Week 9 Story

The current version of this story can be found on my portfolio.
In a town of a population of 4,000 people, gossip travels at the speed of light. You know word has reached every ear in town when you are checking out at the local grocery store and are being scanned up and down by every person that passes. Sunday February 10^th was the day that everyone in town found out that Madison Hunter had been secretly dating Lance Dumas.

Lance was the town’s local bad boy. To give you a little background, Lance was raised by a nanny, his parents where always in another country vacationing, and he was born into a family with a long line of wealth. The Dumas family controlled most of the town. Due to the absence of Lance’s parents growing up, he lacked the qualities of a decent human being. In the simplest of terms Lance tramples over people and doesn’t even have the decency to look back.

On the other hand, Madison was the town’s local sweetheart. Madison grew up in a very religious home where rules were strongly enforced. It was known throughout the town that the Hunter family was tight on money. Each week the town’s local church would come together and leave an anonymous donate in the Hunter’s mailbox. This donation was how the Hunters were able to put food on their table.

As you can see it came as a huge shock to the town when they found out that Madison and Hunter were in a serious relationship. I guess there is some truth to the saying opposites attract. Madison’s parents did not take this news lightly. Madison’s mother wept for days on end. On the other hand, Lance’s parents were thrilled in hopes of Lance getting his act together.

While this relationship had its challenges, they fell hard and fast for each other. While Madison feared Lance’s power, she was also equally attracted to it. While Lance was worried about Madison’s cautious outlook on life, he was confident he could alter it. Lance didn’t make any changes to his routine. He continued to drink, do drugs, sneak out, and vandalize other’s property for fun. While Madison would disapprove of this behavior normally, she was to blinded by her love for him to see clearly.

After only three short months, Lance asked Madison’s parents for permission to marry their daughter. Madison’s parents were dumbfounded and at a loss for words. They did not want to give Lance permission, yet they did not want to enrage him or his family for they knew bad things would follow. At last Madison’s father said, “We feel highly honored that you would like our daughter’s hand in marriage, but we see our daughter as a tender young thing, and we fear that your affection for her might possibly do her more harm than good. Might I suggest that you stop doing drugs, drinking, and any other illegal acts that you are committing.”

Lance was so in love with Madison that he stopped doing drugs, drinking, and committing illegal acts. After a couple of months Lance again asked Madison’s parents and they gave him their blessing as long as he continued to make improvements. Madison was able to tame the “beast”. All she had to do was show him love. Lance and his parent’s relationship were even positively affected by Madison’s love. Lance’s parents not only paid for the entire wedding, but they also never left the country without taking Lance and Madison.

Love can tame the wildest.

The Lion in Love (photo by Fables of Aseop)

Author’s Note:

I started this story by describing a forbidden love. This relationship was not approved by the town or their parents. My inspiration for this story was “The Lion in Love” from the reading The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs. In the original story the lion falls in love with a beautiful maiden and ask her parent’s permission to marry her. The maiden’s parents not wanting to enrage the King of Beasts tell him they do not think it is a good idea because of his sharp claws and teeth. The lion was so in love that he had his claws trimmed and teeth taken out but when he returned to her parents they laughed in his face. In my story Lance resembles the lion and Madison resembles the beautiful maid. Lance is turned down by Madison’s parents at first, just like the original story, but when he returns an improved man, they tell him yes. I decided to have the parents say “yes” to Lance so that I could incorporate joy into this story. Madison showed Lance the joy of love and it turned him into a better man. The original story ends by saying, “love can tame the wildest”, and I thought this was very fitting for my own ending.