strongenough4

              The alarm clock whined its awakening tone at its usual time one Saturday morning. Instead of setting the sleep timer like she usually did, Reba awakened feeling refreshed. In hardly any time at all, she had gotten dressed and ready to work out, like she did every morning. It made her feel good about herself.
               When she arrived at the gym, she entered and took her usual treadmill. She began at a steady pace as she watched the surroundings all about her. The unfolded like a storybook around her; each life with its own book. There was the aerobics instructor in the next room, she must have a whole family and career. Then there was the young muscle man in the corner, looking forwards to the big date tonight. Finally, there was Reba.
               "Hey you," came a recognized voice, which broke her from the stories. Reba turned, and to her surprise, it was him. "Can we talk?"
               Reba slowed the treadmill a bit before answering. "Sure, I've just got a few more minutes left on here, Anthony. Wait a second." He nodded as he took a seat on a nearby bench.
               Soon enough Reba stepped off of the machine and headed towards Anthony. She took a seat on the bench across from him.
               "What is it?" she pondered, keeping a neutral expression on her face. "Long time no talk, why now?"
               Anthony took a deep breath and sighed before continuing. "Reba... I made a mistake."
               "Oh really," she replied. "What was the mistake?" He paused. "Well?"
               "I should've never let you go," he said. "It was the biggest mistake of my life... I never realized exactly how much I needed you." He hung his head lower. "Reba... I'm sorry. I still love you... please take me back."
               Reba looked at Anthony, imagining his story book unfolding before her eyes. She asked herself, "What happens next? Just turn the page..."
               "Is that all you have to say?" she asked as she mentally turned the page. Everything suddenly revealed themselves to her, which caused her to smile to herself. "You ripped my heart out when you left me the first time. You just took it out and showed it to me as I withered and died." Reba took a deep breath as she read more into the story. She smiled as she began again.
               "At first, I thought that I'd died," she whispered, which caused him to raise his head. "Anthony, you did me a favor, although it didn't seem like it at the time. I slowly realized that my feelings for you weren't as genuine as I believed." Reba now shined her smile at Anthony. "I learned that I was strong enough... I realized that I didn't need you in my life to be happy."
               Anthony's eyes teared, as he took another deep breath. "Reba, I need you."
               "And I need you too," she began, "but not like this." Reba stood up and took a few steps forward. She turned around, then smiled again. "Now you take the time to think it over. Let me know when you've settled." She walked to the door to the outside world, the continuance of her story book, then said, "Goodbye Anthony."