Childhood can be difficult. The world does not always
accept who you are or who you want to be.
You try to break the mold, but success may be hard to come
by, as is the case with . . .
Zuly Truly
The names
we choose for our children can have a great impact on their lives. Such is the
case in the life of Zuly Truly.
Saddled
with a weird name, Zuly had no choice but to hide from the world around her.
Picked on by her classmates, she buried herself in her studies and was labeled
a geek.
As a
geek, she didn’t always fit in. The in-crowd rejected her. And her homelife
wasn’t easy. Adopted at the age of two, her mean stepparents and two cruel
stepbrothers made her life quite uncomfortable. In spite of her less than
perfect childhood, Zuly grew into a beautiful, smart, and likeable young woman.
Although
likeable, she was very lonely. She wanted to be appreciated and accepted by
others, but it was a challenge for her to step out in public and attempt to
socialize. However, she did believe in herself and felt she could become a
respected person.
Still,
she needed to address the pressing question, “What can I, a woman with both
inner strength and outer beauty, do to escape my hellish upbringing?”
When all
was said and done, the bottom line was that she was a thoughtful, caring
individual. And she had high ambitions for a successful life. She dreamed of
what she could do to help others. However, she still needed to muster up the
courage to gain the support of the likes of people who had rejected her. They
controlled her life and made her feel imprisoned in a cage from which she could
not escape. And all the time, she felt as if she was being watched.
But
today, she was inspired to begin life anew. As she sat alone in her apartment,
her mind wandered in and out. I’ve got to make this happen, she thought.
But how was another matter.
As she
pondered what her next move would be, the phone rang. She reached over and
picked it up. “Hello,” she said.
“May I
speak to Ms. Truly?”
“This is
Ms. Truly.”
“Ms.
Truly, my name is Simply Simon.”
Hearing
this, she begin to chuckle, but held the laugh back. “What can I do for you,
Mr. Simon?”
“It’s not
what you can do for me. It is what I can do for you.”
“What you
can do for me?”
“That’s
right.”
Confused,
she didn’t know how to respond.
“Are you
still there, Ms. Truly?”
“Yes,”
she stuttered. “I’m listening. You said you can do something for me. What would
that be?”
“I’d
rather not discuss it over the phone. Could we meet somewhere and talk?”
“Why not
do it on the phone? I don’t know who you are or what you want from me.”
“Relax,
Ms. Truly, I’m not the enemy. I have your best interests in mind.”
“But you
don’t know me.”
“But I
do.”
Zuly
thought for a brief moment before responding. “Okay, I’ll meet you tomorrow at
noon, at the Nickel and Dime Café on the corner of Primary Road and Precision
Ave.”
“Obviously
you believe in the basics and have a precise picture of how things should go.”
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
“I think
we’ve said enough for now. See you tomorrow at noon.”
“Please
wait. How will I know who you are?”
“It’s
simple. You won’t, but I, Simply Simon, will know you. Good-bye.”
Totally
mystified by this conversation, Zuly stared off into space. Do I dare do
this? she thought.
The next
morning, the sun shined through the bedroom window. Zuly rubbed the sleep from
her eyes, rolled out of bed, and prepared for the meeting she wasn’t sure she
wanted to have. “I guess it’s time,” she muttered. Grabbing a light coat, she
exited her apartment and made her way to the café.
As she
entered, a handsome man approached her. Well, she thought, this may
go better than I expected.
“Are you
Ms. Truly?” he asked.
“Yes, I
am, Mr. Simon,” she responded with a broad smile on her face.
“Uh, I’m
not Mr. Simon. I’m Lyle Smiles, the café manager.”
“So
sorry, Mr. Smiles, but . . .”
“No
apology needed. A young man was here earlier. He asked me to give you this
note.”
“But how
did you know who I was?”
“He
described you perfectly.”
That’s
scary, she thought. She took the note from Mr. Smiles, said, “Thank you,”
and sat down at a table for two in the corner of the shop.
She
stared at the note, fearing what Mr. Simon might have written. She sucked in a
breath of air and opened the missive and read . . .
“Dear
Zuly, I have been an ardent admirer of yours for many years. I have monitored
your every move, but didn’t have the guts to let you know I wanted you in my
life. Today was my golden opportunity to get what I always wanted—you. But once
again, I didn’t have the courage. So I must force you back into the cage from
which you have been trying to escape. You are mine and nothing you do will
change that." The letter was signed, “Yours, ‘Truly,’ now and forever.”
Zuly
dropped the letter on the table. Having no clue what to do next, tears rolled
down her face. Then she looked up and stared into the warm, beautiful eyes of
Lyle Smiles.
“May I
help you,” he asked.
She
replied, “Yes,” for she now believed she would have a chance for a better
future, as she basked in the light of his smile.
Copyright
© 2024 Alan Lowe. All rights reserved.
