There are no regrets in life, just lessons- Jennifer Aniston.
Indeed life is about lessons and not regrets.
Nobody cares, he thought as he walked on the sidewalk on the school campus. I could just take an overdose of diazepam, or any of those drugs Mama takes to help her sleep. No... that would be too neat, and the self-serving pricks may not bother to do a post-mortem. No, it has to be something dramatic, he thought. I could just fall here right now and die. Would they care?
Austin: a young, brilliant kid, locked up in a cell of regrets and on the verge of suicide. Only his mother, Christina, saved him from hanging.
What happened?
The fear of failure caused him to cheat during his last examinations, which in turn caused him to be expelled from school.
Christiana, already panicking, had to talk to him and tell him that it was not the end of the world. “Why end your life? This is not the end,” she said.
She decided to share the story of his father, which she had always avoided during discussions, to get his attention.
The Beginning of Memory Lane
Austin’s father (Martins) had a rough childhood. His own father was an alcoholic, who never cared for him. He survived with the help of the little money his mother got from sales in her mini shop. Martins’ biggest childhood regrets were caused by the reckless attitudes of his father.
It was the week in which every worker received his salary, and his father was not left out.
Earlier that week, Martins was shortlisted for a scholarship program with a little fee for the registration process--only for his father to spend his entire salary on drinking and womanizing.
Coming home with a bottle of dry gin in his hand and banging the door, Martins could only respond with tears. His caring mum hated seeing him in tears, but could not solve the issue because she was in debt.
Martins was bitter and thought of murdering his father. How I wish I can just grab that bottle from him and stab him. No… that would lead to imprisonment and an end to schooling. Can't take the chance. He continued in his wailings.
The river of poverty carried away that golden opportunity. Nevertheless, Martins resolved not to settle for less, and by taking several menial jobs, survived in school.
Middle of Memory Lane
Despite Martins being a brilliant boy, he was the shy type, so he hardly talked to ladies. With Binta, this was entirely different. It was love at first sight. She was the dream of every guy in the university.
At first, shyness deprived him of talking to her. It took the help of his best friend, George, who orchestrated a discussion between the two lovebirds.
Martins professed his love to her with his shaking voice, and Binta did not hesitate in accepting him into her life; he was handsome and brilliant.
Their love was like that of Romeo and Juliet. They were admired by every other lover on the campus.
Binta soon met some ladies on campus who lived an exuberant lifestyle. Having gone through a lot during her childhood as a result of her poor background, she gave in quickly. Martins could not meet the increasing and expensive demands of Binta, due to his low finances. His love for her was in question.
Since her needs could not be met, Binta responded with unruly attitude, which Martins had never taken note of. Eventually, she left him for a wealthy politician.
Throughout the week, Martins was in a sorry state, drowned in tears of regret. He was always at the Santiago Bar (a favorite bar on the campus), excessively drinking and hoping to clear his head. The bar was also a source of joy to him because he met beautiful Christiana, but he lived with regrets every day of his life over his first love.
End of Memory Lane
Who would have thought that George would be one of the causes of Martins’ regret and death in the end?
One day, there was a massive sacking of workers in Martins’ workplace. It was only his savings that kept him from poverty. George brought an alluring and irresistible business proposal to him.
Quickly, he invested into it, using some of his properties as collateral for a loan to foster the business.
Three months later the company seemed to be going fine, but he began to notice some discrepancies in the finances of the firm. Then, the declining production and profit. Suddenly, the new company was on the verge of collapse.
George had been conniving with the auditor of the company to steal funds from the business.
Then the unthinkable happened: the end of the company.
The bank came looking for the borrowed money, and Christina was pregnant; there was no money to sustain his family. All this pushed him down the path of his father, into excessive drinking.
Wailing in his thoughts, I trusted him, he was my best friend. My life has always been full of regrets. I hope Hennessey won't disappoint me.
He dashed off to the bar hoping to find comfort in drinking.
Then he met his death.
While completely drunk, he was hit by a car.
An eyewitness to the incident said his last words were, “NO MORE REGRETS.”
As the story ended, Austin, who had already stopped wailing, replied with, “No more regrets, just lessons. I will learn to live happily in spite of my past.”
He hugged his mom and thanked her for sharing the story.
THE END
All images are sourced from shutterstock
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