night
Summer 2021· Torch: U.S. · CREATIVE WRITING
Essay Contest
30
By Natalie Naylor, VJCL
1st place, Essay Contest
Art by Isabelle Hahn, OJCL
Summa Cum Laude,
2020 NJCL Convention
in the dead of
Today, I am writing to you with a confession. Difficult as it has been, I have managed to keep to myself until this point. I have done my best to contain my emotions, but I am afraid that I can not go much longer without saying something, or I might just burst! I can hardly contain myself as it is; I can feel the excitement bubbling higher and higher in my stomach with each day that passes and each time I see him. It is almost as if there is too much feeling built up inside me, and I have no choice but to release it. O, I think I have fallen in love! Absurd as it may seem, I believe it to be true. The connection between him and me is almost tangible, like the air separating us becomes electric. Our attachment is like nothing I have ever experienced before, and I can practically feel the shocks coursing through me. I know there is something different about this man. He says he wants to take me away, to have a life and children with me, and I know he is telling me the truth. Though we have only just met, I feel as though I have known him for eternities. From the moment I first saw him, I knew that there was something extraordinary taking place.
But this is not where my confession ends. You see, if he was an ordinary man, we could be together in an instant.
However, my love is not ordinary. He is like no one I have ever met before, and I doubt I will ever find anyone else comparable to him. The feeling of being near him, of being beside him, is like nothing I could ever attempt to put into words. In truth, with my love I have experienced emotions in a way that I never knew was capable; it is as though I am feeling, for the first time, truly and deeply and suddenly all at once. And though I am not supposed to be leaving records of our romance, let alone speaking of it at all, I feel as though I must share this overwhelming sense of emotion, which has left me practically giddy! It is true you have to believe me that when I say the romance between my love and I is electrically charged, I am not exaggerating. Yes, truly that is as much as I can afford to say! I am fearful of revealing my love’s identity by name, as it could lead to a great amount of trouble.
Only a fool does not fear the wrath of Hera, and I know that, upon making our romance
known, I would be the primary target of her anger.
Hera is the leading reason for our secrecy, and a good one at that. Her wrath is feared by people far and wide, having made a reputation of ruthlessness and severity for itself. And, although I may be deserving of some of the anger she would undoubtedly unleash on me, I feel as though I need to say that it was never my goal to enrage her. I am aware of the moral faults in pursuing a man who is declared for another, but, simply put, I found myself not being able to hold back from him. Whether it is because of his godly status or the connection that is so strongly shared between us, clearly given by the Fates, I do not know what caused this infatuation. Yet, it is clear to me that I was drawn to my love in a strong and unrelenting way, as if he were irresistible to me, and I to him.
When I first saw my love, I knew instantly who he was, although
Dear Diary,