Freebie Mondays: Love Is… (Pt 2)

Way back in college, while I was bored in class one day, I decided to doodle some story details in my notebook. I was still searching for my narrative voice at the time, looking for ways to better express differences between characters. I decided to pick a simple prompt and write an answer for the question from a bunch of different character perspectives. That way I would easily be able to pick up on the differences in each character’s thoughts and better hone the ‘voice’ with which I wrote them.

Recently, while re-arranging my new office desk, I came upon this page of notes torn from an old notebook. I loved the idea, but hated the responses I had already written. So I decided to give the prompt a second attempt. The first round of results can be found here.

This is a challenging exercise, despite using characters I have a fairly firm grasp of. But I enjoyed the first round so much, I decided to give it a second go. To make things even more interesting this go around, I’ve decided to use two different versions of the same character.

Rose Hope is probably my first original character. (She’s certainly the one that’s survived the longest.) I have a massive story planned for her that centers around her personal exploits, but I have yet to start it.

Rose Drathmore is an alternate reality version of the same character who appears in Domerin’s novels (which I’m currently working on). Her life experiences differ quite severely from her progenitor so, of course, her outlook is different.

I also threw Zita in at the bottom because I don’t write that girl nearly enough! (To learn more about these characters, click on their headings!)
. . .

Rose Hope

Love is the most cunning of traps. It fills you with sweet delusions to lure you close and, once it ensnares you, it is impossible to escape. Once you experience your first taste of love, you cannot deny its inevitable pull. Its absence lurks ever present in the back of the mind, heart and soul, eating away at you until it carves a void that cannot be filled, not even with fresh love. This cruelty is made especially keen because love awakens us to one of the best kept secrets in the universe, though it provides only the dimmest glimpse, the smallest mote of understanding of its vast transcendence.

Though love can only truly form bonds between the willing, it does not obey the rest of reality’s boundaries. It cares not for time, physical distance, or societal responsibilities. It demands the heeding of its call, even drives those infected by its touch to foolish irrationality in order to fulfill the itch that cannot otherwise be quelled. While the object of your affection is with you, all things seem possible, no matter how logically remote. Mountains can be moved, oceans can be crossed, even the stars no longer provide limitations. But should you lose the object of your affection, or be forced to set them adrift, all obstacles, no matter how small, become suddenly insurmountable.

Love does not ask you to bend; it demands it. But no matter how you rearrange the world to accommodate love’s overwhelming desires, there are some laws which simply cannot be broken. Love might move people, even unite whole nations, but it still must obey the fundamental principles of the universe. Love is not unconquerable. It does not always win the day, no matter how hard you fight for it. Love can be the brilliant sensation of gold, an untouchable warmth and joy. But it can also be sorrow that is cold and unrelenting. Love fills us and inspires us, but its loss wounds us more deeply than any other weapon.

Be cautious where you seek love. Harden your heart until you know it is safe to lower your defenses and let it touch your core. Otherwise you might suffer the sting of love unrequited or unfulfilled. This is especially true for those who rule, for their unquestionable allegiance must always be open for trade. Follow not the path I have tread, for it courts madness with every step. Yet, still, there is not a moment I would trade, not even to ease the holes left in my spirit.

Rose Drathmore

Love is warmth and comfort, the sensation of bright sunlight on a warm spring day. The gentle breeze that carries the scent of trees and flowers from the mountains or salt and sea from the shore. Love is the always waiting warm hearth, the smell of fresh baked bread or pastries, a steaming mug of your favorite hot beverage clutched between both hands on a cold winter day. Love is the gentle patter of rain upon the window frame, the sight of fluffy white snowflakes as they drift to the ground. Love is your favorite song playing in the background on endless repeat or the secret joy of sleeping past noon on a day that doesn’t demand your attention.

Love is simple. It’s people who make it complex. Love asks nothing of us, though it offers us a chance to experience things we could never achieve or imagine on our own. Love requires patience and demands trust. But for those who truly surrender to love’s embrace, their hearts become invincible. True love cannot be turned aside by words or petty actions. Truth and understanding will always prevail, so long as those involved put the proper effort and energy into maintaining their relationships.

Love transcends words. It is expressed best through actions. Many mistake this to mean intimacy, but even the smallest, simplest of gestures can speak the language of love. Breakfast in bed. A hand-made card. A kind word. A gentle touch. A random favor. A thoughtful gift. Love thrives best without ropes or chains. That may mean keeping close or sometimes straying, but love almost always brings the heart that beats with yours back home.

It may be better if you do not strive to understand love. Don’t over-analyze it. Don’t try to quantify it. Simply allow it to exist. Go with love’s flow. Allow it to move through you, but also around and over you. Allow it to guide you, but don’t let it rule you. Redirect it when the path gets too rough, but don’t leap off of its edges and expect it to follow. Love takes time. It will happen when it’s ready. Sometimes you must be willing to let it go in order to truly find it. If you open yourself to love’s possibilities, you need never question if you are making the right choices.

Zita Skyandano

Love is a bright spark of flame that endures and defies the strongest wind storm. It is the fragile green vine that carves its way through pavement to reach for bright rays of sunlight. Love is the hope that never dies, that whispers in the depths of your soul even when all other voices have been drowned out. Some will say that these words are meant to describe bravery, not love. But love is brave. And loving another is an act of courage, for it requires you to reveal your most vulnerable pieces without knowing what might wait in the shadows.

Love is not organized; it is chaotic. Love does not follow a set of rules; instead, it forges its own. Love doesn’t always look the same or sound the same, yet the sensation it summons within us is universal and, thus, universally understood. Love is the only thing that truly crosses cultural boundaries. An act of love can bring an army to its knees, or lift a faltering population from the ashes of ruin. Love can survive thousands of years even in the bleakest of environments, so long as it has a willing heart to carry it.

The love we are most familiar with takes the form of romance, but love actually has many forms. The love shared between a mother and a child. The love shared between brothers and sisters. The love one shows to their kingdom by virtue of loyalty. There is even a form of love for future generations, a love we sew into the foundations we leave them to build upon.

Love does not question or discriminate. It bores holes through any force which opposes it. Love does not lie down. Love is loud. It screams at the top of its lungs from the highest point available and refuses to stop. Love can burn those that leave their hand too long in the wrong flame. Its flames can even be snuffed prematurely. But like energy, love can never be destroyed. Traces of it linger in the skin, blood and heart. Once you experience it, it is never really gone. For better or worse, you can always summon its memory.

Love is not an ocean. Love is the single drop that ripples the pond. It is a force of nature. When you lose it, it finds you. No matter how hard you are, it will soften you. No matter how weak you feel, it will bolster you. You may believe yourself impervious or unsalvageable, but love will find its way to you eventually.

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What do your characters think about love? (Or what do you yourself think?) Leave a message in the comments and let me know!