Leap of Faith: Understanding

On February 9th 2020 A. Bierce wrote the short story 'Leap of Faith'. Having read all of Ambrose's works, I felt there was more to the story than what was written. With Ambrose's approval I submit this humble add on as an alternative. Thank you Ambrose for all the work you have done and the work you will do in the future.

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Understanding

Faith had known the risks when she did it, but the consequences were still worth the risks at the time. She had been a Muse her entire existence, and a good one, but Jonathon had been different. The words he wrote were a true form of beauty.

Faith had meet Jonathon the same way all Muses had down thru time; he was sitting at a little outdoor café jotting down notes. As she started to walk by the words started to flow from his pen like a hurricane. He looked up just in time to see her smile back at him and she was gone.

For three days he had sat at that café and each day when he was stumped, she walked by and the words just poured onto the paper. On the forth day he stopped her and asked if he could treat her to a coffee, and that was the beginning.

When Jonathon was young, he had wanted to become a writer and with Faith by his side, he knew he could be. As they spent time together the feelings between the two became stronger, Jonathon was not only receiving the inspiration he needed from Faith, he was falling in love.

Faith knew the role of a Muse and for more years than she would ever admit, she had fulfilled that role. Love was not something that was acceptable, but mortals didn't know that. She could never figure out how or why, but she fell into the trap right along with Jonathon.

He had asked her to marry him, through her inspiration he had become a renowned writer, his works were everywhere. As a Muse, she had done her job, now she was supposed to fall into the backlight so that only he shown, but he wouldn't let her. When he asked her to marry him, she caved against the rules and said yes.

They married on Valentines Day, four years after their meeting. Over the next five years he remained in the limelight, but then things started to change. His writing started to suffer once more; the images and words didn't come together in his mind like before. What could be the problem he thought? What in his life had changed?

It was not as though Faith couldn't see what was coming; it was more the not wanting to see it. A Muses fate is one of inspiring from the shadows and for the last few years she had been out of them. So, on Valentines Day, nine years after their meeting, Jonathon took her out for an early dinner, gave her a rose and then told her goodbye.

For two years she suffered each day, happy to have survived another night, only start it all over again. It was Valentines Day once more and she had resolved herself to finally end it all. She abandoned her warm bed, cleaned herself, put on her favorite lingerie and the ensemble she had worn the night he left, and headed out.

Like all Muses that had fallen, she drove to Lovers Leap to end it all. She drove to the far end of the parking lot so she would be alone, gathered her courage, got out of the car and started for the sign that warned of the drop. As she raised her foot to step over the curb, she was stopped by a loud cry.

"Don't!"

Shaken up she turned to see a man walking toward her, almost running, calling to her, "Don't, If you don't, I won't."

She looked at him; he was taller than her, dressed clean but in an out dated suit. Why would he say something like that, unless...

"Whatever it is, you can deal with it." He squeezed her hand softly. "We can deal with it, together. I know we can."

What he had just said made even less sense, they weren't together. They didn't even know each other and he had no idea of she was going through.

"You think you're all alone, don't you? That nobody cares, nobody understands." What was he talking about? He looked at her with the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen. "I'll bet I would understand if you would just tell me. I might be feeling just like you do."

Faith looked at him, I doubt that. She looked down at his hand and saw the faint ring line. He'd been married. So what? I'll bet he couldn't possibly have been...

"I lost my faith, wanted to give up." Faith's heart skipped a beat when he unknowingly said her name. "That's why I came here. Have you lost yours, too? Is that why you're here?" She noticed that his hand was strong, but held hers gently. "We might be able to rediscover our faith, together."

Once again she shivered as he spoke her name. O God! I want to tell him... "We could find it together. All we'd have to do is trust each other." She hadn't been afraid before, but now she was. Trust? Again? She couldn't possibly...

"Take a chance. Who knows? We could be starting here, instead of ending here. Wouldn't that be better?"

That wasn't what she wanted, she had loved Jonathon and that had been her downfall. No! No! She came here to...

"I would trust you with my life. Could you trust me with yours? Wouldn't it be worth the risk?"

She gripped his hand so strongly that it shook, closed her eyes to shut out the confusion. When she reopened them, each looked deeply into the other's eyes. Neither dared to think, both forgot to breathe. A lifetime passed.

For the first time she spoke, "You don't even know me, why would you care?"

He said, "I know more about you than you think. Like me you came to end it all, you no longer have a will to live."

"Why would you say that?"

"Look at you, a beautiful woman dressed in her best, alone on this day of the year and at a place like this. You are standing on the edge of the abyss and ready to leap. You were wronged weren't you?

"Please, come with me to get a cup of coffee and talk about it. If you still have some doubt, just follow me back down the hill and when I pull in, just keep driving by."

She thought for a second and then agreed. As she followed him she started to get a feeling she hadn't felt for a while. When he turned into the coffee shop she followed. He got out of his car, went inside and she was right behind him.

"Two coffees, black."

They found a table and sat down.

"My name is Andrew; I was to be married on this day two years ago. While standing in front of the preacher waiting for my future wife, her bridesmaid came in to tell us all that she changed her mind, she had found her true love and was running off with him.

"For two years now, I have gotten up looking for a reason to carry on. Though I struggle through each day I never found that reason. I woke this morning, put on the suit I was to be married in and decided to finally end it all. Then, you showed up. I saw you start for the cliff and I knew you were there for the same reason, I was not alone.

"I had to stop you, you need to carry on. I don't know the reason you were there, but it can't be that bad. Will you let me help you make it better, so I can get better also? I promise not to become clingy, I just need a friend."

"My name is Faith, when you said my name without knowing it I froze. I wondered, how could you know it, when we didn't know each other. Yes I realized that the faith you were talking about was the faith to go on, but still it felt good to hear my name called out.

"Andrew, I am a Muse. I know it's hard to believe, but I broke my vow and fell in love with the man I was sent to inspire. We married and when his faith faulted he left me. For the same two years that you have suffered, so have I. I am now damaged goods and can no longer fulfill my role as a Muse, I have nothing left."

"May I ask you a dumb question?"

"Andrew, there is no such thing as a dumb question, only a dumb answer."

"Why, would your life be over if you could no longer be a Muse?"

"I...I don't know, that is just what they told us when we became Muses."

"If I told you that you inspire me, would it make a difference?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought my life was over, now I sit in a coffee shop with the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Not only is she having coffee with me, she is having a conversation, something I thought that would never happen again. If that isn't inspiration, I don't know what is."

"Andrew, those are the most beautiful words someone has ever said to me."

"Faith, will you take a leap of faith with me and stay by my side for eternity?"

And so she did.