Prologue
Some say we are born with enemies. Others say we make them. Time doesn't heal all wounds, and absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder.
Taking personal responsibility for your actions, then facing down your own demons with grit and determination, that's what makes you into a good person. A whole person. A complete person. Not taking revenge, but taking responsibility, that heals your wounds, not time. It's funny how things in life can change your entire perspective in an instant. One minor decision can alter your entire world. Everything you had been taught. All the things you thought you loved about yourself, that you hated about yourself, they can all be flipped on their heads in an instant. One person can open your eyes to see the truth, but you have to choose to look at the truth for yourself.
I've learned a great deal during my life. Things that I once believed were not actually the truth. They were just what I believed to be truth, but then I got another perspective, and I became the person I was always meant to be from the ashes of the person I had never wanted to become.
I gazed at my mate with deep love. He showed me slowly, gently, what forgiveness looks like. What healing from the past can bring to the present. What joy rejecting prejudice in my heart can bring. I would be eternally grateful to him, and, luckily, we had an eternity to love each other. I took his hand as we sat together on our favorite hill, waiting for the sun to rise. He who was once considered my enemy has become my greatest love, now and forever.