 height.

Ryan proposed to Faith six months later after constantly being hassled to make a commitment before he lost the best thing that happened to him. However, as had become a constant habit of Ryan's since the dreadful report card, not a moment passed without his worrying. Faith had seen this flaw as an endearing quality, but as the years dragged on, she became frustrated.

When Ryan was offered a promotion in his graphic design company, Eye Candy, Inc., he turned it down for the fear of screwing up and being dismissed as a candidate. Although he made a moderate amount of money to sustain Faith and himself, Faith was outraged that he didn't even try to move up the ladder in his work place.

"Why did you turn down the promotion," Faith screamed with frustration.

"Because what if they said I didn't possess all the qualities necessary for the job? What if my presentation was so horrible that they felt that I didn't even have the skills to keep my current job? What if I'm not good enough," Ryan blubbered.

"STOP! JUST STOP RYAN!! I'm tired of your constant fretting about every SINGLE little thing! When will you realize that you'll never obtain any happiness if you keep casting it away with your negativity?"

"YOU'RE WRONG! You are too blind to see that I'll never amount to anything just like my father. It's your own fault for marrying me when you knew you would waste your life away with me," Ryan retorted.

"What's the point in arguing with you? You're the one who's too blind to see that you're driving away the person who loves you," Faith surrendered.

As the years went on, Faith strived to pull Ryan out of his worrying ways, but to no avail. She became stressed as the black hole sucked the life out of her, and eventually gave up on him. Their marriage went down the drain as it took its toll on her. Their unkempt house and her dull, messy clothes smelled of stale beer. She dragged herself home from work or from the local bar every night. Her bright, bubbly persona dwindled into that of a dark, miserable android. Her hair was dry and uncombed with dark circles and bags underneath her lifeless eyes. Ryan was a mirror image of his father with a pessimistic outlook on life. Although his physique was the same when he was 22, he was dissatisfied with his life. He knew that he would never prevail in his marriage, job, or daily tasks with his relentless worrying, but he was unable to overcome the chilling words his father warned when he was a carefree 12 year old.

On a cold, stormy night, Faith eventually left Ryan knowing that his Svengali[1], Bill, would always have jurisdiction over him regardless of his presence. Lightning danced across the sky while thunder drummed. The howling wind kissed Faith's cheek as she glanced one last time at their home wondering where they had gone wrong and she had given up hope. The stinging rain combined with her salty tears as she pulled away from her dream gone awry. Ryan was left with his miserable self as worrying always causes to its hosts.

[1] Svengali was a character in George du Maurier's novel, Trilby, Svengali teaches Trilby to sing. Thus, he holds absolute control over her. Trilby is unable to sing after his death. Therefore, a "Svengali" is someone who exercises extreme control or influence over someone else.