Comfort | A short note about love

What is it? That feeling we feel when we're attracted to another. Butterflies fluttering in your stomach, a pain in your chest at the mention of their name- or, was it pride? Pride as their name is chanted over and over again. Jealousy? Maybe, it could be either.

It's love.

It's... love..?

Is it love? Or is it mere infatuation? How do we know if we have no guidance as to how it is supposed to feel?

That state when you know they're 'the one'. The one? What does that entail? Is it unconditional?- Or is it only valid until your 'one' somehow becomes two? Because, we can't help ourselves, can we? How can we commit to one when there are so many people out there.

What if the things we don't like in the one we have our eyes on now, are things that are non-existent in another?

In the modern day, with access to the internet, everyone's personality and thought process is nearly identical. Sure, there are differences here and there, but it's not too much as to warrant dislike. Does this mean that we now base our love on looks alone? Isn't that considered shallow?

These were the thoughts that ran through the mind of Helm G. This man ridiculed the idea of love, it may have been valid at one point of time, but now it's just... pointless.

Happiness? Is that what we get? Contentment?

He didn't think so.

But, you never really know what it's like until it happens to you. And, Helm was in for a ride.

He never understood. He never thought it was anything worth the sacrifices people supposedly make. Just yesterday, he read about a man who flew all the way to the US, just to be together once again with his 'love'. It took him the good part of three years to obtain the visa and finish off all of the legality to enter the country. And, it just so happened that that was the perfect amount of time for his 'love' to have moved on.

She found someone better. Someone who was almost an identical copy of the former, only difference being that he had an American passport.

They didn't share the same old memories, but they could create new ones. And that fact made Helm scowl. Why bother? They'll find someone better. If they're perfect, what makes you think you're good enough to be with them?

You think you're perfect? Is that your argument? Well, news flash! You are now officially not. You will be called a jerk. A narcissist.

Each reason for the outlaw of love from his heart, added to the bricks of his wall of disbelief.

Helm wasn't perfect. He was a pessimistic scientist who should have known better. He should have known the science behind love, and he felt quite embarrassed when he looked back at his former self.

How did this former self change, you ask? : Well, it all unraveled when he noticed just how great his self proclaimed best friend was.

"Hey Helm!" Ralp chuckled, a smile that could have very well been the cure for cancer on his face. "You forgot, didn't you? There," He pointed at the other's white board, "you forgot to fix that."

Helm scanned his board. He was right, Helm did forget. His heart skipped a beat, for what he assumed was embarrassment.

But, that wasn't the first time that happened.

Oh, far from it.

Ralp had that effect on the other. He was always meddling in places he wasn't supposed to, never failing to drive Helm insane. This one time, Helm was minding his own business, drinking coffee at his local cafe. Then, Ralp came out of no where. Him and his cheery, perky self made Helm loose focus and that resulted in his piping hot coffee to be spilt on to his not-so-brand-new shirt.

It didn't help that Ralp looked especially good that day, sporting his signature red rose tucked in this left pocket.

"Something to give the ladies." He'd say, as if a mere rose was the key to unlocking another's affection.

One would have to be so stupid with love to fall for that of all things.

Speaking of stupid, Ralp was stupid. So, so stupid. Another time, he had the audacity to chase a chicken around the block for no other reason than 'being one with thy chicken'. He never made a lick of sense. But, in his defense, he was a librarian.

But, being a librarian didn't stop the man from being an idiot. Helm vividly remebers the time both him and his best friend had gone to one of those quiz competetions which had come up as an event in a restaurant they frequented. You would think that a librarian would have a little general knowledge. But, to think that Ralp was the slightest bit responsible, would be even more idiotic than Ralp himself- and that was saying something.

They butchered that quiz, and that once frequented restaurant, was now non-exsistent to the pair. That bastard still smiled at him, as if they didn't just lose the respect of all the workers of that establishment.

Everyday, the same annoyance engulfed Helm. The man with the rose would come trouble him, only leaving once satisfied with the havoc he had caused.

Sunday morning, 6:39am. Helm woke up to a single rose atop his alarm clock, a note next to it with nothing but a poorly drawn chicken and the words 'I have becometh thy chicken >:)'. And that- that was the breaking point.

Because, despite everything, Helm loved him. Helm loved how he felt around him. He loved the comfort he felt, the happiness, the need to protect like a momma bird. Come to think of it, it's because of that troublesome everything that he loved him.

As his alarm went off in the background, he realised that no one could ever be like Ralp. Did it go against everything this man believed in? Yes, yes it did. But it's never too late to change your beliefs and perspectives.

Who would have thought? A single rose did what countless wreaking balls could not. It broke down Helm's walls, his perfectly argumented and cemented with logic walls. Because, love doesn't have logic. It's anything but logical, it's something that doesn't, and shouldn't make sense.

But, just because we don't understand it doesn't mean we should underestimate it.

Helm would never make that mistake again, you can bet on that.