42. Great Effort, Great Sacrifice

The next day Felix was sitting on the steps in front of the building when I got to work.  He looked sad.

He said. “I’m thirty days clean today.”

“You don’t look happy about it,” I said.

“My girlfriend came over last night.”  He held up his phone to show me her picture.  “She was thrilled I’m off heroin, but couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t split a bottle of wine. We’ve been together seven years.  Now I gotta let her go.”  He looked up at me and I could see the weariness and pain in his eyes.  He added, “I’ve trudged the path, now I have to leave someone I love at the side of the road.”

“Sometimes great changes take great effort and great sacrifice,” I said.

Today I will remember: great change often requires both great effort and great sacrifice.

Life on Life's Terms III (c) 2016 by Ken Montrose

Life on Life's Terms III is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.