The spark that lit the fire in my heart—an epic love story

Cormac was walking up the stairs to go to his boxing gym. There was always a glimmer in his eyes every time he went there; that gym was his solace from the beatings this world gave him.

He opened the door as he always does and greeted the first person he saw. The individual merely being a shadow stuck to the wall. His mind focused solely on the toughness of the training ahead and his love for it. After changing into his workout clothes, he made his way onto the mats to wait for his coach to start the class.

Class was going as it always does. Cormac loving every single moment of it; deep in thought about the next time he will be able to compete, how he will dominate his opponent, what he needs to do to be better and a world champion, the glory of one day lifting the belts and basking in the warm lights of the arena. That vicious fire inside him was growing stronger with each passing thought. The monster inside him was barking. Demanding a blood sacrifice. Cormac was in a state of bloodlust thinking about collecting his next scalp in competition. When suddenly to his dismay, he was interrupted by his coach.

“She’s going to be your partner for the remainder of the class” coach said to Cormac. Cormac was vexed at this until he saw the girl.

The monster nowhere to be found, the fire washed over by her beauty, his jaw ten feet under the floor. The world was no more… only her.

With a shaky voice Cormac replied to his coach “yeah, no problem coach”.

He was a master at keeping his cool. He was a novice fighter but knew exactly how to keep his emotions in check. Cormac knew if the emotions take over then he could not win the fight; he applied the same principles here, but this time his opponent made it far more laborious than before. He did not have to contend with feelings of fear and excitement, they were feelings of love slamming him like an 18-wheeler flattening a deer. Cormac and the girl did the boxing drills their coach instructed them to do. He helped her out when she was not able to understand what to do, but other than that he kept his mouth shut. Outside he was cold as steel, but inside he was exploding with joy. Each glance at the lady was like a nuke going off in his heart. The blood in his veins had been replaced by the nectar of love. His soul was in a trance. He knew he had found the love he was searching for.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Cormac built a rapport with the woman. He loved speaking to her but was not sure if the feelings were mutual. There certainly was a chemistry amongst them but he could not be sure until he made his intentions with her crystal clear.

He worked up the courage to ask her out on a date one day. the setting was set. Both exhausted and sweaty in a humid, damp boxing gym. The class had just come to an end. He started walking towards her to ask her about going for a cup of coffee after we leave the gym. Cormac’s face had an air of endless confidence and suave to it, but his legs were quivering with fear.

“Hey, would you like to go get a cup of coffee?” he asked.

She had a bit of a flustered look on her face. This was not good. “This is going down the drain” Cormac thought.

After a few seconds that felt like eons she finally replied “ummm yeah sure but I think we should go as a group with the others.”

Cormac simply gave her a nod and told her he’ll be going home. He knew he had been defeated. She was not interested in him. The elation of the last few weeks had collapsed in front of him just because of a mere sentence. He went home that day in state of sadness and despair.

The weeks went by as normal; he had gotten over the rejection in a few days and had once again reverted into the routine of things.

After about a month, the girl approached him unprovoked. Cormac was wondering what she needed, but to his surprise she came to him in a flirtatious manner.

She asked him how old he was.

He replied “22.”

With a smile she says “Hmmm I’m into younger guys”

Cormac replied with the conviction of a king “well maybe you should try this younger man… you’d be surprised with what you find.”

She blushed and took the conversation forward. The back and forth of their energies went on for a while until they both agreed to formally meet and get this show on the road.

Cormac was shocked. He had not expected anything that happed in the past few hours. His shock eventually turned into a smile. He had a good feeling about her.