Once Told by You - 1. Story

She walked, head held high, into the crowd of several people that would hate her simply because she was different. Her eyelashes were short. Her hair was short. Her legs were full of muscle. Her chest wasn’t of a forward nature. She dressed as she was meant to be. “A Lover of Men was meant to be a woman,” her father once told her.

So she went out of her way to become this attractive figure, in the evenings plastering the makeup on her like there was no tomorrow, place the earrings on just so she could fit into that little thing we call society. She wanted desperately to fit in, but even then, she felt, deep in her heart, that she could not.

He sat on a bench watching the crowd as they moved along. They barely noticed him, which, for him, was a good thing. He sat, dressed in his best jeans and his Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt, but still he didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel correctly defined. His chest wasn’t as flat as it was meant to be, constricted by a long piece of cloth so it would be flat. His jeans were baggy, so as to create the illusion of manliness. He was dressed as he was meant to be. “A Lover of Women was meant to be a man,” his mother once told him. So he went out of his way to become this masculine figure, clipping his hair daily and toning his muscles up so he could fit in. He wanted desperately to fit in, but even then, he felt, deep in his heart, that he could not.

She clutched her handbag in fear as some people walked towards her coming from the other direction. She lowered her head slightly, in terror of what could happen. She tried to evade them but she still was not used to wearing the high heels, so she fell. She grazed her knee and hands and looked around for help from someone. She stared longingly for someone there, she looked with hopeful eyes but then there was nothing.

The crowd carried on. Nobody cared about her.

Until...

“Excuse me miss... do you want some help?” he said in his unbroken melodic voice.

She looked up at him and he noticed her smiling at him. No one ever smiled at him. “Why… thank you... you’re a very attractive young lad, you know...”

He blushed.

“What's your name?” he asked after a long pause...

“It's Lucinda.” She continued to smile and giggle like a little school girl. She saw the beauty of him and she knew she had to love him. Corny. Did she know it?

“Well, Lucinda, we can’t leave you on this muggy high street pavement all day, now can we? Of course you know that... let's get you up.” He bent down and Lucinda noticed a piece of cloth on the inside of his shirt, wrapped around his chest. It couldn’t be…

He picked up her handbag and offered his arm to her. She sighed and stood.

As he stood, he looked down her chest and noticed that there was something in her bra... he dusted it off as a girl padding out her breasts, as some often do when they are looking for someone. But... no... it couldn’t be...

“My father once told me that I would meet the greatest person in my life as a stranger in the street,” she said honestly.

“Really? So did mine.”

They began to walk off together, as both parties believed that what their parents had told them was true...

… for the first time.

They had both dropped their facades, which each took years to create.

All because of something somebody had already told them.