This story stands on its own, but also fits into a larger story that Started with Cyn for Short and helps to explain how Cynthia, through decent into sexual addiction came to the point where she was suicidal but eventually found the power within to make a commitment to fidelity that served her and her family well for 18 years. There were seven parts of the original story posted on one site, and nine on another, the only difference was that in the site posting seven, all three of the first chapters were consolidated into a single posting.
The postings began in early February, so as this date I have seen many responses. A number of observations appear for public view on one of the sites so many of you may have seen some of them also. The majority of responses that end up in my e-mail have been very supportive of my efforts and of the characters in the story, but I am surprised at how negative and judgmental some of the comments have been. I welcome all response and advice equally, positive or critical, but Iâve even been told that a suitable end for both characters would involve a life sentence in sexual slavery, contraction of AIDS, or savage brutality and loss of life with high powered handguns or rifles, in one case administered at the hand of a vengeful oldest son.
It hurts me to think some people hold onto and embrace such pain and emotion in their own lives that they can justify such violence. I received a response from one good man whose life was turned upside down by a wife that did some of the same things Cyn did, but apparently without any regret at all. That relationship ended in divorce and the husband got custody of the kids. Ttwo daughters that are now in college passed the story of Cyn in progress on to him and he wrote to tell me hoped Cyn would loose Craig and custody of their children as well.
For his sake Iâm sorry the ending didnât give him the pound of flesh he may have hoped for, but the point is, that this man who really had grounds for bitterness was still much less violent than some of the others. The same gentleman went on to explain how his ex wife now had aids and had come back to ask for his forgiveness. I can understand why he refused to reconcile in any way, but Iâm more concerned about how his justified response to her leaves him with only the shallow victory of revenge. The loss still affects him far more than it does her.
I personally know of a woman who thought she had a great marriage with a loving husband and several children until her husband informed her he was gay, and left them all behind. No one could have felt more legitimate pain and scarring in a life than her or the man above, so when her husband came back several years later and told her he was dying of aids, and begged her for forgiveness, she would have been just as well justified to tell him to go straight to hell also. Instead, she took him back into her home and cared for him until he died.
That act of greatness on her part was an expression of faith in humanity and her ability to see a sliver of potential in the man she chose to be the father of her children. Out of respect for the love she had honestly felt at one time, even if she no longer felt it, she cared for him as unselfishly as I believe a person could. This woman has expressed some of the most beautiful and inspiring thoughts in poetry to inspire the best in humanity I have ever read, and she knew she could not turn her back on the man who had hurt her so terribly without turning her back on all the beautiful and inspiring things she had ever thought or put to verse.
The ones who were best affected by her unselfish act of charity were herself, and the ones she loved most, her own children. They are the ones who receive the balm of healing, not her unfortunate husband, he died. But Iâll tell you this as well; she never once regretted her decision and never once condemned him for his. When Jesus said let him who is without sin cast the first stone, he didnât qualify it by saying him who has the fewest sins, or the smallest. I believe the most important fundamental attitude in the human family is to always open your heart to possibility and refuse to close it on account of anything.
I believe we are at our weakest and worst frame of mind when we allow emotion to dictate revenge and violence on anyone for any reason. And we are at our strongest and best when we learn to stand above and beyond the range of emotional reaction to the things that happen around us. I think we as a people were at our strongest after 9/11 not by our resolve to use violence, but by our resolve to stand firmly against it.
For those of you who didnât like the slutty side of Cyn, youâll hate the two parts of this story, because they show how she descended into a suicidal state as a result of the selfishness in her sexual addiction that led her into bondage, before she ever married Craig. How else could she have ever come face to face with the specter of nothing, and made the resolve to be faithful to him for so long. For those of you who are already chomping at the bit to put a bullet through her head, just assume she took her own life and let it alone; give yourself a break.
Through all of this, and in all there is to come, I think there is always potential for greatness in Cyn just like there is in everyone, including all of the people I have had the pleasure to meet in this life. I love her for where sheâs been and who she can be in spite of it and I love Craig for his courage to look for the best in everyone he can.
LOOSING CYNTHIA Part 1 of 2
From the time I was a little girl, my parents had told me that one day I would meet my handsome prince and begin a fairy tale life of happy ever after. I was told that in order to deserve a prince, I would have to be the very best princess possible. Even before I entered my teens, modesty was stressed in clothing and thought. As a six year old, I wouldnât dream of playing in the backyard in the little plastic pool without a shirt on. I even scolded neighbor men who didnât wear one while they mowed their lawn on hot summer days.
The first information I had concerning sex warned that it was very serious and a terrible thing for anyone to consider before marriage. I had a distinct impression that whenever I was introduced to it after marriage, somehow all the bad things associated with it would magically go away so it could be tolerated, and I would start to have babies. I remember my mother warning me that kissing boys was very dangerous, that if I let a boy kiss me, then I would become pregnant and bring disgrace to the whole family.